Hi,
After nearly 2 years of pain and suffering, my Sud is on the road. The car is so much fun but I must admit I am a bit disappointed with the brakes. I have taken it to a specialist and been advised it does not have the rod that connects to the brake bias valve. I think I have read though that the Ti QV did not use a brake bias valve? Is that correct? I don't want to try and find one if I don't need it. Strange though, my car came with a brake bias valve but not this rod which has a circular kink in it??
The brakes on the front were replaced with Nos items and the rears with reconditioned with a kit, etc so they should be working well in theory
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks David
David, the TiQV did not come with the rear bias mechanical rod but rather has a unique floating portioning valve. All Suds came with the rod but the TiQV had a floating valve due to the stiffer springs. The valve is not the same as a 33 and are damn hard to find. Pull the rubber of the bottom and if moist, suspect needs replacing (and your rear brakes will be doing too much work).
I fitted an adjustable proportioning valve and stepped master cylinder many years back and the brakes have worked fine since. The brakes are not great at best but should be fine for road use.
Cheers
Paul
Thanks Paul.
Did you get the stepped master cyclinder because you ran out of adjustment for the after market bias valve? If so, what type/specification of master cyclinder do you use? What type/specification of after market bias valve do you use?
Really appreciate your help
Regards David
David, the master cylinder is an older standard Merc part. From memory, the stepped bore is one size down from standard Sud. The brake bias valve is Speedway and purchased from Revolution (some 23 years back). The key with the bias adjustment valve is to make sure you get one that can shut off the rear brakes completely. The Sud needs very little rear braking and many adjustment valves don't shut off enough feed to the rear.
Enjoy the Sud - what a brilliant car they are to drive and one of the rarer Alfa's these days.
Paul
Thanks Paul.
Really looking forward to getting the car fully sorted. It is almost there but has a small flat spot at 2000 rpm (carbies need tweaking), new front wheels bearings (very noisy but I had found a new set previously) and a very annoying speedo cable noise.
Ironic that one of the most common Alfas is now one of the rarest! That is partly what drew me to them. I love the shape and the personality. I have attached some pics.
Regards David
The Sud looks fantastic David and good luck getting sorted. Once carbies are balanced, you should not need to touch them as stay tuned - last had mine tuned 10 years back. Rare that front wheel bearings are worn so suggest you check driveshafts closely.
For the speedo cable, check the plastic gear in the gearbox - you can remove to check condition but otherwise should be the cables. If it still has the original two cables, you can remove and fit one cable as per S3 Sud Ti and clean up the engine bay.
Noticed the bricks behind your wheels so is the handbrake not working? Common problem on the Sud but the calipers can be modified to fix the problem for good as Beninca's did to my car many years back. Wheels look nice but are not the original TiQV pepper pot style Speedline rim - are they a Momo?
All the best
Paul
PS The Elise is a great sports car!
Hi Paul,
The picture was taken a month ago before the handbrake was connected. It works now but could be better. Do you know the details about the modification to the calipers as I am in Brisbane so Benicia is not an option?
I took the speedo out and went for a drive and the noise was from the cable. Looked like not far from the square cable square end there is a circular piece that was rattling. I have assumed a new cable will solve?
The driveshafts are good and have been serviced but the front left bearing is definitely gone.
The alloys are Ronal A1s. I like the original speedlines but presumably as my car was sitting for 10 years before I got it, most of them were "square". I saw these wheels in pics and thought they looked fantastic. The rest of the car is standard apart from the air filter cover (I had it painted black but with the Alfa logo in white) and the cam covers painted in Matt silver to give it some bling!
The Elise is a recent purchase. I sold my 996 turbo as I wanted something that would be fun for occasional track use that was not too valuable (Elise is nearly 10 years old). With a tubular exhaust it does not sound like a Toyota engine! One with a supercharger would be even better! You have a great garage with the Alfa's and Loti! Great to see you still love your Sud when you have those other amazing cars.
Regards David
Looks awesome! I've got the original speedlines on mine but if I could afford a set of Ronal A1s I would. They look great. Your interior looks really good too. Can't wait till mines at the stage. Engine is built and I hope to finish the gearbox build tomorrow.
Thanks!
I see this is your 2nd Ti QV and 99th Alfa! Can I ask why you decided to have 2? Would have certainly been great having a reference car (I am envious). I took a lot of photos but there was a big gap between stripping it and putting it all back together. If there were 2 options to put something back I would always take the wrong one!
Pity you are in Melbourne - would be great to see your cars. I don't think there are many Suds in Brisbane.
Regards David
I wish i still had my first sud, it was my first car and looked nearly as good as yours. And thats why ive got number 2 (and its a lot cheaper than a 105 which I wouldn't complain about having next). They are just great fun with soo much character, enjoy your driving! 99 alfas is the aim, but I have to stop selling them!
I remember seeing a pic of your engine - looked very smick! Any recent pics of your car you can post?
David, I recall Beninca's modified the inner pistons so you might be able to send them just the calipers or pistons for the mod but highly recommend as have not had to adjust the handbrake cable since!
Re the speedo cable, do you have two cables or one? One new cable should solve the problem.
Agree the Ronals look great but I am a traditionalist and love the Speedlines. They are fairly solid for an alloy rim so should be able to sit around for a prolonged period.
Wow 996 turbo would be a good thing albeit a touch bland compared to the Italian stuff. My Exige SC is a track car and also has a Jim 2bular rear muffler - a pure work of art!
Cheers
Paul
Thanks Paul.
I will talk to my local Alfa guru and see if he is aware of the brake modification. It is great that it has worked so well for you as that is not the usual experience based on many threads!
My car has 1 speedo cable. Hopefully the replacement works better than the current one!
Hopefully the car will be 100% soon.
Regards David
One speedo cable? I didn't know we could do that.
Yep, just fit a standard S3 Sud single speedo cable!
But what does that little gearbox do? I have completely forgotten. It has wires from it.
Is a pre-historic emission control. Just remove all wiring and the unit but hold onto all original parts removed!
Cheers
Paul
Hi,
What brand of brake pads do you recommend for the Sud Ti QV and where do you buy them?
Regards David
Have a set of Hawk pads in the front and cheap pads in the rear. Pads are US manufactured and were purchased from Howard at Race Brakes but will probably go Ferodo 2500's when the fronts next need changing.
Run the Ferodo 3000's in the Exige on the track and highly recommend.
Cheers
Paul
Thanks Paul