Alfa Romeo Owners Club of Australia Forum

Technical => 900 Series (Alfasud, Alfasud Sprint, 33) => Topic started by: aggie57 on March 02, 2013, 09:08:54 PM

Title: 33 Restoration
Post by: aggie57 on March 02, 2013, 09:08:54 PM
Colin - one for you:

http://www.necsltd.co.nz/restorations.html
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: Fetta GTV on March 02, 2013, 10:03:15 PM
And us other boxer tragics ;D
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: colcol on March 02, 2013, 11:08:31 PM
Can anybody spot the blooper?, it is actually my car a series 1 33 TI twin carb 1500, i didn't know that they were worth restoring, some of the newer Alfa people don't know what a Alfa 33 is, as they are getting a bit thin on the ground, as they are worth nothing and get sent to Mr. Simms, i pointed out to a newer member that it was the Grandfather of the 147 series cars and the dad of the 145 and 146 series cars that were not sold here, and its not a 133, just a 33, Colin.
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: Alan Hopla on March 03, 2013, 08:40:59 AM
Hmm, the only 33 with an inline 4 Alfa ever made!
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: aggie57 on March 03, 2013, 10:05:28 AM
It did seem a little strange "restoring" a 33 I must say,...
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: colcol on March 03, 2013, 11:46:31 AM
Well spotted Alan!, people restore some strange cars, but we are all different and the owner may have a passion for their car, go for a drive in a 33, and they are always a bit of fun, Colin.
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: Evan Bottcher on March 03, 2013, 09:00:46 PM
Quote from: Alan Hopla on March 03, 2013, 08:40:59 AM
Hmm, the only 33 with an inline 4 Alfa ever made!

♫ One of these things is not like the other ♫

I was thinking 'that block looks a bit agricultural' then noticed the tractor tyres behind it.

Quote from: aggie57 on March 03, 2013, 10:05:28 AM
It did seem a little strange "restoring" a 33 I must say,...

Typical bigoted Nord lover.  Surely you've seen the quality of restoration of Suds and 33s that we see at Spettacolo now?  I could send you amazing threads full of bare metal restored Suds and 33s, mostly in Europe admittedly.

I reckon an early Sud resto project is a much more challenging prospect than a 105 or 116 project.  NOS stuff is on the market now, but I think it'll dry up much more quickly than other models.  Little known fact: lots of the parts on an early Sud were made of cured ricotta cheese (e.g. door trims), so even old-stock parts are no more.  You can buy some repro panels but not many, and it'll be years before more stuff becomes available repro.  It seems unlikely to me that the repro parts will get anywhere near the availability of the 105, so we'll have to get a bit creative I suppose.
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: Alfapride on March 12, 2013, 10:11:07 PM
amazed that the 33's don't get more cred, i owned a 16v for 6 years and cried the day i sold it, i still miss it but needed a newer 'daily driver' so went for the 147. The 16v in particular was a fun dynamic car, very reliable and didn't suffer some of the earlier alfa issues such as rust. i think they're will be a time where the 80's alfas spark some interest....
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: colcol on March 12, 2013, 10:43:17 PM
And you look at the Boxer Motor, not some inline Fiat motor, but a proper motor designed for the car, Dr. Rudolf Hruska came from Porsche, and knew a thing about the advantages of Boxer Motors, such as smoothness, compactness, low centre of gravity and a nice Boxer note!, the engines are a work of art, with FOUR main bearing caps, serrated main bearing caps, serrated conrods, to name a few, this motor came out in 1972 and was used up until about 1995 in the 33 replacement, the 145 3 door and the 146 5 door, but it was too expensive to build, so they pensioned it off and replaced it with a Fiat inline 4 cylinder mounted East - West, and the 33's in Italy had a Turbo Diesel as well, but it didn't come to Australia....at least it didn't have any GM based Motors, Colin.
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: aggie57 on March 13, 2013, 08:28:20 AM
So we drive cars that are cousins!   8)
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: Martinsifredi on March 18, 2013, 11:45:12 AM
You are right Colin , if people spent a little time in a 33 they
Might understand what a great piece of engineering they are!
Something in regards to the quality of 33's at specttacolo , yes
The quality is poor on most but as with all Alfa models there
Are good ones and there are bad ones , I suppose it's all about
How passionate someone is ! And also how much pride someone
Has !
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: Evan Bottcher on March 18, 2013, 11:56:21 AM
Quote from: colcol on March 12, 2013, 10:43:17 PM
...the advantages of Boxer Motors, such as smoothness, compactness, low centre of gravity and a nice Boxer note!, the engines are a work of art, with FOUR main bearing caps, serrated main bearing caps, serrated conrods, to name a few, this motor came out in 1972...

http://blipshift.com/products/flat-spiracy-theory

(http://gallery.mailchimp.com/7503af90f99da6117258a460e/images/the_world_is_flat_detail_500.png)

Forza boxer!
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: Martinsifredi on March 18, 2013, 03:43:15 PM
Porche and Subaru are still using the boxer technology , their pretty switched on people so maybe Alfa should have considered a new boxer design for the 4c! Lets face it some of Alfa Romeo's best engines have been the boxer layout and the brilliant v6 . No need to reinvent the wheel it's just a matter of perfecting it
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: AROCA33 on March 23, 2013, 05:12:00 AM
Flat engines cost significantly more in production, also the new inline 4 turbo engine in the 4c looks like it will be used in other models. so these may contribute to why Alfa do not use the classic boxer :( a new modern flat engine would sure be nice tho!
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: scott.venables on March 23, 2013, 10:10:35 AM
Colin, I'm curious how only 4 main bearings are arranged with 4 crank throws? Isn't there a main bearing between cylinders 2 and 3?

Cheers, Scott
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: Storm_X on March 23, 2013, 10:18:15 AM
Quote from: colcol on March 02, 2013, 11:08:31 PM
Can anybody spot the blooper?, it is actually my car a series 1 33 TI twin carb 1500, i didn't know that they were worth restoring.

Found this quite funny , but each to there own I guess.
I'm currently doing my project ATM witch I'm sure some people would think is a waste of time.
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: colcol on March 23, 2013, 12:45:29 PM
There are 3 main bearings in the Boxer motor, and the bearing caps are held in with 4 bolts, 2 from the sides and 2 thru the [removed] sump, when you look at those American 'performance' engines, the really really racey ones have '4 bolt mains', .........just like the 1200cc Boxer Motor had 41 years ago, and the main bearing caps are serrated, so they don't move, did i mention that the Boxer Motor also had a Forged Crank?, most high performance engines should, but not all do, Colin.
Title: Re: 33 Restoration
Post by: scott.venables on March 23, 2013, 02:29:14 PM
Quote from: colcol on March 12, 2013, 10:43:17 PM
the engines are a work of art, with FOUR main bearing caps.......


Quote from: colcol on March 23, 2013, 12:45:29 PM
There are 3 main bearings in the Boxer motor, and the bearing caps are held in with 4 bolts.....

Ahhh, that clears it up. Thanks Col

Scott