After consulting the experts on F-Chat and lots of thinking, I've got a plan of attack. Since the clutch is slipping pretty badly, I'm going to go ahead and replace it. There is a clutch linkage adjustment, but I have my doubts anyway that any amount of adjustment is going to make a difference. Even if it does, it'll be a temporary fix as this slipping clutch is going to get worse, not better. Unlike other cars where clutch replacement is a major life-changing event, the job on this car is supposed to be a piece of cake. It can be done almost completely from the driver's side wheelwell with the engine in the car. You really only need to get under the car to disconnect the clutch linkage.
To do the job, there is a one special nut that requires the use of a special tool. Birdman (of Birdman Ferrari and replacement 308 fusebox fame) has kindly agreed to loan me his Baum ring nut tool to do the job. In return, I will take lots of photos of the process and document the entire thing. Surprisingly, a clutch kit for this car is in line with what you'd expect to pay for any car. I placed an order today and it should be here in about a week.
After the new clutch is in, I'll try a different gearbox oil to see how much of a difference that makes in my 2nd gear shifting issue. Difference or no, I'll work on my double clutch technique for smoother shifts. If it does turn out to be a bad syncro...well, I'll deal with that down the road. I've had an idea in the back of my mind that I would be pulling the engine and transmission for a major service sometime in the next two years. The syncro will just be one other thing to replace when this happens.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
On the road again
Today, we raced the sun home to try and get some pictures while there was still daylight. The insurance company needed photos of all sides of the car. The weather is clear now but it will start raining soon. If I didn't do this now, I wouldn't get another opportunity until this weekend. I wanted to get the insurance thing settled sooner than later. We got home just in the nick of time and I was able to get some photos shot.
The car was pretty much ready to go, so TK and I decided to take a drive and get some dinner. It was dark by now, and I didn't have a chance to adjust the headlights. Oh well, we weren't going far and I could see if I use the high beams. First stop was the gas station. On the pavement, it drives about as well as can be expected for a 30+ year old Italian car. The gas station was pretty empty when we showed up, and TK noticed the station attendant inside raised an eyebrow as we pulled next to a pump. A few people drove by as we fueled up and no one seemed to care. Good. I really don't like drawing attention so this was a good first showing. I did notice a state trooper pull in at the opposite end of the station and he didn't seem to care either.
After fueling up, I got back in and we headed 3 miles down to road to our favorite sushi restaurant. I must admit I was pretty nervous. It's a rural road that's poorly lit and I could barely see the road. Thankfully, a helpful traveller decided to tailgate me and illuminate the road ahead.
After dinner, I was feeling less nervous about driving this thing so I opened it up a little more on the way home. Rather than shifting early, I left it in a lower gear to let the engine stretch out. Wow, what a great feeling and sound. People in SUVs were passing me, but I didn't care. I was humming along at 6000 rpm just enjoying the sound.
Ok, that was the good. There are two bad things that are pretty major. First is that the clutch is slipping. It seems to be ok when starting, but it's really noticeable going up a hill. I can accelerate and watch the rpms go up while the car does not pick up speed. A few seconds later, the clutch will catch and then the car speeds up. The second bad thing is second gear. These cars are notorious for having a second gear that is hard to shift into. Usually, the problem go away when the tranny is warm. This is not my problem. I can shift up through all the gears just fine. The problem is I can't seem to downshift from third to second without a horrific crunch. I'm really hoping this is an adjustment issue, or perhaps because the clutch is worn. I'm going to ask the experts on F-chat to try and figure this out.
The car was pretty much ready to go, so TK and I decided to take a drive and get some dinner. It was dark by now, and I didn't have a chance to adjust the headlights. Oh well, we weren't going far and I could see if I use the high beams. First stop was the gas station. On the pavement, it drives about as well as can be expected for a 30+ year old Italian car. The gas station was pretty empty when we showed up, and TK noticed the station attendant inside raised an eyebrow as we pulled next to a pump. A few people drove by as we fueled up and no one seemed to care. Good. I really don't like drawing attention so this was a good first showing. I did notice a state trooper pull in at the opposite end of the station and he didn't seem to care either.
After fueling up, I got back in and we headed 3 miles down to road to our favorite sushi restaurant. I must admit I was pretty nervous. It's a rural road that's poorly lit and I could barely see the road. Thankfully, a helpful traveller decided to tailgate me and illuminate the road ahead.
After dinner, I was feeling less nervous about driving this thing so I opened it up a little more on the way home. Rather than shifting early, I left it in a lower gear to let the engine stretch out. Wow, what a great feeling and sound. People in SUVs were passing me, but I didn't care. I was humming along at 6000 rpm just enjoying the sound.
Ok, that was the good. There are two bad things that are pretty major. First is that the clutch is slipping. It seems to be ok when starting, but it's really noticeable going up a hill. I can accelerate and watch the rpms go up while the car does not pick up speed. A few seconds later, the clutch will catch and then the car speeds up. The second bad thing is second gear. These cars are notorious for having a second gear that is hard to shift into. Usually, the problem go away when the tranny is warm. This is not my problem. I can shift up through all the gears just fine. The problem is I can't seem to downshift from third to second without a horrific crunch. I'm really hoping this is an adjustment issue, or perhaps because the clutch is worn. I'm going to ask the experts on F-chat to try and figure this out.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Wait, why are you taking things apart again?
Well, I spent part of the day taking the interior apart again. TK noticed (the hard way) that the passenger's seat does not lock on it's tracks. This was a bit of a safety concern so I pulled the seat out to see what was going on underneath. The slide release is a bent shaft with a knob on the end. To release the slide, you rotate the knob downward toward the floor. It looked like someone in the past pulled up on the entire shaft -- hard enough to bend the entire locking mechanism. Also, it the shaft was binding in the holes so it wouldn't rotate. It took some WD40, some re-alignment and coaxing with a hammer, but now the slide locks as it should.
I found something interesting underneath the seat. Each one of these cars is stamped with a chassis number and something called an assembly number. My car is assembly number 451a ('a' for US spec and 451 for number built in 1978). On various parts of the car, this number can be found written or stamped. Since different parts of these cars are made in different parts of the factory, they marked the assemblies with the assembly number so they would all make it back onto the right car. On the bottom of the seat foam, it is written "AS 451 USA". Good to know these are the original seats!
Since I passenger's seat was out, I decided to pull the driver's seat as well. I wanted to do more cleaning, especially in the center console area. The job was much easier with the seats out. It was also a good time to track down the last remaining electric gremlin -- the back up lights. When I unscrewed the panel with the console switches, I immediately saw the problem. For some strange reason, the wires for the back up switch were disconnected. I keep finding electric stuff unplugged or disabled. Why would someone do such a thing? I hooked the wires back up and the lights now work.
Having the console partially disassembled also allowed me to have a look at the parking brake handle. Since I got new cables, I was hoping to get the brake working again. However, the handle does not seem to stay up. I can hear the mechanism click as I pull the handle, but the ratchet does not hold the handle. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to live with this for a while. I was not able to get enough access to really get at the handle. To remove the switch panel, I would need to remove all the switch wiring as well as disconnect all the heater control cables. I already had to disconnect the choke cable to swing the panel out of the way and I wasn't prepared for full disassembly. It feels like the ratchet mechanism is stripped out so I'll probably need to find a new parking brake handle. Seems like a job for another day.
Moving right along, I put the console back together. Before I put the gated shift plate back on, I wanted to tend to one small detail. This car has reverse in the upper left and there is a small tab on the underside of the gate to prevent accidentally hitting reverse. Normally, you push the shifter knob down to slip past the tab. The tab was worn and there was nothing preventing a reverse shift. I fired up the welder and built up the tab and a bit of grinding made it the right shape.
I put the shift gate back on and the newly shaped reverse lockout tab works perfectly.
The last for today after putting the interior back together was the addition of a one-way check valve into the return line on the cooling system. On these older carb cars, there are two hoses on the coolant expansion tank. One is on the bottom of the tank and supplies additional coolant as needed to the engine. The other line goes to the top of the tank. No one knows for absolute certainty, but various people in the 308 community suspect that this line is the cause for air getting into the cooling system. It was suggested that a check valve installed in this smaller return line would allow coolant to flow back into the tank, but would not allow air to get sucked back into the engine. I have been noticing that the cooling system is indeed pulling air from somewhere. Hopefully this will solve the problem.
I found something interesting underneath the seat. Each one of these cars is stamped with a chassis number and something called an assembly number. My car is assembly number 451a ('a' for US spec and 451 for number built in 1978). On various parts of the car, this number can be found written or stamped. Since different parts of these cars are made in different parts of the factory, they marked the assemblies with the assembly number so they would all make it back onto the right car. On the bottom of the seat foam, it is written "AS 451 USA". Good to know these are the original seats!
Since I passenger's seat was out, I decided to pull the driver's seat as well. I wanted to do more cleaning, especially in the center console area. The job was much easier with the seats out. It was also a good time to track down the last remaining electric gremlin -- the back up lights. When I unscrewed the panel with the console switches, I immediately saw the problem. For some strange reason, the wires for the back up switch were disconnected. I keep finding electric stuff unplugged or disabled. Why would someone do such a thing? I hooked the wires back up and the lights now work.
Having the console partially disassembled also allowed me to have a look at the parking brake handle. Since I got new cables, I was hoping to get the brake working again. However, the handle does not seem to stay up. I can hear the mechanism click as I pull the handle, but the ratchet does not hold the handle. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to live with this for a while. I was not able to get enough access to really get at the handle. To remove the switch panel, I would need to remove all the switch wiring as well as disconnect all the heater control cables. I already had to disconnect the choke cable to swing the panel out of the way and I wasn't prepared for full disassembly. It feels like the ratchet mechanism is stripped out so I'll probably need to find a new parking brake handle. Seems like a job for another day.
Moving right along, I put the console back together. Before I put the gated shift plate back on, I wanted to tend to one small detail. This car has reverse in the upper left and there is a small tab on the underside of the gate to prevent accidentally hitting reverse. Normally, you push the shifter knob down to slip past the tab. The tab was worn and there was nothing preventing a reverse shift. I fired up the welder and built up the tab and a bit of grinding made it the right shape.
I put the shift gate back on and the newly shaped reverse lockout tab works perfectly.
The last for today after putting the interior back together was the addition of a one-way check valve into the return line on the cooling system. On these older carb cars, there are two hoses on the coolant expansion tank. One is on the bottom of the tank and supplies additional coolant as needed to the engine. The other line goes to the top of the tank. No one knows for absolute certainty, but various people in the 308 community suspect that this line is the cause for air getting into the cooling system. It was suggested that a check valve installed in this smaller return line would allow coolant to flow back into the tank, but would not allow air to get sucked back into the engine. I have been noticing that the cooling system is indeed pulling air from somewhere. Hopefully this will solve the problem.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Lots of updates
Even though I've not had a chance to post, I have been making steady progress on the car. The first thing was to clean up the license plate light lenses and get new bulbs. The lenses are held into the housings with rivets, and I had to remove them (which basically destroyed them). I used pop rivets to put them back together. Not original, but who's going to care?
Next was to to try out the Colortune system. I pulled out one of the plugs on the rear bank and as you can see, it's pretty dark indicating running rich.
I put in the glass-top Colortune plug and started the engine. It's amazing to be able to look into the plug tunnel and see the actual ignition flame. Please excuse the bad photos as I wasn't able to hold the camera still. It seems I was pretty close in my initial tuning as there is a nice bluish flame indicating a correct mixture.
As an experiment, I adjusted the mixture to see what would happen. As I made the mixture more rich, I could see the flame go from blue to orange. I then adjusted the mixture back down to my starting point at blue. As another experiment, I slowly revved the engine, and it really was amazing to see the color change through the RPMs. In the end, I basically left the mixture where it was when I started. I think it's still a little rich, but the engine seems to run well that way. I think the plugs are so dark because all I've really done so far is idle the engine. When I'm able to drive the car, I'll plug the plugs to re-assess.
Next were the mirrors. The car originally had a single Vitaloni Californian mirror on the driver's side. At some point, the previous owner installed Vitaloni Baby Turbos on both sides. These are smaller more "euro" looking mirrors, but I didn't like them. I decided to return to the Californians for both sides. I think they look a lot better on the car than the Baby Turbos.
I'm really close to being done on the interior. All the remaining pieces have been recovered and installed, and I also installed the door thresholds. It's looking really sharp now. I still need to do more cleaning inside and re-install some of the carpet. I also need to have a look a the underside of the passenger's seat as the sliding mechanism doesn't latch correctly.
Next in line is to fix the rear license plate attachment points so I can reattach the plate. I also need to re-attach the carpet in the "trunk" (if you can call it that). After that's done, I'm going to clean the car, touch up some chips and buff out the paint.
The weather seems to finally be getting nicer. I think tomorrow I'm going to call my insurance company and have the car removed from "lay up" status to full coverage. My maiden voyage is approaching fast!
Next was to to try out the Colortune system. I pulled out one of the plugs on the rear bank and as you can see, it's pretty dark indicating running rich.
I put in the glass-top Colortune plug and started the engine. It's amazing to be able to look into the plug tunnel and see the actual ignition flame. Please excuse the bad photos as I wasn't able to hold the camera still. It seems I was pretty close in my initial tuning as there is a nice bluish flame indicating a correct mixture.
As an experiment, I adjusted the mixture to see what would happen. As I made the mixture more rich, I could see the flame go from blue to orange. I then adjusted the mixture back down to my starting point at blue. As another experiment, I slowly revved the engine, and it really was amazing to see the color change through the RPMs. In the end, I basically left the mixture where it was when I started. I think it's still a little rich, but the engine seems to run well that way. I think the plugs are so dark because all I've really done so far is idle the engine. When I'm able to drive the car, I'll plug the plugs to re-assess.
Next were the mirrors. The car originally had a single Vitaloni Californian mirror on the driver's side. At some point, the previous owner installed Vitaloni Baby Turbos on both sides. These are smaller more "euro" looking mirrors, but I didn't like them. I decided to return to the Californians for both sides. I think they look a lot better on the car than the Baby Turbos.
I'm really close to being done on the interior. All the remaining pieces have been recovered and installed, and I also installed the door thresholds. It's looking really sharp now. I still need to do more cleaning inside and re-install some of the carpet. I also need to have a look a the underside of the passenger's seat as the sliding mechanism doesn't latch correctly.
Next in line is to fix the rear license plate attachment points so I can reattach the plate. I also need to re-attach the carpet in the "trunk" (if you can call it that). After that's done, I'm going to clean the car, touch up some chips and buff out the paint.
The weather seems to finally be getting nicer. I think tomorrow I'm going to call my insurance company and have the car removed from "lay up" status to full coverage. My maiden voyage is approaching fast!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Cables
After considering all the options for fixing my parking brake cable, I decided to just bite the bullet and buy a new cable set. This came with the two side cables, turnbuckle coupler and right and left handed locking nuts. Installation was pretty straightforward and I think the parking brake is adjusted as well as it can be.
While the car was up the air, I realized I had not changed out the gear oil in the transaxle. I had 5 quarts of Redline gear oil that I bought months ago and it was time to use it. I removed the drain plug and the oil that came out was reasonably clean. It must have been changed not too long before the car was parked. The drain plug had a magnet on it to catch any metal particles from inside the transmission. Luckily, my drain plug was pretty clean. The magnet had a little sludge around it, but no metal shavings.
As the oil was draining, I went to loosen the filler bolt. Hmmm...22mm. Hmmm...I don't have a 22mm box wrench and there isn't enough room for a 22mm socket and ratchet handle. Guess I'll be stopping by the store to pick up some more tools.
While the car was up the air, I realized I had not changed out the gear oil in the transaxle. I had 5 quarts of Redline gear oil that I bought months ago and it was time to use it. I removed the drain plug and the oil that came out was reasonably clean. It must have been changed not too long before the car was parked. The drain plug had a magnet on it to catch any metal particles from inside the transmission. Luckily, my drain plug was pretty clean. The magnet had a little sludge around it, but no metal shavings.
As the oil was draining, I went to loosen the filler bolt. Hmmm...22mm. Hmmm...I don't have a 22mm box wrench and there isn't enough room for a 22mm socket and ratchet handle. Guess I'll be stopping by the store to pick up some more tools.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Color me Rosso Corsa
Even though I tuned my carbs a few weeks back, I've known that there's more fine tuning to be done. It seems to be running a little rich still, as evidenced by the stinky exhaust smell. To properly set the air/fuel mixture, one really needs to use an exhaust gas analyzer. However, I can't justify spending the $500+ for one, so I opted for the next best thing. It's called the Colortune.
The system is based on the premise that different air/fuel ratios will produce different flame colors. A lean a/f will have a white flame, a rich mixture has an orange flame and the "optimal" stoichiometric ratio of 14.7:1 is a blue flame. The Colortune has a special spark plug with a glass top so you can see the color of the flame. You basically adjust the a/f mixture until the flame is the right color. Sound easy? I'll find out just how well it works soon.
The system is based on the premise that different air/fuel ratios will produce different flame colors. A lean a/f will have a white flame, a rich mixture has an orange flame and the "optimal" stoichiometric ratio of 14.7:1 is a blue flame. The Colortune has a special spark plug with a glass top so you can see the color of the flame. You basically adjust the a/f mixture until the flame is the right color. Sound easy? I'll find out just how well it works soon.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
While I'm in there...
Since the back of the car is up on jack stands again, now was a good time to find a wire I've been looking for. When I put the engine cover back on, I couldn't find the wire connector for the license plate light. The wire is there on the engine cover side, but I could not find the other end. I figured it was there somewhere, and I needed to remove the passenger side inner wheel liner. After digging around for a while, I found the wire dangling from the top of the wheel well. I fished it back up through a slot and connected it to the engine cover connector. I flipped on the lights and now the license plate lights work...mostly.
There are two license plate lights. One didn't work at all and the other was very dim. I took a closer look and the lenses were really dirty. I removed both light housings had a closer look. Sure enough, one bulb is burnt out. The only way to really clean the inside of the lenses is to grind off these little rivets and take the housings apart.
On another note, I'm still trying to track down a way to fix my parking brake cable problem. I've seen a few places that sell these cables for almost $100 -- EACH! Ouch, let go of my arm!
There are two license plate lights. One didn't work at all and the other was very dim. I took a closer look and the lenses were really dirty. I removed both light housings had a closer look. Sure enough, one bulb is burnt out. The only way to really clean the inside of the lenses is to grind off these little rivets and take the housings apart.
On another note, I'm still trying to track down a way to fix my parking brake cable problem. I've seen a few places that sell these cables for almost $100 -- EACH! Ouch, let go of my arm!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
I hate broken stuff
When I was putting the wheels back on, I noticed that there was something wrong with the parking brake cable. One side had somehow popped out of a keeper, which is why the brake did not work. I had briefly futzed with this, but decided to fix it later. Today was later, and I again raised the rear of the car on stands to get to the brake mechanism. First I tried to loosen the adjuster to add slack to the cable. This didn't work because the adjuster was locked up tight. There were only two bolts holding the pivot to the frame, so I decided to just pull the whole thing off so I can work on it on the bench.
This thing sure was stuck. I sprayed it with PB Blaster and waited. Still wouldn't budge. I heated it with a torch. Still no dice. Eventually, the threaded end of the adjuster broke off and that's all she wrote. Oh well, more to fix.
Now that I got the "break something all the time" out of the way, I focused on recovering the remainder of the interior pieces. There were only four more pieces, and I was able to get them all done. The black pieces fit right behind the rear door jamb and the white pieces go on the inside of the B pillars.
This thing sure was stuck. I sprayed it with PB Blaster and waited. Still wouldn't budge. I heated it with a torch. Still no dice. Eventually, the threaded end of the adjuster broke off and that's all she wrote. Oh well, more to fix.
Now that I got the "break something all the time" out of the way, I focused on recovering the remainder of the interior pieces. There were only four more pieces, and I was able to get them all done. The black pieces fit right behind the rear door jamb and the white pieces go on the inside of the B pillars.
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