Professional and sophisticated quality presentation, better than 99% of the car repair/restoration series that are being broadcast. No hyperbole just the essentials. Someone should get you into a series and give you a broader reach.
There is something mesmerising and relaxing about watching Jethro's videos. The metallic sounds of the tools and the components, seeing how everything is designed and well made. Watching someone who knows what they're doing, and has the tools and equipment necessary to do a good job. A wonderful video - thank you.
I really appreciate the lack of background music in your videos: it makes them kind of "intimate" and very relaxing to watch. By the way, fully agree with you on the pointlessness of adding electric fuel pumps to cars that didn't have them originally.
I agree with that 100%, in view of originality. But also in terms of longevity - a car that has sat a long time, as classics tend to, benefits from longer cranking before it starts, giving the oil pump a chance to lubricate things while the float chambers fill up with fuel. By the time the engine catches, oil pressure is there and internal components are lubricated.
@@MLC... You can achieve the same pre-start oil pressure build with an electric pump: just remove the pump fuse ! Been doing it for decades on my two classics come spring time outing.
Yes, but that is extra work in the starting procedure. My classics get driven once a month, if they are lucky, so building oil pressure is always a good idea before starting. But as Jethro says in the video, these mechanical pumps are pretty reliable. I have been driving classis Alfas for 31 years now, of which about 17 years was daily driving. I have only had 1 mechanical pump failure in al that time.
Whoever this car belongs to couldn't have asked for a more knowledgeable and capable person to provide TLC for their Alpha. Kudos for your (continued) commitment to vlogging it!
Out of all the car build content out there you and Soup classic motoring have the best film making. I know you guys must spend soo much time editing, but it’s worth it. I’m sure we all appreciate it. Super informative and your depth knowledge is incredible. I’m glad you have such a cool space as well, keeps the motivation alive. Keep up the great work!
This is a well thought out video. Attention to detail. I love hearing you explain as you go without music distraction. Looking forward to the next instalment.
Incredibly therapeutic viewing, with the birds chirping in the background. Thanks as always for a great video, looking forward to seeing things develop in 2022.
I live in Brackenfell, Cape Town, and in the 90's a friend had a saying, the best 2nd hand car you can buy is a brand new Alfa! I tended to agree with him, but I think there weren't many mechanics who could work on them. When the Uno's came out I vowed never to buy one, but when my daughter needed a car, you guessed it, I bought a 2nd hand Uno Pacer 1400! It had a few problems, like the carb the guys took about 5 attempts to fix, the rear rubber shock mounts tore out, the welsh plugs started leaking, etc, but after everything was sorted my opinion of Italian cars had changed a lot. My daughter fell in love with her first car, and it really had character. I loved it when the engine fan came on and the whole car vibrated! Unfortunately it was T boned by an Isuzu bakkie and written off by the insurance. We were all quite sad to see the Uno go. The spark leads were from Lancia! Thank you for your relaxing videos.
That was very satisfying. Your notion of the electric fuel pump being inappropriate for rather intangible reasons is the sort of thing people expect from me, so well done and keep it up! It may not be easy to define what makes a modification proper but the concept is still valid.
It’s not something that’s easy to put words, but cars have a feel, and some things are not appropriate for them. And electric pumps in an Alfa doesn’t fit.
Nothing worse in a classic than to find none standard parts, or poor, unqualified, repairs. So happy to see this one being lovingly restored, if only partially.
Yes a classic with half-measure repairs is often worse than one that's just worn out. Hopefully this car will drive like it should once it's back on the road.
The rubber mount is also a kind of thermal insulation so that the carbs and fuel is not warming up too much. I always enjoy your videos. One of the best out there 👍
It's a pleasure to see such quiet, competent work on a classic Alfa! It does, however belie the exhilaration of driving one with the sky as your roof and the wind in your hair!
Jethro, I'm astounded at your handling of these engines. You appear too young in years to have acquired such in depth knowledge of any engine never mind the 105 series. I could watch you doing this stuff all day. Excellent video as always.
I suspect that Jethro has a guru lurking in the background somewhere. How would he know about using a power steering pump to prelube the 105 engine? That's an old-timers trick.
So happy to see oldschool repairs with Cutting-edge knowledge applied; "-Well this rubber bushing don't cut it, let's lathe a brass one..." Superinspiring, good quality Vid and truckloads of 'Need-to-know-stuff' 👍 Spitze, as they say in Germany 🏆
Jethro, you continue to kill it on this build series. I could definitely watch you work for hours. Your friend will appreciate all the time and effort you put into this restoration.
By the way, having worked in the Italian automobile industry, I can tell you that RHD versions do tend to be a last-minute job, as for Alfa Romeo the market of reference was always the Italian one, and back then even more so. Of course, with modern engineering tools an resources, RHD Alfas are just as good as LHD ones, but back in the 60s and 70s there was a lot of corner-cutting regarding RHD-specific hardware!
Yes that clutch mechanism is one of those instances. It actually works very very well and has a great pedal feel when it’s new, but it wears fast and then it’s terrible.
Man you should see the dogs breakfast of linkages on Moto Guzzi Eldorados to convert from Left brake/Right shift to visa versa! It's a nightmare! #soitalian!
... even the floor pan is bigger on the left .. Alfa did well considering the small RHD market compared to the LHD market .. especially Australia's small market and strict Australian Design Rules .. luxury taxes on cigarette lighters and Air Con ..
Fantastic job. Your explanation and your video footage are awesome. And I appreciate so much the advanced engineering of Alfa DOHC '60 engine, one of the best ever built engines in the world. Thank you for your job.
Always nice to see a job done before I tackle my own overdue 105 rubber carb mount replacement. Thanks. And having the engine and gearbox out sure facilitates a whole host of jobs to be done more easily.
Brilliant as always!Im restoring(trying to at least!) my 1750 Roundtail Spider and these videos are so clear and informative and in such a calm manner,really helpful.Thx!
Great presentation as always, and excellent job. Seeing that release bearing rise as you tightened those nuts was a moment of pleasure. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Beautiful to watch as always. I can’t wait to someday have my own Alfa to play with like this. You are a credit to the community, and if you ever feel dispirited, let us know, we will prop you up!
Always very good! One of the channels that made me do it too! I do not have your level of professionalism yet... But I inspired myself on your videos! Keep it going!
The Giulia TI Super actually had dual electric fuel pumps from factory. But of course that was a special homologation version built for race use. I had a very odd problem on my 105 fuel pump where either the hole or the pushrod had become ever so slightly oval and kept seizing up when it rotated. I would mount it and everything looked and worked ok. Then it would stop working again. Took me a while to figure out but in the end I opted for an electric pump. Thank you for your very informative, relaxing and beautiful videos!
Thank you! Yes the Ti Super is a special car. I've only ever seen one, and that was at Retromobile in Paris in 2016. I think in your case an electric pump does make sense. Thanks for watching!
Righteous save! Steering boxes packed with grease, just like every air-cooled VW. Seriously fantastic repair. Was it cost effective, time saving, "correct"? Look at the outcome! It's becoming increasingly more common amongst the "professional" repair services to turn business away or state the repair isn't possible, because the repair will be challenging or break the hourly book rate. This will become increasingly problematic as more and more people endeavour to break themselves from their dependency of the off shore solutions. It will be the grassroots, pro/hobbyist that will save the classic car hobby.
My old RHD Lancia Thema had a weird crossbar setup for the brakes rather than mounting the master cylinder on the other side. Must be an Italian thing. Great to see your attention to detail on this job.
Loved this vid, didnt think the cinematography could get much better but here we are its amazing. Its really cool to see how Alfa solved certain problems in the day and how they designed their parts. I havent ever worked onan alfa but they do look fun to work on and simple enough. Cheers Jethro hope youre well :)
Lovely stuff, as always. I have one of those inlet manifolds in a box in the garage, must check the rubber mount types now with that but if extra knowledge from your video
Nice video! It reminded me of the Alfa Junior I had in the late 70s. Did a full engine rebuild ( in my bedroom!) Including new cylinder liners & pistons. Very light engine, with outstanding design features, like the cam shaft sprockets ajustabilities. Can't wait to see your video on refitting. 👍
Excellent content Jethro as always albeit I was a bit nervous with the vertical gearbox mounting technique however as always you made it look relatively effortless 👍🤘
Great to have you back Jethro. Quick question, you mentioned that the quality of modern rubber isn't as good as back in the day? Could you (or someone) explain to me why that is? Thank you in advance.
I couldn't tell you exactly what's changed in the manufacturing process, but rubber parts do not last as long as they used to. I have some original rubber parts from the mid 60s that are still in great condition, and the remade parts that you can buy new are often falling apart in a couple of years.
@@JethroBronner FYI Pirelli used to make a lot of the rubber parts for Alfa back in the day (including the carb isolators) and they used the best quality rubber available which is why they tended to last so long. Many modern repro parts are poorly made and just use whatever rubber is cheapest. I went through this when restoring my own 105 and with things like the door seals where I couldn't get the aftermarket seals to work properly, unlike the genuine Alfa NOS seals I bought which worked perfectly.
@@JethroBronner I am also concerned about this. I must replace my 1982 Alfetta GTV carb rubbers now, the original ones are finally cracked at 40 years old. So are there different brands available these days? Should one look for a specific type of buy from a specific supplier? I doubt I will find a set here in SA.
Your videos are really enjoyable, I wouldn't complain if you made more! Another reason not to like electric pumps on cars equipped with the Weber DCOE is that they often provide way too much pressure, which then has to be dialled back with a cumbersome and ugly regulator to avoid flooding the float chambers. DCOEs only need about 2 or 3 psi in my experience, and the standard mechanical pump does not overload them.
Yes that's very true. These 105s did run a pressure regulator from the factory as well. But I find that the mechanical pumps put out a much more usable pressure than the electric ones.
I run a 3 psi electric pump by my fuel tank and that feeds my mechanical pump on my triple 40 DCOE 240z. No regulator needed and perfect for filling bowls without a ton of cranking as the car sits for long periods of time between use.
Alfa Romeo Lover and has a Seiko Turtle pepsi on a nato strap what more do you ask for ? Maybe weekly videos hahah just kidding. Love your effort and grind for these vintage cars
More great content. Your videos are always so relaxing. However, the angle grinder looked like it was itching to take a big chunk from your forearm. That probably wouldn't have made the final edit though. :)
Jethro you could probably do with a dial gauge and magnetic base, that would make the clutch adjustment measurement a breeze. Seeing you have a lathe you probably already have one.
@@JethroBronner in particular yes, the front of the cylinder head, the rear main seal, and the back of the valve cover gasket. Watching your videos, especially the technical ones, has helped me work up the courage to dive into working on the car. I've done lots of wrenching on lots of Japanese cars but this Spider is the first Italian car in the family in decades. It was bought, running and driving well, for $500 by my brother 5 years ago and he handed it on to me a year ago. It turned me into an Alfa and Italian car enthusiast single handedly.
Gosh, what a great installment! I enjoy all of your stuff, but it seems I particularly like it when you're turning the wrenches. I'm curious about your comment on the quality of rubber parts; 60's production versus contemporary. Maybe it's the composition of ingredients that were used compared to today. You'd think with advances in chemistry, today's stuff would be better.
I'm not sure what changed, but Pirelli used to make many of the rubber components for Alfa, and they were really high quality. It's not uncommon to find new old stock rubber from the 60s that's still in excellent condition, whereas I've had new rubber come apart in the packaging after a year or two.
Great to see your attention to details on this job. I own a 1966 LHD duetto 1600 producing a series of strange noises after firing up ... but after a few mile's mild revving in third running surprisingly fine. I wonder if you could give it a thorough overhaul to make it as perfect as yours. Modern, electronically spoilt cars from the late sixties onwards don't have this kind of character so well worth preserving, hence experience and every effort put in to keep them 105s in perfect running condition is priceless. Mechanical engineering on this level will outlive digital EV crap by ages.
19:00 All those years working on my (and other people's) Alfa, I didn't know about that pressure plate adjustment! Of course, it was only my '66 Sprint that had the cable clutch... Have you ever come across one with a fully rod/lever actuated clutch, no cable? I saw only one ever.
Outstanding content! Anxiously waiting for the next part. By the way! I can see you have dismantled the CD200. When are we going to see a series on that?
Thank you for another fantastic video. I learned a lot regarding sloppiness in linkage. I hate to bother you with this question; it seems as if I should know this BUT-I'd love to hear you address when to use a gasket sealer on a gasket and when would you install them dry. I am thinking of the mechanical fuel pump installation-that was a dry install but the intake manifold did use gasket sealer. I don't want to be "one of those guys" who makes silly rookie mistakes . Also, great tip on installing the tranny with the engine nose pointed down. It never occured to me.
From the factory they didn’t use any gasket sealer. I tend to use it where there is lots of oil moving passed, or where’s there’s oil under pressure, or coolant under pressure, or where the surface has pitting. I’ve found that the fuel pump isn’t a weak spot for leaking, given it just has a trickle of oil through it.
“Preload on the release bearing surface”. Words you’ll never hear in 100 years when some guy on WorldTube is showing you how to work on a classic 2080 Amazon Hydrogen Hybrid with the molten salt reactor package.
Lovely work and I can appreciate the challenges you face restoring these cars living where you are. I used to have a 1950’s Merc in South Australia and I had to overcome similar issues with parts availability and general re-engineering to solve problems. Loved every minute of it though! By the way, I didn’t catch if the thrust bearing was changed or not?
Well done! Just noted your channel and I'll be back. BTW.....I could not figure out what automatic timepiece you are wearing; looked really nice. Thanks!
Always nice to watch your videos, but this time I wonder why it is that we mechanics rarely use the correct torque settings when bolting stuff onto our engines like the inlet manifold etc. Are we too lazy or confident in our torque sense of our own hands? Also, why use gasket setting compound on inlet manifold and not on the fuel pump gaskets? Anyway, love your videos, keep up the good work!
I have not done it yet. My 64 Sprint GT has a damaged cross-member, and I will have to repair that some day. It seems like an enormous amount of work, so I'm not really looking forward to it.
I've watched a number of your videos and enjoy them. I do have a question about what you did with the Carb support arm. I'm not sure how much stress is placed on this arm but for the sake of it. why wouldn't you place a gusset across the welded area for the hell of it? Then there's no chance of it breaking at the welds. Very easily done and then there's no worry of issues in the future.
The pins you drive out at 12:54 you drive out upwards and remove upwards. But you reinstall them from beneath at 14:28. If those pins are tapered (I do not know if they are) they might fall out?
Fortunately they are spring steel split pins. Due to the restricted access they can only be installed, or removed from the bottom, so they’re not tapered.
