Re: [alfa] Universal-jointed steering boxes, and matched or mismatched timing covers

["Gwynne W. Spencer" <gwynnes1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

There were several (maybe lots) of ways to meet the regulations (limit 
steering column penetration and position after impact). One  of them was 
the deeply dished steering wheel. The universal joints in the column did 
not limit penetration in and of there own properties, it was simply a 
convenient way to implement other solutions that did, such as the use of 
sliding coupling between the lower and upper steering column shafts.

Basically the regulations did not prescribe a method, ("U" joints, for 
instance) they described results and the manufacturers were left to design 
systems that gave those results.

Gwynne Spencer


At 11:12 PM 6/1/2004 -0400, you wrote:

>Diverse opinions have been posted about the universal-jointed steering 
>columns and when (and why) they first appeared, linking them to 1974 
>models, USA safety regulations, phasing-in of Alfetta parts, and whatnot. 
>All I can add is that the Sprint Speciale and Sprint Zagato both had 
>U-jointed columns from their inception in 1958 and 1959 respectively, and 
>that all versions of the 102 2000 and 106 2600 had U-jointed columns from 
>1958 on, albeit with different shafts and joints on the Berlinas than on 
>the Sprints and Spiders. USA safety regulation mandates cannot account for 
>this. A more plausible argument might be that jointed columns may have 
>been considered the ideal, "the right way to do it", in the Portello 
>design office at the time, and that the joints had been omitted from the 
>first Giulietta Berlinas as an economy simplification when Alfa took the 
>plunge into the mass market with a comparative economy car. But that is 
>idle speculation; I don't claim to know this.
>
>On the timing cover question, parts which depend on a critical matched fit 
>are normally supplied in matched sets. A standard example is the cylinder 
>head, listed with cam-caps as an assembly "Testa dei cilindri, con 
>capelli", with the cam caps not listed separately. Cylinder blocks are 
>listed with main bearing caps, but the main caps were available 
>separately. The timing covers were listed by themselves. If you ordered a 
>block, head, and timing cover the stock picker would have pulled a block 
>with main caps from one rack or bin, a head with cam caps from another, 
>and a timing cover from a third. I do not find "block with timing cover" 
>listed as a matched set. That seems to me like a slam-dunk Q.E.D.
>
>Cheers
>
>John H.
>--
>to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
>or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided