Re: cracked bellhousing on 74 GTV

["Higa, Randall T. - TPRTH" <RaHiga@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I also have a 74 GTV that had the original bellhousing crack twice.  It was
welded up the first time but cracked within a year or so.  I time trial the
car with ARO Southern California Chapter and found that others have had the
same problem.  My mechanic has explained to me that the starter is not
well-supported and that, with all of the high-rpm time trial miles (stock
motor), the vibration causes the bellhousing the crack near the starter.
However, it is apparently also a common problem for street-driven cars.  One
of the fixes is to use a later model starter that is lighter that would put
less stress on the stock 74 bellhousing.  I understand that this has been
successful on at least one of the higher performance GTVs in the club.  The
route that I chose (recommended by my mechanic), which I suppose is the most
"conservative," is to install a bellhousing and starter from a 79 or later
115 car which has a better support for the starter.  The pinion gear and a
few other misc. items also need to be replace to make the swap.  This also
had the advantage of having a 1.1 HP starter instead of the 0.7 HP starter
motor. Certainly, it was not the cheapest route, but it is perhaps the most
effective.

Randall Higa, Alfa Romeo Owners of Southern California
74 GTV (Le Mans Blue)
79 Spider (will be Concours Italiano -- "LALIEN" plates)

------------------------------