Monkey-motions and other trouble-stirring devices

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

Tony Lupton writes:
"Not sure how relevant this is, but in 116 (and derivative) RHD cars, the
clutch MC is mounted directly on the firewall in front of the driver, and a
large rod linkage is used to transfer the brake pedal movement to the vacumn
booster/brake MC assembly mounted on the firewall in front of the passenger.
Any reason why this couldn't be done in a 105?"

Perhaps, perhaps not. Several generations of Alfas have each added a bit more
elbow-room for the hapless tinkerers to play with. Those who have installed
V-6 engines in 105/115 cars or, God forbid, tried to do so in a Giulietta can
attest to this. There are many indications that the more bulky engines were
anticipated in the 116 layout, and whether they were or were not there is
certainly more room for the sort of adaptive linkage Tony mentions. Whether it
could or could not have been done on the 105/115 family, Alfa's engineers
decided to bless the RHD cars by leaving the pedals where some people (Graham?
Les? Can you agree on this?) probably feel God meant them to be. In the early
days of pendant pedals there were many who felt that the ergonomics of proper
bottom-hinged pedals were vastly superior for the human foot. It can also be
argued that a cooling bath of road spray is a more hospitable environment for
hydraulics than the Alfetta's "with its brake master cyl crudely placed
directly above the hot exh manifold for a fine cooking of the seals and
fluid," as Graham says.

As an occasional historian and sometime critic I will leave the
wottheyshouldadone and wottheycouldadone questions to others, and stay in the
relatively safer speculations on what they did, when, and why, which are fun
enough.

John

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