Alfa Days - Good and Bad

[Janice & Steve Ashby <sjash@domain.elided>]

First the good.

I drove up to Centerline today and picked up a couple of steel rims for my
GTV, cleaned 'em up and painted them, and took them along with two I had
already to get 4 Dunlop D60 A2 195/65R14's.  Now I can get rid of the Tiger
Paws I inherited with the car and install these along with my new spring
set - things will get more fun soon!

Then the bad.

I finally got the Spider back together yesterday after a transmission swap.
 It hasn't had fourth gear since I bought it (16 mos.) and work like this
in a Colorado winter is hit and miss - it took about six weeks to get
enough uncommited good weather time to do the swap.  The tranny I got from
Heinz Mihm seems to be working well.  After I put it in yesterday, I
decided the snow flurries had subsided enough to take it for a drive to
test it out.  Reverse out of the driveway - that's good.  First, second,
third - shifts nice.  Stop sign.  First, second, third, and then the engine
just quits.  Darn, must be a loose connection.  I did have all the wiring
off to pull the engine, something must have come loose.  Wiggled
everything.  Crank, crank, crank.  Nothing.  Well , it's only six blocks
back home.  I'll get my wife to push me (she can use the truck).  

Get it home.  Pull the distributor.  Check all the voltages.  Igniton looks
fine.  Well, I'll work on it tomorrow.  As I'm cleaning up, what do I find?

A broken fuel injection belt.

I figure a loose nut or washer from the engine/tranmission work must have
fallen it there.  Well, I'm going to Centerline anyway, put it on the list.

Today, I'm putting the injection belt in.  Pull the fan belt.  Snake the
ignition belt into the crank pulley.  Rotate the engine to line up the
injection mark.  Now rotate the injection pulley - what?  It's stuck.  That
explains two things.  Why the belt broke, number 1.  And where that 3 inch
8mm bolt that holds the bell housing to the engine ended up!!

Everything's all better now.  Spider is running and happy again.  

Steve Ashby
Denver, CO

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