FrankenSpider Rolls On and a Question

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@domain.elided>]

Been busy with work lately so I haven't really racked up the mileage too
much, but the Spider is now passing 1000 miles since it was put on the
road and is running very well indeed. The engine's just about done with
break-in and pulls strong in top gear to over 5000 rpm, somewhere in the
105-115 neighborhood. Very pleasing. 

The Alfa Ricambi replica-Ansa-dual tip tailpipe does not cease to bang
about on this car though, and with only two years of California weather on
it is rusting fast. I'm disappointed in it: the fit isn't great, the look
isn't great, and the banging against things is irritating. So I just
ordered an OEM original tailpipe from Centerline. 

Aside from still having a bit of a fluffy idle on a hot restart (no, I
haven't had time yet to test and try all the suggestions that people have
made, but I will this weekend), the Bosch EFI is working just great. I'm
glad I did the conversion. I'll nail this fluffy idle situation soon - it
only irritates for about a mile or so, then the idle is perfect again, so
it must be something relatively simple. I've ruled out the oxy sensor as
even if I hooked up the heater wires, it would take a minute or three for
the sensor to be properly warmed and this problem is there instantly. It
must be the start injector or its associated thermotime sensor, or
something like that. 

The brake booster check valve was hanging up now and then, causing me to
have no boost and making brake performance a little dicey. Easy fix with a
cheap valve, done. 

So on to my questions (yup, there are two):

- - The gearbox performance on this one is disappointing. Synchros on 2nd
and 3rd are a bit slow but more importantly the selector doesn't feel as
good as it ought to and it pops out of reverse very easily. I just want to
confirm - between the '79 and the '82 gearbox, the transmission itself is
identical except for the speedo drive gearing and the bell housing, right?

- - I know this question has gone around recently but I thought I'd ask it
again. Since I've been informed now that Dave of Beautiful Cars has
semi-retired to the Central Valley, I've lost the bodyshop that I was
going to have do the paintwork on the car. The paint is dead, very dead:
the detailers cannot do anything with it. So I have to find a good shop
that won't be too expensive and will do a decent job of repairing a couple
of small dents and a good paint job. Which were the recommended shops to
talk with in the SF Bay/Peninsula area?

grazie,
Godfrey

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