First run through the Deep Dark Forest: 1974 Spider

[Scott Fisher <sefisher@domain.elided>]

Well, the Universe finally aligned for me this weekend.  I was up at
Digester/ARA member Bill Bergman's place on Saturday, buying some Alfa
gear from him; we swapped stories, he showed me some of his great
collection of Alfa paraphernalia (brochures, models, posters, pins --
Bill, you need a stained-glass window with the cross & serpent in it!)
and we had a great time.

On the way home, I decided to take "the back way" from San Carlos -- not
all the way up to Skyline (locals know what I mean), but Canada Road to
Portola Road to Arastradero to some little roads whose names I've
forgotten, in the back end of Los Altos Hills, and finally to Foothill
Expressway and home to the eastern edge of Sunnyvale.  

Parts of this run have formed the basis for a number of tours I've given
with other car clubs in the past (and at least once with Digest
members), often with one or more of my daughters in the car with me.  My
youngest, Bronwen (now 8), started calling this part of the world "the
Deep Dark Forest" when she was 5 or 6.  The name is certainly
appropriate: there are places where the trees overhang the roadway so
close that it's perpetual green twilight there, no matter what the day
is like.  Don't like the scenery?  Keep driving, it'll be completely
different in five minutes.  Of course, nobody I've ever taken here
doesn't like the scenery.

Those roads will find out what there is to find about pretty much any
car.  What they found out about my '74 Spider is that power -- at pretty
much any point in the band -- isn't what this car needs first.  

What it needs first is to have all current fluids replaced with fluids
designed to handle higher thermal loads. :-)

No, I didn't overheat, but by the end of the drive my brakes were spongy
and faded, my oil pressure was barely touching the 57 even at cruise,
and my water temp was consistently higher than the 180 mark on the
gauge, even after several minutes of driving sedately at 45-50 mph down
a cool, straight road.  Gee, I thought, it's almost as though I haven't
done any of my standard mods to pretty much every car I've bought for
the past ten years.

And of course, that's because I haven't.  The only thing I've done to
this car yet is wash it, rub some conditioner on the leather seats, put
in gas, and marvel at the fact that in 800 miles of driving the oil
level hasn't wavered.  There's a *reason* that every car I've bought for
the past 10 years gets the cooling system filled distilled water and
Water Wetter, synthetic oil (or at least new Castrol GT 20W-50), Castrol
LMA brake fluid, and Repco MetalMaster brake pads.

But back to the Deep Dark Forest.  As I say, this car's power is
adequate.  Pressing the "push here to go faster" lever (thanks, Matt :-)
down next to the trans tunnel (at least that's where it is on this side
of the Pacific) makes the rear end steer very nicely.  Used with careful
application of the beautiful mahogany gripping surfaces on steering
wheel and shifter, that pedal gives a nice way to control the rotation
of the car during and at the exit from most corners (as well as an
excellent method for getting between the corners with little or no
wasted time).

Other nice touches: Alfa pedals are in the perfect location for my
feet.  Either that, or somebody installed the heel-and-toe kit in this
car at some previous date.  Whatever the reason, I can cover brake and
gas *perfectly* in this car.  And it makes a difference; this is NOT a
car in which you can coast up to the corner, woggle the stick around
hoping to find a gear, and accomplish anything but a wrenching, grinding
buzz as you fight the shifter.  No, the way to downshift this car is to
let her know that you know what you're doing, match revs by blipping the
throttle as you decelerate, and then double-declutch.  Do it right and
the shifter is smooth, solid and rewarding.

Now for the, er, negatives.  I'll simply start out by saying that this
is the first Alfa I've driven for any length of time that didn't come
equipped with the factory chassis stiffener, and I can *really* tell. 
(Lest any of the more literal-minded readers out there take me to task,
the conversation in person is supposed to go kinda like this: "Factory
chassis stiffener?  WHAT factory chassis stiffener?"  "Well, my GT
Junior has one -- big piece of sheet metal, goes over the passenger
compartment, ties the front and rear ends of the car together..."  Then
I get a sock in the shoulder.)  Fortunately, the bushings, springs and
shocks in this car seem to be in excellent condition (I don't know what
brand, I suppose I'll have to find out).  Grip with the 195-series tires
is good, the car is *very* pointable on the throttle, it's a blast to
drive quickly down a winding road, even with the occasional wobble from
the cowl.  I'll be happy in it, once I get a harder compound brake pad
in and new GT LMA fluid (this Saturday, if it's not simply too hot to
work on cars).

That was the scariest part.  The Spider has LOTS of power assist and a
very soft pedal in normal driving, with really good, stop-right-NOW
brakes during normal driving.  The problem is that I just completely
used them up.  I'm very fussy about my brakes; I flush the system every
two years (more if the car gets track time), I use Repco (now Axxis)
MetalMasters as everyday pads on all my cars, and most of the time I
simply forget that brakes *can* fade.  I would estimate that I lost 40%
of my braking efficiency after the last really tight section, which is
up-down-over-under, 2nd and 3rd gear, stop signs going up an off-camber
left-right switchback ending with a fast crest over a hill where you can
catch air and then come down to a stop sign at the bottom.  Yes, it *is*
exactly the kind of road that was meant to fade brakes.  My GT Junior's
brakes used to fade here when I first bought it; they don't any more. 
My Audi GT's brakes used to fade here when I first bought it; they don't
any more either.  I've done the same tweaks to both of those cars; I'll
do them to the Spider by Saturday, but CERTAINLY before my all-day
mountain roads tour in September -- there's no way I'd think about
tackling Stage Road or Empire Grade with these brakes.

Oh, finally: no long-term damage to coolant or oil (or engine...) from
the hot running.  On the way to work this morning, oil pressure was once
again between the 57 and the top of the gauge, and coolant was closer to
the 180 mark than the next tick up.  Still, I don't know what oil is in
the sump now, so I'll put in a favorite brand and viscosity this
weekend, and also "summerize" the cooling system (even if I don't get
the electric fan just yet).  

Still, I guess I'm glad I spent the money on this car instead of buying
my wife an inexpensive four-door and having an '86-89 Audi turbo engine
put into the Coupe (essentially doubling the power output of that car,
with all factory-designed parts no less).  I'll save that for next
year... :-)

- --Scott Fisher
  '83 Audi Coupe GT
  '74 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
  '67 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT 1300 Junior

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