Re: 93 Spider Veloce 2nd Gear Blues

[Scott Fisher <sefisher@domain.elided>]

Robert Favali from Connecticut asks a number of questions about Alfa
gearboxes, 2nd gear in particular.

First, some perspective: yes, 2nd-gear synchros (and to a lesser extent,
third) do wear abnormally early on Alfas.  The primary reason is that
the gears themselves are very heavy, so the synchronizer rings have to
compensate for a lot of mass.  The result: fast wear on the synchros. 
There's also another theory: apparently the original engineering for the
synchronizers was done by Porsche, and this has led some to speculate
that the accelerated wear was intentional.  I'm always tempted to ask
whether these people also think it was Rudolf Hruska up on the grassy
knoll in Dallas, but that's another story.

Next, some diagnostics: if your 'box makes a kind of graunching noise
when shifting into second, that probably means it's just the synchros. 
I kind of enjoy the "fancy footwork" required to keep this from
happening, and now my left foot pretty much automatically hits the
clutch twice on downshifts as my right foot automatically covers the
brake and gas simultaneously.  Presto: never a graunch ("Well," as the
captain of the Pinafore says, "*hardly* ever...")

...Drat.  Some of you know my brain works this way anyway; for those who
haven't figured it out yet, I've been sitting here for about 30 seconds
and this just sort of... happened:

PILOT:  "I am the shifter of my Spider's gears --"

CREW:   "And a very nimble shifter too!"

PILOT:  "I'm very very quick, with my pedals and my stick,
         And I wield a responsive shoe!"

CREW:   "He's very very quick, with his pedals and his stick,
         And he wields a responsive shoe!"

PILOT:  "When out upon the road, under light or heavy load,
         I move the lever rapidly,
         When I make a stirring launch, you will never hear me graunch,
         Even shifting into 2 or 3!"

CREW:   "What, never?"

PILOT:  "No, never!"

CREW:   "What, neverrrrrrrrrrr?"

PILOT:  "Welllllllllllllll.... *hardly* ever!"

CREW:   "Hardly ever graunches 2 or 3, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh
         Give three cheers and three more cheers
         For the skillful shifter of his Spider's gears!
         Oh give three cheers and three more cheers
         FOOOOOOOOOR the shifter of his Spider's gears!"

Ahem.  I obviously spent WAY too much time listening to Tom Lehrer songs
while I was growing up.

Anyway, back to the technical side of our program.  If the shifter jumps
OUT of gear, or vibrates annoyingly while IN gear, you are about to be
the proud owner of a new gearbox.  Been there, done that, got the
canceled check.  Fortunately, you have several options.

About three years ago, when my shifter was vibrating in 3rd gear like a
cheap motel bed with misaligned "Magic Fingers," I bought a rebuilt
gearbox from Alfa Parts Exchange in Hayward, California.  It cost $350
with a $150 core.  (It made me feel very smug when, about a month later,
my wife's sister was complaining about having to have the transmission
in their Ford Taurus repaired -- *repaired*, mind you, not replaced --
for a trifling $2200.  Tell me again about temperamental Italian sports
cars and their expensive parts...)  Hayward is a fair piece down the
road from Connecticiticicut (I know how to spell Connecticut, I just
don't know when to stop), so you'll want to inquire about shipping
charges when you talk to Larry Dickman, the proprietor.  And I should
just *know* their number... dang, can't think of it and I'm at work,
away from my club magazines.

Other alternatives: Digest member and longtime racer Tom Sahines is
known for, among other things, lightening the gears in Alfa boxes.  I
recently went for a ride in a car thus equipped and was electrified --
the driver, Digest member Alan Lambert, simply pressed down the clutch,
yanked the lever into second (from first, from third, didn't make a
difference) as rapidly as if he were in a Mi*t*, and the gearbox didn't
complain a bit.  I figure it's got to be worth at least half a second in
0-60 times, if you want to quantify it, just in avoiding the delay
normally associated with shifting into 2nd and 3rd gears.  Removing
rotating mass in the drivetrain also increases the amount of power
available to spin the wheels, but the gears apparently have a minimal
effect on this mass; however, the benefits of quicker shifting are
unmistakable, even from the right-hand seat.  I wouldn't put an Alfa on
a race track without having the gearbox spend some time in Tom's shop,
and if I had to replace a street-driven Alfa's box, I'd make the same
choice.

Finally: that same day, I took the opportunity to let my wife drive my
newly-acquired Spider for the first time.  I explained and demonstrated
double-clutching, and tried to talk her through it.  Every time she
tried it, the box complained.  So she simply shifted gears the way she
normally would, and never a hiccup.

"I guess I just don't get double-clutching," she said.

"No, it's not you, it's the Spider," I said.  "You know how some women
like to make their guys look bad in front of other women?  Well, that's
what the car is doing.  She's just jealous, don't worry about it."

 --Scott "Full of words and music, signifying nothing" Fisher
   1974 Spider
   1967 GT 1300 Junior

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End of alfa-digest V7 #999
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