86 Spider Quad: door panels; runs hot uphill; sputters downhill

[Brad Karp <bkarp@domain.elided>]

Greetings, all.

I have a 1986 Spider Quadrifoglio, and have been trying to put it into better 
condition slowly over time. When I bought the car in 1999, I knew nothing 
about Alfas, apart from being very taken with the lines of the Spider Quad. 
What I've learned since then has largely been through trial and error.

A few questions for you, gentle list readers:

1) The interior door panels on both sides (driver and passenger) are loose; 
that is, they repeatedly separate from the door. Typically, a firm closing of 
the door will be enough to pop 2-3 of the door panel fasteners. A gentle push 
with my hand re-fastens these, but the process repeats the next time the door 
is closed.

I recently had the passenger door lock linkage (piece with long rods between 
exterior lock and handle and interior lock and handle) replaced, and at the 
same time, told the shop to replace the passenger door panel fasteners. They 
did, but the panel still pops loose!

Has anyone seen this behavior, and found a fix? I had expected that replacing 
the fasteners would correct the problem. Is it possible something is worn in 
such a way that new fasteners aren't enough?

2) When I am driving downhill, with my foot off the gas, such that the 
transmission is what's driving the engine, the engine begins to run a little 
rough; there is an audible "sputtering" sound. If I step on the gas, the sound 
ceases. Is it possible my fuel injection system isn't producing the right 
mixture in this situation? Are there particular parts or adjustments to 
suspect?

3) When I am driving uphill on a rather warm day (say, >=90 degrees F), the 
engine heats up rather quickly, beyond the normal level. On the hottest day 
this past summer in the Berkeley Hills, my temperature warning light came on, 
after the temp gauge reached two notches above 175.

In everyday driving, my temperature gauge is usually pegged at 175 (vertical) 
when the car is moving (on flat terrain). If I stop and idle for 3-5 minutes 
after the engine is warm, the temperature will slowly creep up, and continues 
to do so, until I begin driving again or shut the engine off.

Henk at Britalia tells me that it's entirely normal for the temperature to 
creep up when the car idles, because the fan is driven by the engine, and 
doesn't move much air at idle. So I'm not worried about the behavior at idle.

The overheating on a hill on a hot day, on the other hand, worries me. I've 
had the following work done to try to improve this:

	- remove radiator, refurbish; new coolant (done by Luigi at Monza
	  Motors, San Francisco)
	- check fuel injection settings, in case mixture is causing engine to
	  run too hot (Luigi at Monza)
	- replace "performance" small fan blade with factory fan blade;
	  replace radiator cap (old one slightly damaged) (done by Henk at
	  Britalia, Berkeley)
	- replace water pump (Luigi at Monza, done as part of an engine
	  rebuild he did for me in the summer of 2000)

The engine has ca. 183000 miles on it, but again, Luigi did a complete rebuild 
on the engine about 2000 miles ago, including *new* cylinder head; new valves; 
machined bearings and camshafts; new timing chain; new water pump; &c., &c.

Despite all of the above, the engine still heats up rapidly as I go uphill on 
a hot day. Other suggestions, anyone? I have heard folklore that "Alfas just 
run hot," but Henk swears to me that a properly working Spider engine and 
cooling system can handle uphill drives on hot days.

2) Is there consensus about good Alfa shops in the bay area?

I live in Berkeley. I had been going to Monza Motors (Luigi Prospato's shop in 
San Francisco, 880 Post St.) for over a year. I had quite a bit of work done 
there, actually--that engine rebuild was after I had a valve shatter while 
driving home from Yosemite one hot day in July of 2000. (According to Luigi, 
the shop that did the previous valve job on the car, Valtellina Automobili, 
from the service records from the car's previous owner, was to blame...<sigh>) 
I was mostly happy with Monza. Then, I needed some electrical work done (fuse 
for instrument lights repeatedly blowing), and after paying for the repair, I 
was given the car back, but the problem persisted. Monza subs out electrical 
work, so getting the problem fixed was inconvenient--had to take the car back 
to Luigi, who in turn took it back to his subcontractor... On balance, I think 
Luigi is a great engine man, but perhaps less interested in the other parts of 
the car.

Figuring I'd try something a little closer to home, I've been going to 
Britalia since. I've certainly found Henk solicitous. But I've had no luck 
with the above overheating problem at Britalia, either, and the repair on my 
door panel seems not to have been effective, either.

Is my car so fussy that I should not expect shops to be able to repair it 
reliably :-), or are there shops I should try that I've not tried?

Many thanks,
-Brad, bkarp@domain.elided
1986 Spider Quadrifoglio, daily driver

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