One stick, many valves, etc.

[Will Owen <nashwill@domain.elided>]

Dudes'n'Damsels -

Just to add one more voice to this particular hum:
Subaru does or did (hard to keep up these days) offer
two different 16V engines in one of their cars. One
had a single OH cam per bank, the other had two. They
had plenty of practice at managing several extra
valves with just one camshaft: my really quite
delightful little Justy's 3-cylinder engine had two
intake valves and one exhaust, activated via wrap-over
fingers in a very pretty and ingenious arrangement (am
I betraying my ridiculous fondness for this car?).
Triumph did the same with a 16V version of the SOHC
engine that was in the TR7, except they used one lobe
to activate both intake and exhaust on each cylinder,
thus giving symmetrical valve timing...which seems
rather fraught with compromise, to my way of thinking,
though AMC did the same thing with a SOHC (but 12V)
version of the veteran 232 C.I. six in the Jeep
Wagoneer. 

Brisk change of subject: Rico the well-loved Milano
has been puking steering fluid lately, and has also
been acting vague and wandery in his over-the-road
behavior. I was afraid it was our much-too-new
steering rack springing leaks, and was all set to fire
off an aggrieved note to IAP on the subject. Well,
took it to Alfa Only this afternoon, and after it had
squirted Bill's senior mechanic in the eye and peed
all over his shoes, it was discovered that the pump
was leaking, one hose was leaking, and the rack was
only just barely fastened to the chassis. Yikes!
Explains the vagueness, I guess. Coulda gotten a whole
bunch more vague in mid-corner, had the mounting bolts
fallen out completely... just one more lesson, kids,
that we need to pay attention when our cars start
handling like pigs on ice. They really are trying to
tell us something. 

Will Owen
'87 Milano Gold (Rico)
"72 2000 Berlina (Fernando - damn, I'm glad this one
works!)
Pasadena, CA
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