My first ever 33

[KevJTD]

well, a long day but succes in the end.
although the engine was in place last night there was an awful lot of stuff to fit. none of the water system was in place, no fuel parts, TB's were only in place for somewhere to hook the hoist!
so with all the bits and pieces fitted back on i eventually got to the point of trying to coax it into life, often takes a bit of fiddling with things, but this time it just started like it'd never been out!
sat at a nice idle happy as larry
hydraulic tappets took a fair while to settle in, partciulalrly as most have been changed around. but once warmed up it has settled down a treat

only issue is a squeaking alternator belt, which i knew needed adjustment but once off i could see why, the sides of the belt have worn away and it's just running on the very top edge!

happy to report no leaks, oil or water. so removed the rad and flushed the cooling system through again washing any debris out through the block drain plugs.

refilled with anti-freze mix and warmed up again, almost ready to be up the road.

this engine already idles and picks up better than the old one did, can't wait to get a few miles on it.

my lad rob did some painting on the inlet manifold today too, can't resist a bit of red as all the paint on the block disapears when stuff goes back in!

[PETROLHEAD]

Nice work Rob, well done.

your dads used to it by now so its good to praise Junior!


you could have a que of folk with £20 waiting for that service, nice job.




i suppose we have to say congrats to Kev aswell eh, glad its gone back together nicely mate.

[KevJTD]

Nice work Rob, well done.

your dads used to it by now so its good to praise Junior!


you could have a que of folk with £20 waiting for that service, nice job.




i suppose we have to say congrats to Kev aswell eh, glad its gone back together nicely mate.

pretty sure if anyone wants one doing then rob would be only too happy to take the £20

[KevJTD]

been out tonight for a ride in the 33

feels so much sharper now, and no clutch slip!! at last

[Johnboy]

Happy days And I bet it does feel better

[KevJTD]

Happy days And I bet it does feel better

sounds a whole lot better mate.

started it tonight, no tappet noises at all straight from cold

just got to see now if it's sold or not, cash would be handy as always but it's a gem in the making this one.

shut it away for a few years and bring it out when 33's go through the £10k barrier!!

[Johnboy]

Lol
I think sadly it's going to be a little bit longer than that
Who ever buys it there going to have a cracker

[KevJTD]

Lol
I think sadly it's going to be a little bit longer than that
Who ever buys it there going to have a cracker

should be going to its new home next weekend, so about another 10 days of ownership for me.

having a ride out in it tomorrow night to BLS, a spiritual lincs home for it, may be making a call on the way at a certain italian cars' home......





one thing though, it's amazing how big new small cars are

swapped cars around on my drive last night, 147 down first awaiting prep then pulled the 33 down behind it.
the top edge of the 33's bonnet is still lower than the top of the 147's rear bumper!!
147 looks huge when comapred to a 33, which were both probably aimed at a similar market catagory at the time.

[Johnboy]

Yeah I can't work out how these small cars are bigger And weight a tonne too ! So your going for your old sud fix. Fair play
What they next classic build then after the 147?

[KevJTD]

once my own S1 sud is started it will be the main job to complete, shouldn't be too bad to do but will be a full nut & bolt job.
may take until next spring to complete.

in the meantime i have loads of other projects to become involved with, a lancia beta hpe sits waiting for new sills to be fitted and the engine woken from its 10 year slumber..

[Alfasixnut]

Well done Kev!

[Johnboy]

Some nice projects there

[Sud 145]

Lol
I think sadly it's going to be a little bit longer than that
Who ever buys it there going to have a cracker

should be going to its new home next weekend, so about another 10 days of ownership for me.

having a ride out in it tomorrow night to BLS, a spiritual lincs home for it, may be making a call on the way at a certain italian cars' home......



Like this Kev.

one thing though, it's amazing how big new small cars are

swapped cars around on my drive last night, 147 down first awaiting prep then pulled the 33 down behind it.
the top edge of the 33's bonnet is still lower than the top of the 147's rear bumper!!
147 looks huge when comapred to a 33, which were both probably aimed at a similar market catagory at the time.

[Johnboy]

The sud looks tiny

[KevJTD]

sud does look tiny next to your 145 tony, i'll try and take one of the 147 & 33 this weekend.


been over to BLS tonight, like the multi coloured swap shop between us all!

i have a boot full of some very nicely refurbished 75 wheels, will leave the pics to john, but they look superb. well done shrew

33 went well, faultless in fact. nice to have a clutch that will get you up the hills



called in on the fella with the integrale on the way, he's looking much better since i last saw him and is talking about getting it back on the road himself now.

would be really pleased for him if he does, he's owned it since it was new so would be nice for him.

did the usual thing i do most years, left my details. he reckoned he will ring me if he changes his mind....

did stop short of saying "see you in a years time" though

[Johnboy]

Fair play to the guy ,he Obviously loves the car and wants to do it him self. Bit I think it will be your one day
Spoke to shrew very interested in your brakes
Off to bed now nackered be glad when this garage is done

[KevJTD]

Fair play to the guy ,he Obviously loves the car and wants to do it him self. Bit I think it will be your one day
Spoke to shrew very interested in your brakes
Off to bed now nackered be glad when this garage is done

bed for me now, jsut woke up to miss the last half of fast & loud

time for some sleepy bye byes

[KevJTD]

and yes, one day



IT WILLL BE MINE...............
















just will i ever have the money for it when he wants to sell

[rsfruitbat]

Another nice project Kev. Your wife must be a saint

All the best

rsfruitbat

[KevJTD]

Another nice project Kev. Your wife must be a saint

All the best

rsfruitbat

i'm starting to think so mate

might start slowing down soon....



33 gone now to new owner so back down to just 2 alfa's and a fiat

[ALFAMACK]

Great job kev.
If I ever get my hands on one I'll send it your way

[Bluesuit]

Found you guys at last! Great to read some inspiring threads again, gone a bit quiet at the other place

Cheers. Ian

[Johnboy]

Welcome chap
Glad you saw my post . It's quiet as the mods there are

[Bluesuit]

Thanks for the steer Johnboy, looks like I've got a lot if reading to catch up on

[Johnboy]

No problem this place is flying now

[KevJTD]

Welcome chap
Glad you saw my post . It's quiet as the mods there are

lol

[Bluesuit]

An earlier post was asking how the 33 compared to the Sud, I recall the Sud had nice and neutral handling and little torque steer; when we got our 33 1.7 sportwagon, it had more power, but I was disappointed that it was a pig to handle. Under steered and torque steered like hell. Then a mate suggested I try Yokohama A008s, which happily were cheaper than the Bridgestones it came with. I would never have believed a change of tyre could make so much difference, suddenly the 33 was neutral and much less susceptible to torque steer, a real pleasure to drive. I never tried a 16v 33, but with more and peaky power delivery I'm guessing it could be a bit of handful especially if it is sensitive to tyre choice. What was your verdict Kev?

Cheers

Ian

[KevJTD]

the 33 16V is a great car, very neutral handling my todays standards.
you can really feel the weight of the car, or more acurately the lack of it.
hardly any body roll at all and that was with a standard set-up, not like today where cars need stronger roll-bars and springs/shocks to get over the lardy feeling.

the 16V motor is a peach too, really happy to rev.

john, who has tried many 33's over the years, reckoned this one was one of the sweetest handling ones he'd tried. and i couldn't argue with that.

on any twisty road it wa sreally easy to keep up with most stuff, and it wasn't that far off the pace in the power stakes either with the low weight.



re your post about tyres, you're bang on. they are the single most easy/cheap way of improving handling.

used to make me laugh whenreading magazine write ups on cars that have had a fortune spent on fancy suspension then skimped and put nankang or some equally quality product on it.
my own recently bought 147 jtd has pretty decent handling despite the diesel lump up front, the michelins that are on it are probably helping in that department.
yoko have mostly been making decent products, apart from some of their attempts at budget stuff

[KevJTD]

got this 33 back tonight, really great to get behind the wheel of boxer power again. such a rev happy little thing

i will be using the 33 over the coming summer before a full body refresh sorting out the few bits of rust and giving the paint a complete stripdown as some is faded as alfa red tends to do plus it also has the common patches of lacquer peel.

i'll do a build thread once work starts in the autumn but for now i'm chuffed to have the car back again. engine feels really sweet and zings along nicely.

spring alfa day at duxford will be on the list of events for it

[Johnboy]

Glad you bought it back Kev . Big plus you know the car too. Nice to a have another 33 in the forum . Bloody Suds