Classic Alfa Forums

Hi All,

I'm really glad to see this forum prospering (well done to Kev and Shrew!) so thought I'd add a little contribution to it with some words and pictures of my 33 race car. I've got loads of photos - most of the action are purchased from the race day snappers so are 10" x 8" but as the car was originally built before the digital camera age I'll have to get busy with the scanner for some of the early build shots! So, build photos to follow at some stage!

My father (Tom at BLS) and I built the car in the winter of 1997 to replace our successful Sud Ti that we ran in Class C of what was then the Alfa Romeo Owners Club Championship. We were able to transfer pretty much all of the running gear at the time - especially as we were already running a 33 rear beam on our Sud (converted to run 2 1/4" coil overs and lightweight discs). The main challenge therefore was the body - getting as much weight out as was allowed and sensible, packaging the main components with weight distribution in mind, accommodating a wider front and rear track (wider arches required). The donor car was a Mk3 car of 1990 vintage - its main fall from grace was to have turned from Alfa red to Salmon Pink in colour. This essentially rendered it a £400 bargain at 7 years old bought from Cubleys of Ainsdale (a previous well established Alfa dealer)!

I'll post up a few pics of the car as it has been in the last few years, then if there is sufficient interest in hearing specification stories I'll talk in more detail about each area of the car in subsequent posts - covering engine, transmission, suspension, bodyshell/bodywork, etc.

I'am sure everyone one here will like to see and hear every detail

Simonsud wrote:I'am sure everyone one here will like to see and hear every detail

absolutely

Yes Please!

as I am converting my Class F car (which I bought last year) from race to fast road and track - it would be really, really good to understand development potential for the 33.

Any details on all aspects of the car will be gratefully received.

E.

BS25 wrote:if there is sufficient interest in hearing specification stories I'll talk in more detail about each area of the car in subsequent posts - covering engine, transmission, suspension, bodyshell/bodywork, etc

Are you MAD?

I'm very confident it will rapidly become the most attended thread to date!


Thanks in advance Bryan, and thank you for the forum comments and subsequent joining.

It was great to see Tom on wednesday, busy at it as usual, with the winter plans in full swing as expected (i'll leave the divulging of such things to you)


Cant wait for these next instalments, so as and when you're ready mate

KevJTD wrote:

Simonsud wrote:I'am sure everyone one here will like to see and hear every detail

absolutely

Yes please

All ears !

We're waiting
Would also like to know your racing calender for this year as my son has now got petrol in his blood (at last)
H

Hi all

not wanting to steal any thunder, i was just a little excited by recent work and developments at BLS with the 33 race car.


a winter build has seen a change from the ever faithful dellorto carbs and Omex 100 ignition control, to Jenvey throttle bodies, fuel injection, and upgrade to the Omex 600 ecu full management system.

everything else with the car is as before i believe, so all that remained to complete the changeover was a session on the rolling road with Northampton Motorsport to map the new system and bring all the hardware and hard work together.

the results, were as planned, better driveability over the carb set up, the precise fuel control being able to fill out the holes or gaps of the carbs delivery, so smoother faster transition through the revs, without dips, grumbles or rough patches.

the car as we already know, performs fantastically, so chasing more power etc wasn't ever the game, but you never turn down a free handful here and there! lol!


to try and show how it fuels now, in the rev range used 90% of the time on a hot lap, you have the viewing pleasure of the last dyno runs and checks done yesterday.

enjoy


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z1ByNr_Tok

Very good! I could listen to that all day.

What a beautiful sound

Thanks for the comments - thanks also to Shrew for the transportation service - fantastic as usual!

As per Shrews post, the session at the rolling road went well and gave the desired results in terms of the driveability gains - with a couple of extra bhp at the top end too! The runs in don't use all the revs as they were for the purpose of misfire detection - I glanced across whilst also filming and no more than 7000 rpm was used during these clips. Maximum power is at 8300 rpm.

As I have some time over the weekend I'll get back on it and write some words about the car as promised!

Great stuff Bryan, be a great read.


Incidentally, I meant to ask before,

Are you modifying the airbox to fit the jenveys and trumpets, or will you no longer run it and move to socks or gauzes or something?

The mods are already done to retain the airbox (also where the air intake temp sensor will be located). The throttle bodies are 18mm shorter than the equivalent carbs so we had some spacers and studs made up to lift the throttle bodies up to the same height of the carbs to preserve the packaging space for the airbox.

Nice one!

I did wonder? Ha ha!

Here's an overview of the car's specification as it ran until the beginning of the 2012 season - where we converted to 16v (I'll cover that later). I had lots of success with the car - winning Class B overall (now A2) on several occasions and lots of class wins. On the right day (right circuit, right conditions - but not always in the wet) I've won overall but whilst 8v that got more and more difficult against 16v engined cars - not to mention the super/turbocharged, Supertourers and large capacity V6 engined cars.

With regards to power, we've always used known conservative rolling roads so whilst others have claimed more from 8v engines its not shown on the track where it matters. A friend of ours worked at Cosworth F1 when we were upgrading the 8v engine in 2001 and he 'designed' the head modifications - these included offsetting the exhaust valve to allow for 44.5mm diameter intakes plus larger than standard exhaust valves. The cams were also analysed (profiles based on a Judd profile) and deemed well suited to the valve sizes. He also specified the exhaust diameters and lengths using Cosworth software. It all worked rather well together and only really the march of time (and opposition) meant that 16 valves became required - way earlier than I went 16v but that was due to depth of pockets!

Anyway, here's the specification:-

Chassis

Converted from Mk.3 road car (Mk.2 lights, grille and front bumper)
Sparco welded in cage. Extra tubes through to suspension turrets
Kevlar composite bonnet and tailgate
Fibreglass composite front bumper, front wings, door skins, wheelarch extensions and rear bumper
Perspex windows (side and tailgate) – slider unit in driver’s window
Carbon rear wing (ex-Honda Super Tourer), front splitter and rear diffuser

Engine

1793cc 8 valve – 175 bhp at 8000 rpm
1700 crank – not steel but cross drilled
89mm forged pistons
Steel rods (H-pattern)
FD4 profile camshafts
Ultra big valve heads
Lightweight steel flywheel
Large capacity baffled sump
Twin Dellorto 44 DRLA carburettors
Full width air intake box (custom made)
Omex control unit (controlling spark) with distributorless coil
Custom made 4-2-1 stainless steel manifold with repackable rear silencer
Custom made aluminium radiator

Transmission

5 speed close ratio straight cut gears
Gripper LSD
Strengthened 16v casing with billet aluminium flat plate base plate
Pinion shaft supported with rear bearing and additional rear plate brace
Helix 7.25” single plate racing clutch
AP Racing concentric slave cylinder
Lightened shift remote

Front Suspension and Steering

Modified 16v front crossmember
Tubular wishbones (fabricated) with rod ends
Koni double adjustable McPherson strut inserts
Eccentric top mounts
Tubular adjustable front anti roll bar
BLS quick rack and Momo steering wheel

Rear Suspension

Modified 33 rear beam
Re-located panhard rod with nylon bush/rod end location
Watts linkages with nylon bushes
Bilstein coil over dampers
Adjustable rear anti-roll bar

Brakes

Front – Ventilated discs with lightweight Alcon 4-pot racing calipers
Rear – Solid lightened discs with lightweight Alcon 2-pot racing calipers
Fabricated pedal box with bias bar
Twin master cylinders and remote reservoirs (no servo)

Fuel System

Fabricated alloy tank – 30 litre capacity
Twin electric pumps
Pressure regulator and filter in engine bay
Aeroquip lines throughout

Wheels and Tyres

7”x15” 5 spoke alloys – front and rear
Dunlop slicks and Dunlop wets

Interior and Safety

Plumbed in extinguisher system
Schroth 4 point belts
Cobra Evolution seat
Battery located inside cockpit

And awesome it was too!

Thats pretty much as I first knew the car, and as you say, it was extremely competitive then, succesful in and above class.

Jusy goes to show eh?


Great write up and detail Bryan, inspiring for sure...

Hi all

just to keep both the car spec updated and a record of recent changes, events, and the hi's and low's of competitive racing, i'll try to add in some race info etc from the events i'm involved in along with the BLS team and car.

So, this weekend just past, 20th and 21st September, was the BRSCC race event at Rockingham Speedway.

I'd not been before, as a circuit constructed initially to attract the american circus of indy car, it has never held any interest for me to attend any other car or bike race events there. Its initial design as a variation of an oval yank tank track, meant that anything capable of going round a corner has to contend with a rather odd shaped added on infield circuit. Its very much an afterthought, no Cadwell Park thats for sure, and is rather obviously an attempt at attracting some, any, form of event, to keep the place functioning since the yanks disappeared back over the pond!

Anyway, enough about that, a quick recap on changes to the car.

I'm sure Bryan will correct me if i get any details wrong, but essentially, due to the poor availability of the usual choice of race tyres, dunlops historically, the BLS 33 has now been graced with a set of Hankook slicks, and a matching brand set of wets too.

A bit of an unknown, bought on paper spec alone almost, but brand new and unscrubbed, and the same to be said for brake pads too, the saturday practice session was going to be more important for bedding these in and for Bryan to feel his way into the new rubber.

I spotted that the new rubber was in fact more generous for width than the previous slicks, and the camber settings had been backed off slightly less radically to make the most of a bigger footprint, which was in turn to make the most of the extra pace the car potentially has from the extra performance gained from the change to the 16v engine and throttle bodies etc etc so this was a pretty important event from the future aspect of car set up point of view, more so i guess than trophy chasing in the race itself, which is just one of many races afterall.

That said, its always nice to do well, and i have to say that i for one was secretly hoping and aiming high, because for the first time in a long time, there were no less than 4 Alfa 33's on the grid!

Alongside us in the paddock was the mighty 33 of Chris Snowdon Racing, equal in spec to the BLS car, as in large capacity (2.0 i believe) steel built fuel injected engine, boasting a lot of power, and with wide arches and track, huge trick brakes and a good history of success, this was going to be a big contender.

Further round the parking was the silver 33 of Louise West. I'm unsure of the spec but a modified A2 class car none the less, and also Nick Andersons 1.8 8v 33, again an A2 modified car.

Great to see these cars out there, and i was rather excited about the prospect of a Snowdon, Shrubb, Seager showdown as i saw these as the biggest protaganists for the silverware


Scrutineering appointement arrived, and anyone who knows the attention that BLS pay to their car and racing, will, like me, never, ever, guess that anyone no matter how scrupulous, could find anything to comment negatively on, but horror of horrors, the car failed the noise test, apparently scoring a 112db!

It was unbelievable, 112db? thats Concorde at full throttle from 10 yards!

We weren't alone, three alfa's in total were questioned, 2 of them, us included, were refused entrance to the circuit for the practice session, and shamefully instructed to either "Sort it out or go home!"

Talk about a Hi-Vis Hitler, this bloke was close to a chinning from more than one of us, his "shattitude" was astonishing.

We rushed back to the paddock, stopping occasionally to try and blag some exhaust wadding to repack the silencer from some of the other race teams, thankfully, successfully.

Back at the paddock, we all discussed our amazement, but swiftly and correctly repacked the silencer anyway, and sorted a new test with the scrutineers and a possible track practice with race control should we then pass the ravages of Decibel Dave!

All back in one piece, we attended our new appointment, along with Vincent's 16v Turbo 156 that also failed miserably, and to our relief we passed with flying colours.

Now the odd thing about all this is that the car was measured at 101db at the previous Anglesey meeting, and nothing had changed between events, which is why we found the 112db measurement so incredible, so no doubt the fact that they ignored their own stipulations of a designated open area testing position, opting instead to test on the lane exiting the inner paddock, surrounded by race lorries, concrete barriers and other running race cars in close proximity, had a notable effect on the tests outcome, but more likely to be the main factor, was that Hi Vis Hitler was rumoured to be misreading his meter!

This sounds closer to the truth, as the new test result came out at 100.4, hmm, now we have decimels in the decibels, suspiciously close to the 101db from anglesey a month previous. so it would appear far more conceivable that the car actually measured 101.2db on the first test, and not 112db, and to reinforce this, the other failing car of Vincent passed with similar flying colours with a rather pitiful attempt at silencing.

Essentially, there is no chance on earth that our silencer repairs affect the noise level by over 10db, it is a huge amount, so Decibel Dave apparently needs to go back to school, for lessons in both maths, and manners!


To top it all, race control would allow Bryan, and Vincent, just 3 laps to get their bearings. This would actually pan out to be an out lap, one full lap, and an in lap. Pitiful but appreciated to get it none the less.

So no tyre scrubbing, no brake bedding, and certainly no time to learn the new track sections etc, and without a qualifying time, it meant a start from the back of the modified class cars, which we were thankful of being not at the back of the grid entirely, but far from ideal.


heres the assembled cars for race one

So, here is a the "official" race report

http://alfaracer.com/race-report/rockingham/

and i'll give you the personal spin on things later.

Those 33's look amazing . Shame they didn't all park next to each other
Great write up

Shrew,

Re: The noise issue - Noise is exponential - so 112 Db is massively louder than 102 and stuffing some waddding in a tailpipe wouldn't make 10dbs difference so I tend to agree with your comment about the miss-reading marshall!

I was caught at Snetterton a few years ago where the limit was 101Dbs and my car was 102-3 dbs. The Marshall smiled then gave me my pass ticket and told me I had to keep him in coffee for the rest of the day!

People like him get on in life and make motor sport all the more enjoyable!

Ted

Haha - Hi Vis Hitler!

He was somewhat officious - but I know that strong arguing just means you go home early with no racing! It would be nice if some of these officials did remember that the competitors are actually the customers.... I've never once failed a noise test (since starting racing in 1993) - and don't really feel I've failed one yet!

As my father mentioned over the weekend, using common sense with non-safety related issues should be the norm - an advisory for something like excessive noise, then the competitor needs to sort the issue for the next race. Recording it in a manner akin to the log book system used in rallying would be a good system.

Scrutineering checks overseas can be really interesting. Whilst working for Caterham back in 1993 we entered a Seven in the 24 Hours of Zolder. The rules were all very specific with regards to vehicle spec, safety, etc so we were quite nervous fronting up for scrutineering, the Seven being very different to the normal hordes of 911's. We needn't have worried! The scrutineer noted our race number, sucked hard on his cigar and handed me a brown envelope full of stickers. Having done that, he waved us off - no kit check, no extinguisher check, nothing - just sponsors stickers!

Several years later at Le Mans (another 24hr race!) with Ascari and our LMP900 car, scrutineering took 7 hours per car if you were an English team and 45 mins if you were French! Entente Cordiale was very much missing! Suffice to say there was no envelope of stickers, just our multi-millionaire team owner threatening to go home several times.

I always maintain that the scrutineering is the most nerve wracking aspect of the weekend - added incentive to always turn the car out nicely!

Yeah, yes, and yep!

Anyone who knows BLS will also know that it is very likely the best turned out car on the grid. Prep and condition are, as always, 2nd to none.

A major factor why your car Ted is so good isn't it, is the BLS build quality and prep. It is, like few others, greater than the sum of its parts, and that is a special thing indeed!


As you say, decibel does indeed grow exponentially, so 112db is simply astronomical!


You would like to think that something would ring alarm bells wouldn't it?

For every 3 dBa increase the sound doubles in volume so 10dBa is a huge increase.

RSfruitbat

Thanks for the specifics RS,

i was afraid if i spoke in exponential terms, it could be misunderstood,

that way is much better ta mate


certainly put the ridiculousness into perspective doesn't it