My flickr photos of my Alfa Romeo Alfetta Sprint Veloce transmission
Alfetta Driveline Photos
My flickr photos of my Alfa Romeo Alfetta Sprint Veloce giubos, driveshaft and rear engine mount
BMW Bavaria (E3) Heater Blower Replacement
The heater blower in our 1972 BMW Bavaria suddenly decided to stop working. This car doesn’t have air conditioning, so I don’t know if the setup is different on an AC equipped car. It does seem to be the same on non-AC E9 coupes.
I dreaded having to repair it, because I thought I’d have to take the console apart to get to it.
It turned out that the blower is easily accessible, mounted under a flap just in front of the windshield in the engine compartment. Removing the flap gives access to the blower, held in by just 3 screws. The protective grid over the fan is held in by friction – the edge of the grid goes into a groove in the bracket that holds the fan.
I asked the Senior Six mailing list about alternative replacement motors but I found one on eBay that looked like an exact replacement, except for the mounting bracket.
The cutout for the motor on each bracket was exactly the same shape, though the case of the motor itself was different between the original and the replacement. That didn’t make any difference – the new motor and fan fit onto the old bracket, held by four clips. Bosch, the manufacturer of the motor, even went so far as to balance the fan. On the new fan, you can see wire clips on some of the fan blades.
The eBay seller advertised the blower as a VW NOS heater fan with the p/n 90157132032. Usually when I enter something like that in Google, I get a hit – this time, no deal.
The box the replacement fan came in shows a VW/Porsche number. Maybe a professional can figure it out.
BMW Roundel
Shortly after the Bavaria came back from the paint shop, the hood ornament – the Roundel – in BMW speak, broke off. I get the feeling they used the wrong size grommets.
I called up Jim Stansfield at Mesa Performance and was surpised that the new roundel that he sent me was the not the plastic one that had broken off, but a metal cloisonne style one.
Alfetta Transmission, Part 3
Russ Neely, Brian Shorey and Stevan Thomas, people that I’ve known for years only through the Alfa Digest, all recommended that I get the gears lightened on my Alfetta’s transmission.
I’ve had the transmission apart for a while (to replace the clutch) and finally got around to having the work done.
Two people were recommended, Tom Sahines and Merrit Carden. Tom Sahines was too busy and he gave me Merrit’s number. I sent my gears and input shaft to Merrit at the end of July and went to pick them up 10 days later.
Merrit’s house is in sort of a cul-de-sac. There was a front-ended Kia in the driveway – his son’s car, waiting for an insurance adjuster.
His garage was his machine shop. It was packed with junk in addition to a (if I remember correctly, and old Bridgeport) mill, drill press, hydraulic press, etc. It was one of those shops where the owner knows where everything is, but if you moved one thing two feet, it would take him a month to find it.
I picked the gears up at the beginning of August. Merrit carefully unwrapped each gear to show me his work. In some cases, the gears were not only drilled for lightness but the walls were also machined – all this on hardened steel. The quality of the work was clearly apparent. Look at the photographs – they speak for Merrit’s beautiful work. More pitures here.
To contact Merrit Carden:
7475 Shady Hollow Dr
Newark, Ca 94560
(510) 797-2446