Category: Cars

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Do the Right Thing

I was watching Do the Right Thing and it reminded me of the time Kenny and I went out to Buzz-a-Rama in Brooklyn. Buzz-a-Rama is a slot car track that opened around 1965.

Early vs Late Slot Cars
Early vs Late Slot Cars

It’s more in the neighborhood of Kensington, I think, not the movie’s Bed-Stuy. We had been making our grand tour of local slot car tracks in New Jersey, Westchester and Long Island sometime in the latter part of the 20th century.

Slot car racing was something I’d done as a kid in the 1960’s. I also participated in the brief New York City revival at Manhattan Raceway, as a member of the Rasta-Pasta-Noodle team. The pop culture status of the revival (I know, some people never stopped) was made apparent when Robin Leach and a film crew came to the track.

After Kenny and I left Buzz-a-Rama, we proceeded to the next course of our pastime, getting something to eat. We went to the local pizzeria. I told Kenny that he should ask why they didn’t have any pictures of African-American celebrities on the wall.

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Alfetta Header Comparison

Alfetta Header Comparison

I asked, on the Alfa Digest, for opinions on Shankle headers vs. Alfa European cast iron headers. Russ Neeley suggested that I use the header flange gasket to compare the shape of the headers.

It looks like there is enough material to grind on the Shankle header to smooth the transition from the head.

Tom Sahines wrote: “The only power difference will (be) evident over 7000 RPM. The Shankle headers will be significantly louder.”

The Shankle header is also (warning: PDF) approved in California by the Air Resources Board (CARB). It has the mounting holes for the air injection rail that is part of the pollution control air pump.

I bought an extra air rail to modify to fit on the cast iron header but that seems to be a back-burner operation.

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Alfa Catalytic Converter

I bought a new Magnaflow catalytic converter for my 1979 Alfetta Sprint Veloce. These converters don’t have the flanges like the OEM converters because they are meant to be welded in.

Alfetta Catalytic Converter Flange
Alfetta Catalytic Converter Flange

They’re also a lot cheaper (~US$65 vs $200-$250).

Alfetta Catalytic Converter and Flange
Alfetta Catalytic Converter and Flange

I cut the flanges off the old converter and ground them down so they’d fit on the new converter. Robert at Bay Muffler Service welded them on for me.

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Alfa Seats

SEM Colorcoat

I bought these vinyl seats for my 1979 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce in 2002 on eBay for $99. They had no rips or tears but looked dirty.

Alfa Romeo Alfetta Front Seats
Alfa Romeo Alfetta Front Seats

At the local automotive paint store I bought three cans of SEM Colorcoat 15093, Light Buckskin for about $10/can (13 oz). There were also SEM cleaners and surface prep. The guy at the store said just to use lacquer thinner, which I did. Two and half cans later they looked OK. I painted them in July 2002 and they have held up very well – no cracking or chipping.

Colorcoat seems to be more of a flexible paint, than a dye. The driver’s seat shows dirt but it cleans off with Simple Green. The apparent unevenness in the color in the photo is due to the lighting, rather than the application of the paint.