Alfa Romeo Spider 3.7L 24V V6 Build

[C-Hutch]

getting good reactions from people who see it driving around? That's the type of car I'd freak out over if I just saw it cruising around in traffic.

[llllljrlllll]

I went through all 24 pages. Man, this is a build, To a lot of people, alfa's are forgettable cars, because here in the states, you hardly see them. But what a great build man. This is something I wish I could do, you are a perfectionist. Thank you for sharing this long journey with us, I'm new to this forum, and I'm all about stance, but this build goes beyond. You should be proud of what you got, and what you did.

[street]

Update.

Keep the Spider down? Not a chance. She's back in action and stronger than ever.

I beefed up the diffuser's hardware and added 4 new mounting points.

I also raised the rear 3/4 inch to match the front's height and to level the car and give her a bit more suspension travel.

I then tightened a couple of the caliper's banjo bolts that had a small leak.

Completed a 1 hour test run and rear is more compliant, while the diffuser is rock solid. But an alignment is needed bad as I experienced a bit of skipping on uneven pavement. Taking care of that tomorrow.

street

[street]

Reply.

Dude, that SUCKS!!

It's all good. I'm prepared to break her.

street

[futurestancer]

Dude, that SUCKS!!

[street]

Spider - Latest Testing Report

Another testing day shakes more bugs loose.

On today's agenda, I took the Spider on an extended run through mild traffic, side streets and major highways. All in all, a straight 2 hour run with road conditions ranging from very bumpy to flat and flowing.

She performed well throughout the entire run with temps within operating range. But I think I will do a fan and engine thermostat upgrade just to better combat the current speed of the heat build up during traffic and heat soak during stop overs. Keep in mind that all these test runs are being carried out are in 30+ degrees.

Considering that there are no hood vents, I'm actually quite surprised that the temps are as good as they are. I'm not running a huge rad and the fan is, well, undersized. But having said that, for now, it's passable. But like I said, an upgrade is in order.

At any rate, when I was on the return portion of the run, I encountered quite a bumpy section and as a result, the diffuser's left side said "I'm done" Right after that, the exhaust tip said, "Me too. I'm outta here"!!

Now, I'm not exactly sure when they all became dislodged. But I did happen to be looking in my rear view when I saw the exhaust tip bounce and barrel down the highway!!

Having seen that, I pulled over onto the soft shoulder of the highway and constantly kept looking back at speeding cars so my a** wouldn't get dusted. And anyone who has spent any amount of time on a highway's soft shoulder, knows full well that this is a place you REALLY don't want to be, or for long. So I acted quick and reached for the only thing I had to prevent the diffuser from becoming the next causality - the speaker wire in the trunk!! A few tight knots and I was off again. Albeit, a little slower as I didn't want the air to rip the right side off!!

Not long after, I arrived back and I'm happy to report that that the diffuser made it through that whole ordeal without any damage to speak of. Going forward, I'm now looking into directing the above pan air a little better and will leave the exhaust port area blank to better vent the excess heat/air from the engine bay.



street

[street]

Replys.

Love the write-ups!

Thanks for taking the time to read it all Rubens. The madness continues today!!

street

DAMN... at the center of this thread it didn't look too good because of the kinda low quality pics.. but from the last video.... oh dear god...the looks and the voice. If i would see this in person i whould probably shit myself from happiness

Thanks Invincible! I should really look into getting a better cam soon. For now, I think the photos are acceptable for a blog. Yeah, the sound is totally nerve-tingling in person. The vid cam does not carry the tone very well. It sounds so much more nastier in person.

street

I'm a pretty big alfa freak myself, and this car is just incredible! I've build a couple of 105's myself, and I would love to do anything that's even close to being as rad as this car is! Awesome work man! and the sound.. I love it!

Thanks chuckie! But you can build something like this. All you gotta do is sell your soul. The devil takes over from there!!

street

Just spent an hour reading this thread.
Holy crap I love your car.

Thanks CianRyan! I appreciate your time spent. More on the way.

street

[CianRyan]

Just spent an hour reading this thread.
Holy crap I love your car.

[chuckie]

I'm a pretty big alfa freak myself, and this car is just incredible! I've build a couple of 105's myself, and I would love to do anything that's even close to being as rad as this car is! Awesome work man! and the sound.. I love it!

[Invincible]

DAMN... at the center of this thread it didn't look too good because of the kinda low quality pics.. but from the last video.... oh dear god...the looks and the voice. If i would see this in person i whould probably shit myself from happiness

[Rubens]

Love the write-ups!

[street]

Look Ma! No Flat Bed!!

So today was the first time I strayed further than normal from the Spider's lair. But at the same time, it was a perfect long trip testing day. I had to go back to the exhaust shop to correct a slight abrasion on the drive shaft during suspension travel.

Spider held about 180-190 for the water.
Engine bay was 60
Inside Plenums was 40
Incoming air was 29

Once off the highway, water went to 210. Bay and plenums stayed the same and outside air went to 30.

Also, there is absolutely ZERO (read that again), ZERO drone from the muffler. If there is drone, it doesn't have a prayer to be heard over the 3.7!! Don't believe me? Then you need to watch Part 7 of the Spider files again.

Nothing major was needed at the shop. Just a small tweak and I was good to go. During the initial inspection, I found a causality - the left handbrake cable got toasted by the exhaust!! It basically looked like a a rat was nom-noming on it like a piece of cheese!



I also noticed that the right rear fender was rubbing the time intermittently. So I will have to pull that fender a tad more.

Other than that, everything else was normal from underneath. Well, that and a few battle scars of scrapin!! Yes, that 1mm thick belly pan is saving my ass and doubling as a huge skid plate to deflect the abrasions. Just what the Spider ordered.







Anyway, I got back into Toronto withing 25 minutes and went to work on the right fender. Also, the coil over collars are loaded with dirt and crap. So much that they just refused to budge as I was going to adjust the height. I sprayed them down with some PB Blaster and will get back to them tomorrow.

Slowly, the bugs are being worked out. This is all about the testing phase.

street

[street]

Replys.

Omfg that sounds amazing!!!
This car is gorgeous <3

Thanks got splits!

street

mk3 is the daily?

Yeah, it's just my get around. I've never bothered to put anything into a daily. It's 100% stock.

street

One of the best builds EVER! Glad to see you deliver and continue working on this monster!

Thanks Clun9! Some days I feel like I'm going backwards. But I keep pushing knowing I will land whatever concept/design I go after.

street

I love this Alfa!

Thanks tstacks!

street

I thought the build was awesome... Then I heard the sound

Haha! Thanks FunfGang! When driving, it just ALL motor!! More on that in today's update.

street

[FunfGang]

I thought the build was awesome... Then I heard the sound

[tstacks]

I love this Alfa!