ALPHIE LIVES & BREATHES - after forty-five years (maybe more)!

Clint (previous owner) tells me that he thinks Alphie last ran around 1979 or 80, and I brought him home six years ago…

That’s a long sleep! 

(Apparently I need a computer science degree to get a video embedded in Blogger - go to the More Stuff column on the right for the Alphie Lives! video.  BTW, The whirring sound you hear before I crank Alphie are fans blowing the exhaust out of the garage.)

The video isn’t the FIRST start because, of course, I had some problems. 

1. I burned Pertronix Ignitor when I hooked it up to a 1.4-ohm coil, it requires a 3-ohm coil. More on this below.

2. I had the plug wires in the wrong order – duh! 

3. The timing was WAY off, and I couldn’t get it to idle slow enough to set it.

4. The idle was high because I had the “secondary throttle barrel” (as the service manual calls it) of the carb open, so as soon as the engine hit, it raced.  Fixed that.

5. The timing isn’t as easy as it should be.  Alpiners know there is a timing adjuster thumb screw on the vacuum advance, BUT the distributor has to be turned to a ballpark timing because the screw adjuster can only adjust so much.  Getting the little clamp that holds the distributor to the block is a bit, shall-we-say, fiddly, but I persevered and got it. 

6. BEFORE I tried to fire up Alphie for the first time, I discovered that I had the wrong fittings on the fuel line out of the tanks and into the fuel pump.  Care to guess how I determined they were too small?  I only poured about a quart of gas on the floor. 

I discovered I needed a better engine ground when I burned my hand on the clutch hydraulic line.  Fixed that. 

I also found some oil and exhaust leaks during all this.

I should readjust the valve too.

So, he's not quite ready for the road just yet.

Back to the fried Ignitor: I was pretty sure I had cooked the Ignitor because I had spark, and Alphie was chugging fitfully along with his wrong firing order and WAY too advanced timing, but when I tried to fire him up again, I had no spark.  I spent two days (maybe more) checking everything with the multimeter then double checking, then triple checking but couldn’t find anything wrong.  The coil was obviously not tripping, but I couldn’t figure out why.  I suspected the Ignitor, so I ran the Ignitor unit test on the Pertronix website, but the results were confusing. 

I spent about 2.5 hours on the phone with the Pertronix guys before we got the test done correctly and determined that I had blown the first Ignitor.  (Turned out I had the multimeter leads wrong for the positive ground test.)  

The voltage is supposed to drop from 12-volts (battery voltage) to zero (or at least below 3-volts) when the magnet is turned past the Ignitor unit.  Mine went from 12 to 4-volts, bad Ignitor unit.  The Pertronix tech guys were great, by the way. 

I bought a new Ignitor and 3-ohm Flame Thrower coil and Bob’s your uncle, plenty of spark!

I shot the video AFTER all that!  You can tell that Alphie still needs some fine tuning; he’s kind of chugging a bit during the video.  I can hear an exhaust leak, and I can see some oil drops on the floor, so there’s more work to do before Alphie can leave the garage.

Shiny Knockoff Spinners!

I LOVE 'EM!

The pic at the top of the post shows an old spinner next to the rechromed one so you can see just how much better they are!

A huge shout out to Joe DelVecchio at Red’s Parts Attic & Chrome Plating for re-chroming Alphie’s spinners.  They look AWESOME!

Red’s Parts Attic & Chrome Plating, 23220 Laura Lane, New Caney, TX 77357.  (713) 299-1555 or joe@redspartattic.com

Page Sixty-Six - Back to It

 

I left off with the seat bottoms, now for the backs.

Maybe you have noticed – I have – that many Alpine seats often look deflated.  The foam decays, yeah, but the cardboard Rootes used as structure absorbs water and collapses over time, especially the cardboard behind the foam in the seat backs, if it's there at all.

(Pic above - the lumpiness is slowly working its way out as the vinyl slowly stretches and constracts.  I set them in the sun to loosen the vinyl.  I'm working on the metal pieces that cover the hinges.  One was missing and one was pretty rusted - I'm fabbing those two pieces.)

I bought some matte board (the stuff used to frame pictures) and fitted it to the frame.  When I took Alphie’s seat backs apart, they didn’t have cardboard behind the foam, so I cut some matte board to fit it.

But, as I was researching seats on the forum, someone mentioned that they had used Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic, and it occurred to me that ABS plastic will not absorb water and will retain its shape indefinitely, so I ordered some.

ABS sheet, cardboard pattern and my jigsaw with a metal cutting blade.
Cut at a slow speed because fast will melt the ABS.

I got two 24” X 48” sheets, big enough for two outer and two inner panels - I used the cardboard pieces as patterns.  ABS isn’t as easy to work with as cardboard, but the results are strikingly better.  I bent the outer pieces with a heat gun on low heat.  The stuff melts if you get it too hot so go slow.

ABS outer panel before bending

Outer ABS panel after bending.
There were wrinkles to work out, note the top edge of the frame.

With the ABS in place, I found I didn’t need glue when I fitted the foam.

I strayed from Mr. Parlanti’s instructions in that he glued the center section of the seat cover to the foam.  I found that glue wouldn’t pull the vinyl tight enough, and Alphie’s seat covers are later model ones with the “hinged” centers section, where Mr. Parlanti’s were one-piece covers.

I inserted metal rods into the finish seams on the front side pieces (see the pic) so that I could pull the sides tight with safety wire looped around the frame, again, see the pics.

Metal rods inserted in the finish seams

Inner panel attached to the frame with slots for the safety wire.
Safety wire looped around the frame to pull the seat cover sides tight

Safety wire pulled tight and trimmed

Bend the wire so that it won't poke through the vinyl.
The covers are significantly tighter than if I had glued them.

The rest of the installation followed Mr. Parlanti’s instruction except that I added extra polyester batting over the outside of the frame and under the top portion of the center section to add fill and smooth over the frame pieces.  (Don’t use cotton batting, by the way.  It will collapse over time and absorb water.)

Issues of Note:

The sprocket for the back recline-adjuster is made of some seriously hard steel.  Long story coming.

The sprocket on the recliner gizmo is made of VERY HARD steel.
Note that I got new bolts because 3 inch long 1/4 inch screws are hard to find.

The flat head screws that attach the sprocket to the seat frame use Wentworth threads, infuriatingly hard to find.  (OK, I had the old ones, but they were very rusty, they are flat-headed, and they just suck.) Maybe some specialty fastener companies have Wentworth threaded hardware on the web somewhere, but they are WAY more expensive than it’s worth. 

FYI - pushing the adjuster lever down until it meets
the metal frame locks the seat back in place - unlike modern cars.

SO, I decided to rethread them with a 5/16” tap – broke two taps before it dawned on me that the steel is amazingly hard.  SO, I tried drilling them out, destroyed a 5/16” bit and only drilled one hole – gave up and bought some ¼” socket button head machine screws because they don’t stick out much and just bolted it together.  Not stock but sorted!

Socket button head screw in place
Pro-Tip: Take the pics before assembling the seats.

Seat Springs

(The ones that push the seat forward when you pull the handle.)  I had noticed that many Alpine seats have bent springs, and that the springs tend to drag across the vinyl as they flex.

Perhaps Alphie's seats had been reuphostered or "fixed" at some point because the springs were attached directly to the bottom seat frame.  The spring in Mr. Parlanti's instructions were attached to a tab of sheet metal attached to the frame, which located them away from the frame so that they neither bend nor rub against the vinyl.  I fabbed up a set for Alphie's seats.  You'll see in the pic below that my first attempt didn't clear the frame far enough so I made some longer ones.

Spring mounts - the first and second attempts.
Note that the springs doesn't contact the frame or vinyl, smashing!

Since the springs were bent and rusty, I found some new ones.  They were a bit shorter and have less pull tension, but they work well and two small "S" hooks fixed the length problem.

The old, bent and rusty springs

Console

I upholstered console top.  I will add pics or maybe a new page about restoring the console, but here's some pics until then.

Underside of the console lid

I lined the inside with some
rubber liner for tool box drawers 

The console box is painted and ready. 
I'll glue the vinyl to it and finish the edges soon

Page Sixty-Five - Some Ketchup (Catsup?)

 

I’ve been working on several things lately, but I haven’t finished anything, so this is to catch you up.

Prop Shaft Shop – aka Drive Shaft

I finally dragged my “self” to the off-road shop in town to get Alphie’s prop shaft rebalanced.  (It’s about a 40-minute one-way drive, “wah,” I know, but I put it off forever).  I figured it would shake like a withdrawing addict since the original balance weights had mostly rusted off. 

It’s installed, done, box checked.

Cleaned and spiffy unbalanced prop shaft
(This is an over-drive shaft; it's shorter)

The balanced shaft - the arrows point to the nifty new weights

Hard Top Shop

Alabama summers are too hot and humid to paint in a garage, so I set myself to other tasks.  I bought all the accoutrements for the hard top, the weather seals, window glass, head liner, the whole kit.

The weather seals, although a bit fiddly, went on relatively easily.  The new side glass gave me some resistance, but the frames cleaned up and along with the weatherstripping, they’re fitted.

New top-to-body and window weatherstripping,
new Lexan glass and cleaned latch, spanking!

New windscreen weatherstrip and some sound insulation

Head liner:  I glued in some sound matting to the underside of the top but decided to wait until I have the interior completed before installing the head liner.  Any hint of dirt will smudge it, and I want more of the dirt making processes finished before taking on the head liner.

The hard top is patiently waiting on its stand for the moment.

The Bonehead Upholstery Shop

I bought a complete interior from Sunbeam Specialties, and it is FANTASTIC!  It’s a light blue, “Clipper Blue” to be exact, with dark blue piping.  It looks awesome against Alphie’s dark blue paint!

Black carpeting, Alpine script floor mats

The seats are the first on the list.  I’m including instructions on restoring Alpine seats in the “More Stuff” column on the right of the blog.  If you want the original write up, it’s on the Tigers East/Alpines East (TEAE) site at teae.org.  The article is called “N-38 How to Restore Your Seats” by Joe Parlanti and was posted March 27, 2009.

I have edited and reformatted it to shorten it and make it a bit easier to follow, so my apologies to Mr. Parlanti.

I’ll let Mr. Parlanti’s instructions do the heavy lifting, and I’ll explain how and why I diverged from the instructions in a few places.

Bottom frame cleaned, painted with replacement bungees ready to install

Back frame cleaned, painted with foam installed
(I forgot to take a pic before gluing on the foam.)

Canvas riveted on. I fabbed two of the metal stays
because they rusted to dust.

Mr. Parlanti talks of gluing vs sewing the top canvas corner.
I sewed them because I don't think a glued connection will last.

Speaking of sewing, I sewed the center section of the upholstery
to the foam/canvas. Much tighter, and I didn't trust gluing it.

Mr. Parlanti's seat kits didn't include this flap (arrows).
They pull the canvas and rubber straps a bit tighter.
(Place them under the metal rail so that you can glue down
the vinyl and attach the spring bracket.)

I wanted to tighten my rubber straps, so I bent them a bit to shorten them.

Glued and clamped!

Finished! I used some #6 stainless screws because they are very secure and  I didn't have enough of the little clips you see in the pic.
Many had rusted to dust, go figure.

Damned brilliant, I must say!
Sewing the center section pulled it in place much better than gluing it would

I'm working on the seat backs and will add some more pics when I'm finished.  I'm waiting on some ABS plastic sheets for the back of the seat backs, for one thing.

I got the later model seat kits with a center flap
with a sleeve for the second foam piece.
Mr. Parlanti's use a single foam piece.

Do you like the dark blue piping?  

Page Sixty-Four - SITREP Alphie 2025

 

Alphie is looking younger (almost) everyday!  (I’m not, however.)

During the “Assembly Phase,” which was five years in the making, everything I do takes years off Alphie.  No particular schedule to it, just as I buff out a section, I install more stuff.

Check out Alphie's new shoes!

Installing the doors was a fairly big swing (sorry, can’t help myself) because I could then adjust the windshield to the quarter lights and install the weather stripping.  I screwed up some paint, but I knew assembly would create touch-up opportunities.

Oh, and NEW SHOES! 

Huge shout out to Classic Car Performance from whom I bought Alphie’s Motor Wheel Service (MWS) Dunlop wire wheels.  Alphie’s new shoes are 13”X4.5”, a half inch wider than his originals, but the 4.5’s were a tad cheaper, and I figured he could use a bit larger contact patch.  Other than the extra half inch, all the other specs are spot on.  Found out that the 4.5 inchers require inner tubes where the 4 inchers don’t.  No biggie, but I didn’t notice that until I saw the sticker on the wheels.

They’re chrome.  You could get chrome wire wheels back in the day, but only from the dealership.  The factory only fitted painted wire wheels.  But damn do they look fantastic – remember, I ‘m going for “reasonably” original.

Thirteen-inch tires are becoming Dodos.  I found a few, but I bought some from Coker Tires.  They’re not performance tires by any stretch, but neither is Alphie.  Coker Tires also had the inner tubes I needed.

PICTURES!

Dash, glove box, steering wheel, wind screen (shield) and doors installed

Door and quarter light weather stripping installed

Boot and boot bits installed
(I wanted to see what all the boot tools looked like in place.)

Boot lid with springs installed!

Bonnet latch installed
(I have some clean-up work to do in the engine bay.)

The bonnet is buffed and ready to go but not on the hinges yet

Paint Boo-Boos

I’m still plagued with paint clangers (a Brit bit for ya), some self-inflicted, some not. If you look closely at these pics, you'll see a few of them.

I will say, partly because you can't prove me wrong, that the paint looks better in the wild than in my pics.

Refitting the doors, the bonnet, boot lid and such will almost always leave some scrapes and chips.  So far, I haven’t just dropped something or bumped into it.  I realize just saying that puts Alphie's paint in significant danger.

I expect a bit of Sod’s Law, especially during assembly.  I’ll tackle the paint cock-ups when I finish screwing up stuff.

But I have some curious ghosty blemishes that appeared after I polished out the clear coat.  Still scratching my head over it, but my theory is that the ghosts are bits of color coat exposed during wet sanding, like layers on a cake you can see after it’s been cut.

I hope that spraying another layer of clear over it will scare off the ghosts – more on that later.

A couple of update pics!

Tail lights, bumperettes (bumper guards? buffers? Doohickies?
whatever the Brits call 'em) and rear bumper installed!

License (number) plate lights and bracket installed!

Page Sixty-Three - Doorhenge

 

You never wanted to know this much about door hinges, and I’m so sorry for wasting your brain space.  I hope it doesn't push out your granma's phone number or some other important bit of info.

Alpiners tell me that door hinges are side specific; okay, but I can only find the smallest difference between them, and if it is the defining difference, I can’t see how it would make even the slightest functional difference.

And the part numbers!

We’re only talking Series IV & V upper door hinges - the lower hinges are asymmetrical and only fit one way, and I don’t know anything about the early models.

So, what’s NOT the difference?

Hole placement: The upper hinge hole pattern is symmetrical on both plates.

The holes are equidistant and symmetrical

Distance from hinge pivot pin to holes: The holes are all equidistant from the pivot on each plate.

Angle from hinge plate to pivot pin: I checked, the angles of the door side plate are the same as the pin side plate and are the same on the driver’s side and passenger’s side hinges.  It’s possible that someone bent a hinge to massage the gaps and door fit, but that seems unlikely as bending the hinges would require either a hell of a lot of force or a torch.

Each bend-angle on each plate is the same

My Search for something that shows which hinges goes on which side

Forum Posts: I can’t find a forum post that discusses which hinge goes where – a couple of posts mention that the hinges are side specific, but they're mute on which side mounts where. 

Online Pics: I have looked for pictures online (and there are bloody few of them) that show the orientation of the hinges, and even when I found one, I can’t be sure that someone hasn’t swapped the hinges at some point.

Part Numbers: Talk about a dry hole!  What are the damn part numbers for that matter? 

Each hinge has two sets of “part” numbers, which I’m beginning to think are more likely casting numbers.

Driver’s Side Hinge Part Numbers:

Front Facing Numbers (door mount side or double pivot point plate)	Rear Facing Numbers (A pillar mount side or single pivot point plate)
IH	IH
2201312	2201314
220313	2201315
(W)	(W)

Passenger’s side Hinge Part Numbers:

Front Facing Numbers (door mount side or single pivot point plate)	Rear Facing Numbers (A pillar mount side or double pivot point plate)
IH	IH
2201314	2201312
2201315	220313
(W)	(W)

If you’re looking closely – and you must – one set of numbers designates the single pivot point plate, no matter whether it mounts to the door or A pillar.  And the other set of numbers designates the double pivot point plate.  (Absolutely no idea why one string of numbers has six digits while the rest have seven.)

"Part" numbers, which seem more likle cast numbers

Same for the back of the hinges
NOTE the numbers switch!

SO, the numbers stamped on the hinge CANNOT be part numbers since each hinge has both sets of numbers stamped either on the front or the back.

The Parts Manual: The parts manual lists part numbers, but not the ones above.  I even looked for the numbers in the “Numerical Index” (section ZZ of the parts manual), zed, nowt (look it up), bugger all.  I can find the part number before and after the ones I’m looking for, but there’s a gap where they should be.

AND the part numbers listed in the Parts Manual are not the ones stamped on the hinges.  No help there, at all!

So, what is the difference?

Where the single pivot point plate mounts: The difference is that the single pivot point plate mounts to the door and the double pivot point plate mounts to the A pillar. 

That’s it, it’s all I can find, and I have no idea why it matters!

My unanswered questions: 

1.   1.  What functional difference (given the symmetry of the upper hinges) could mounting the single pivot point to the door or the A pillar make?

Why the difference?  You could argue that the weight of the door is better suited to swing on the single or double pivot point, maybe.  Either way, the hinges’ pivot points are holding the weight of the swinging door; I can’t see how which side has the single point or the double makes much, if any difference.

2.    2. How do we know that the single pivot point side mounts to the door anyway?

Crowd Sourcing:  Eric tells me that on each of his Alpines, the hinges are mounted with the single pivot point on the door.  I posted the question on the Sunbeam Alpine Owners Club of America (SAOCA) forum, and other Alpiners back Eric’s conclusion. 

Lower Hinges: The lower hinges bolster the “single-pivot-point-to-the-door” theory.  Since they are asymmetrical, we know exactly how the lower hinges mount, and the plate that mounts to the door has one less pivot point (2 points) than the plate that mounts to the A pillar (3 points).

Still, there isn’t any documentation to confirm any of this.

But, one more thing…

Another Data Point: And it’s circumstantial, one set of Alphie’s hinges are noticeably looser than the other set.  Since the driver’s side door is opened and closed significantly more often than the passenger side, it would stand to reason that the driver’s side hinges would be looser.

As it turns out, with all my putzing around online, fiddling with part numbers, and with Eric’s pic and forum posts, the set we collectivly identified as the driver’s side hinges are indeed the loose ones.  

There you have it, case closed, solid, definitive research, innit? 

Everything ready to go  - FINALLY!

Although I can’t see that it matters, I’m going with it.

If you happen to know that everything above is bollocks, please post a comment. 

I really would like to know why Rootes made them side specific.