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"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
02/19/2015 at 15:35 • Filed to: None

I'm pretty sure I fluffed up the flange around the top of the head.

DISCUSSION (25)

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 15:37

I do love those lateral push rods...

Chairman Kaga > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
02/19/2015 at 15:41

It's such a cool design, really. Very lightweight and extremely advanced for its time. Not especially easy to work on though...

'Wägen, EPA LOL > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 15:42

I need an alfa in my life.

RallyWrench > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 15:42

Looks like you did a pretty good job minimizing the damage, though. Could have been worse. Any findings yet?

PS9 > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 15:46

Fully fluffed flanges fixed fairly fast for full functionality.

Sam > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 15:48

What was the final solution?

crowmolly > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 15:55

That looks like Permatex "Right Stuff" or Ultra Black.

Wow. Nice work getting that off of the head.

Chairman Kaga > RallyWrench
02/19/2015 at 16:08

Pushrods are intact. Exhaust valves seem to be intact. I'll have to pull the heads to really know, I'm afraid.

Chairman Kaga > Sam
02/19/2015 at 16:09

Kept at it with chisels. Yeah, i really did fluff up the top edge. Good thing the oil isn't under pressure. With actual gaskets and maybe a little JB Weld to smooth it out, it might be OK.

Chairman Kaga > crowmolly
02/19/2015 at 16:11

I shit you not, as I was pulling it up the stuff was clinging to the cover for dear life. I had to wrestle the cover free with full arm strength. It stretched at least a foot before it snapped. Seriously bad juju.

Sam > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 16:11

Oh yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine. Just make sure to check for leaks before you actually drive it.

Chairman Kaga > 'Wägen, EPA LOL
02/19/2015 at 16:11

Want mine?

Seriously.

Chairman Kaga > Sam
02/19/2015 at 16:12

I also got a good bit of aluminum flecks in the head. I guess if I pull them out it doesn't really matter.

crowmolly > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 16:15

Sounds like the "Right Stuff". Works really well to seal leaks and hold stuff in place but you need a pry bar to get things back apart.

Sam > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 16:15

Are you just gonna do a rebuild? Because that may be a good idea.

Chairman Kaga > crowmolly
02/19/2015 at 16:22

Top Gear Top Tip - don't use Permatex Right Stuff to create gaskets between engine components you might someday need to separate without destroying them.

Chairman Kaga > Sam
02/19/2015 at 16:24

We'll see. Maybe find some hotter S-Cams, higher flow injectors, and depending on whether or not it dropped a valve and blew a piston apart, maybe a bore/stroke job with a port and polish?

'Wägen, EPA LOL > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 16:34

I've been on an on-again-off-again project car hunt for over a year. For better or worse I blew my budget making my girlfriend into my wife - that engine swap is expected to be finished this fall. There's always at least one Alfa on my short list.

You have a mid 80s GTV6, no? The younger sister of the "makes-my-heart-flutter" stepnose...

It's funny - I keep telling my fiancee that she is wearing my 911. She knows her spot in the garage will be filled shortly after the wedding, lol.

Chairman Kaga > 'Wägen, EPA LOL
02/19/2015 at 16:45

I bought mine (it's an '82) the year before we got married. I'd been saving about $3,000 from selling my old Pathfinder to buy a project car. I was actually looking for an NA Miata, which seemed like a "practical" choice. I found this instead. College kid in over his head.

When kids came along, my weekends in the garage were reduced to an hour here and there. I honestly have no idea how I'm going to budget the time to rebuild heads, possibly pistons, maybe even a crank. If it gets to that point I think I'm going to just track down a 3.0 from a Milano Verde. That motor has +30hp and about +40lbft. Not a mind blowing difference, but in a car that small and light it'll drop 0-60 by a second and a half, if not more, and make driving in traffic far more bearable.

'Wägen, EPA LOL > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 17:00

That's not an inconsequential bump. My daily is a TDI JSW and it's going in for a remap in the spring to bring it up to APR Stage 1. That'll be a +20 hp, +50 lb/ft.

Kinja'd!!!

I just can't leave anything I buy alone, hahaha. I really just need a project so I stop poking my daily all the damn time.

But back to your alfa, are you planning on bringing over the 3.0 with the taller gearing or using the 2.5 tranny (assuming the bell housing bolts up).

Chairman Kaga > 'Wägen, EPA LOL
02/19/2015 at 17:05

I have a spare 2.5 transaxle that I want(ed) to rebuild with lightened, re-ratioed gears. Something better for cruising the Texas hillcountry than Italian country roads. That's another $1500 or so. But the 3.0 from the Verde bolts right up. It's not until you start trying to swap the 3.0 or 3.2 from the 164 that it becomes a truly complicated issue.

'Wägen, EPA LOL > Chairman Kaga
02/19/2015 at 17:08

Well best of luck, man. I'm sure you'll get her sorted and back on the road soon. If you do think of selling though, give me a shout. I've got a nice warm garage she can hide in all winter away from the upstate NY snow.

zziro > Chairman Kaga
02/23/2015 at 20:40

Hey, I just PM'd you on AlfaBB. Did you get it?

zziro > zziro
02/23/2015 at 20:46

Don't see it in my AlfaBB sent box, whatever. I'll paste it here:

Hey, man! I saw your post on the AlfaBB email blast and it caught my interest because I recognized the intake plenum thingy as that of a GTV-6, and I have an '84 I bought a couple years ago. When I went to the thread I saw your username and realized you're that other Alfa guy on Jalopnik! So then I googled "jalopnik chairmankaga" and I found your recent posts in oppo about your borked busso. Also google showed a link to an old convo on AlfaBB you had with a xander18 and you asked him if he was the same as xander from Jalopnik. I know xander from Jalopnik personally! I met him through jalop years ago in NYC and we have been friends ever since even though he lives in Cali now. Small world!

Anyway, I'm so sorry to hear about your engine issues, man. That is such a drag. I completely understand the anxiety you were having when it first made the noises. Your mind starts racing and you're immediately pondering the worst (selling the car). A similar thing happened to me last year. So, my car lives with my parents (for now) in Indiana. One weekend my wife and I were visiting home and my dad is like "well, I hate to give you bad news as soon as you get here, but the Alfa has something wrong with it. I don't know if we can sell it in this condition... there's something wrong with the engine. I took it to the shop to have the oil changed and they said it's all ****ed up now! I don't know what happened! blablabla etc." He was panicking just like you. He started the car for me and it was totally choking and stumbling. So we popped the hood and had a look. I immediately noticed that cylinder 6 had a very taught plug wire while cylinder 5's was way slack..... So we swapped the two (making the wire lengths look a lot more appropriate) and the thing was good as new lol. Bastards (or retards, take your pic) at the auto shop had switched the wires and were then telling my dad we needed a full "tuneup." I'm not even a natural wrench, myself haha. I got lucky. Your situation is obviously another world of challenge. I couldn't possibly handle your problem. Good luck, man! Don't give up!

On a sidenote, it occurs to me that kickstarters or gofundme campaigns would probably work in the tight-knit world of Alfistis. I bet a young family man like yourself trying to make his Alfa work could water the eyes of many an elderly Alfisti. If you could use the Alfa channels (like AlfaBB and the various owners associations) to disperse your gofundme campaign with a touching message about yourself the young Alfa guy struggling to make things work, they'd totally open their wallets/paypals to lend you a hand! Would you be open to that?

Chairman Kaga > zziro
02/24/2015 at 18:40

Yup! Considering options, but first diagnosing.