Category Archives: Interesting Parts

F.I.S.P.A. Air cleaner for most single carb Sprints and Spiders + mystery

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I got this FISPA (TIPO: FATS 5032, DISEGNO: 9815) air filter canister from a reader as sort of partial payment for helping sell a car.  I thought it would be right for my Sprint but it turns out it’s got a slightly different shape than another one I had on hand for a Sprint.

Applications: I decided to check the parts book and found there are three versions of this part.  If anyone has an original older Sprint or Spider I’d be interested in hearing which box you have.

  • 1315.53.820: For Spider up to engine 1315.43709; after that see 1315.53.832.
  • 1315.53.832: for Sprint from engine 1315.05874 to 1315.09002 – for Spider from engine 1315.43710 to 1315.45854; after those numbers see 101.02.08.010.00.
  • 101.02.08.010.00: for Sprint and Spider after numbers above.

Failure mode: rusts out, stabilizing mount to valve cover Splits, it gets lost.

Current state of parts: Classic Alfa UK sells a new repro.  eBay usually has a one listed in need of restoration for about $400.

Notes: Early versions seem to have a bolt instead of the loop (part 11 below) for tightening to the top of the carb.  I have seen several sorts of FISPA labels, from a stamped metal plate to a screened on decal.  Bill Gillham has repro’s of some of these.

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Heater part 2: Heater valve 1493.54.709 and control cable 1488.31.723

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Last installment we looked at the heat exchanger box itself, this time I’ll focus on the bits that hook it up and control the incoming hot water: the heater valve and the push/pull cable that controls the valve.  The first generation of Sprint’s had a heater valve (1483.54.711) that looked not far removed from a garden tap and you actually had to pop the hood and get out to turn on the flow of hot water to the heater core (if you didn’t realize you were going to want heat before you started out).  At some point this was deemed a little old fashioned so a cable operated valve was put to use -cousins of which can be found on Alfa’s for many years to follow.

Valve failure mode(s): hardening of rubber diverter seal, oxidation leading to through pits or breakage, loss.

Control cable failure mode(s): still/difficult operation, cable breakage/cut leading to too short, loss.

The current state of the parts supply has:

1493.54.709 with new diaphragm seal installed.  Like all rubber things, it just got hard and cracked after 50+ years.  The inner plateau seals against the port in the valve body, keeping the water out of the core when not wanted, the outer ring seals to the body to keep it from leaking when it’s open.

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Veloce engines starting with part number 1315.10.768

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Update 6/23/12: Sold for $7100.

Original post 5/23/12: 12 hours later:  I just added a bunch of information at the end.  Read it again if you found the first draft interesting.

I see a lot of talk about Veloce engines on the AlfaBB and the 750/101 Yahoo group.  Some crusty pile that has a Veloce serial number is pulled out of a bog and the seller carpet bombs the lists looking for a Veloce engine as close to original number as possible.  Old time hoarders are rewarded for moth balling these gems, but what will the future look like?  I bring it up because there is a late 750 Veloce engine on eBay right now, number 1315*31525, that looks great and is receiving a lot of attention.  Look at the picture and add it up.  How much is enough to get it all at once?

Okay, so maybe it is a moth balled 40 years original low miles engine.  Could be a bitsa, but who really cares?  You’ve got a 58 Sprint/Spider Veloce that needs an engine: here it is.  Nice headers!

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Engauged at the moment

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Sometimes it’s a box of chocolates you get that forces you to take little nibbles out of them to see what’s what, or a line-up of a dozen or more of the same model of something spanning a few years to see that what you thought was the same is subtly different.  I’m sure you remember the day you saw an early 750 ‘eyebrow’ Sprint beside a later 101 ‘eggcrate’ Sprint and the heavens opened in that a-ha moment -they are the same car but utterly different.  Well, I happen to have a nonet of Giulietta gauges on my dining table staring me down and just such a thing is happening.  What I regarded as vaguely homogenous has demonstrated itself to be quite heterogeneous -especially in their elderly state.

In all their glory and with a sprinkling of other fun stuff -the gauges!  Let’s see, I have two Veloce 140 MPH speedometers, 2 2000 – 8000 Veloce Tachometers, one English, one Italian, two tri-gauges, a normal speedometer, a normal tachometer and an empty tach case.  Why?  Because I can.

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1493.80.711 Sprint and Sprint Veloce Light, rear number plate (Carello)

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This is the first post in a new series I’ve been working on, that will coincide with a car I’m working on and some other endeavors.  Project cars are called basket cases because many times you get baskets full of mystery parts.  The car I’m working on is no different except that occasionally an unmarked sandwich bag holds all the bits to a particular assembly, as was the case with this one, the famous ‘airplane’ rear plate light housing and trim flourish.  This assembly is pretty straight forward, a plated casting with some mounting studs (at least one of which is usually broken off), a light socket assembly with a mount, a lens and some screws.  This assembly is tricky, because all those parts are specific to it -except possibly the screws.

Not the best picture, but good enough -it’s hard to show those little screws and the big casting in the same picture.  That little Alfa emblem is and has been unavailable for years.  This one is pretty good, with only some light crazing.  Not sure if the triangular Carello lens is available.  Maybe Alfastop?

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Interesting parts: set of 5 early production Fergat wheels 1365.52.810

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Giulietta part number 1365.52.810 -Disc wheel – Fergat 4 1/4 J x 15 CZ.  This full set of early ‘rolled lip’ Fergats is on eBay right now.  Asking price is $1500, steep seeming, but when rarity and condition are weighed, probably a pretty good deal -especially if you need a set for your 1956 Sprint!  The parts book makes no mention of an early/late style for these, so a cut off point for production is tough to pin down.  Anyone have a car with these and care to share a vin?  Parts book says each car uses a quantity 2 -humorous typo.

Imagine these on your car!  Fresh wheels do a lot for the impression a car makes on you.  BMW Polaris silver?

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Box with very cool contents arrives at Giuliettas.com HQ

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Update 1/16/12: You can contact Rene at rkemmer @ knoware.nl if you are interested in a set.

1/13/12: I keep this site up for free for the most part.  Some days I spend 20 minutes, some 2 hours, but I just do what they day dictates, because I enjoy it and have this vision of what this site would be if I kept it up for 20 years.  Every once in a while I get a gift because of the site.  Laurence gave me a VERY nice steering wheel for my Sprint -transforming how the feel of the car was transmitted through my hands, Bob gave me some very nice used all red tail light lenses, Joe a set of headlight rings and an air box and there are others.  Today, all unexpected, Rene sent me this:

It’s actually kind of funny, I thought the orange post office ‘come get your package’ notice was for a box (or two) of Glas GT parts I was expecting from Germany, or my rebuilt Solex from George, or even possibly more baby stuff.  I was not expecting this.

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Difficult to find part for sale: Giulietta Spider seat tracks

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Update:  Laurence comment below is correct, Afra sells these as a set for 744.15 Euro’s before shipping.  You can subtract 21% VAT if you’re not in a VAT country -which for the US is about $765.

For sale:  Full set of Giulietta/Giulia Spider seat tracks in excellent condition.  $500 obo (free insured shipping to contiguous US at this price).  Those of you who have never looked for a set of these seat tracks are no doubt looking at my asking price skeptically, but if you have looked for a full set, including the bottoms, you are probably thinking ‘eh, that’s about right’.  If you need these and moneys tight -send me an email and convince me why you should get them for a really good deal.  I’m a sucker for a hard luck case.  I’m always up for trading too and have a long wish list!

Other than some slight surface rust they are nice.  Knobs are smooth -no splitting, springs and catches are tight. 

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Rare part: Sprint Speciale drivers door glass

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Update 5/24/11:  Huh.  Sold for $225.  There was a time when 3 guys I know would have bid on a lot on this.

Elmar pointed out to me that there is an SS drivers door glass on eBay right now.  While I had my SS project a lot of guys asked about this part. It took me about 2 years to find one as well.   There are two versions of the window to accommodate different mounting styles, but the differences are all inside the door, so a clever restorer should be able to make either work on either mechanism.  Ends tonight!

New correct Sprint Speciale wind deflector’s available now!

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In the pursuit of perfection, or at least originality, Ben in Austin did some research, compared some original samples and when he knew he had the secret of their original shape uncovered, got some proper wind deflectors made -one for his car and a few extras to sell to SS owners like you to help offset the expense.  I know what you are thinking -lots of Alfa parts retailers carry a flat reproduction of these and they are not expensive -so why go through the trouble?  Thing is, several original deflectors were compared and all had a 15 degree angle back toward the windshield to them, which means they are not simply a flat profile cut from Plexi (or whatever) like the current repro’s available.  Check it out.

Old beside new.  Makes sense that it would be this shape.  Franco was hyper-sensitive to aerodynamic efficiency (you’ve seen the pictures with strips of wool attached to the car at speed on the autostrada) and this bend would create a slightly more slippery shape.  Good work Ben!

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Interesting parts: Blank 101 1300 block

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It appears that I have an opportunity to buy an 00120 block with a number appropriate to by SS.  Exciting? Yes! Well, to help make it happen I am selling off some of the more interesting bits in my collection of spares. Among them is this block, a blank 101 1300 in fantastic condition.

Before I get into the details of this particular block I should address the subject of blank blocks in general. I have seen these, or cars with them under the hood for sale occasionally and the story often attached to them is that Alfa’s procedure for catastrophic failure (thrown rod, broken main support web etc) called for the replacement of the parts with new factory parts. If the block was damaged, you got a new one.  I don’t know if the replacements were short blocks, or blocks only to which any required parts were added to replace any unable to fulfill their role, but in any case, what came out the other side was an engine without an identity.  Like that seen here.  Why no number?  Something to do with accounting perhaps.  Maybe they were supposed to stamp the new block with the old blocks numbers, but the dealers never received the stamp set.  Anyone know more?

Starting from the part you see at the end of the build, the outside. You can see this is a pretty nice block.  In better shape than any of the blocks I’ve built up before.  I would paint the dipstick tube if I were building this.

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The rear view mirror.

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Update 1/26/10:  So I got the correct mirror off eBay recently for $112.50 -in better condition than the Spider mirror I bought as seen below and cheaper.  Here is what it looks like.  Anyone want to buy a late Giulietta/Giulia Spider mirror?  I’m $150 into it…

THIS is the mirror I needed as seen in Aarons Giulia Sprint.

 And a good side view of the base.  If you have an SS, chances are this is the mirror you need.

Update 12/20/09: Okay, so I’m an idiot. I bought the wrong mirror. Oh well. I think I can clean it up and find it a home. The mirror I need has a base like an earlier Sprint mirror but with the wrinkle finish backing and chrome front. I’ll get a picture up of it soon. Anyone need a Spider mirror?

I’ve been watching, waiting, biding my time and bidding generously whenever I had the chance, but until today I was missing the important Giulietta Sprint Speciale -and a lot of other period 101 Alfa’s- ultra cool rear view mirror. Why so important? Why not just get some after-market deal? Well, you already know the answer coming from a guy who paid a lot to have a mold made in order to cast Carello marked SS tail light lenses (which have proven popular -email if you want a set). The answer, besides the fact that you look at it almost as much as the windshield, is that well, with so much effort going into everything else, this detail just needs to be correct.

Why am I going on about this? Because I think I got lucky!

This groovy little number is currently doing time on eBay and an adult bare-knuckle buy-it-now bid of $295 is required to feel the love. As someone I can’t identify from memory said, and I’m paraphrasing at best, ‘they’re making more money, but they’re not making any more of these.’

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