Scrapheap Challenge - Yet another Alfa

[911hillclimber]

I bought in 3D printing to my Design Office way way back when it all became available, about 15 years go.
We printed lots of things, mainly small parts on a 400mm SQ table.

The materials then were limited, but very robust.
15 years on I'm sure there are far better matrials available to suit this application.

Biggest issue was surface finish, you (then) tended to get layering steps on curves and in this case the internal passage es may need smoothing by a 'dremmel' type of linisher.
Not an issue but time consuming.

You will find locally people who can do the lot for you and leave the finishing to you at home.

Today parts are scanned, loaded and tweaked where required before printing one part or repeat parts. Anything handed is easy to mirror image and print in reverse.

A great process.

Find a company and talk to them.

[Bruce M]

That looks a relatively simple part to draw in CAD, although very tight angles to machine. If you can message me a drawing & measurements I can see if I can do the CAD. You could see if tight radius schedule elbows could be used to soften the curves

Hi Bruce, thanks for the offer I've thought about this in the past. I think really I need to give the engine block and heads to someone who can measure everything, draw it, print a test piece etc also maybe someone who knows what is possible to machine, as theres no point in creating a drawing that is then un-machineable so to speak. I have wondered if its possible to actually use a 3D printed manifold on the car, many intake manifolds on cars are plastic nowadays after all, albeit not 3D printed. Im not sure if this would be possible, it would have to be resistant to petrol and to heat etc, as having looked into it more I think ultimately machining billet parts machined or getting a custom casting made could be too expensive

Out of curiosity, what’s the ID of the intake port & carb bore? Also the target height between the port face and the carb base (min & max, if there is a range)?

Ps. I run 3D printed intake manifolds. Not without challenges but possible.

[sladey]

Looks at island works Porsche guy - done a lot on his 964 including printing intakes.

[knapmann]

Out of curiosity, what’s the ID of the intake port & carb bore? Also the target height between the port face and the carb base (min & max, if there is a range)?

Ps. I run 3D printed intake manifolds. Not without challenges but possible.

Hi bruce thats interesting to know, what type of plastic do you use? (i dont know anything about plastics), the carbs are 42mm ID, I will measure the manifold ports and let you know...

[knapmann]

I bought in 3D printing to my Design Office way way back when it all became available, about 15 years go.
We printed lots of things, mainly small parts on a 400mm SQ table.

The materials then were limited, but very robust.
15 years on I'm sure there are far better matrials available to suit this application.

Biggest issue was surface finish, you (then) tended to get layering steps on curves and in this case the internal passage es may need smoothing by a 'dremmel' type of linisher.
Not an issue but time consuming.

You will find locally people who can do the lot for you and leave the finishing to you at home.

Today parts are scanned, loaded and tweaked where required before printing one part or repeat parts. Anything handed is easy to mirror image and print in reverse.

A great process.

Find a company and talk to them.

Yes I think this is what I need to do, just getting around to doing it I would like to think its possible nowadays but theres lots of naysayers when you google it, mainly around warping due to heat cycles but also petrol corroding them.

[Bruce M]

Ps. I run 3D printed intake manifolds. Not without challenges but possible.

Hi bruce thats interesting to know, what type of plastic do you use? (i dont know anything about plastics), the carbs are 42mm ID, I will measure the manifold ports and let you know...

Nylon6 with carbon fibre particles to decrease flexibility. I designed the manifolds in fusion360 (free hobby license) and printed on an Ender 3V2 with an upgraded high temp “HotEnd”. I use an isolation gasket block between the head & manifold to reduce heat issues but flex is still a challenge (linkage accuracy, vac leaks, etc).

If you have enough clearance your best bet may be schedule pipe 90 elbows (tight curve version) to get a tight but smooth radius. Rather than a sharp angle, from cut straight pipe but it depends on how much height you have between the head & carb faces.

[911hillclimber]

These may help if fabricating them for smooth curves, but hard to MIG weld.(neatly), and a bit expensive...

[Jonny Hart]

I bought in 3D printing to my Design Office way way back when it all became available, about 15 years go.
We printed lots of things, mainly small parts on a 400mm SQ table.

The materials then were limited, but very robust.
15 years on I'm sure there are far better matrials available to suit this application.

Biggest issue was surface finish, you (then) tended to get layering steps on curves and in this case the internal passage es may need smoothing by a 'dremmel' type of linisher.
Not an issue but time consuming.

You will find locally people who can do the lot for you and leave the finishing to you at home.

Today parts are scanned, loaded and tweaked where required before printing one part or repeat parts. Anything handed is easy to mirror image and print in reverse.

A great process.

Find a company and talk to them.

Yes I think this is what I need to do, just getting around to doing it I would like to think its possible nowadays but theres lots of naysayers when you google it, mainly around warping due to heat cycles but also petrol corroding them.

The naysayers are 10 years out of date. Right now we are printing a whole host of durable plastics as well as titanium, stainless steel etc...

[911hillclimber]

Nothing 'naysayers' about my post.

Read the post:
15 years on I'm sure there are far better matrials available to suit this application. [ hardly negative?]

Today parts are scanned, loaded and tweaked where required before printing one part or repeat parts. Anything handed is easy to mirror image and print in reverse.

A great process.

Find a company and talk to them. [Hardly negative?]

[Nine One One]

READ THE POST!
The comment is not directed at you, it was directed at a generalised comment made by Knapmann for posts that had seen on the internet, when googling for ideas about the subject.
No one was saying it was yourself, but the general comment makers on forums on google, that had been researched as is often the case.
Chill........................

[knapmann]

OK well the engine can wait for now, I have a lot more rust to go at before I need to worry about that too much!

I started replacing areas of my boot floor, one patch became another then another....







I fitted a replacement wheel well, mine was beyond saving and these repro ones are only cheap



I had to modify the fuel tank filler neck, my car was missing its original tank and im never going for find a used Super tank in the UK, they are available new for the usual money I dont have, so I managed to get a coupe/spider tank for £50, the only difference is the filler neck is about 3 inches too short. An hours work and I had a homemade Super tank. Fortunately this used tank had been sitting around for decades unused as was free of any hint of fuel/fumes/vapours etc so welded without issue.





More work to the inner rear arches



After a house move I upgraded to a double garage, now the Alfa lives indoors!!! I had a bit of money tucked away for 2x repro rear door skins and the 2x outer sill repair panels I have been needing for ages

This door needed a complete new skin,







This other door I replaced most of the skin





With the doors done finally all done I could fit the outer sill panels







All done on this side



Then I did the other side, I dont have any picture of this in process







Next up I clearanced the subframe for the V6 Sump, even though I have the vary rare and correct sump needed you still need to do some clearancing





I also tackled these under-dash scuttle areas that I had been putting off forever as they were a nightmare to access, lying on your back in tiny footwells trying to weld while dodging steering columns etc, these were probably the hardest areas to do, obviously theres no panels available here, its just do the best job you can. Would be much easier on a rotisserie!





The car is starting to take shape now...

I fitted a H-frame ceiling track hoist in my new garage (best 130£ ebay purchase ever!) I couldn't help myself from doing a mock up... if only it were this easy. The first thing it highlights is that its impossible to get any kind of exhaust past the steering box & starter motor on the driver side of the car, I'll have to add that to the growing fitment problems list.... Of the handful of conversions out there I dont know of any RHD ones, obviously LHD cars will have the steering box and starter on opposite sides compared to me....

[911hillclimber]

Double width garage is a real bonus.
We moved for the same reason (and a bigger house of course).

I know you are not in real time here (I think) but would rack and pinion steering be an option to get the exhaust in etc?

The carbs look in the right position to clear the bonnet. Doubt the line of the inlets will rob you of too much power.

[rhd racer]

Just caught up on this from the beginning - what a great read. Well done for being brave enough to save it, love the engine choice, going to be a belter to drive


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RobFrost]

I think there was one of these at C&M on Saturday's DDK meet. It had a little 4-pot mounted very far forwards in the bay if I remember correctly.

[knapmann]

Thanks Guys, wish I could have made it to C&M but life got in the way for me this year.

This time last year though, I was spending some time and effort but no money, figuring out how to mate my V6 and 105 gearbox.

The big issue is getting the large V6 flywheel to fit inside the 105 bellhousing. Basically it doesnt fit, but I think I can make it fit...

I had spent ages drawing up this plate on Free CAD-ware, I can just about manage a 2D drawing...

I had it cut by a contractor my work place uses a lot. The plate needed to have as small an ID as possible , i.e. as close a clearance to the ring gear as possible.



The plate leaves about 3mm of the 10mm depth of the ring gear teeth exposed, I had this 3mm chamfered off, this is the back edge of the teeth, so not the edge hit by the starter motor as it engages



The end of the V6 crank is not designed for a pilot bearing, but there is a recess that I hope can be made to work. I had a friend modify a bronze bushing to the size I needed on his lathe and froze it before knocking it in for an interference fit.



The bellhousing of the 105 gearbox bolts straight off, so it was easy to get 6mm machined off the face of it, which should give good penetration of the tip of the input shaft into the pilot bearing while still leaving enough meat for integrity.
Especially important as I then needed to chamfer off the inside edge of the bellhousing until it no longer fouled the chamfered ring gear teeth. This involved offering up the gearbox while hand spinning the crank, where it fouled it left a trace mark on the inside of the bellhousing where I could then grind it back. After doing this about 50 times (no-exaggeration) I got it to a point where I could mate them and spin the crank by hand with barely the faintest hint of rubbing.





into the car it goes!






Just need to figure out how to sort a clutch.... hmm ill worry about that later.... first I need to figure out how to route an exhasut