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As I had better things to do with my money than pay four-figure repair bills, Kenny spent a quiet 1999, not going anywhere near a race track. However, the new millenium dawned and full of hope I took Kenny out on the track for the first time in 18 months on 7th February, 2000 at Wakefield Park.
No, this time Kenny didn't have an engine or gearbox failure. Instead he broke part of the left-hand rear Watts linkage due to a fatigue crack! Further investigation at Autotech revealed three other cracks at the front end, and so I took the hint. Mechanical failures can break the budget, but structural failures can break your neck....
Thus Kenny will stay away from racing from now on, as the racetrack is obviously far too dangerous for him.
Kenny's final score is four failures out of ten contested AROCA events!
So Kenny has spent the last couple of years confined to public roads. There
was a postscript to the fatigue failure of the Watts linkage; in December
2000 it went again, this time on a public road, fortunately within Canberra!
Took it to Autotech and they replaced it, then removed the urethane
bushes from the rear suspension and went back to rubber. It appears
that the 33/Sud rear suspension can't stand up to the reduced compliance
of the urethane material; be warned!
I occasionally think of moving to another car, but I can't think of anything
else that combines driving fun with practicality, reasonable economy and
character without spending a lot more. Not to mention after working
on it for so long I know almost every nut and bolt on it.
February 2000: Before 7th February race meeting: preparations for new club racing season. New steering wheel, full race harness, modified spacers below driver's seat to give (slightly) more helmet room. After 7th February race meeting: off to Autotech Alfa (yet again...) for replacement of broken Watts linkage arm, three other fatigue cracks around the front end found and welded up, rear muffler replaced.
December 1999: changed the oil, restarted and smelled petrol... Opened the bonnet and saw a 1 cm gash in one of the fuel hoses, and petrol spraying everywhere! Apparently just gave up due to old age; just as well it didn't happen on the race track! Kenny has now had a complete change of fuel hoses... Finally got the headlights to stay on after finding loose connections.
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Wakefield Park | Spun two bearings due to oil surge |
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Wakefield Park | Broke three teeth off second gear synchro |
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Eastern Creek | Over-revved and bent all four exhaust valves |
| February 2000 | Wakefield Park | Fatigue failure in left-rear Watts linkage |
The day before Auto Italia '97 there was a driving event at the (excellent) club track of Wakefield Park, about 80km from Canberra near the town of Goulburn. In my first experience of circuit racing I drove out there, raced in both hill climb and lap dash, had a ball but unfortunately came back on a trailer with a a couple of blown big-end bearings; bad case of oil surge at 7,000 rpm on the hillclimb...
See the Auto Italia '97 album for photographs and further details of the event and my little incident, which made me a minor celebrity!
Sorry, I didn't get a photo of Kenny at Auto Italias '98 or 2001.
After it had been replaced by the 145/146 there seemed to be a more favourable view of it from some writers (eg Auto Italia magazine March/April 1996), as it was no longer expected to be another 'Sud. Of course the 145/6 have now been replaced by the luvverly 147...
I love mine and it has been a great first Alfa. The cruise control has immensely helped overcome my problems with that awful accelerator position (right-hand drive in Australia remember...) and made long-distance journeys much more practical, although the car becomes very hot inside with the windows up in summer heat - all that black on the interior methinks. However, this was improved by work on the heater; I suspect some heat was always flowing into the cabin before. (However, said work on heater core did not cure a small leak in it, and I had it replaced c. April 2002; believe me, I never want to take a 33 heater out again!!!)
| Model: Alfa Romeo 33 TI |
| Build date: November 1985 |
| Engine: 1.5 litre flat four, twin Webers |
| Nominal power output: 79 kw (105 bhp) @ 6,000 rpm |
| Nominal torque: 98.45 lb/ft @ 4,000 rpm |
| Colour: red with black trim |
| Fuel consumption: 9-10 litres/100 km around town |
| Mileage: 235,000 km (as at 16/6/2002)d |
| Modifications: Alfa 33 GCL seat on passenger side only, relays for headlights and starter motor, cruise control, K&N filter Koni shocks. |
Dislikes: accelerator (and to lesser extent brake) pedals too far to left, brakes fade too easily, not much feel through steering, maintenance requirements, car still unsettled in medium-fast corners (but less now with new shocks), I'm now over 40 so sometimes I feel like something a bit softer!, why isn't there a hatch release on the hatch itself?
Cost of above: don't ask...
Work I'd like to do: fit front braces as per 33 16V's to stiffen front end further, get bonnet and doors resprayed. Major work on the electrics, which are perpetually (mis)-behaving in the finest Italian fashion... (In eight years I have never had all the electrics working at once!)
Maintenance: I do most routine work myself, with all the non-trivial/tricky stuff by Autotech Services (Canberra's authorised Alfa dealers) until recently when I started going to Moro Motors as they were closer to my new job.
Special thanks for help and advice: Autotech Services (especially Peter Dowling, the proprieter), members of the Canberra chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners' Club of NSW, my wife for putting up with my little indulgence!
