ALFAGTV6.COM

[cchan]

Hi Everyone,

Well we worked on the car today and were able to get the engine almost out. We did the following:

1). removed the main harnes for the injector.
2). removed the secondary harnes for the injectors.
3). removed the headers.
4). removed the 3 bolts that connected the drive shaft to the rubber donut connected to the flywheel.
5). removed the mounts on the rear housing that held the engine to the chasis & exhaust.
6). removed the motor mounts.

We then hooked it up the the engine puller and &*%#, we could not get it out. I ordered the Shop Book for the GTV6 Last week and we should get it next Tuesday. It was suggested that I get this by my associate since he said we don't know much about an Alfa. I wish we had the book today. Anyway, what happened. The engine was stuck and the drive shaft did not come out of the donut. Also, it appears that the top of the flywheel cover that we did not remove. (Only removed the black cover per the suggestion of this forum). was hitting on the engine wall. Did not want to force anything we stopped. ( I was tempted to use my favorite tool, the sledge hammer).

So I was hoping for some more suggestions. It was mentioned that this would be easy but I guess that's relative. We never removed an Alfa engine and trust me, we were frustrated so we stopped and worked on another project. My questions is do we have to remove the drive shaft before we remove the engine?? It appears to remove the drive shaft one has to remove the entire exhaust system first. Once this was done there is a back connection to the rear end that is held to a rubber donut. There is also a middle section with another middle donut?? Thats up with these donuts anyway? What is the correct way to disconnect this system??
Finally, do I need to remove the top flywheel cover to remove the engine? It looks very tight and I hope this is not the case. Maybe someone can point me to the place in the Forum that discusses this proceedure. Maybe I am wrong altogether on how to take out the engine and someone can point me it the right direction. I apprecate the input and I am posting the progress pictures today. I am also showing a picture of the Zender Kit that has been prepared for painting for anyone who wants to see what it looks like off the car.

[Jim K]

You must remove exhaust and driveshaft (not the flywheel bellhousing), then the engine will come out.
Jim K.

[cchan]

Thanks for the input. I just finished looking at the engine forum section and see that other members asked this question as well. Guess I have no choice and will remove the exhaust sytem and the drive train. Next weekend will deal with this. The exhaust is rusted alot so I hope we can do this. I noticed that it is suggested that the rear wheels are jacked up for the engine removal and I don't understand why. Can some one explain this to me.
Did not see any specific proceedure on removing the drive train. Please help me on this area if possible.

[cchan]

Ok, found the drive shaft removal in the tech section. Don't need help anymore on proceedure. Thank God there is this Forum. Should of read this yesterday.

[cchan]

Hello Everyone,

I worked on my Alfa project today and I really like to Thank Michael for his great instructions on the draftshaft removal. This along with the 2.5/3.0 GTV/Milano Service Manual solved all our issues. I think that Michael's instructions were most helpful and I think the Service Manual is for the wrong car. The only thing that was different was my bell housing plate only had 4 bolts and only one piece. We also took off the middle bolt on the dion plate so there was 7 bolts. It turned out we did not need to take out the middle one. The exhaust sytem was actually easier than we thought. The car in now ready to be stand blasted and we are comtemplating how to detail the suspension and the undercarriage. The rear suspenion in now hanging so we may remove this next week. I am posting pictures. I love my Alfa.

[cchan]

Here are more status pictures

[x-rad]

Keep up the good work Chan...hate to see all those parts end up on Ebay

[cchan]

Thanks for the encourgement x-rad, I sure hope the parts don't end up there either. This Alfa is lucky, it already escaped being trashed but it is getting lot of LTC now.

[SydneyJules]

Dude that is wicked. You're going to a lot of effort, and I think the resto is going to be very worth it for you if you make the right choice for mods along the way.

Im starting to think my car needs to sit and go through a similar process soon - more for the interior to be stripped and the body repaired- my engine bay and mechanicals are pretty good... except I want more 'trick' bits.

May I ask what the ultimate plan is?

[cchan]

Hi Sydneyjules,
Your alfas looking good! My original goal was just to do the paint & new interior. Then my friend who does his cars for a hobby as well showed me how he does it. His cars are awsome. He basically takes the car totally a part and puts it back together again. He talked me into pulling the engine because he said that we need to paint everything to make it look good. Now the car is getting sand blasted after we have them secure the wiring harness & misc electrical boxes. Once this is done I feel that other parts will look bad and I will most likely restore everything. Therefore, I guess it like painting your house. You paint the outside and then the inside looks bad. You paint the inside and the deck looks bad. You paint the deck and then the pool needs to be resurfaced, etc. I guess to answer your question in my goal is not to have my parts end up on ebay.

See ya.

[SydneyJules]

Hahaha well, I suppose there is valour in that alone!

I would look at Greg's blower kit if I were you, now that you have the donk out. Its also an easy time to get exhaust stuff done to the car... unless, youre in CA and none of that is possible!

Still much can be done to everything else in the car that makes them more fun- there is countless information, so soak it all in, and start making choices from there.
I think its horrible the amount of waste that occurs with new cars... which are mostly plastic shit designed to move you with no emotion.... boring!

A Fun to drive, hot looking, handling, and performing road car that is different, and has an air of connoisseur to it is definitely worth the effort, and I for one enjoy seeing a car doen to this standard. You should speak to MD (Mike Halasz) about his piece of art.... fark me its a top notch rebuild... from the removed seam on the nose/quarter join to the his and her seats, and Jap. FWD shift linkage modification... inspirational!

[cchan]

Unfortunately, I am in CA so I am thinking about the Engine options. I guess I can try to get dealer plates and never register the car. Maybe I can just set it up for show. ( No fun though since I want to drive it again). I know this is an Alfa site and I saw how some members think about BMW's so I don't want to offend any one on this site. Just wanted to comment that my M5 performance was awesome and I had the old body style. New one has 500hp along with the Mercedes S63 and my dream would be to have my Alfa perform on this level. I know acording to members this is not possible since my Alfa is so vintage.
Maybe fix this one up showroom stock and build a track car?? The more I see how everyone can modify their engines I reget being in CA with its smog control. Anyway, we were not able to bring the car to get sand blasted this week due to scheduling issues so I am just going to take out the blaupaunk berlin and the rest of the stereo system and look at taking out the dash for repair. I will post some more project pictures for those who are interested.

[twinspark6]

Just buy the glenwood 3.7 engine. It will be okay in Ca. Where there's a will, there's a way.
I know this is an alfa forum., but i do believe many of us drive cars from other manufacturers.

[cchan]

Hello Everyone,
Worked on the Alfa alittle today since my first appointment did not take as long as I thought. We have secured all the wiring in the engine housing as well as removed all the air conditioning stuff. I removed the Blaupaunk radio system and secured all the stereo harness but left the amp in since it seemed in a safe location. We secured the ECU box so it will not get damaged on the stand blasting proceedure. The windshield is free but did not take it out completely since we need to clear a safe place for this. Don't want to break it.
We are going to brain storm on the the underneath of the car. I might as well restore the dion rear along with the front suspension as well. I am hesitant to dismantle this since it seems like alot of work. However, if we are going to paint this area we need to figure out the easiest and safest way to accomplish this. Any Suggestions??
We have also decided not to put a cap for the dash but rather remove it completely and have it professional restored since it is cracked in 4 places. Before we do this I was wondering if anyone has any experience on this? I did not look at the manual that I purchased but I think It does not show the GTV6 dash, only the Milano dash. I have looked in the Forum but I might of missed this. Any suggestions where to look or pitfalls to be aware of I would really appreciate it.
Last Questions that we have. Does anyone know where you can get the sound proofing for the rear of the engine compartment? I need to get this and I was hoping to have the stock part rather than have it custom made.
I am attaching some photos of todays progress and hope to work on my alfa again next weekend.

Thanks for all your help.

[cchan]

Hello Everyone,

I just recevied in the samples for the interior leather for the seat pull overs & all the rubber parts that I need for my Alfa. I am so happy since I thought that these would not be available. I am thinking that I will restore with Custom Red paint & tan interior. The other option is a black interior. Any thoughts or suggestions on my color combination?? I am getting this from a vender called Re-Originals. Does any one have any experience with this company?

Finally, the bad news. The sand blaster person does not want to work on my Alfa. He said he will not guarantee his work on the Alfa since he said that we need to remove the whole wiring harness, etc since is is afraid that he will damage the parts. We really don't want to do this so we are going to hand sand down the whole body to prepare it to be painted. This will take at least 2-3 weeks but we need to do this to insure an excellent paint job.

Will work on this again this weekend and need to get back to work.

Have a great day and thanks for any futher suggestions as I work forward on the restoration of my Alfa. I have attached a photo of my samples to share this with everyone.