February 19, 2008 at 5:44 pm #62001
frank-mooney

    CRI autopsy on the old Weber 32/36 completed…inconclusive.Floats ok,no flakes or crud.Decided to install a new Sunbeam Specialties Petronix electronic ignition distributor with the proper new coil.Drove the Alpine[still with a miss but better than before the new Weber was recently installed by me] to Westhampton Coachworks.They are an authorised dealer for Rolls,Bentley,Lotus,Porsche,Lamborgini,Ferrari etc.Owners are real car guys with a first rate set of mechanics. Figured they should install the distributor[how to readily find top dead center piston #1 on compression stroke not my forte].The owner immediately took one of his best mechanics off a S series Mercedes with a computer glitch to focus on the Alpine…told you they are car guys. Distributor and coil intalled,timing set but appeared to be"running on 3 1/2 cylinders"…compression on each cylinder checked out fine.I had checked out for manifold leaks with carb spray…nothing showed up told mechanic.He said carb spray not focused enough…let’s try propane[better him than me]. After careful,methodical search of carb and manifolds via the propane he found an somewhat hidden open inlet accessory hole on the far right of the intake manifold! He screwed in the proper sized plug[where did the damn original plug go?]..adjusted carb and timing…magic! Alpine as good as new[better?].Starts instantly,idles at a steady 900 rpm without flucuation,accelerates without hesitation or miss..hasn’t been this good in years. Sometimes a 42 yearold Alpine[and a 70 year old Alpine owner] needs new key components and a thorough inspection.Price of parts[carb,distributor,coil,inlet plug] together with labor… grand total appx $700. I’m thrilled that it is running so well.Old car’s systems gradually deteriorate over the decades.Sometims hard to notice until it gets real bad..but as the bard said,"Alls well that ends well". Frank