I love the winter time. It slows down here a bit. It allows us the time to stop, look around and repair our tools, tend to the neglected areas in the shop and make improvements to systems.
It is also time for our shop race car to come inside for dismantle, inspection and improvement. We campaign this car for a number of reasons, probably the most important being an opportunity for us to improve our craft. We test lubricants, materials and ideas on our vintage racer. We test our skills in graphics and appearance. We test the limits to structural integrity as we modify this nearly 40 year old car. What a wonderful way to break things. It is also a wonderful time to be creative as hell. Why did this break? What is strong what is weak? I have to admit here that this part is probably more fun than driving this raspy old police car.
Alfa Romeo began to develop the Alfetta as a race car shortly after it debuted in 1972. They raced a half season with very good results but unfortunately Alfa Romeo pulled the plug on their racing program due to the company's pending bankruptcy. This winter we have been busy studying photographs, like the two above, from this aborted racing effort to glean some sense of what plans and improvements Alfa may have had for this car.
This winter we began our improvements with a new hand made aluminum valance designed to improve the way air moves around the car body. During this modification we also decided to move the oil cooler to a more attractive position. The chassis was lowered to a point where the car was experiencing some wicked bump steer, so the front hubs were removed and reconfigured.
And then there's the trunk. The trunk was fine, I swear. But I had been dreaming of ripping it apart and making better sense of it. The trunk was a heavy, soft lump that was along for the ride. We shed 100 pounds back there at the same time made the suspension and body far more rigid. The fuel cell was also relocated to a more attractive spot.
At this point we have just enough time to freshen the cylinder head and design a racing header appropriate for our robust engine.
Needless to say this is no mail order race car considering our aspirations. We plan on setting aside many weeks each year to dream, invent, and build until the cloud of metal dust has cleared. Then we race, we break it, the snow falls and everything slows down. What a wonderful time indeed.
