George Graves writes: One problem that I suspect you will run into, Frank, is the !...@#$%^&* Alfetta shift mechanism. Unless you use one from a Milano, it's damn near useless.
My late-evening musings on this subject have led me to the notion of using a pre-'75 4-cylinder engine with attached transmission, and the DeDion setup from an Alfetta or other 116 car with an aftermarket center section/diff, maybe something from Quaife. This would require the design and construction of a structure to provide the necessary mounting points and to ensure their stability, and one would lose the benefits of having the mass of the gearbox at the rear. I think it would be easier to compensate for that than to duplicate the mindlessly slick gearchchange of the older Alfa tranny using the 116 transaxle. Although I am aware that the Milano's shift action is the best of all the 116 cars, it remains the one thing I actively dislike about the my example. Some of you asked for and received a drawing from me, a scan of the one that accompanied a Griff Borgeson article in an old /Sports Car Graphic/ about a prototype Alfa 2600 built on one of the Disco Volante chassis. This car had the structure and layout I wish the 116s had had, somewhat reminiscent of (but actually anticipating) the backbone chassis of the Lotus Elan, two fork structures connected by a deep tunnel, with the engine cradled at the front and the transaxle at the rear, with the distinctive Ricart A-frame DeDion axle. The difference from the Alfettas and their ilk was that the engine and transaxle were connected by that massive spine, and worked as a unit rather than as two softly sprung entities at opposite ends of the driveline. A small thing, you might think, but when the car's at the bottom of what amounts to a semi-vertical u-turn and you're trying to find second gear, the difference in physical attitude between the front and rear segments and the ensuing confusion of the shift linkage will make you cuss real bad. Afterwards, when you aren't so busy. Will Old 164S Older Milano -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
