Son drove Alpine with mixed results

[crs]

First, he liked driving a stick without the modern automated sophisticated shifting assist that his track Nissan 370Z has.

Since he learned to drive in this car, he still does it well and with a critical eye to how it should perform. The power and such made him smile.

Second he griped about the fact that I have not corrected the bad tachometer ground and the fact that it does not recover well from big dips in the road. He says that I need to replace the 50 year old original springs and the 20 year old shocks. Sigh, he is pprobably right, so that goes on my 2016 to-do list. He also wants the braking improved.

I guess that this never ends with a 50 year old car.

 

[alpine_64]

Pity you missed the opportunity for Santa to bring you some new shocks.

If your suspension is tired it really does effect the ride and handling, so its worth sorting. It's worth checking all your ball joints and bushes as well. It's funny that with hobby cars you think " I did that not long ago..." And it turns out to be decade+ time frames.

A few years ago I took dads alpine for a drive, there was a shower on the way home and I noticed the car was getting a little wheel spin. Got it back and sure enough while the tyres had plenty of tread they were rock hard... Might not have done many miles but were no longer safe. So for father's day I bought him a set of pirelli's .... That ended up costing me my spare ball joints and tie rods when it came to do the alignment!!

Make a full safety inspection your new years task and keep it fun and safe

 

[crs]

Thanks Mike. Actually, everything in the frontend but the shocks and springs was replaced during the refurb. It was an oversight not to replace them also. Not the only thing that might have been done then such as some tightening in the steering gearbox which can only be done if I remove the V6 so that can wait a bit longer.

WRT what Santa brought me this Christmas will take priority over the Alpine for a while:

A Hunters Christmas

A new custom made double rifle chambered in .405 WCF, LL Bean shooting shirt, 12 year old Irish whiskey and Cal Pappas’ new book, The Double Rifle Primer. Good Times! Also time to book another trip to Africa.

 

[Hillman]

You guys are lucky. My son won't drive either of my Alpines. Says his knees hit the steering wheel. While he is 6-3 and I'm 5-9, I'm as tall as him when we sit down. His first experience with an LBC was when he was 17, I bought a Minx drophead. I couldn't move the seat back far enough. He tried to drive it but was not successful. Probably ruined him for Alpines and other LBCs.

I even introduced him to a friend. Dennis is 6-6 and drives an MGA. He can't drive it with the top up but top down is ok. Didn't work.

 

[DanR]

Hillman, Sounds like you need to get the car fitted with the EPS and a tilt wheel.... Maybe even set the seat floor pieces back a couple inches.

To late to now, but you should have fed the boy a little less

DanR

 

[alpine_64]

Hillman, what series alpine do you have? Usually the issue is leg length and interference between knees and the wheel. If you have a series 3-v adjust the wherl all the way out so it clears his knees to bend.. The steering is a little short armed, but it works ( I have to do that in late cars) if its a series I/II getva smaller aftermarket wheel and set the boss further put ( I did this on my series ii and now have no issues... I'm a leggy 184cm)

 

[Bill Blue]

Its always good to have someone else to drive your car. They usually deteriorate so slowly we automatically compensate and see nothing wrong. A new driver drives it and wonders "WTF".

In my case, it also gives me unbiased feedback on changes changes that I've made.

Bill

 

[V6 JOSE]

Hi Charles,

The Alpine brakes are fine for a stock Alpine, but can be marginal when you put more power under the bonnet. My first Alpine did well with the extra power after I had the booster rebuilt, but with my turbo Alpine and the extra power it produced, we had to put larger brakes on the front, to handle the extra speed at the end of the quarter mile.

As far as adjusting the steering box, you don´t need to remove the engine. The box has a small cover on the top, that you remove and remove shims or add in order to adjust the play in it.

I´m glad he was impressed with the power.

First, he liked driving a stick without the modern automated sophisticated shifting assist that his track Nissan 370Z has.

Since he learned to drive in this car, he still does it well and with a critical eye to how it should perform. The power and such made him smile.

Second he griped about the fact that I have not corrected the bad tachometer ground and the fact that it does not recover well from big dips in the road. He says that I need to replace the 50 year old original springs and the 20 year old shocks. Sigh, he is pprobably right, so that goes on my 2016 to-do list. He also wants the braking improved.

I guess that this never ends with a 50 year old car.

 

[crs]

Jose said "I´m glad he was impressed with the power." He is pleased with that and the exhaust note and remembered how to drive the car and was soon really enjoying it. When we went out on the highway, He asked how I knew when to shift without the tach and I told him when I can no longer stand the g force.
Colin was the one that had the engine hopped up and keeps after me to take it to his speed shop to put on the dyno. Maybe I will if he will pay them to fix the tachometer ground.
That will give him one less thing to gripe about.

 

[RootesRooter]

New shocks (Spax, Koni) may make complaints about the springs go away.
Footroom? I didn't read anything about adjusting the foot pedals, which make a world of difference for taller folk.

 

[alpine_64]

New shocks (Spax, Koni) may make complaints about the springs go away.

If the rear leaf springs have sagged heavily shocks won't do much, same goes for the front. It really depends how much the springs have compressed. If they are OK new shocks ( any type that are set for the car) will make a positive difference, but it your springs have had it they won't help. Front springs are easily available, the rears seem harder to get.

 

[Tom H]

"Fix the tachometer ground"? That's a 2 min job! Just run a black wire from the ground daisy-chain or almost any metal behind the dash to one of the studs used to mount the tach. Or is there something else needed?

Tom

 

[RootesRooter]

Always possible, but it sounds like the fellow diagnosed bad springs by how it drove rather than whether it visibly sagged. A younger person driving for the first time a 48-year-old, short wheelbase Alpine with extremely worn shocks, that naturally leans a lot more in the turns than a modern car, might well assume the springs are shot.

If the rear leaf springs have sagged heavily shocks won't do much, same goes for the front. It really depends how much the springs have compressed. If they are OK new shocks ( any type that are set for the car) will make a positive difference, but it your springs have had it they won't help. Front springs are easily available, the rears seem harder to get.

 

[mikephillips]

And always remember that even in great condition a 50 year old car isn't going to run and handle like a new car. So anyone has to be careful in making comparisons.

 

[crs]

Tom,
you said
""Fix the tachometer ground"? That's a 2 min job! Just run a black wire from the ground daisy-chain or almost any metal behind the dash to one of the studs used to mount the tach. Or is there something else needed?"

Thanks, that is simple and I will try that when the icy weather warms up (car is under a cover but not in a garage)
Heck, I could test that with a test lead with alligator clips on each end.

 

[Hillman]

ICY WEATHER, TEXAS?

REALLY, LIKE COLD, TEXAS

CUMMON, some of live where it does get cold. Some of us have driven Alpines at temps lower than 40 below.

Can we start this thread again?



Alpine64:
I have a SII driver and a SV V6 under construction. My son hasn't had a chance at the SV. We'll give your solution a chance in the future.