Car Advice

Being an Alfa, there's always oil where it shouldn't be. The accordian hose was pretty dry, so using the old part with silicone tape may work. I was hoping there would be a better solution.

There was a slight oil residue inside of the black steel part and all parts beyond - most likely coming from the closed crankcase ventilation system. I'm not sure how oil-resistant the home plumbing coupler is and is silicone tape oil resistant as well?

Part #2 is a tough one. The original rubber coupler has a slot where the lip from the throttle body fits. There is no clamp on this part, so it has to be rigid enough to hold the steel air piece place.

I was thinking about putting all the old parts back on, then wrap everything with silicone tape, but I don't want chunks of hard rubber tubing to make their way into the intake valve.

"Being an Alfa, there's always oil where it shouldn't be."

Lovely car, but I would suggest;

Call Michael Bream at EVWest & ask what your options / prices might be - (conversion to electric) Others (Zelectric, etc) could do this too.

Take motor out (tranny too?), wrap in plastic, place in corner of garage.

Send rest to converter -

Plug in every night, never buy gas again. 'Full tank' every morning.

Even put 'gas' back in your tank when going downhill, & stopping at lights.

Get Brm Brm soundtrack for audio system.

Nevermore oil leaks!

Might find it here....

https://centerlinealfa.com/catalog/air-intake-hose-giulia

It looks just like it, but the dimensions are off. That part is for the Giulia.

I saw it last night and I got so excited, I put it in the shopping cart. Then I noticed it was the wrong part.

My 2 cents worth.

Modern radiator hoses, and probably lots of molded hoses are made from EPDM, ethylene propylene rubber.

It will withstand oil immersion, high temps and under-hood environments easily. Many O-rings and other parts are also made from this.

Modern fuel lines are PTFE, which is overkill here, I think

From what I can see, I'd go with the choices you are considering. Hoses and clamps.

Happy motoring!

Maybe you could just buy some liquid EPDM coating and dip your rubber pieces, or coat them in some manner, to prolong life....inside and out....

That sounds like a good idea.

Do you know if this stuff is good for oil, heat and other under hood environmental issues?

I was looking at Plastic Dip... it was used for automotive,... but could get any specifics on it or what kind of material it made of.

This sounds like a good reason to buy a new toy.

I'm not talking about a new Alfa or other tiny, sports car. I'm talking about a flexible resin 3D printer. With this you can just fabricate new flexible couplers or adapters to available longer hoses.

Oooh, that looks really cool. I read that it's good for chemicals. Do you know what heat deflection temperature is? It's rated at 140 deg for 10.75 psi. Is this the max heat the product can take before it breaks down?

That all depends on which flexible polymer gets fed into the machine. Some machines directly print metal. Some machines are optimized to print for lost wax casting material. Many jewelers and dental labs use this today. Just think of all the other things one can do after getting the machine.

I suspect this technology will be simultaneously the saving grace for DIY home projects and the bane of OEM restorations. When a 3D copy can be printed overnight (or longer) why bother to salvage parts.

In one of my former careers, I was a jeweler and I can see the advantage of having a 3D printer to make wax molds. At times, we would get a bad casting (with porosity or fractures). Being able to do a 3D scan, create a copy in wax, repair the wax and cast - that's a dream for jewelers!

Or to make a copy of a piece of jewelry for a client!

Cool technology!

When a bad wax is printed you just chop it up and reuse.

Looking forward to being able to print taillight & sidelight lenses - clear, orange, red etc -

<...1980 Alfa Romeo Spider...>

"Recycle. The possibilities are endless." _{- Anonymous Poster #0}

If you need more rigidity then look into Intercooler hoses for diesel engines.

Finding the right diameter is the challenge. Hoses abound.

Okay; in America, hoses abound.

Thanks for the advice. Years ago, I had a 1985 Volvo 760 Turbo and I remember the hoses/couplings that were on the car.

I bet I can find something out there (any intercooled turbo parts) that can be fitted to my car.

Thanks for the advice on EPDM.

I was thinking about your K&N advice, so I went to their website and found a generic coupler that I think is better than using a home drain coupler. There's also some other parts that may work, or other manufacturers that may have the part.

Good advice. Thanks again.

You are correct, when hoses are immersed. I went by this assessment, "the accordion hose was pretty dry," as this is an air intake hose. I'm sure Autobroker will make the correct choices.

Accordian hose (#3) was dry. The other two had some oil on them.

The two couplers had a film of oil on them (inside surface), but they aren't immersed, so it's an option.

I second contacting and becoming a member of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club chapter or equivalent in your area. Wealth of information from people who have done it all before.

I joined AROC - really nice people there! I asked the same question and received links to suppliers both new and used. I kept checking and checking with no luck. Then an Alfa expert told me that I have an oddball model year, where the Spica Fuel Injection system is unique, so the earlier parts don't fit. 1980 and 81 are the two years of this "special", emissions friendly Spica system, then in 1982, they changed to a Bosch system.

I have a 1982 Spider with the Bosch system that's been sitting at my mechanics shop for almost a year. He still can't get it running!

http://www.aroc-usa.org/library/documents/Alfa_Romeo_Source_List.pdf

http://www.alfapartscatalog.com/

Has anyone heard of a company that will remake rubber pieces? Maybe a company in China - copy the original and make copies? I'd love to have a half dozen or so of these parts sitting on my shelf. Either for own use, or future projects ... or to give to a friend in need.

Thanks for the tip! I forgot about a rubber mold product we used in our business. It was actually a clear material we would pour into a metal mold with the jewelry in the center. It was low shrinkage and didn't need the vulcanizing machine to harden.

Do you recommend using fiber in the mold and for the part?

Look into 3-D printing.

Very cool stuff! Thanks for the tip!

These parts are fairly common in the newer and foreign vehicles. I would suggest getting measurements and hitting a junk yard. The might not be OEM parts but they should be comparable.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone here. You've given me some great practical advice, which I appreciate.

Owning an older Alfa can be frustrating at times, but when it's running good, there's very few cars that can match the entire experience! Driving one does something to your soul! I love driving sports cars and the Alfa's are truly special.

I'm going to look into a few of the recommendations as well as a 3D printer - I've wanted one for a while! I'll keep you posted on what my final solution is and how it turns out.

Thanks for looking this up for me. Unfortunately, those aren't the parts I need. I appreciate your effort!

My solution:

Thanks to everyone for their advice. I read every one of your posts and gave it a lot of consideration.

Here's what I did:

1. I took the old parts to Home Depot and bought a few rubber couplers with radiator hose type clamps. I trimmed the parts with a utilty knife and with a little silicone grease, they slid right on. I tightened the clamps and I had a good, air tight seal.

2. For the long accordian hose, I cleaned the old part the best I could, then I installed it and used silicone tape to seal the ends.

My final act!

1. I drove my little Alfa and I remember why I love this car so much! So, I made a decision to buy a pre-smog car and change the system to dual Weber side drafts. I found a 1971 Spider 1750 with Spica, but the Spica was removed and dual Webers were installed! I bought the car and am working on having it trucked to my house.

2. As soon as my 1971 is here and running well, I'm going to sell my 1980 and 1982 Spiders. I know I'll kick myself someday, but my driveway is already full and I have four cars at my old house and five more at my mechanics shop, so I have no room for the two extra Spiders.

Again, thank you everyone for your advice. I know where to come for help from some of the smartest people I know.

Thank you.

Autobroker