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View Full Version : Nuthin' like a garage fire...


DJ
16th January 2010, 10:58 AM
and huge clouds of toxic, gagging, smoke to wake you up and get your heart pounding on a Saturday morning.

Working on il Pozzo, the Alfa from hell. Going back in...
1,6 HF
16th January 2010, 11:03 AM
Geez, DJ, hope everything's OK (and just some minor fumigation). Let us know when you're finished dealing with it.
DJ
16th January 2010, 12:09 PM
Thanks, Ed.

I just get a little emotional when I turn around and there's smoke pouring and flames shooting out a couple feet away from my little Lucia. :eek:

Yet another "previous owner" story with an Italian car. When I bought the 164 it came with tons of receipts for what appeared to be a well maintained car and well documented maintenance history.

What the a-hole didn't tell me is that they were all from the guy who owned it before him. He didn't spend a dime on it except for some new tires and a thermostat. And the few other things he did to it were really bad hacks.

It appears that at some point he had reason to remove the bolt that holds the main wire harness clamp which keeps the harness up off the rear exhaust manifold. When he put the bolt back in (it's right where it's supposed to be) he failed to reattach the clamp to it. He just put the stupid bolt back in the hole on the end of the head and tightened it down!

A while back while driving, the car just died suddenly and I've been 2 months working to figure out why it has no spark. The good news is that I've also replaced all the other parts on the car that should have been done years ago AND I finally know what the real problem is. :cheers:

Now building patch cable to replace the 10-inches of melted harness...
1,6 HF
16th January 2010, 03:18 PM
Glad to hear it wasn't worse than that.
DJ
16th January 2010, 05:02 PM
Turns out my estimate of 10-inches was wildly optimistic. More like 7 feet. :eek:

Just got back from the U-pull yard with several feet of harness from a truck. Gonna drink now. Car can wait till tomorrow.
1,6 HF
16th January 2010, 05:19 PM
Turns out my estimate of 10-inches was wildly optimistic. More like 7 feet. :eek:

Just got back from the U-pull yard with several feet of harness from a truck. Gonna drink now. Car can wait till tomorrow.

Under the circumstances, sounds like you've got the priorities exactly right.