[tooseevee]

Is that a oil bath filtration system?   Check out this twin carb 4 cycl on the 67 Volvo...Love driving that thing back in the day and it's the same color as mine..Manual brakes, Rack n Pinion steering and decent on gas for it's weight ..Master cylinder needed a rebuilt occasionally  but overall great car..Speedometer went across like a thermometer gauge...GM

           Yes, that's an oil bath filter.

            I had two Volvos in the day, both PV-544s; my first was a '59 (bought at 15,000 miles) with the regular 4-speed. My second a '61 (brand new) had the PV-544 "Sport" transmission (closer ratio). It had a little bit lower 3rd gear, than the '59, that didn't bog down when shifting from 2nd to 3rd at 7,200. 3rd could still be used to well over 70mph. That was one strong engine & was easily punched out to 1.8 liters. I learned how to tune SUs on those two engines. They were real haulassers. With Michelins, an Abarth & Konis they were miraculous machines.   

             And the whole car just "looked good".

[Uncle Billy]

Tooseevee:   If it had a soft top it was called a "Spyder".  "Sprints" were coupes.  Mine was a '58 Giulietta Spyder Veloce, powder blue with blue upholstery.  Its bodywork was in pretty marginal shape but we (Victor, the guy who later on became the east coast tech representative for Alfa Romeo, and me) had rebuilt the motor and the suspension (the bushings in the front would wear out and rattle and the steering would get a little vague) - it mattered more to me that it drove as it ought to have, looks notwithstanding, and funds were limited.  The engine rebuild kit cost about $120; it included 4 new cylinders (wet liners), pistons, wrist pins and circlips, rods, top and bottom end bearings and a gasket set. 

The roll-up windows (not common for sports cars those days) and the canvas top were drafty and since it was my only transportation to commute to college with here near Buffalo, NY, winter driving was rather chilly. I installed a truck heater on the floor in front of the shift lever which about doubled the coolant capacity, but it still made a lot of heat soon after startup which always amazed me. 

Starting when cold was pretty tricky with the Webers, it was way too easy to flood it and wet the plugs.  I finally had them adjusted right and learned the proper technique, so I was rarely stranded.  The head was made of aluminum so the plug threads were too easy to strip which complicated this. One thing that wasn't refreshed when we rebuilt the motor was the flywheel - the gear teeth were really worn so sometimes the starter motor wouldn't engage enough to turn the engine over.  If the motor was warm, it was simple:  I'd turn on the key, put my butt against the driver's door jamb with my feet on the ground, push the car backward and when it was moving pretty good (it was quite light) I'd pop the shift lever into reverse and then out again quickly.  That usually worked pretty well.  When it was real cold, I'd do the same moves with the key off, to get the flywheel gear teeth to a better spot that the starter would engage, because once the starter engaged the flywheel it would stay engaged.  It was a bit of a complicated chore, but somehow I was never stranded and looking for a ride. 

I loved my car no matter how fussy it was - it was an Italian sports car, Ferraris were as well, their histories shared significant connections so there was a kinship there that I was proud of.  How I miss my Alfa!  And those days too.... mid 1960s...

[tooseevee]

Tooseevee:   If it had a soft top it was called a "Spyder".  "Sprints" were coupes.  Mine was a '58 Giulietta Spyder Veloce, powder blue with blue upholstery. 

            Yes, of course, you're correct. Mine was a Spyder Veloce (cloth top, dual 2-bbl Webers). It was a long time ago & some of the '60s (& '70s & '80s) are fuzzy to me. I had no trouble with it the two years I drove it. It had very low miles on it when I bought it (the guy traded it in because he didn't like the little ringing sound the camshaft drive chain made. He did not understand the car at all & drove it around in 3rd or 4th gear at 2,000 & very seldom wound it up & then only to 3 or 4,000. I drove it every day & then drove it to Cheyenne from RI & back on two-lane blacktop without a hiccup.

http://www.canepacollection.com/detail-1960-alfa_romeo-giulietta_spider-veloce-used-9480028.html

         An old Italian guy at a shop I was familiar with taught me how to tune the Webers. The Webers (as you know) were each like two carbs in one housing so you had to essentially tune four carburetors. Don't let a rag get loose with the carbs' intake off. They would almost suck your hat off  Here's my car in red. Mine was Icebox White with red leather interior:

 http://www.canepacollection.com/detail-1960-alfa_romeo-giulietta_spider-veloce-used-9480028.html

[boggy]

I'd like to see the phrase, "entry level" used more sparingly.

[tooseevee]

I'd like to see the phrase, "entry level" used more sparingly.

            For me now, it's the vocal pause (useless filler) "You know?.." or "Ya' know". Many people now cannot even speak without without using it at the beginning, in the middle & tacked on the end of every sentence; some seemingly before & after every word. It's ubiquitous (it's everywhere, it's everywhere  ) now & it's almost painful to listen to people now; on the street, on the fone, my own relatives, the media, the news, the politicians, the so-called pundits.

           My old favorites "Zat it"? & NookYahLer (for nuclear) are all there still plus the twisted old sayings "Hard ROAD to hoe" & "HONE in on" that nobody seems to even know what they came from any more. Hoe? Wattsa ho?

[solg]

But I would like to see more use of the phrase bless his heart. I work with some cowboys out of Texas who said in Texas you can say anything you want about a person as long as you start or end it with bless his heart

[tooseevee]

But I would like to see more use of the phrase bless his heart. I work with some cowboys out of Texas who said in Texas you can say anything you want about a person as long as you start or end it with bless his heart

            Depends on whether you're saying it ABOUT him or TO him. With the right inflection & tone of voice it could get you cold-cocked, thrown in an alley & your boots stolen.

             

[Arizoni]

           

 ...plus the twisted old sayings "Hard ROAD to hoe"... Hoe? Wattsa ho?

Everybody knows what a "ho" is.  Just think about if for a minute.   

You know.  When your getting on a elevator and someone's running at top speed towards you yelling, "Ho De Doa!  Ho De Doa! "   

[solg]

Actually its-Hard row to hoe. Farming related. & in Italian a hoe
(an ancient farm implement) is a Zappa!

[flyboy]

I'm done with "YANKEE"....and I hope I not offending anyone here.
Hasn't this shit been done for over 150 years or so? Get over it!!
I work alot in the South and it surprises how many people are still angry over the Civil War, as they use Yankee in a derogatory fashion. I mean, there's still real hatred down there. Not all, but many.
I've never encounter any fellow "Yankees" who refer to Southerners as Confederates.
Besides...we were kind enough to give your horses and guns back!

[tooseevee]

Everybody knows what a "ho" is.  Just think about if for a minute.   

           Yeahbut, a whole helluva lot of people don't seem to have a clue what a HOE is & that you don't hoe a ROAD, you hoe a ROW. Of weeds or whatever. I have been hearing "a hard road to hoe" now for years & years from people of all stripes including the so-called "educated" of this new media & education system (disastrous) world. Cable TV news people & politicians are the worst.

[tooseevee]

Actually its-Hard row to hoe.

            Yes. I sed that  down in Reply#35.

[solg]

            Yes. I sed that  down in Reply#35.

Why bless your heart. Thank you for clearing that up!

[Uncle Billy]

I live in the US on the Canadian border and so spend a lot of time in Canada near Niagara Falls, hanging out with the tourists who love my Royal Enfield GT (mostly expatriate British chaps my age who are ex-rockers) and my VW-based kit car that looks like a Bugatti (mostly Asians who I let sit in it for pictures if they'd like to).



In Canada, any US citizen is called a "yankee", so when tourists from Georgia or Alabama are called Yankees, they get pretty upset.