[alfa] Re:83 Spider Carbs or Bosch?

[George Graves <gmgraves@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

  For what it's worth, you won't get any more performance out of the 
carbs than you will out of the FI. The car will be definitely more 
tempermental with the carbs, will require more fiddling (the Bosch 
system requires NONE), and will be harder to start on cold mornings and 
if you live in a "smog check" state, might not pass. The starting 
problem he experienced can be many things; everything from a cold-start 
valve that sticks open occasionally to a sticky airflow meter, but 
here's the skinny: The Bosch L-Jetronic system is mechanically, very 
simple and the controllers rarely go bad, and when they do, you just 
replace the whole box from Alfa Parts Exchange in Tracy CA for not very 
much money. I'd advise you to put the Bosch system back together check 
the AFM to make sure that the vane inside works smoothly, and then 
check the cold-start valve to make sure it's closed and then leave the 
connector OFF, try to start the car (it's summer, you don't need the 
cold-start valve) once it is running, and warmed-up try to start it 
again, if it continues to start, then you have found the problem - a 
sticky cold-start valve and then you can deal with that. Other things 
to check are the fuel pump (doubtful), a leaky idle-bleed valve or hose 
(possible but when the O-ring on those goes, not being able to run at 
idle is usually not an intermittent thing - it simply won't run; it'll 
catch, then die almost immediately). Can't think of anything else which 
would cause this, but maybe somebody else can pick-up on anything I've 
overlooked.

George Graves
'86 GTV-6 3.0 'S'




On Jun 6, 2004, at 9:08 PM, alfa-digest wrote:

>
> Date: Sun, 6 Jun 2004 11:00:09 -0700
> From: "Andy B." <bctech@domain.elided>
> Subject: [alfa] 83 Spider Carbs or Bosch?
>
> Hi all,
>
> I got a deal on an 83 spider that I could not turn down this week 
> (that's
> what they all use to rationalize one more car). The previous owner had
> started to tear apart the car to re-do it and had had a start problem 
> with
> the Bosch fuel injection. He said it would start and run fine and then 
> if
> you turned it off and went to restart it would not go depending on 
> whether
> today was your day. Could be a lot of other things but he thought it 
> was the
> Bosch. So he started to tear it out and had a set of carbs that he had
> bought and a lot of other bits in boxes. So the bosch is all there but 
> in a
> lot of pieces and the fuel line was cut off right at the injectors.
>
> So.....here is the question (opening flood gate of controversy?): 
> Would it
> be better or cheaper to go back to the Bosch or should I definitely go 
> to
> carbs?
>
> At this point it may be cheaper to try and re-install the Bosch system 
> and
> get the bugs out as when I got hem home the carbs turned out to be 
> Weber 44
> IDF, which I think are only downdraft, does anyone know if they have 
> been
> used before for any alfa?
>
> All my experience has been on the GTV series so any help is 
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks, Andy
>
> 74 GTV
> 83 Spider
>
George Graves
'86 GTV-6 3.0 'S'
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