Resurrecting Jalpa #359

Found another exhaust, is on the way. Teardown still going on.

Bought a wiring harness so I can compare the current harness and sort out the wiring. Also purchased and engine workshop manual so there doesn't have to be any guessing on torque specs. Wife is headed out of town for a week so I've got a week to myself to work on the car.

Wife gone for a week??? You're the luckiest guy in the world!

So the harness was ordered I think monday or tuesday. It just showed up today, so that was fast!

 

I think instead of comparing mine and using mine, I will go with this one instead. It looks to be in much better shape and it will be much easier to start from scratch as it has only a handful of extra wires. While the ultrasmith wiring looked stock and good, the other wiring from the other people who have touched this car over the years have cut and spliced all over the harness and it is difficult to sort out stock from non-stock aside from tracing it down piece by piece. This will also allow me to double check things easier since it's out of the car and I won't have to worry as much about the delicate removal of the current harness.

 

I think it will be faster and easier to go through this one instead. However, I plan on putting new ends on it and also resoldering to refresh it, as well as doing a full resistance test throughout to ensure there are no questions. I would do that on mine anyway, and it would take longer.

 

Sometimes it is worth the money spent to simplify the process and do something you planned on doing anyway, and this will make things faster. Besides, I have had WAY too many issues with wiring in the past on previous cars. When I bought my 911, the FIRST thing I did was go through the wiring bit by bit so I had no questions on whether or not it would be a problem. I drove that car in complete confidence and it did not once ever leave me stranded. I would very much like to feel the same way about #359.

 

Also, side note: Why are the wheels for this car so damned heavy. I mean holy crap.

Buy new lightweight wheels and keep the originals... Makes a night and day difference to everything.

Buy new lightweight wheels and keep the originals... Makes a night and day difference to everything.

 

I can imagine. They are stupid heavy. Anyone have recommendations on lighter wheels for when I cross that bridge? Something period correct, looks good, lightweight, etc.

I can imagine. They are stupid heavy. Anyone have recommendations on lighter wheels for when I cross that bridge? Something period correct, looks good, lightweight, etc.

 

Everyone loves the Bravo wheels. I believe remakes are available from Euro spares.

 

BTW I hope to come out to Bend this summer for the festival of cars. I would love to see your project and you are more than welcome to look at my Jalpa for reference.

I seem to recall an engine in here.

 

 

This was my holiday card last year....

 

great work, balls the size of small watermelons.

 

Let me ask you a question: When i pulled the motor, i replaced all the silent blocks, which were essentially all deformed. When i put the engine back in the shifting is much more difficult. Before i pulled the engine it was rock solid, now its hard to get into second. Is there adjustability in the shifter box, or is the adjustment in the transmission. Havent taken a peek yet but thought I would ask you.

 

Geno

HLA12345

 

 

This was my holiday card last year....

 

great work, balls the size of small watermelons.

 

Let me ask you a question: When i pulled the motor, i replaced all the silent blocks, which were essentially all deformed. When i put the engine back in the shifting is much more difficult. Before i pulled the engine it was rock solid, now its hard to get into second. Is there adjustability in the shifter box, or is the adjustment in the transmission. Havent taken a peek yet but thought I would ask you.

 

Geno

HLA12345

 

Did you buy this Jalpa from Illinois?

 

Yes

Yes

Yes

That was my uncle's Jalpa. I found it for him originally..

I always liked these rims, Compomotives, NLA

 

Everyone loves the Bravo wheels. I believe remakes are available from Euro spares.

 

BTW I hope to come out to Bend this summer for the festival of cars. I would love to see your project and you are more than welcome to look at my Jalpa for reference.

 

Let me know if you head to bend, at the least we can go grab a brew and talk cars!

 

 

 

 

This was my holiday card last year....

 

great work, balls the size of small watermelons.

 

Let me ask you a question: When i pulled the motor, i replaced all the silent blocks, which were essentially all deformed. When i put the engine back in the shifting is much more difficult. Before i pulled the engine it was rock solid, now its hard to get into second. Is there adjustability in the shifter box, or is the adjustment in the transmission. Havent taken a peek yet but thought I would ask you.

 

Geno

HLA12345

 

When you say that it is difficult, do you mean that selecting gears feels like there is resistance in moving the shifter itself? Or do you mean that it feels like the synchros are having issues or that it refuses to go into gear? I found that the reason mine went from "easy to move into gear" to "feels like molasses" is because the shifter was greased with some super old grease that was thicker than vasoline. If this is what you are experiencing, it may not be an adjustment issue. If on the other hand you mean that it feels like the gears themselves aren't matching up, or refusing to go in, that could be an alignment issue.

 

However, before attempting to do an alignment, it would be worth inspecting your engine mounts. A common issue on the Urraco/Jalpa is the motor mounts begin to crack and end up causing play. A rotation in such a manner could cause the symptoms of mis-alignment and you then end up troubleshooting what seems like an alignment issue when it is actually because things have moved a few degrees potentially.

 

When I did the clutch, I replaced the motor mounts, and the rubber silent blocks. Mounts were cracked and the blocks were deformed, and I suspect the new blocks caused the engine position to be different than before. i also stripped and powder coated the subframe (looked about like yours)

 

Its def a syncro issue. For a while it felt like if i could just move the shift a little to the left it would align better if that makes sense

 

When I did the clutch, I replaced the motor mounts, and the rubber silent blocks. Mounts were cracked and the blocks were deformed, and I suspect the new blocks caused the engine position to be different than before. i also stripped and powder coated the subframe (looked about like yours)

 

Its def a syncro issue. For a while it felt like if i could just move the shift a little to the left it would align better if that makes sense

 

Yes, the cracked mounts would likely cause need for an alignment, just as if it were aligned in that form and replaced with new mounts it would likely move it a degree or two as well. I've not performed an alignment on my car yet, so it would be unreasonable for me to tell you how to do it without having done it, lest you potentially harm something at the expense of me attempting to sound like I know what I'm talking about.

 

However, I have a shop manual on the way and will see if the alignment procedure is in it when it arrives and would be happy to share details with you. But my understanding from what I've been told is the alignment is done near the transmission itself at the point where the linkage hooks up at the back. I did not see any adjustment at the shifter box or the coupler that hooks up to the shifter box. The only adjustment I could see was at the linkage in the rear.

Yes, the cracked mounts would likely cause need for an alignment, just as if it were aligned in that form and replaced with new mounts it would likely move it a degree or two as well. I've not performed an alignment on my car yet, so it would be unreasonable for me to tell you how to do it without having done it, lest you potentially harm something at the expense of me attempting to sound like I know what I'm talking about.

 

However, I have a shop manual on the way and will see if the alignment procedure is in it when it arrives and would be happy to share details with you. But my understanding from what I've been told is the alignment is done near the transmission itself at the point where the linkage hooks up at the back. I did not see any adjustment at the shifter box or the coupler that hooks up to the shifter box. The only adjustment I could see was at the linkage in the rear.

 

 

I can email you the parts manual and the engine manual (for the P300), I don't think thats covered in each, although the schematics are...

Dug into the engine more today. Had to extract the top smaller bolts that hold the valve cover on. The rest came off with ease. The metal is simply too soft and they were in too tight. However, I managed to do so without damaging the valve cover or head.

 

I have to say the looks are deceiving because the outside looks like the damn thing has sat forever and has shit all over it. The inside on the other hand? Completely clean. Diamond in the rough.

 

 

 

The camshaft itself looks to be in fantastic shape, and the lobes all look good with no sharp edges, indicating that the wear thus far looks pretty damn good. Now if I can only figure out how to properly get the damn water pump off. What a pain in the ass.

Wow internals look great...i think you dodged a bullet.

 

 

Wow internals look great...i think you dodged a bullet.

 

I was OK with spending the money to do a total rebuild. But I feel much better knowing that it isn't going to be a full rebuild. So that's a huge plus. I'll obviously probably do some modern materials (modern valves, modern material head gaskets, etc) but seeing that is such a good sign and feels good.

Got one half of the exhaust off last night. The studs look to be in great shape. That exhaust is done though, and by done, it cracked in multiple places as I took it off. Good thing I have another exhaust on the way. It looks to me as if someone has attempted to re-weld the material to mimick the stock shielding. Needless to say it doesn't appear to have held up and the various welds in various places broke as the exhaust was coming off. So it was just a matter of time.

nice work

Glad that the engine looks good inside.

 

If it was shot I was going suggest an LSx with individual throttle bodies as a replacement.

Glad that the engine looks good inside.

 

If it was shot I was going suggest an LSx with individual throttle bodies as a replacement.

 

As a backup plan, the thought has crossed my mind.

Got one half of the exhaust off last night. The studs look to be in great shape. That exhaust is done though, and by done, it cracked in multiple places as I took it off. Good thing I have another exhaust on the way. It looks to me as if someone has attempted to re-weld the material to mimick the stock shielding. Needless to say it doesn't appear to have held up and the various welds in various places broke as the exhaust was coming off. So it was just a matter of time.

 

i have one draw of the ANSA SPORT exahust

if you want it, please e mail me

it is not big but may be usefull to see if the mounts are the same as in US cars