ALFAGTV6.COM

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Wed May 03, 2006 7:44 am

I am...hope this lasts...

Reale · Post by **Reale** » Wed May 03, 2006 8:04 am

Barry-
That looks pretty nice! What kind of round insert are you using in that tube?

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Wed May 03, 2006 8:39 am

Al,Its a type of chemical poly whatsis....Not sure what it is,but its pretty compliant and very hard wearing.Its not solid like vesconite or nylon. It does Give a bit..a b*tch to machine though.
I was almost forced to use it as I had the car up on stands in my throughfare and was confronted with 2 bust monts,and a prop rubber...

Mats · Post by **Mats** » Wed May 03, 2006 8:56 am

Interesting, I have been thinking about that exact thing.
Now I don't have to try it myself to see that it works.

You should try to get a sleeve in there to be able to get some tension in the bolt. Try to glue it to the polymer material too, that way it should last longer.

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Wed May 03, 2006 9:16 am

Mats,Yes,a sleeve would make the whole thing more sturdy..I thought about that and decided the application did not warrant any further "strenght" of the component..as it is its a million times better than original..
Im still keeping the stopper obove the clutch housing as well...

Ill let you know how it works...will drive the car tomorrow...

Murray · Post by **Murray** » Wed May 03, 2006 1:08 pm

Barry looks like an excellent solution,but leads me to the age-old question..why did the Italians do it the way they did ? Can you see any downside to this your design ?

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Wed May 03, 2006 1:41 pm

The Italians are good at cooking pasta and baking pizza. Engineering - hmmmm.

Thumbs up for Barry!

Greg Gordon · Post by **Greg Gordon** » Wed May 03, 2006 2:04 pm

The downside is the cost to manufacture it. Barry's design is very very similar to the motor mounts on old Chrysler Hemi motors (1957 era stuff). They went to the newer type of mount because it's cheaper and it will outlast the warranty period anyway. Of course with the newer mounts if the rubber fails, or separates from the metal the whole mount no longer holds anything in place. With Barry's design this isn't a problem.

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Wed May 03, 2006 7:06 pm

Murray,downside??Imworried that The clutch housing may break in the heat of passion...Ive,in my wilder days,broken a few of these with the std. mounts..
This particular car was slightly abused by the new owner and it resulted in broken mounts ..but as we all know,made in the 80`s...old and tired..

The reason imo of the std. design,was down to the bean counters and I think more importantly,NVH compliance for daily driving...

Did I mention its 4 am and they just tried to jack my neighbours vw combi??I love Africa..

Greg,If it can hold a lump of Detriot iron,its going to outlast the rest of the Alfa its fitted to....

Micke,this could be good for the track methinks...

TS_turbo · Post by **TS_turbo** » Wed May 03, 2006 10:08 pm

lazier way to improove box mounts is to drill them and put a bolt in it ... barry's dezign is superior than this .. but "bolted" mounts will last longer than normal ones and will limit box movement and twisting... that was my solution for ferocius shifts when i drag race for fun with friends cars

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:17 pm

Last time mine failed I solved it 4 good. I only had a parking lot to work on so I just crawled under the car and put 3 bolts through both mounts. Wouldn't recommend it for street as it is a bit noisy. It was 1/2 hour and $0.2 though.
For my street car I'll make something like Guru B's.

Mats · Post by **Mats** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:29 pm

Barry wrote:Mats,Yes,a sleeve would make the whole thing more sturdy..I thought about that and decided the application did not warrant any further "strenght" of the component..as it is its a million times better than original..
Im still keeping the stopper obove the clutch housing as well...

Ill let you know how it works...will drive the car tomorrow...

The primary function of the sleeve would be to be able to tighten up the bolt without bending the bracket until it touches the pipe.

Why not use a pipe in such a diameter thet you can use some existing PowerFlex or SuperFlex pulyurethane bushing sleeve and all? That would be pretty simple and you could actually change the bushing once it wears out.

Greg Gordon · Post by **Greg Gordon** » Thu May 04, 2006 4:09 am

Barry I don't think the NVH thing will be much of an issue provided the material is about equal in squishiness to the OEM stuff. I really think you are onto something here.

MD · Post by MD » Thu May 04, 2006 4:29 am

I'm with TS Turbo here. Just use an 8-10mm high tensile bolt through and be done with it for street use. Should be heaps. Did it to my roadcar and it was a easy. I mean think about, where can the centre section go in this situation if it brakes the rubber bond-nowhere and given the much reduced opportunity to flex, the bond is likely to remain if installed from new.

But Baz, dont get the shits, it doesn't mean I dont like your idea and for those that are articulated enough to do it, go for it. It's a great solution. For other guys who don't have the facilities or skills, use the bolt is all I am saying.

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Thu May 04, 2006 7:12 am

MD,I got the SHITS!!Not cause of your suggestion though..
The mount is a resounding success,more on this later..
The clutch unit was fubar and I replaced some componentry..Now I have the age old vibration at higher revs....Got to do it again................................................

Back to the mount..very, very nice...positive take up and I can even be a bit harsh with her at pull off.

Only hassle I had is when the de dion and box are hanging down prior to bolting it all back up,the mount and ears on the clutch unit dont come close..on the std. mounts you could stretch a bit and tighten everything..that was the worst of it...
Ill be making some more for my car now and fitting them..

Mike,thought bout your bolt system.....good thing there are South Africans to improve on the Aussie design,huh??

No,seriously,it might be the quick and easy way to do...It still gives some lateral compliancy when you might need it..with mine its pretty solid..!

Might just try that as well Aus!!

When you posting pics of your tour??

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Tired of replacing box mounts??-Barry

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