Alfaisms

Just recently I started collecting some Alfaisms. I do not see this becoming a long term hobby, but wanted to share some funny stuff. A couple of these might offend certain groups, but it is ok, I am a volunteer fire fighter…. (If you did not get that joke, go see Talladega Nights)

I would rather be broken down in my Alfa than driving a BMW.

I'd rather be in an Alfa praying to God that we'll make it home, than sitting in a church thinking about my Alfa.

Dang' - that thing's got a HEMI!

I want to die like my grandfather, in his sleep, not like the screaming passengers in his car.

These cars eat replacement parts like Rosie O'Donnell eats chocolate mousse.

A Ferrari owner told me that I should budget at least 10% of the value of my car every year for replacement parts in order to keep the car's value constant or improve it slightly.

You are not a true petrol head until you have owned an Alfa Romeo.

The 1% of the time they are going right makes up for the 99% of the time they are broken.

When they are right they are like a cheap Ferrari...the rest of the time they are like an expensive Fiat!!

Creativity

So I last night I had some bizarre dreams. I am sure the two and a half rounds of beer from dinner had something to do with it. I was in a marching band. Actually I am not sure what I was doing. There was a marching band. I was not in it. There was a dance crew for the band. It was the sort of thing you see at half time during a college football game, lots of girls in tight spandex numbers running around in a somewhat organized manner. But there was also a real dance team to go with the band. This group was more like what you would see on Broadway. Everyone looked like they belonged in “The Entertainer,” or “West Side Story.” There was lots of practicing during this dream. (Side note, our pregnant waitress at Chilis from the night before gave birth at a nearby hospital in the dream as well.) Of course, I did not practice. I do not play a band instrument, or dance. Really, I have no clue why I was there. But in the end, I was glad I was able to be there to see everything come together. Shortly before the alarm went off, all three groups came together to perform simultaneously. It was amazing. It was all real, no special “dream effects”. What got me about the whole thing was how out of the box it was. The dancing, the music, etc.. were so creative. So, when I finally woke up I had this burning question: Where does it all come from?

I am not talking about dreams. I have no clue where they come from. That would be an entirely different article. What I want to know about is creativity. I am an intern architect. I am supposed to be creative all the time. We spend five years in school doing bizarre and amazing things. But I still do not understand where it all comes from.

In school, my process for design was about logic. Sounds boring, but it can produce some neat stuff. The reason for the logic had to do with how architecture school operates. At the end of each project, you have to present everything out in the hall to guest critics, the professors, fellow students, and anyone who happens to be standing there. If you get up there and tell everyone you think your design “looks cool” you are not going to do so well in the grade department. The critics were looking for reasons and explanations for all your design choices. Sure the plans had to function properly (but not always.) It would also be nice if your design would keep out the rain and stand up against gravity, but not always. In fact, gravity did not happen for us until the second year of school. Adding gravity to our designs sucked!! When you stood up in front of everyone and explained your design, you had to have reasoning for every move you made. You had to be convincing and make a point. Countless times people would present their work and you could see they had just made it all up. Not a good way to design! So, in my work I did nothing without having a plausible explanation. Typically, my reasoning was some irrefutable logic based on science or need or just plain good sense. By the end of my presentations, the critics would have a complete understanding of my building, how it worked, and why it worked. Instead of asking me questions and trying to knock me down, they would just argue amongst themselves about various details and whose theory of whatever was the right one. When you make the judges argue with themselves, rather than with you, you have done something right!

Since this is an article in a car club newsletter, I figure I should eventually talk about cars. No problem! Let’s think about car design. I know how to design a building, but I have never designed a car. What do those guys have to think about when they put pen to paper, or knife to clay? What was Pinninfarina thinking about when he put giant blood troughs on the side of our spiders? What is up with the shoulders on the earlier cars? What is it about Bertone’s GTV that makes it so darn pretty!! Why does the late model SZ/RZ (es30) look so mean?

Being designed by Italians, I doubt any of their ideas were based on logic or reasoning. At least it probably was not any reasoning I would use. But you have to remember, these are Italians! They have more design sense in their little finger than most of us have in our whole bodies. Design is a part of their culture. It is an entire nation of people who really do believe it is better to look good than to actually be good. And you know what the most frustrating part of all this is? It is the fact that I can feel their design, but I cannot explain it. I swoon for my Alfas. I get the tingly butterflies every time I drive an Alfa. And yet, I am almost certain if I ever tried to design a car it would be more like a BMW than an Alfa. My design would be clean, taught, and sterile. Everything would make clear sense. A place for everything, and everything in its place! Alfas are not like that at all!! Nothing makes sense. And yet it is all so perfect! Arggh!

Maybe that is what is so magical about these cars. For me, something is magical only if I can fully explain it, and yet it still remains special. Think about it. Magic is only magic until you know the secrets. As we learn more and more about how stuff works, less and less stuff retains its magic. But if something can stand up to understanding and still keep it’s luster, that is magic!! And Alfas most certainly do!! Everyone has a basic understanding of how an engine works. Most people can grasp the basic physics of how handling works. And we all know how to drive a car! But even then, the Alfa is different! It is almost as if putting an Alfa badge on something is like sprinkling it with pixie dust. You get in, you turn the key, you drive off and attack some curves, and when it is all said and done, you know you have been part of something special.

So where does this creativity come from? What makes these cars so special? Is it just randomness mixed in with some luck and intuition? Are Italians just better at “feeling” what is right about an automobile? I have no clue, but I think I am going to keep driving and working on my Alfas until I figure it out!!

Addiction

Hi, my name is Tim, and I am an addict. I guess admitting you have a problem is the first step. I am not really sure what the other steps are, and admitting I have a problem is like stating the obvious. You would have to be dead not to have noticed. Someone should probably have some kind of intervention for me. Some of you reading this are probably addicted as well. Go ahead and admit it. I will let you know the second step in the program when I get there.

A couple weeks ago I was Alfa-less for the first time in years. That is not to say I did not have my Alfas. They were both still sitting in the driveway. The problem was just that. They were both sitting in the driveway. No driving! Sure, in the past one of them would fail. I can remember having to get towed home so I could swap vehicles and head back towards the office in the morning. That is why you have to have at least two. In fact, we keep a third car just in case of the story I am about to tell.

The third car is not an Alfa. It is not European. It is not old. It is not sexy. It is not high performance. It is not even rear wheel drive (no offense 164 owners…) Hell, the only thing our tertiary backup car has in common with an Alfa is four wheels, an engine, some seats, etc. It is a 2006 Scion xB. We call it “Tostapane,” Italian for toaster. The newer models have some minor curves. The early body style is a box. The newer models have more power than a spider. The first generation only has 104hp. It is almost like driving an old diesel. You put your foot down and nothing happens. It makes a lot of noise, but you do not go anywhere fast. Sure maybe it could outrun some old English tractors, but forget about out running anything you would commonly see on the road today.

So how did I end up in the third car? Well, the spider had been off the road for weeks. The exhaust had given up in a bad way. Everything from the cat back is brand new. All the gaskets and hangers are new. No leaks to be found. From the cat forward is another story. On S3 spiders the cat is part of the exhaust from the manifold to the first muffler. It is a pretty hearty piece of steel. But time takes it toll on everything. The seams had given up down most of the length of one side of this pipe. So not only did I have an exhaust leak, it was right in front of the driver. How exciting. Nothing gets you going in the morning like fresh exhaust fumes in a closed car. Truth be told, I have probably been driving the car like this for a while. Once I actually saw how bad the leak was, I realized there was nothing good for my health happening to and from work each day. Not to mention the Eau du exhaust cologne. So naturally I parked it while awaiting parts (read: cash flow) for the repair.

The Milano was the new car of choice. What is not to like? The radio works. The air blows cold. The Recaros are oh so nice. And, the engine is amazing!! Wait, what was the second reason the car was so great? Cold air? That is until the compressor freezes up on the interstate one day! (Interesting how the term “freezing up” refers to when the compressor overheats and blows itself to bits on the inside due to a lack of oil) So now the Milano is parked as well. I know some of you are wagging your head and thinking bad thoughts of me for not driving a car because the air is not working. But how many of you live in south Louisiana? I know for sure all the members in New Orleans are wondering how I can drive the car down here in the summer even with the air working!! In fact, I have some friends who own newer modern cars from various continents, and even their a/c had trouble keeping up with the soaring temps we have seen recently! Anyways, the a/c was dead, and so was the car as far as I am concerned.

And here I sit in the Scion. Remember the last article I wrote? The one about modern cars versus our old Alfas? Well the Scion fits the bill. Except it is like a modern car with training wheels. There is not enough power to get into trouble. The tall seating position and high boxy shape make even the most confident driver lose his nerve long before the car loses grip. Everything electrical works. There are no gauges. I have a speedometer and a tachometer. That is it. Everything else you might want a gauge for is covered by an idiot light. The car does have one fun Alfa-like quirk! The car refuses to shift (automatic transmission of course) into overdrive until the engine is fully warmed up. Weird, but true. Perhaps someone more enlightened than me can explain the reasoning behind that one.

The first few days were ok. Driving a boring car is quite relaxing compared to our caffeinated Alfas. I almost fell asleep at the wheel several times. But by the end of the first week, I was getting antsy. At work I was becoming testier with people. I would say things that seemed perfectly ordinary to me but freaked out my friends and coworkers. (Ok, maybe I do that all the time regardless of what I drive.) Obviously withdrawal was setting in!

I started doubling my coffee intake. At night I would sit in the dormant cars and make vroom vroom noises while shifting a cold gearbox. And when I had the chance I worked feverishly to replace the a/c compressor on the Milano. Nothing helped. I even started offering to drive Brittaney around in her Rabbit!! I felt like a strung out crack head! I would do anything for a fix!

At the end of two weeks, I had the a/c repaired on the Milano. Since I had the system completely open, I made sure everything was correct and to spec this time. No more a/c failures for me!

The first day after falling off the wagon was a little tense. Driving a boring car changes your driving style. I had lost my aggression. No more quick passes. No more screeching corners. But over time it, all started to come back to me. Now after several weeks back on Alfa-crack, I can drive as insane as the worst, irresponsible teenager. But I can do it while toe-heal shifting!! So I have to repeat to you all, “Hi, my name is Tim, and I am an addict.” I guess I will keep going to support group meetings, but I hope they never find a cure.

“Alfa Romeo is not merely a maker of automobiles: it truly is something more than a conventionally built car. It is a kind of affliction, an enthusiasm for a means of transport. It is a way of living, a very special way of perceiving the motor vehicle. What it is resists definition. Its elements are like those irrational character traits of the human spirit which cannot be explained in logical terms. They are sensations, passions, things that have much more to do with man’s heart than with his brain”.

-Orazio Satta

I cannot drive a new car

I cannot drive a new car. You see, in the past twenty years or so since my Alfas were new the quality and design of modern cars has become so poor that they just do not hold up. Not sure what happened but modern cars are just junk. Sure they have good fit and finish. Sure the air blows really cold. Sure they start right up every morning hot or cold. Sure they do not overheat in traffic. Sure you can go 10,000 miles without changing the oil, or even checking it. But ask yourself… Can you drive it?!?!

A few weeks ago I took my wife’s virtually new 2009 VW Rabbit in for it’s first service. It has a wonderful 2.5L inline 5. The engine has proven reliable since it was introduced a few years ago and has received a decent horsepower upgrade as a result. When this engine came out it made only 155hp. Seems to me like Alfa was doing that with the GTV6 back in the day. Now the engine makes 170hp along with plenty of grunt! I digress. The engine is not the subject of this story. So anyways, I took the car in for an oil change and whatever else they do. It still wigs me out that we drove the thing 10,000 miles before it needed service, but whatever. The Germans know what they are doing.

So while I am there I sit in some cars and poke around a bit. Have you seen the new Passat CC? Wow! I could see myself in one of those! And while I was there I had to try out the latest technical gizmo from Germany. You see I had yet to put the smack down on a DSG gearbox. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-Shift_Gearbox) One of the benefits of coming from a family that almost exclusively buys VWs is that the dealer gets to know you. So I just called over one of the salesmen and asked to drive something with the DSG. A minute or so later they hand me the keys to a brand new GTI and tell me where it is parked. They did not even come with me or bother to show me the car! That is trust! So I got in, made plenty of seat adjustments, and took off! Wow, what a gearbox! It just shifts! Up, down, whatever! It just does it! And the rev matching is so much better than that stupid tiptronic Porsche sold them for the rest of the fleet. So I took it around the usual test drive route. All the dealers in this area use the same loop to show off cars. Perhaps I take the curves faster than most test drivers, but I have been driving this loop for years now. Eventually I get back to the dealer and the Rabbit is still not ready. No bother, I brought a book!

If you love cars and have not read any of the “Last Open Road” series, you are missing out! Ok, enough of all this mess. This is not an advertisement for VW or B.S. Levy books. (If you get a chance you should try them both!) Finally the car was ready. They even washed it, albeit not like I would have done my Alfas.

For the trip home, I drove the car like I drive my own cars- HARD. I popped it over into the crummy autostick (not sure if it is still tiptronic, it certainly seems better than it used to be). I also took the opportunity to disengage the ESP. I do not want the car reading my mind anyways! Boy did I ever drive it hard. Plenty of redline shifts, hard braking, WOT and the like. This car is fun! It is a good twenty to thirty miles back into Zachary from the far side of Baton Rouge, so I really got the chance to get into this car. The car may have even gotten into me a little bit. Big smiles!!

Eventually I got back to the house. And that is when I found out that modern cars are just not built the same as my old Alfas. Both rear brakes were smoking! And I mean hot! When I pulled into the driveway I saw clouds roll by before I got out of the car. Needless to say, I was not pleased. I called the dealer and got some BS excuse about fancy wheel cleaner causing smoking and such. I drove the car some more and the brakes cooled off. At first they were squealing as I went down the road, but it eventually went away. To be honest, I have not driven the car since. The wife was not pleased, but she has had no problems so I guess everything is ok. The rear pads will probably need replacing before the fronts.

Did I mention that I once gave a brand new Toyota rental car a miss over a week of driving? That was a fun time too, but not worth telling here. I am not trying to bash new cars here. I have several modern cars on my shopping list for when I win the lottery. The point is that next time you get into your perfect little Honda or BMW or Hyundai to go to work or the grocery store, ask yourself how hard you would push this car. Would you push it like you push your Alfa? Would you throw it into the corners? Would you hold it in a lower gear just to listen to the engine scream? And most of all, would the car take it? Do you have confidence you could do that everyday and not blow it up? Those are all questions I do not have answers to. But I do know that for my Alfas, the answer to all of those questions is YES! With gusto! So grab yourself a beer and raise a toast to your Alfa and it’s antiquated engineering, long may it run!

(Note- no rabbits were harmed in the making of this newsletter.)

Epilogue/technical note-

After some research online I think I eventually found the problem. Does anyone here know the subtle braking difference between a Verde/Platinum Milano and the rest of the Milanos? Sure you do… ABS. Not only does the Verde have ABS, but the engineers actually took it into consideration when designing the brake system. Since the ABS system would take care of any lock ups, the engineers saw fit to put a bunch of brake bias to the rear. It makes perfect sense! Well, the German engineers agreed! So the Rabbit has a healthy dose of rear brake bias. It also has that stupid ESP. The Germans rigged it up so that even when the ESP is off, it is still on a little. And one of the ways the ESP works is to use the rear brakes to control the car in cornering. So the end result of aggressive driving is some hot hot hot rear brakes. Wow!

More than concourse clean

Did you know there are places you can clean your car a concourse judge will never see? Sure you did. Some places are obvious, but today I am going to show you some you may have missed. And more importantly, keeping some of these places clean may help keep your car rust and trouble free. Who would have thought you could make your car better just by cleaning it? Of course, doesn’t the old saying go, “A clean car goes faster…”

This first place is good for all the mainstream Alfas. I do not have enough experience to discuss the early cars. And the 164 is foreign to me too. Perhaps at some time or another you have heard someone mention the “secret compartment” in the front wheel wells? Well, the secret is out! On spiders there is a panel in the front and rear of the front wheel wells. Other cars might only have the rear panel. The front panel just conceals all the headlight guts and really does not hide anything. The rear panel is the tricky one. On the passenger side of most spiders is where the charcoal canister is located. If you ever install a Greg Gordon silicone hose kit you will need to get in there. But the more important reason to dig into the rear compartments is to clean out what will probably be a massive collection of dirt, debris, and leaves. Do not ask me how it all gets in there, but once it does, it stays forever. Or at least until you clean all the junk out. So what difference does it make to have an extra few ounces of dirt in some place you will never see? It makes a huge difference!! Dirt and rotting leaves have a best friend called moisture. Need I say more? Moisture sits in the bottom and rots out your body and rockers almost as fast as the leaves you did not even know were there. As far as I can tell, if you clean out these spaces every couple years your car will be in good shape.

Another great place to keep clean is under the dash. I know this seems trivial, but you would be amazed at how dirty your hands can get feeling around under there. We all try to keep the interiors of our cars clean, but somehow dust collects on all the wiring, fuses, and electronic devices stuffed into the dash. I am not really sure how one would go about keeping a location such as this clean, but at the very least you should make a good wiping down part of any under dash repairs or wire hunting you may undertake in the future. You might find the colors on your wiring diagrams match up better when all your wires are shiny and bright!

Ok, so what if I told you there was a place you looked every time you drive your Alfa, but have probably never considered cleaning? And what if I told you this was one of the easiest things to keep clean? I am talking about your rear view mirror. But not just on the outside. Sure we all give the mirror a nice once over when we do the windows and windshields. But have you ever taken the rear view mirror off the car and taken it apart? They are not very hard to remove. The Milano mirror just pulls right off as part of a safety feature. I am pretty sure two screws will leave a spider mirror in your hand. Both mirrors come apart the same way. The plastic surround on the face of the mirror can be carefully removed. The various layers of glass and mirror are just sitting underneath. This is your chance to get all the dust and haze out from the inside! I know I have done this to all the Alfas I have owned. And even then I have to do it again on occasion when dust finds it way inside. Remember, installation is the reversal of removal! Hah!

So what about under your car? We all know about keeping the engine clean. And certainly the undercarriage gets a good spray down when the car is washed. Well other parts down there have not seen the light of day since your car was made! Or at least since your last engine swap or clutch job. A good example is the heat shield over the Catalytic convertor on a Milano. For whatever reason I seem to be taking it on and off all the time. And every time I do, I clean it thoroughly. But before I clean it each time, I take note of how dirty it is, and what sort of mess is making it dirty. Being as the tranny is in the back on the Milano, the most prominent fluid is engine oil. But it could be fuel, or coolant, or brake fluid. Who knows? On a 105/115 car you will find the transmission mount/cross member in the same location. When you take it off you can see it is almost scoop or shovel like in design. The part the engineers screwed up on is the direction. It faces forward! So next time you do a clutch job, or have one done, be sure this little cross member gets cleaned out. The first couple times I did it, I thought the welding was really poor. But as I cleaned harder I realized what I thought was big globs of metal was actually small pebbles embedded in hardened muck! Gross!

Ok, so now you get the idea. There is more to keeping your car clean than simply waxing the beautiful paint. There are all sorts of places you can keep clean that really make a difference in the life of your car. So next time you are cleaning your car, try and find some and make it just that little bit cleaner. A judge may never see it, but you will know it is clean. And you are the one who has to drive the car, not the judge. Clean on!

Get in there and take a look

When was the last time you looked at your car? No I do not mean walked past it in the garage and smiled. I mean really looked at your car. When was the last time you popped the hood or crawled underneath just to see what was there. If the answer is never, or not often, then you need to reconsider certain aspects of your relationship with your Alfa.

Think about it. Does your Alfa ever leave you on the side of the road? Does your mechanic often recommend “extra” services when you bring the car in for an oil change? Are you always delighted and surprised when your car starts at all? There is a reason for all of this.

I do all my own maintenance and repairs on my Alfas. Several of us in the club pretend we are mechanics. It is a fun and important part of owning an Alfa. I know there are also quite a few members of this club who are checkbook mechanics. I think that is fine too. Especially the ones who bring their cars to me! But there is more to owning an Alfa than working on it. Some people actually drive them too. I must say my commute to and from work is the best part of my day!! What I am about to offer up is important to all Alfisti, drivers and mechanics alike.

A couple days ago I moved my spider out of the garage and into position for a good engine wash down. Every now and again I like to hose the whole thing down to keep the oil build up low. I know she leaks, but this way there is less grit and crud on my hands when I fix things. I was planning on blowing out the heater core in an attempt to have some heat for the winter. Reaching down the front of the motor to disconnect a hose and getting covered in black road sludge did not sound appealing. The first thing I noticed was the exhaust clanging on the body. So I spent the next 45 minutes under the car adjusting things. While under the car I noticed a small drip under the engine. First I had to determine the type of fluid. Then I had to find an origin. Answer: coolant, not from the radiator or the front of engine. Hmm, that seems strange. If not the radiator or the front of the engine, where could this be coming from? I popped open the hood and saw the answer. The two coolant hoses running to the throttle body have just begun to give up and make a mess. Looks like now I would be doing more than just blowing out the heater core. New hoses through the firewall and under the dash became the order of the day. I will not depress everyone with how not fun it is to replace the hoses running to the heater core. The point I want to make is that I looked at my car. I listened to her, I smelled her, I stared at her in inappropriate ways….

Example number two happened on the Milano. I have been slowly fixing things that leak on this car. There is only a single leak left, and I think it is coming from the oil pressure-sending unit. Alfa in their infinite wisdom put this sensor on the back of the block in the V between the banks. While digging around back there I noticed one of the injectors was not seated properly. Under further examination I could see the two bolts holding the injector down had worked loose and were getting ready to fall out. Not good. So, now I abandoned the oil pressure-sending unit and jumped on the injectors. In the end I had to remove the intake plenum. While I was in there I checked all the injectors for taughtness. I then replaced the plenum and went back to the oil pressure-sending unit. Once again, the point is that I observed the car.

Both of those problems could have become catastrophic failures. How much fun would it have been when the heater hoses let go on the way to work? Or what if the leak was slow and the engine ran dry and cooked itself? And what of the Milano? An improperly seated injector creates a massive air leak. This causes a lean condition for that cylinder. Next step is one really hot cylinder combined with 5 rich running cylinders as the engine tries to compensate for the lean one. I am pretty sure a burned valve would be in order too. How exciting.

Now, I just happened to already be working on my cars when I noticed these problems. If you work on your cars, good observation is easy. If you are a checkbook mechanic things might be more difficult. But either way, you need to schedule some time to just look at your car. You do not have to be a genius to notice a threaded hole with nothing in it and something hanging loose nearby. Or even just something rattling while the engine is running. Take some time to get to know your car. Then maybe next time it will not be your mechanic calling with extra stuff to do to the car. It will be you calling the mechanic with your list of things needing attention. Not to mention the joy of finding problems in your garage rather than the side of the road.

I do not work on my cars every day. I drive them every day. So in between repair sessions I have made a habit of popping the hood. I call it “checking to make sure the engine is still there.” I just take a look. Perhaps there is something new that was not there yesterday. A leak perhaps, or some debris from something falling apart, who knows, could be anything. And that is the point!! When you are about to get into your car for a drive, just duck your head underneath and see what is there or not there. This not only helps you see what is up with your car but it helps you get familiar with it so you can notice when something changes.

Points and Plugs

Ok, so what are points? None of my cars have any so I have no clue. This sounds like a job for Wikipedia!!!!........ Ok, back now from Internet land. Wow, that was very educational. I still do not fully understand how points work. But I did learn they act like a switch for the ignition system. And the point gap is crucial for setting the proper “dwell” time. I also found out the points can both oxidize and wear over time with use. Since my Bosch l-jet cars have an entire computer dedicated to doing the job of these little points, they must be pretty important.

Points are beginning to sound like those magical aspects of engine tuning you used to need a guru for. I can just imagine a group of guys out at Bonneville with tanned leather skin and weathered faces huddling over an engine in some streamlined hot rod. They would casually smoke cigarettes and argue the merits of various spark gaps, point gaps, and distributor settings. There is probably an oscilloscope sitting on a table nearby and an adjustable timing light in someone’s hand. One of the guys has a feeler gauge set hanging out of his pocket. And far off in the distance you can hear some fire breathing dragon of a car making a high speed run. Ahhh…

I am not one of those guys, but I bet we have a couple in the club. With some luck at least one will show up for the meeting and show us all how it is done. But I do know how to gap a plug back to factory spec and how to replace a cap and rotor. I can even replace a set of plug wires. I have done all those things many times. I know many of our club members do not work on their cars. If you are more of a driver than a mechanic, this could be your chance to dig into the engine compartment with out getting into trouble.

Besides plugs and points, we have some cars in the club with much more modern ignition systems. For instance, all Bosch L-jet cars use computers to control the engine. There is still a distributor and a single coil, but the timing is controlled using engine vacuum, a Hall effect sensor, or flywheel position sensors depending on the car. The early GTV6 used a dummy box for the ignition control. I have no clue what that means, but I know the later cars had a more complex computer. And once you move into Motronic, things get even more complicated and simple at the same time. These cars only have one computer for all the engines functions, and most of the hoses and extra junk associated with L-Jet is gone, but the control is more complex. These cars use crank position sensors and idle air control motors and the like. Finally I know of at least one car in the club that left the factory with coil packs! Lets hear it for the 164LS. With the exception of the 164Q it has to be the most advanced and most powerful Alfa you could get at a dealer back in the day. These cars get rid of the distributor all together and give each cylinder it’s own coil. The computer tells each one when to fire and things are very precise and controlled. Not to mention very powerful!