unfortunately I don't have anything for other years. Check the alfabb forum online. There are people on there that might be able to help. It has been a good resource for me in the past and is where I got the wiring diagram for my car.

We tried, but there were issues. To correct for shrinkage would be a guessing game. Ended up trying the portafilter for ponte vecchio, the nice thing about that one is that it has a retaining clip. It was close. We had it stripped and re-plated. Unfortunately there is still work being done on it and I haven't been able to actually test the completed version... People on the home barista forum seem to think it works though. I ended up getting baskets for both ponte vecchio and for the zacconi to see if it makes a difference. But again, I haven't had the chance to test it.

@@albagr01 Thanks for your reply! Not sure I understand "We had it stripped and re-plated".. the PV portafilter? Why?.. I think I will just buy this one www.lamacchinadelcaffe.com/en/portafiltri-pontevecchio.html Is it the same one you bought? What is the retaining clip? I can buy about 7 needed items from the same company to compensate for the ~$30 shipping. The prices are considerably lower than USA sellers. I need a sight glass (level glass) nut. Ever seen one for sale? I'm asking a couple of these sellers in Italy if they can source one. Best!

​@@kalo93406 We had the whole machine re-plated in copper, so I wanted the portafilter to match. I THINK that is where we got it from, but I'm not 100%. I did not purchase it and don't have an order. I did order the portafilter baskets from there though, but I haven't had the portafilter to test it. I'm still waiting to get it back and in the meantime, I seem to have spring a leak in the sight glass, so my machine is out of commission until I can commit some time to spend on it. Fortunately, I have a working Pavoni. The retaining clip is a spring inside the portafilter that keeps the baskets from falling out. Zacconi used dimples in the basket that applied pressure against the portafilter, but they don't work very well, mine are either too tight or too loose so the basket either falls out, or is hard to get out. the spring clip is much better and is what all the professional machines I've worked with use. Heads up, I bought a replacement shower screen from that website and the ones for pontevecchio don't fit my zacconi. so if that's one of the items you're looking for, be keep that in mind. Another good source of parts is the zacconi workshop. Also in Italy, so you'll have to pay international shipping, but those guys have been pretty helpful for me as well. www.zacconi.net/en/index_en.html I always let them know that my machine is the older style. They have some parts, but not all for the older size group head. Good luck.

@@albagr01 Thanks so much for more details! Wow, re-plated the whole machine, that must look great. Mine has the brass and copper plating combo but the base is in very rough condition. I'll have it bead blasted or I'll try sanding it down some depending on how the base metal holds up. Did you do the prep work on yours or was it done by the plating company? I'll likely just spray paint mine trying to find a color tone that goes well with the copper and brass. The spring clip sounds great, but must be aftermarket as I've never seen it on these 45mm portafilters, Ponte Vecchio or others. Mine while missing a few things did have the shower screen. I will be ordering the 145mm Ponte Vecchio sight glass and seals from Italy I think. There is a group called Lever Fever on FB and I recently added a post about my machine. Maybe see you there. Thanks and ciao!

@@kalo93406 I haven't looked into sight glasses from other companies, but I would be leery of using them, that is an integral part of the machine. if it doesn't fit just right you will have pressure and water leaks there (I'm having one now, but I think that's an issue with the gasket. I got my replacement from the Zacconi shop, correct water marks and everything. I also got a full set of seals from them, they had everything except the teflon seal that seals between the boiler and the base. I got a five pack of them from newegg for $6, but other places carry them, if you need one, just google "45mmx55mmx2mm PTFE Flat Washer Gasket White 5pcs" and you'll find places that carry them (assuming your machine is the same as mine). My girlfriend is a metal smith, so she has contacts with the plating company, I was not part of that at all. As for the brass, we didn't re-plate that. The acid bath actually did eat away at the threads in one part of the machine and it required some work to fix it, thankfully metal smith's are amazing, so she was able to fix the issue. You can polish copper and brass pretty well, give it some love with a good wax and then just keep it clean. I'll have to check out that forum. I had been on home-barista, there isn't a lot of zacconi stuff on there. I took some detailed pictures, google "Zacconi Riviera - Teardown and rebuild w/ questions" Good luck

there is a small clear tube in the background coming out of the floor, you see me poke it at 4:09. The hose connects the VPS with that little tube.

@@albagr01 thanks, but where does that hose connect to? where does it go? from the ecu sensor to where?

@@davelee7572 there are two possibilities, I don't remember which off the top of my head. Could be the black canister in the trunk, which connects to the gas tank and the intake plenum. Or it could be the charcoal canister behind the front passenger wheel. It all involves vacuum and emissions. I never got too knowledge about that stuff. In this case was just replacing old degraded hoses and cleaning up electrical contacts.

Not really. It was a while back, but I believe I ended up having the CTS replaced. I saw cleaning the contacts as cheap insurance. It also helped me get to know my car a little better.

@@albagr01 Ahhh, but like you said, a wise investment of your time. I watched all your videos because I'm trying to decide if I should get an Alfa Spider. I have a BMW E30 which I've brought back to life and now I'm trying to figure out what the common problems of an Alfa are before I invest. Alfa's seem to be a little more expensive than the common E30. Changing that starter looks like a nightmare. I hope you don't ever have to do that. Probably need to take the entire intake off the head to get to it.

Check the Alfabb forum. There are a lot of people there more knowledgeable than me. It's best to be at least a little mechanically inclined or at least have a good mechanic that knows the car who you could get it to. I love my alfa, but as a daily driver, it can be a challenge at times.

@@albagr01 Thank you for the advice! I have been able to do all my own work on my E30 so I'm confident I could do almost any of the necessary jobs on the Alfa, but having that backup when time or experience is an issue is always handy! That's too bad that the Spider has not been a dream daily driver. That is definitely what I'm hoping to do when I get one. What are the issues that you've found that make the Spider a difficult daily?

I love the car, but when you are in need of be reliability over a long period of time, the Alfa has a way of shaking up your security. Broke down on me a couple times at inopportune moments, has occasionally been finicky when trying to get it started... Sometimes when it's cold, sometimes when it's hot. It can be tricky to hunt down the issues when the symptoms appear and without more free time to spend on it, they can become frustrating. I love the car, but a backup for the times when things don't go right is helpful. Now we have Uber and Lyft so it's rare for me that a breakdown is detrimental to my plans. At least during non-pandemic times. Right now it barely get driven, so every time I get in it's a real pleasure. Like I said, read up in that forum. There are a lot of people more knowledge than me. I just started making videos to help me remember what I did and how to do it, and maybe help people trying to work on the same issues.

Just bought an 82 that I'm just starting lol, seeing all the "fun" I'm going to have with this project.

I think that's a good idea. I couldn't get at mine when I was doing this though.

@@albagr01 do you still have the alpha? how would you rate the reliability and maintenance costs? years ago i owned a "69 spider and am thinking of buying another. how difficult is it to find a mechanic? thanks

That's really tough to answer... Reliability and maintenance costs are going to heavily depend on the status of the car when you get it and how well it was maintained. I will answer this in short at the end of this long answer, but I'd encourage you to read all of it. I got mine and it was relatively low mileage (like 70,000 or so) it needed a bunch of up front repairs and it get's regular trips to the mechanic for a variety of issues. some are small and some are big. I live in Los Angeles, there is an alfa specialist here, I only go to him for repairs, unless it's like an exhaust weld or something. the 84 (mine) is pretty different from the 69. If you are mechanically inclined, I imagine you can keep it running and take it to a mechanic for major issues, make sure they know how to work on Italian cars (hopefully they have extensive experience with alfa romeo)... Most parts for the Series 3 (my cars era) aren't too hard to come by, with a few exceptions where some parts are made of unobtainium. I would never have bought this car if I didn't know there was a local alfa specialist (actually there are 3 or more fairly local here). I bought this car and felt pretty overwhelmed in the first couple of months, not knowing much about car repairs (short of brakes and oil changes), but I spent some time going through, learning the car, cleaning all the grounds, and figuring out what parts did and where they were. I got this car for pretty cheap and even with repairs I think I was out only around $5000 in the first year when all was said and done. so, it took me a few years before I spent what I think the car should be valued at (but I certainly have reached that point by now and beyond). I got to learn a lot about maintaining a vehicle and I feel confident that this car won't strand me (again), and it feels amazing driving it around when it's nice out. It doesn't rain all that often here, we don't have winter weather and loads of salt to eat away at the metal, so in an area like this, if you have the time and inclination to do maintenance on your own, I think it can be worth it (it certainly was for me). This car is frustrating at times, finicky, and there is always something that can be fixed on it... but when all is said and done, I'm glad to have it... it still turns heads and strikes up conversations with strangers at gas stations, and even at red lights. So be prepared for that too. Overall, my average costs are: 1qt oil per month (mine burns and leaks it, and I haven't had the space cash to shell out for an engine rebuild, when I do I'm anticipating like... $3000? honestly I need to call my mechanic and ask what it involves, but this is beyond my ability and comfort zone) mpg is low right now, gotta look into that. used to be around 22 mpg, right now it's more like 17... always mixed driving. I do basic maintenance myself, hunt for water leaks, replace window latches, oil changes, air filter... I have done brakes, no biggie, but the rotors were more than I cared to do, so back to the mechanic. So, beyond normal wear and tear stuff, if you do some maintenance like I do, I would expect to average around $500-$1000 per year for an S3 (some years less some years more), but for a 69 duetto (which I have no experience with), I would think that will be more, maybe much more...but it's also a much more valuable car... and prettier.

@@albagr01 thanks

@@bensnyder9773 it was there when I bought it. I haven't tried to remove the radio, but you can probably get it by removing the inside of the glove box and/or the center console. Neither is particularly difficult.

this if you are removing oem spica shocks

1955Cal hey there. When this thing gets gunked up, the brake pedal is hard to press down. Then after the car has been running for a few seconds it goes down fine. When it was really bad though, it would get stiff while diving, so I check it whenever I find it starting to get difficult to press in the brake upon starting my car.

Thanks for the reply. I did clean that valve last week and it did stop the idle from increasing when applying the brakes. I was very glad to find that helped. Now I need to bleed the brakes better to see if my booster's okay. I think it is because when I removed the booster hose from that valve I heard air escaping, so it must be holding vacuum I'm hoping.

hm... I'm not an expert or anything, but I think that's normal. Is that the only issue, air escaping when your remove the vacuum hose? If I remember right, my brake booster was making a hissing sound every time I depressed the brake pedal when it failed, it was pretty noticeable and got worse before I had it fixed...(heads up, there is a diaphragm that can be pretty weak inside it... , I probably broke it trying to bleed the brakes by pressing the pedal in too far, ended up having to get rebuilt one from some place in east Los Angeles) I believe one of the symptoms is when you sit with your foot on the brake for a little bit, it goes in further on it's own.

The air escaping wasn't the issue, that's a good sign that it's holding vacuum so I think the diaphragm is okay. My issue is I have hardly any brakes, but hopefully bleeding them properly with resolve that. I replaced the master cylinder as that was bad(leaking brake fluid into the booster) and the calipers were replaced by the previous owner. So I'm hoping the booster is okay, but I'm not sure yet. I know Vick Auto Sports sells new ones for about $150.00. Alfa Parts Exchange or A.P.E. is a good source for used parts if you need any, he's in California too. He's a nice guy and his prices are reasonable, I bought a few parts from him. Take Care,Joe

I like APE as well as Centerline International, both are very good at helping and easy to contact. As far as the other one goes, let's just say if you don't have anything nice to say... I suppose it's possible that you have air bubbles, especially if you were leaking break fluid before, so a brake bleed may be in order, just be careful. It's not particularly hard, but like I said, I pushed that brake pedal in too far and regretted it. I'm limited on my brake skills, I had my mechanic do the last set of pads since I needed rotors and didn't feel like doing them. Speaking of, I see you have cal in your name. if you're in souther california, I would recommend taking the car to Benny at Johns Alfa Romance near Culver City, Los Angeles when you need a pro. He's great, extremely reasonable prices, and he has a fairly local source for refurbished brake boosters... heck, you might end up with my old one fixed up and good as new (if I could remember the name I'd tell you, but it was a while ago... I think it was under $100 for the part though). good luck.

Sounds to me like the float or the sender in your gas tank has failed. Mine moves around a little bit when I brake and when I'm going up hill or down hill... and when I go around corners, but it always goes back to where it was when I am flat again and going at a fairly constant speed. When I replaced my gas tank, I saw a small amount of liquid in the float, so it will never be perfectly accurate until I replace it, but it isn't bad enough to bother me. If your float is full of gas though, then I suppose that might do what you're describing. There are some videos that were posted by international auto before it merged with centerline. The ones that deal with fixing the gas smell deal with accessing it at some point, I think there are three videos. (Link to their page below) You can also try and see if it's bad electrical connection and it's reading wrong. I would try that first as it's the easiest. You have to disconnect the battery. Access the top part of the fuel sending unit (screwed into the gas tank, which is in the floor of the trunk, drivers side, under the carpet, if you look at the videos I mentioned, you should be able to figure it out). then, again with battery disconnected, you can carefully separate the spade connectors from their contacts, and clean them up. I used things like a dremel tool with wire brush, tiny wire pipe cleaning brushes, sand paper, and/or contact cleaning spray. I did all those contacts and then did the ground, which if I remember right, is connected on the drivers side all the way near the tail light. There should be a bolt with a few of black wires with eye connectors under it. that one is easy, unscrew it, clean the contacts, and then screw it back on tight, but don't over tighten it. You can buy some star washers if you want to give them a little more bite. I watched a video from what was called "flash drive films" I think about his old fiat spider, but the concept is the same. It could also be the gauge itself, I have never tried to touch the gauges as pulling them out of this model involves a lot of work that I just don't want to needlessly do. I imagine it's a little easier in spiders from 86 and on when they changed the setup, but I don't know for sure. Hope that helps. kzbin.info/door/cyNYdkFkjPUdfvGYGhStCQ

Or... maybe the connectors are in the wrong place on the gauge. That sounds realistic if the positive and negative connected to the gauge itself are mixed up, I've never gotten inside there to mess with those wires though, so I'm not sure what it looks like.

Most of the electrical cleaning that I did was more preventative maintenance and cheap insurance. My car didn't have trouble starting at the time and the times that is has after that were unrelated to that computer (I believe it's called the Ignition Control Module)

I'm not 100% certain. It has something to do with the fuel recover, I believe relating to emissions. It connects via tube to the vapor canister in back of the front passenger side wheel and either the vapor canister in the trunk or the fuel tank, I don't recall which. My understanding of it is that when it goes, you hear a high pitched whistle and it affects your fuel efficiency. I'd have to dig a little further to know for sure, but alfabb.com has a lot of information, probably with this question answered.

Greg A Proper name is Vacuum Sensor Device (VSD) and it provides vacuum advance 411 to the ignition module. It is a variable inductor and when it fails, fuel economy drops about 10%. They are no longer available.

Glen Kantziper It seemed like it was okay. My mechanic had a used one in good condition though. You can get used ones from Alfa Parts Exchange in northern California. I think in a pinch I read that you can use an old Datsun one, but research that, theirs were slightly different.

you can put it in a toaster oven (low heat, like 150) and in the freezer and see if it moves. I think it is supposed to be mostly closed when it's warm and open when it's cold, but I'm not certain. I think I cleaned mine with soap and water or maybe carb cleaner too, just to make sure there wasn't gunk causing it to get stuck.

Haha, no. I've never been able to figure it out. I tried replacing fuses and everything. The main thing is that my battery is not losing volts though, so... the light just comes on dimly when there is a lot of power being used, but even with everything on: AC fan (just the fan, as the compressor is disconnected), heat, wipers, high beams... the alternator is still charging properly, so I've decided to ignore it... or maybe I'm driving around HAL 9000?

Michigan Wheels what do you use than if it's just cleaning? I don't need to buff my window out, it's brand new I just need to clean it

Nick Faber, I'm new to the world of convertibles, but everything I've seen (except from this guy) has said don't use glass cleaner because the chemicals will ruin the plastic. I've seen suggestions for Woolite and other mild cleaners. I am going to use 303 cleaner and protectant for the vinyl top, but I'm still trying to figure out what the experts advise for the plastic window.

You're right, you shouldn't use glass cleaner. That's why I didn't and this stuff isn't. It's not technically a cleaner either, it's a vinyl restorer.

Where do I find this sold online?

No problem, really easy. check alfabb.com too. Great place to find others who have already done the work.

friedchicken1981 I don't think that's normal. I would consider replacing it.

K Sharp they're both pretty easy. if you get stuck, do a search on alfabb.com and you should find pretty good instructions.

No... but for the most part the grounds aren't hard to find and cleaning them is pretty straight forward... I used a wire brush attachment on my dremel tool, but you can just use fine grit sand paper or emery cloth. Just be sure to unhook the battery. The grounds are mostly just circle connectors screwed into the body pretty close to various electrical components. the ones near the fuse box are really easy to get to... my screw was a bit loose, so I replaced it with a small bolt with a nut and washer to make sure it keeps them all in tight.

It's really worth the time. helps to remove candidates for inevitable electrical problems... as long as it's put back together correctly.

I dont think so