Gathering on the Green 2007- Elkhart Lake Wisconsin

[Sam Danenberger IV]

Hello all-

Gina's maiden voyage to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin from Chicago was a success,
but not without some drama.
All was well throughout the drive north until we were just about a 1 1/2 mile from the track,
when there was an ear popping sound and much clattering and thunking from the engine bay!!
Not good. What now?!!!
I immediately switched off the engine, and we coasted along the road side near a house.
Inspecting under the hood no water, no oil, no smoke, everything appeared normal.
Alll guages had read near perfect up to this time.
Strange.
My father told me to start it and shut it off quickly, I immediately complied.
Spark plug number 4 was missing!!
We walk down the hill and just as I say to my father we'll never find it, he stoops down near the center line and picks up my NGK spark plug, number 4.
A few dings/scratches maybe, but threads intact, gap even looked pretty good.
By this time the gentleman who owned the house was on the scene, "Do need a wrench?" he asked.
A 17mm thinwall socket if you have one, I answered, he disappeared into the garage and emerged, socket set in hand.
My father inserted the socket with the plug into number 4 and tightened it down, it went in perfectly.
Now to check 1, 2 and 3.
All were loose!!, just started, someone at the shop(nameless) had neglected to tighten them down at the last service, and I am partially guilty for not checking them before the journey.
Moral of the story..............
Check everything yourself even if the best shop has had it
and carry a spare set of spark plug in your tool kit!
From then on, no drama just pure pleasure at the track and at the Gathering event.

Ciao!
Sam

[Ed Levin]

Sam

You're quite lucky the threads weren't damaged. It's always good advice to check everything, and it's a good idea to carry a full spare set of plugs, plus a wrench or two.

And when you do check the plugs, it's always a good idea to use a torque wrench. Overtightening isn't any better than undertightening. For 14mm plugs in alloy heads, NGK recommends 18.0 to 21.6 lb-ft of torque. See: http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinfo/s ... country=US

By the way, the car appears to have survived quite well; somone posted a picture of it at the concours on the Alfa BB last night. Looked great! Although now I'm going to go back and look for a dent in the hood...

Regards, Ed

[Sam Danenberger IV]

Ed-

Thanks for your sage advice and kind words.
Live and ALWAYS learn.
New plugs with anti seize compound and TORQUED to 18-20 lb-ft next ordr of business!
Thats wha'ts still amazing though, no damage visible at all !!!
Oh........ by the way, the headlights were faulty grounds both sides!!

Ciao!
Sam

[Gamma as in Goat]

you almost gave me a heart-attack just reading this...I can't imagine how you felt 1.5 miles out, but I heard some loud howling (over here in Europe even !)
But alls well that ends well...... whewwwwwwwww !!!!!
This week I'm buying 8 spare plugs* & a full set of new wrenches...since the old set ain't a full set anymore.
* 4 Gamma & 4 Fulvia. Plugs.
& I shouldn't take it / them from the (refrigeration) shop they get lost in. We must have what we need & must have no idea where the rest of them are or went to, over the last 10 years. Your almost misfortune will probably teach a lot of us a good to know lesson...thanks for the posting,

[Ed Levin]

I don't generally use anti-sieze compound--perhaps I should, though I tend to take the plugs out to check them fairly regularly anyway. But my torque wrench is always left on a default setting on 13 lb-ft for the plugs (mine are 12mm).

You're right--it's amazing that you had no damage. And the car did indeed look sharp in the photo that was posted on the Alfa BB; thanks for representing the marque so well.

[Sam Danenberger IV]

Gamma-

The intent of relating my tale, was not heart failure as you say, but rather to remind all Lancisti to check & recheck everything and bring appropriate tools and spares along when possible.
Also, I guess it makes a good story, which I can say only because no real damage was done to the car or its occupants.

Ciao!

Sam

[Gamma as in Goat]

for those of us unfamiliar with Alfa BB - what it it & how do we find the fotos ? it is always a thrill to check fulvia fotos, unless it shows scenes akin to a-Fulvia-rotten-inna-alley, which Sam's was not.

[Peter Cripps]

Sam's Fulvia is right at the end of this rather long thread:

Alfa BB Lancia thread


Lots of other nice pictures there as well!

Peter

[Ed Levin]

Peter's got it; it's post #111. There are several Lancia threads on the BB, all under "Other Italian Cars"

[Kraig]

Sam:

Glad to hear your journey turned out happily. I have many fond memories of Road America, as I grew up on the Illinois/Wisconsin border, and spent many summers up there. My claim to fame was a bathroom break standing next to Mario Andretti back in the late 70s!

-Kraig