SPICA Pump Rebuilds & Restoration Services
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The
original Spica Injected Alfas have become desirable collector cars.
New owners and investors are intrigued with the mechanical quality of these
vehicles and want them original as presented by the factory. With our
H&W high performance systems, the engine can remain very
correct looking and be upgraded internally for great gas mileage, low
emissions and easier maintenance. These Alfas were designed for the American market and other
than the exotic Montreal 8C, there are very few 4C Alfas in other parts
of the world with mechanical injection. We offer full service rebuilds,
and a do-it-yourself
tune-up kit including our SPICA
manual. Hemmings Motor News, an excellent magazine in print and online for car collectors, published a SPICA article. "The best ever written in the aftermarket" says Wes. Road & Track recently took up that challenge and published this feature.
We also offer restored high performance throttle bodies and injectors, and replated injection pipes and hardware. Also check out our restored intake manifolds. All parts and castings are cleaned in our large ultrasonic parts washer. |
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The Thermostatic Actuator (TA) functions much like a Choke. It has a life span of 8 to 10 years. If your engine runs very rich, it is very likely the TA needs replacing. The picture of the TA on the right is correct at room temperature. The steel pin must extend past the brass at least 5 mm. If the pin is only extended 4 mm or it is flush, send the TA to us for rebuilding. It is not necessary to test it in hot water. Remove the two 4mm hex nuts first from the mid-clamp device half way up the tube. These fasteners are usually rusted requiring rust-buster and a good grip on the nuts to remove them. Do not send the small bracket that attaches to the intake manifold on the 4C cars. Please take care not to bend the tube excessively. Included
with our TAs are two 4mm Allen socket screws to replace the slotted 4mm
screws. You can use a long "T-Handle" Allen tool to simplify the
re-installation of the TA. You may have to remove the screws up to
three times to get the .5mm (.019 in.) hot reference gap correct. Note
the adjusting screw on the shaft that allows for setting the .019 in.
reference gap. Once the TA has been
replaced and
set up correctly you can expect your Spica system to run good and to be
very reliable We will do our best to have TAs in stock for a quick turn
around as long as we know your old TA has been shipped to us.   After reconditioning all injectors are run at very high speeds and fuel volumes on our custom test bench. Injector pulses must also be clean and crisp at very low speeds. Click here for information about injectors.  We
replace all the plungers and barrels on all our rebuilt pumps to
prevent gasoline from seeping into the engine oil. Our pumps include
upgrades to correct several original pump design defects. After
re-assembly each pump is installed on our test bench and run for more
than 8 hours that simulates actual engine operating
conditions.
Fuel calibration is set to less than 1% differential between cylinders
at selected speeds and load points. This results in more
power,
fuel mileage and reduced emissions.
Most old pumps leak gas into the engine oil. How to Test for Gas in Oil in 4C Spica Pumps (560KB PDF).   Our
Brass Hex Nut and Alloy Wrench replace the difficult to adjust factory
fuel solenoid. Due to tough emission laws, the injection systems were
designed to be tamper proof. Anytime the injection pump is serviced or
replaced it is necessary to re-set the air/fuel mixture. The original
fuel solenoid lock nut was designed to require a large, deep-socket
spanner tool. We produced a limited supply of special aftermarket
spanner sockets until costs became prohibitive. Street
Pumps HP Pumps Note: There will be an extra charge for failed fuelcut-off solenoids on pumps received for rebuilding (De-cels) |
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 Get it now! |
Our rebuilt pumps feature the fruits of knowledge gained over our years of rebuilding them. We have identified their weaknesses and have developed alternatives and guidelines to make them last longer. Each of our pumps have these upgrades installed. Our "Manual for Alfa Romeo SPICA Fuel Injection" by Wes Ingram is written as a do-it-yourself guide for owners. The first edition was written in 1985 and as we gained knowledge, 10 new editions have followed. For 2017, we have added a Kindle edition! Now you can read our manual on your Kindle Fire, any tablet or computer with the Kindle Reader App. In the USA, click here to buy it on Amazon. Elsewhere, search your amazon for "Alfa Spica Book" (available worldwide in US English). |
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It took 4 years to
design our dual test benches. We installed and put them into operation
in the summer of 2013. The complex design of the mechanical gasoline
injection pumps requires from 20 to 80 hours of bench time after they
have been assembled. The benefit of having two benches allows us to run
two pumps at the same time which has cut our turn-around time in half. All phases and components of the pumps are run and tested to match the engines various speeds and power. When sending your pump to us for rebuilding we need to know the intended engine upgrades even if it is a mild camshaft upgrade. Maintaining the pump calibration to within 1% accuracy between cylinders results in low emissions, improved gas mileage and more power and torque. |
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High Performance (HP) Pumps |
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| HP
pumps are a very popular option
that exists for owners of modified Alfa motors. The HP pump matches the
fuel metering characteristics to the breathing mods done to the engine.
You wouldn't throw larger cams in the motor without increasing jet
size, would you? Without modifying the pump's fuel distribution curve
you won't maximize the potential of your improvements. The heart of the HP pump is the re-profiled 3-D cam. We've developed several styles of the 3-D cam to deliver correct fuel mixtures at all engine speeds. It is necessary to specify the engine mods and power expectations on custom orders. Note that the 40mm throttle bodies are available for all SPICA cars and particularly those with modified engines. |
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 Autodelta Race Pump |
 Photo: Sven Heimbach. This GTAM engine has one of our 2013 series race pumps with flexible fuel lines. |
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 Tipo 33 Stradale Pump |
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 Montreal 8C Pump |
 Montreal 8C. Photos courtesy Delmas Greene Click here for more Montreal 8C pictures & parts. |
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 Montreal 8C Engine, top view. Photo courtesy Rob Thompson, UK |
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Note the fuel pipes which are all the same length, requiring coils on the front cylinders. The pipes are actually 3 layers of tubing with an internal dimension of only 1.5 mm. There are no known replacements for the pipes. The pipe clamps and brackets are necessary to protect the pipes from vibration. The front four high pressure pump outlets feed the left side of the engine; the last four feed the right side. The 8 throttle plates must be synchronized and completely closed with the engine fully warmed up. Idle air is provided from the idle/air mixer with small vacuum hoses that connect to the throttle bodies downstream of the throttle plates. Setting the fuel adjusting solenoid (FAS) must be done at 2800 rpm, never at idle. See our “Billet Nut and Wrench” that allows setting the FAS with the air box installed. Injection pump timing is confusing to most owners since there are two “top dead center” events in all 4 cycle engines. The pump and distributors rotate at half speed. Ask about our new “Red Dot Pulley” for simplified pump timing. We have found many Montreals with the injection pump timing off by 180 degrees which results in a reduction of power and torque, fuel mileage and increased emissions. Some pumps require one to two weeks to setup and calibrate, even longer with the very stubborn ones. Because 8C pump spares and the unique parts are very rare, we have to remove the plated parts and ship them for re-plating, unlike the 4C pumps where we have hundreds of spares. Quality plating is a moving target in that we are always searching for better service. It's expensive and they do not like doing small volume plating especially for automotive. |
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Things you need to know when ordering your pump rebuild:
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| John Stewart has taken the time to create these highly useful guides: Ingram Enterprises is delighted to host these fine documents. | |||
