Henry Ford is reported to have said: “whenever I see an Alfa Romeo, I take my hat off.” It’s not known why he said that; maybe it’s because of the brand’s many victories in the late -’20s and ’30s, or perhaps its traditional twin-cam layout appealed to his engineering sensibilities. Modern Alfas are more ordinary and have enough commonality with Fiats to ensure that they’re no longer revered to the same extent, except by the occasional fanatic.
“Chalkie” Watermeyer is one of these fanatics. He is a teacher at the local primary school and is reported to even have an Alfa Quadrifoglio on his pyjamas. His 1985 Giulietta is more of a loveobject than a means of transport. We have helped him in the past to keep the car on the road at minimal cost, so when he turned up two weeks ago to complain about the gearlever jumping out of gear, I asked Syd to wear his Samaritan hat and take the Alfa in hand.
He looked crestfallen, because he did not relish coming to grips with the combined rear axle/gearbox, but took the car out on the road for an assessment. Upon his return, he grabbed a crowbar and proceeded to rock the engine back and forth, and also examined the car’s underside. He seemed much relieved when he reported back to me that the car only jumped out of gear on a bumpy surface because of the extra engine movement allowed by worn engine mountings. The problem can be fixed even if genuine Alfa mountings are not available or too expensive, because it’s always possible to modify some other design or even to fabricate new ones. They may not be perfect but they will keep the old girl going.
Chalkie returned a week later so that Syd could fit some good second-hand mountings that he had managed to find. A road-test confirmed that the gearlever now behaved itself and Chalkie drove away happily.