The point of the above being that Lee Noble designs a very fine car. In a world where the average kit car shop makes a dozen cars and closes it's doors after a few months, most early Noble designs are still in production after 20 years.

Back to my car: the engine is the Alfa Romeo all-alloy 2-litre DOHC 'twin spark' from the Alfa 75 'Milano' -- this is not the same engine found in the Alfa 164 or Spyder. The variable valve timing has been locked out, and Kent 'Sports R' cams installed. Induction is thru twin Weber DCOE 45 carbs via an aluminum billet manifold. Exhaust is a custom stainless steel tri-Y header to a transverse straight-thru muffler. Power output is 187 BHP at the flywheel with a 2500 to 6500 RPM power band.

The transaxle is a 5-speed unit from the Alfasud coupe, with a Ford-splined input shaft and modified selector. Final drive ratio in 5th gear is 3.75:1. Clutch is Escort Mk. 1 with a modified Alfa pressure plate. The Alfasud transaxle incorporates inboard 230 mm cross-drilled disc brakes. Front brakes are 244 mm cross-drilled Cortina. Steering rack is quick-ratio Cortina.

Front and rear suspension are adjustable dual A-arms with coil-over Spax adjustable shocks. Tires are Yokohama Advan A032R: 185/60X13 on 6" wide rims front, 205/60X13 on 7" wide rims rear. Weight distribution with driver is 38% front, 62% rear.

The car is street registered and used for general recreation and track days. What's it like to drive on the street? Picture driving the 'Autopia' ride at Disneyland as an adult -- knees drawn up, tiny steering wheel in your lap, wind right in your face, way-too-quick steering, and a lot of grip. Now, instead of 3 horsepower, imagine 187!

September 2007 -- I've spent most of the season working on engine tractability. The Alfa 2-litre had been fully 'tweeked' for all top-end power with no interest in low and mid-range torque. The engine would barely run below 3000 RPM and then would come 'on cam' abruptly and leap forward. The exhaust note sounded like a goat being fed into a stump grinder. Here's what I found:

• The cams are a Kent 'Sports R' grind: 303 degrees duration. They should be fine for the street in such a light car, but the intake cam had been advanced 8 degrees for additional top-end power. I've seen intake cams advanced 2 or even 4 degrees for additional top end, but 8 degrees is way out of line. Resetting the intake cam to the marked zero degree setting corrected the exhaust note and restored a great deal of tractability.

• The twin Weber DCOE 45 carburetors had 40mm primary venturis (chokes) fitted. Throttle response was extremely vague. A proper street setup for a 2-litre 180+ HP engine would use either 36 or 38mm chokes. Here's what I started with and where I ended up:

  Weber DCOE45 Chokes Mains Emulsion Air Idle

  Race 40mm 145 F16 130 60F9

  Street 36mm 145 F16 180 60F9

  Throttle response is now very crisp, with no flat spots. It also starts cleanly and will idle well with minimal warm-up.

September 2006 -- I'm back from track day at Portland International Raceway (PIR) and I have a better idea of how the car works. Most things it does very well. Power out of the turns was awesome with no complaints or wheel spin. Braking was very good, fade-free, and more stable than I expected from a car with considerable rear weight bias. Turn-in was crisp and steering response in the corner was quick and light. In a stable turn, the car showed mild understeer.

Trailing brake into a corner will be avoided in the future (spun). I was also caught out a couple of times trying to throttle-steer - the car alternately broke loose front and rear and sort of 'waffled' sideways, scrubbing off speed. Disconcerting, but not evil. I tidied up my style a bit, did all my braking before turn-in, and held power neutral down to the apex.

My main problem was lateral grip. I was losing a lot of ground in the sweeping turns at PIR dancing on the edge of adhesion. I put it on a chassis alignment rig after I got back home and found way too much rear toe-in. With that corrected, I expect a more forgiving and adaptive feel in the corners and greater 'stick'.

Road manners of the car are good. It will idle in stop-and-go traffic on a hot day without overheating and the clutch is well suited to street starts without grabbing. I do need to reposition the oil cooler -- it currently sits in a rough opening between the engine bay and the cockpit. Air pressure is less in the cockpit than in the engine bay, so hot exhaust from the cooler makes life difficult for the driver on a hot day. I'll remount the cooler and fabricate a fiberglass duct from the NACA scoop on the left door.

The very low windscreen has a lip that directs the airflow up my nose! I've added a small diverter that proves only a couple of inches additional height is needed. A permanent solution is in the works.

You can reach me by e-mail at: joerger@toast.net