Restoration From Hell!

GTAm · August 21, 2012

I see Don. Yes the problem you describe requires some skill. This guys should be able to do it properly. Let me know if you want to send someone with the car and get his opinion.

I must warn you he's usually dead slow. However this project he has started off with a bang which I'm a bit worried about because this means faster cash outflow for me.

The Don · August 22, 2012

On 8/21/2012 at 5:24 AM, GTAm said:

I see Don. Yes the problem you describe requires some skill. This guys should be able to do it properly. Let me know if you want to send someone with the car and get his opinion.

I must warn you he's usually dead slow. However this project he has started off with a bang which I'm a bit worried about because this means faster cash outflow for me.

Thanks a lot GTAm! It is greatly appreciated. Sometimes I wish I learned a bit of welding myself, though in reality I don't have the time to do these myself. I shall drop you a PM.

In the meantime I noticed the last time I was here that the Mercantile bodyshop in Kohuwala has now opened its doors to the public. I remember you got your Alfa painted there and was happy with the results.

GTAm · August 23, 2012

On 8/20/2012 at 10:14 AM, miniace said:

Sure I am....Me and John busy preparing the 1100. Heard its 12 laps this time.. thats shocking mate!

MINIACE

Super! Hope to see you there. I think it's 09 Laps. 03 with cones behind pace car. 03 with cones without pace car and 03 without cones.

Edited August 23, 2012 by GTAm

GTAm · August 23, 2012

On 8/22/2012 at 2:57 PM, The Don said:

Thanks a lot GTAm! It is greatly appreciated. Sometimes I wish I learned a bit of welding myself, though in reality I don't have the time to do these myself. I shall drop you a PM.

In the meantime I noticed the last time I was here that the Mercantile bodyshop in Kohuwala has now opened its doors to the public. I remember you got your Alfa painted there and was happy with the results.

That's a thought that has crossed my mind many times. When I was studying in Oz I thought about doing a short course at the uni on panel beating and welding. However it always clashed with my other classes and part time job.

Yes Mercantile did a good job although not perfect (a few "drips" in some places). The only thing they disappointed me was with the time taken. Almost a year for a paint job!!!?

My Giulia was done by Micro (special favour) who had another "paint artist". Great job but again not perfect (a few small blisters here and there). My Sprint was done by D*MO (I got special price as my bro works there) final yet to be done but it looks great so far.

Now since I am connected with a workshop I guess the Berlina will be done there. And that painter is also quite an artist judging from his recent work.

GTAm · September 10, 2012

More pics from Hell. It was a slightly disappointing visit as the guy had not done much at all in two weeks. Put the blame on his wife getting ill (this is a new excuse, usually it's a funeral or the rain ) Anyway he had removed more from the car to reveal how scary things are.

One of the previous owners has been "nice" enough to weld new pieces of sheet metal over the rusty parts without removing the rusty bits off. Like grafting new skin over a wound instead of cutting off the infected bit first.

Actually the tinker is quite happy about this because the original panels though rusty, are still there for him to replicate. Usually when body work is done by a poorly talented tinker he changes the shape of things and it's quite a task to look at pics, models and guess the original shape.

Anyway the way it has rusted is quite scary as you can see from these pics. I think most other tinkers would have run a mile.

MasterDon · September 10, 2012

Great to see the progress GTAm....Rust is inherent for her I suppose,she's an Italiana no

GTAm · September 10, 2012

On 9/10/2012 at 7:51 AM, MasterDon said:

Great to see the progress GTAm....Rust is inherent for her I suppose,she's an Italiana no

Yes MD. In fact all my cars are from that era where rust was rampant in Italian cars especially because of the poor quality Russian steel and Italians forgetting to treat the metal. Maybe they were just lazy . Most 70's cars rusted like there was no tomorrow but sure Italians were the trend setters here.

Supra_Natural · September 10, 2012

Wow that is Scary... I dont think I know of any other tinker that would have come within a mile of that job GTAm, lucky you have this bloke!

Then again, I cant think of many other guys who would have embarked on this particular restoration either!

The Don · September 10, 2012

On 9/10/2012 at 8:08 AM, GTAm said:

Yes MD. In fact all my cars are from that era where rust was rampant in Italian cars especially because of the poor quality Russian steel and Italians forgetting to treat the metal. Maybe they were just lazy . Most 70's cars rusted like there was no tomorrow but sure Italians were the trend setters here.

Now now GTAm, not all cars from the 70s rusted like no tomorrow I remember my dad's old KE20 from the late 1960s did not have a spec of rust when we sold her in 1988

To be honest if this guy is such a good fabricator, you can put him to good use by becoming a body part supplier for these cars I'm sure there will be much demand from restorers all over the world. Pity he's a one man show.

GTAm · September 11, 2012

On 9/10/2012 at 8:30 AM, Supra_Natural said:

Wow that is Scary... I dont think I know of any other tinker that would have come within a mile of that job GTAm, lucky you have this bloke!

Then again, I cant think of many other guys who would have embarked on this particular restoration either!

Supra, I know people who have made the entire body locally for a very valuable car or a car that they are very attached to. So I know it's been done before.

Btw I already have a guy who wants to take this off me if ever I'm selling.

GTAm · September 11, 2012

On 9/10/2012 at 12:20 PM, The Don said:

Now now GTAm, not all cars from the 70s rusted like no tomorrow I remember my dad's old KE20 from the late 1960s did not have a spec of rust when we sold her in 1988

To be honest if this guy is such a good fabricator, you can put him to good use by becoming a body part supplier for these cars I'm sure there will be much demand from restorers all over the world. Pity he's a one man show.

Don I'm sure your dad would have kept the Corolla in tip top shape. But many 70's and early 80's Jap cars did rust badly. Remember how many Datsun 180B s, 6 and 7 sri Toyota Crowns were on our roads? We owned two cars from that era. A Mazda 808 and a Subaru Leone 1400. The 808 kept rusting on the doors and side valences. The Subaru was a real rust bucket. We did not have it for long because the way and the speed it rusted scared us. Early 80's Cedrics and Bluebirds have also vanished from our roads.

Peugeot 404s, VW Passats and W115 Mercs come to mind as other rust prone cars of the 70's. The Merc's rear structure is notorious and that make the boot droop down if you notice on poor condition cars you can see this. Do you also recall the Chrysler/Talbot hatch the Police used to have? Can't remember the model name now. Was it the Horizon? They've all disappear from the horizon too

But none to beat the Italians for sure.

Alfa Suds and Lancia Beta's the at p1 and p2 . P3 - maybe the 131? Italian cars from the 50's and 60's were a much better. See the number of Fiat 1100s on the road.

Yes I've been thinking about getting this guy to fabricate Alfetta and Sud panels. I could get the exact blueprints from the Alfa Museum. Let's see once he comes out of Hell

Supra_Natural · September 11, 2012

On 9/11/2012 at 6:13 AM, GTAm said:

Supra, I know people who have made the entire body locally for a very valuable car or a car that they are very attached to. So I know it's been done before.

Btw I already have a guy who wants to take this off me if ever I'm selling.

I was just going to say, add me to the waiting list as well.... If you're ever selling.

Edited September 11, 2012 by Supra_Natural

GTAm · September 12, 2012

On 9/11/2012 at 7:17 AM, Supra_Natural said:

I was just going to say, add me to the waiting list as well.... If you're ever selling.

Will do Supral. I'll first get it into decent shape though - where people won't faint when they see it . Don't want to sound boastful but since I've gone through 3 already I know how hard it is and I think few people will endure the long drawn process of the body work. Mechanical work is relatively easier as almost every part is available brand new as this is Giulia based.

The only other classic I really want is a Fiat 600 Multipla. If I get that I might let this babe go.

Crosswind · September 12, 2012

and when you sell that multipla, consider me to be the first on the waitlist

The Don · September 12, 2012

On 9/12/2012 at 5:30 AM, GTAm said:

Will do Supral. I'll first get it into decent shape though - where people won't faint when they see it . Don't want to sound boastful but since I've gone through 3 already I know how hard it is and I think few people will endure the long drawn process of the body work. Mechanical work is relatively easier as almost every part is available brand new as this is Giulia based.

The only other classic I really want is a Fiat 600 Multipla. If I get that I might let this babe go.

Are any of those babies in Sri Lanka (Fiat 600 Multipla)?

MasterDon · September 12, 2012

On 9/12/2012 at 12:24 PM, The Don said:

Are any of those babies in Sri Lanka (Fiat 600 Multipla)?

Crosswind · September 12, 2012

there are!

there's one in pristine condition, which is kept for display at the current fiat agent's showroom...

there was another with a lot of corrosion, up for sale in a local classifieds site sometime ago.

i guess there must be a few with the ICE club members

GTAm · September 13, 2012

Yes the pristine one is with a member of the ICE club. It was a one owner car used by the Trinity College warden. Master Don whose is that 4 sri car?

The one in the classified I've had a look at it before. The body had more filler than steel and they were quoting a ridiculous price.

MasterDon · September 14, 2012

On 9/13/2012 at 6:41 AM, GTAm said:

Master Don whose is that 4 sri car?

Check your PM box...

carboy2011 · September 14, 2012

im not a fan of the Mulitpla GTAm but wish you well in your search!

On 9/13/2012 at 6:41 AM, GTAm said:

Yes the pristine one is with a member of the ICE club. It was a one owner car used by the Trinity College warden. Master Don whose is that 4 sri car?

The one in the classified I've had a look at it before. The body had more filler than steel and they were quoting a ridiculous price.

GTAm · September 14, 2012

On 9/14/2012 at 1:19 PM, carboy2011 said:

im not a fan of the Mulitpla GTAm but wish you well in your search!

Thanks carboy. The Multipla (pronounced "Mool-ti-pla" by the Italians) intregues me a great deal. When I was a kid I used to see one in the neighbourhood of one of my relatives. I thought it looks like some kind of Monster and actually was a bit terrified of it .

GTAm · October 20, 2012

Hell is showing tiny signs of frost at last.

Went to see it after a relatively long time and was happy to see progress. The floor boards on the driver's side is completed and the passenger side is about 50% there.

The Don · October 22, 2012

GTAM, I had a look at your other pics as well, and while I'm impressed by the work of your bodywork man, I did notice the amount of rust around and think there still lays challenging times ahead! Good luck and keep us posted!

miniace · October 23, 2012

On 9/12/2012 at 12:39 PM, MasterDon said:

God...a dream buy...got more info? up for sale mate?

MINIACE

GTAm · October 23, 2012

On 10/22/2012 at 1:03 PM, The Don said:

GTAM, I had a look at your other pics as well, and while I'm impressed by the work of your bodywork man, I did notice the amount of rust around and think there still lays challenging times ahead! Good luck and keep us posted!

Yes indeed. This is why my original plan was to scrap the car. But since, there is now a big demand for classic Alfas in our circle alone and our Senor Scaglietti came out of retirement and said he can resurrect it I decided to give it a go. Having seen his previous work I am confident he'll deliver perfection. He's already spotted a change someone has made to the car previously. The rear wheel arch is supposed to be square, but on my car it has been rounded.

I actually first thought of turning it into my personally designed Classic Alfa Spider. This car shares the same underpinnings of the Duetto Spider/Giulias etc. So it is not so hard. However I later thought it might be a bridge too far and decided against it. And besides this car has a lot of Sri Lankan race history so turning it into a Spider would erase all that, which would be a waste of its pedigree.