Category: Project cars

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Market 101: From the endless supply of Spider projects 1495*04751…

Update 3/30/09: This car endded with 2 bids at $4000 reserve not met.  I think a few more revealing pictures (underside, floors etc) and a clear statement about the engine (numbers, completeness and condition) would see this car get bid up a little higher. 

Giulietta Spider 750D 1495*04751.  This car is on eBay right now out of Pittsburg PA and represents a fairly average Spider project considering what’s gone through eBay the last year.  Seller states that the buyer has a choice of engines, either a dry sump (?) 00551*02329 or one that is “more original”.  As always I would want a lot more pictures, or to make a personal visit before I committed to buy, but it’s pretty clear this car is incomplete and needs work done to everything.  On the bright side you end up with a rare  early Giulietta Spider when you’re done.

66c3_3The pictures certainly don’t disappoint if you come here to gawk in that ‘watching a car crash happen’ sort of way.  Nose panel isn’t too bad, having a seemingly unmolested ‘bump’ to receive the top center of the grill.

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Berlina project #7: What to do when the 1750 goes in the TI

Just kidding about doing this to the Berlina. Joseph, owner of the sweet BMW 2000 TILUX seen on the Pedal Pushers Rally 2008 sent me a link to passionsmobiles who made the livingroom set up seen below out of a 1750 Berlina and will do the same for you for $25,000 -not sure if that includes the donor car. I’ve seen 57 Chevy trunk love seats and airplane wing desks but never a set made from most of a car. I hope it was rusted out in the middle.

alfa1There is a line that was crossed here, but at least it wasn’t made from a TZ2 or something. I actually like the shape of the couch and would gladly put that in my house. Note the hubcap clock.

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Market #89: Another mid 60’s Spider Project

Update 3/3/09: Auction ended at $3850 reserve not met with 11 bidders getting in on the action.  Seems pretty cheap for a complete car that isn’t all apart and doesn’t look that far from running and driving.  People truly are keeping their money in their wallets. 

Giulia Spider 10123 AR373175. This car is on eBay right now. I see these cars come up for sale and I am struck by the remarkable similarity in where their stories have landed them 45 years on. I imagine a gentleman of a certain age acquiring one of these cars with visions of either providing a lovely gift to his wife or taking Sunday drives in his self restored pride and joy. Time and unforseen occurances intervene and fast forward to either an admission that he will ‘never get around to it’ or some smarmy estate sale pro telling the trailer trash third nephew heir he’ll give him $400 buck CASH ON THE SPOT for it. Anyhow, somehow having dodge the Pick-n-Pull certain death bullet the car gets pushed around from initially enthusiastic new owner to initially enthusiastic owner until it ends up trunk full of bumper parts and half covered in primer on eBay thus.

db4e_1Looks like a late Spider patiently waiting for some follow through on the started bodywork and a brake job and a carb swish and…

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Market #64: Very Early SS project

Update 2/25/09: Seller sent me a few pictures of this car out of the little garage where it’s been living the last 20 years.

al-ss-back-threeCar looks even better out of the cramped garage.

al-ss-back-twoI wish my SS looked this good from behind.

Update 2/20/09: I went and saw (translated that means I drove from Oakland to San Diego and back in 21 hours) this car on Wednesday to either get the idea of buying it out of my head or get the ball rolling on the buy, combine, sell process. It sounds like a big drive just to look at a car, but I also picked up an extra set of door glasses, seats and some small misc from the other SS the seller got with this car, which was stripped, cut up and thrown away due to being ‘very very rusty’. I am listing some of the other parts for the seller on my for sale page.

2621726-600-0Looks pretty good as far as projects goes. Headlight appears to be pushed into the body a bit and the marker light has been molested at some point. Hood fit doesn’t look too bad.

Okay, so how is this car you ask? I think it’s pretty good. If you wanted to just drop a running engine in it, do the brakes, lube the suspension and get the electrical parts working you’d have a roadworthy rough SS. Kinda cool. The dash, headliner and all is pretty good, the door panels are out of the car but could be sympathetically installed to achieve the RSS ‘Ratty Sprint Speciale’ look.

The engine you can see propped in it is a blank Veloce block, the crank is out and one of the main caps is missing. The seller says he has more boxes of SS stuff ‘somewhere’ but I would either plan on an align bore or write the block off going into the deal if I didn’t see it. The intake manifold, 40DCOE2’s and plenum are correct for 1300 101 Veloce and I found the fuel pump blank off plate, Marelli distributor, engine front over with aluminum fan etc, so there is a lot of value in what is present. Personally I’d throw a known good 1600 or 1750 in it and keep these bits on the shelf for the ‘restoration’ while I drive it around.

Send me an email at sprints@giuliettas.com if you want to hear more about this car. The seller is ready to deal but this is no fire sale.

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Market #88: Second rustiest Spider ever

Giulietta Spider 101.03 170618, Engine tipo 00102. I’ve been on a Spider kick this week, must be the leak in the roof over my side of the bed that developed in all this rain (I know, pansy-ass California rain). Okay, so in my pursuit of Spiders this week I came across this specimen on Italian eBay for 8000 Euro’s. Imagine what you could do with this car, I mean, I bet that engine is not far from running, but wow, where did they park this thing? “Hey baby, is your tetanus shot up to date? Want a ride?”

d86f_1No serious alarm bells yet, except maybe the seeming absence of rockers. I can’t really tell if it’s red over gray or gray over red but important thing is they are both over rust.

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Market #86: Crashed nice Spider

Giulia Spider 1600 101.23 AR373862.  This car was on eBay ended at $15,776 with 20 bidders on 12/20/08.  I imagine (or at least hope) it’s under the knife right now.  I think this was a decent deal considering everyting is sorted except the accident damage.  Values seen to have come down a little since then so I expect this would make maybe $13,000 now.

6db9_3It’s like two-face from what was it Batman?  Looks like it was a nice car.

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Market #83: Numbers matching 750 Spider project

Giulietta Spider 750D 1495*02549, engine 1315*42308. This Spider project is available now on eBay. From the description I am not sure exactly what you get besides the body, block and license plate w/title. Seller contacted the Alfa archive and received this response:

“According to our documentation files, the chassis number AR 1495.02549 and the engine number AR 1315.42308 originally correspond to an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, Manufactured on the 9th of August 1957 and sold on the 18th September 1957 to Hoffman Motor Car Co. New York, USA. The body colour is red.”

100_0448-vi1It’s a Spider, that’s for sure. Is that bondo around the nose? Sweet.

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101 1300 rebuild part 9: It’s in there.

Tonight on my way home from work I made a spur-of-the-moment decision. I decided the engine was going in the Sprint. I have spent 3 weeks talking about it, worrying over getting help, clearing the headers, centering the lot on the engine mounts and a thousand other things, it was time to put it in and tonight was the night.

The catalyst was Conrad telling me he usually put the engine and trans in Sprints separately, that it really ended up being about the same amount of work. I got to the shop, unbolted the transmission from the engine, hoisted it up and dropped it in. It took maybe 15 minutes and I had the motor mounts resting in their cut outs. The only hard part of putting the engine in was I had to remove and then reinstall the exhaust side motor mount to clear the headers.

img_7622Here it goes. A good quality hoist is key so you can lower it really slowly, allowing you to check clearances and guide it. Note the engine mount on the head.

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Original TI pictures found!

I was looking for a picture of Hans Mathon (sp?) I have at a CSRG event standing beside his Giulia SS that he recently sold via FJ when I came across the pictures below that the guy I bought my TI from sent me when I was on the fence about exercising the $3500 Buy It Now option. Really sad how busted up it is now. Oh well, have wrench , will fix.

mygiuliafrontA complete runner, very blue and pretty good looking. I was in my twenties and wanted a Giulia sedan in the worst way.
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