Category: Sprint Speciale

Posted on

SS 00121 rebuild 8: a few parts needed then the waiting begins

With all the focus lately on my questionable rust repair techniques, I haven’t said much about the engine.  I have a modest list of parts to source and buy, but basically, the engine is all torqued together and  is just waiting for me to get the body done and drop it in.  I have it displayed proudly on a wooden pallet so I get inspired everytime I turn on the shop lights.  This is how it looks.  I wonder how long after assembly it’s okay to wait before firing an engine up?  I expect to fire it up in June.

The valve cover is loosely assembled because most of the parts on my ‘still to source and buy’ list are under it.  Cams, tappets and shims feature prominently.  Another unresolved issue is the holes in the valve cover these valve cover bolts go through are not big enough -I need to drill them all.

Continue reading “SS 00121 rebuild 8: a few parts needed then the waiting begins”

Posted on

Bodywork 13: win-win rear end repair

It was nearly 2 years ago that I started work on this corner of the car -was the first body work I attempted.  Back then I didn’t really know what to do about some of the problems I faced, but as with all things, I figured when it came time to make a decision, I would somehow know what to do.  The bodywork was tweaked just enough in a crash, and rusted through in just enough places that getting it back to stock was going to be difficult.  Now that I am welding and unafraid and have to deal with it, I have decided to repair it by emulating the early lownose rearend -a much simpler design and hopefully easier to fabricate.  Check it out. 

A reminder of where I started and what I started with.  Now that I have experience I can tell you the dent to the left of the tail lights, in the gentle curve of the Kamm tail area is a harder thing to deal with than the edge chop.

Continue reading “Bodywork 13: win-win rear end repair”

Posted on

Bodywork 12: good enough is good enough

The title of this one has become my mantra. Welding is getting easier incrementally, as is shaping the metal. As I cut little areas open, remove the dead metal and add new in I am always telling myself to just get it good enough so I can grind it down, smear the weld with all metal filler, sand that down and hide any imperfections under some polyester filler. Here is the latest. This picture was taken about 2 hours before I sat down to write this.

You can’t really see much of the improvement, but this is what it looked like when I left tonight. I’m only looking forward to the sanding and filler stage because it will mean the welding stage is done. Did I mention welding is dirty work?

Continue reading “Bodywork 12: good enough is good enough”

Posted on

Bodywork 11: extreme rust encapsulator

I got to the shop early this morning to continue some work I started Friday after work-painting most of the inside of the front end with rust encapsulating chassis paint.  I finished wire-wheeling all the crud and everything off the engine compartment surfaces, the insides of the fenders etc and it had been sitting for about a week and surface rust had begun to form so it was time to seal it.  Check it out.

Beginning at the end -this is what it looked like when I left today.  The light gray is self etching zinc oxide primer designed to inhibit rust.  The black is Eastwood rust encapsulating chassis paint.  Both are aromatic to put it mildly. Continue reading “Bodywork 11: extreme rust encapsulator”

Posted on

Body work 10: fixing cut corners

Another giant leap.  All it took is the happy convergence of a few things namely: a rudimentary understanding of welding, the realization that ‘good enough’ is good enough, and, well if it comes out total crap I can just cut it all out and try again -it’s only my time after all.  So what did I do with my new found intrepid spirit?  I welded that headlight area back on that I cut off about 18 months ago.  I didn’t have my camera through most of the hard part, but it looked a lot like the work I did in the rocker -rough, nasty and strong.

Near the finale.  I tried the headlight rings on to see how it looks.  It looks okay, but if I measure with a straight edge, the plane of the two headlight rings is not parallel one side to the other.  The outer edge is about 1/4″ too far out.

Continue reading “Body work 10: fixing cut corners”

Posted on

Body work 9: rusty rocker remediation begins

I may regret not taking it to a professional at some point but I just can’t bring myself to let someone else do this job.  The whole point of this exercise -restoring the SS- was to learn a bunch of skills and see what I could do.  So, in that spirit I put on my grubby work clothes, got out the serious metal-cutting tools and went for it before I had time to turn back.

Friday afternoon I got to the shop at about 430.  I have been looking at this rusty mess since before I received the car and it struck me at that moment -now was the time to fix it. Under that rust hole is the support for the door, a sort of cup.  Fortunately it is VERY solidly attached and  I just need to work around it.

Continue reading “Body work 9: rusty rocker remediation begins”

Posted on

Fasteners 4 and Engine 7: small progress

With all these market summaries and Spiders to write about I’ve been neglecting to have my postings keep pace with my progress on the SS.  This is not a total disaster because I really haven’t done anything momentus, just more plating and small jobs on the engine rebuild.

Over the winter break I torqued the lower end and head all together so the engine is ready for final assembly, but the details of final assembly have taken some time, mainly due to a missing lock nut.  Sorry for the quality of these pictures, they were taken on my phone because I didn’t have my camera.

These lock nuts that go over the main nuts that you torque down are strange.  They are sheetmetal and when you tighten them down they flex and distort, and I think the distortion creates a spring force that makes them not want to loosen. After torquing the lower end I found the bag of them from when I took this engine apart.  I was surprised to find only seven in the bag.  I must have lost one or maybe I used one on the Sprint engine rebuild last winter and just don’t remember.   Good news: I have extras, bad news: they are inside a completely assembled engine. Continue reading “Fasteners 4 and Engine 7: small progress”

Posted on

The rear view mirror.

Update 1/26/10:  So I got the correct mirror off eBay recently for $112.50 -in better condition than the Spider mirror I bought as seen below and cheaper.  Here is what it looks like.  Anyone want to buy a late Giulietta/Giulia Spider mirror?  I’m $150 into it…

THIS is the mirror I needed as seen in Aarons Giulia Sprint.

 And a good side view of the base.  If you have an SS, chances are this is the mirror you need.

Update 12/20/09: Okay, so I’m an idiot. I bought the wrong mirror. Oh well. I think I can clean it up and find it a home. The mirror I need has a base like an earlier Sprint mirror but with the wrinkle finish backing and chrome front. I’ll get a picture up of it soon. Anyone need a Spider mirror?

I’ve been watching, waiting, biding my time and bidding generously whenever I had the chance, but until today I was missing the important Giulietta Sprint Speciale -and a lot of other period 101 Alfa’s- ultra cool rear view mirror. Why so important? Why not just get some after-market deal? Well, you already know the answer coming from a guy who paid a lot to have a mold made in order to cast Carello marked SS tail light lenses (which have proven popular -email if you want a set). The answer, besides the fact that you look at it almost as much as the windshield, is that well, with so much effort going into everything else, this detail just needs to be correct.

Why am I going on about this? Because I think I got lucky!

This groovy little number is currently doing time on eBay and an adult bare-knuckle buy-it-now bid of $295 is required to feel the love. As someone I can’t identify from memory said, and I’m paraphrasing at best, ‘they’re making more money, but they’re not making any more of these.’

Continue reading “The rear view mirror.”

Posted on

Bodywork 8: a few more hours for Bill, a giant leap for me

Note: There is a link at the end of this post to Dante.  Don’t miss it if you like to see the process of classic sports car body restoration and construction.  Especially not to be missed is the SZ rebody and Aston conversion to a station wagon.

Big happenings at the shop when I arrived today. Bill was in the midst of another afternoon of toil on the SS. Lots more needs doing -rockers repaired, rear end repaired, headlight reattached, seat tracks fabricated etc, but it is looking more like a car that has the potential to get assembled and driven every day. I think I am going to wait until he is done to go nuts with the DA sander and wire wheel cleaning this thing up.

Starting at the end as usual. Here I dropped the pedal box in to see how it would fit. Perfect. My feet now have somewhere to go.

Continue reading “Bodywork 8: a few more hours for Bill, a giant leap for me”

Posted on

Fasteners 3: getting the hang of it!

My big mistake right now is being in a hurry to get this project to the driving part of it. All these little tasks are like making a familiar although long drive. I can imagine it going by -the blur of images, the familiar landmarks indicating progress, the dull stretches and finally the destination. Like that drive each task, like living each moment behind the wheel, has to be done. Today I spent an hour and and a half and got one little task done, like getting from mile marker 336 to mile marker 337 on the interstate when your destination is at mile marker 11,721. Enough about me and my psychology though, you’re here for the Speciale.

Before and after, you decide which is which. Yes, as a matter of fact I do wish the car was in paint so I could mount this piece!

Continue reading “Fasteners 3: getting the hang of it!”