Tag: Alfa Romeo

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D&S 6: original SS color options

d’Amico and Tabucchi in their ‘Alfa Romeo Le vetture di produzione’ list the color options for the 10120 SS as follows (the English translations are their work not mine): azzuro nube (cloud blue), bianco ambra (amber white), bleu notte (midnight blue), rosso Alfa (Alfa red), bianco gardenia (gardenia white), grigio metallizzato (metallic grey), argento metallizzato (metallic silver), verde Suez (Suez green), rosso rubino (ruby red), argento auteuil (auteuil silver), verde bosco (wood green), bleu sera (night blue), grigio Inglese (British gray), grigio Fiat (Fiat grey) and for 1959 and 1960: bluette.

For the Giulia SS they opted for a more streamlined approach to color, no doubt to increase efficiency in the paint department. You could choose from: rosso Alfa (Alfa red), grigio graphite (graphite grey), bleu Bosforo (Bosphorus blue), verde muschio (moss green) and bianco gardenia (gardenia white).

I imagine that these 5 colors are available across the line up of Bertone built Alfa’s. This all goes out the window when you consider you could pay them extra to paint your SS whatever color you wanted.

Antti in Finland sent me this picture of a Bluette (if my guess is correct and this car darkens when rubbed out) Giulia SS he has that was one of three to come to Finland new, the others being red and white. All three cars survive which means 100% survivorship in the Finnish market.

I haven’t seen too many green SS’s. If anyone has pictures of any of these colors listed that they KNOW is an original car in factory paint drop me a line and I’ll add it to this post to create a palette for reference. I don’t have access to my library of pictures right now or I could add a few.

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D&S 5: Looking forward

Part of the software pack we run is a program designed to give us a visceral response to the anticipation of an event or situation. The event or situation can be anywhere in the spectrum defined by the shades between agony, ennui and ecstacy. It is this anticipation of things to come that rules our actions as much or more than that which is going on around us. Just consider how often you hear the terms ‘looking forward’ ‘dreaming of’ and ‘imagining’. These are all expressions of expectation that is being shared. The software of anticipated experience, whether tinged with forboding or longing, when viewed in this light, is an important aspect of our humanness. I’m not just talking about big stuff like getting out of jail or sex, this notion applies equally to the little stuff like a first sip of coffee or taking a pee after having to hold it for a while because you’re driving.

This blog post is to help me get a handle on my anticipations surrounding my SS project. There is a lot to consider in the context of this project I’ve chosen to undertake. Simple stuff like exterior and interior color, becomes an anticipated fork in the road to plan for.  What will I do the day I am confronted with that choice and the rest of the project depends on the decision being made and undoing the decision is a matter of thousands of dollars? In light of the gravity of the decision I look forward, I anticipate what it will be like to live with and enjoy or be disappointed with the fruits of my labors.  Or: what color combo should I choose for the SS? What level of quality should I strive for in the finish? Should I run bumpers and all the trim? To what extent should I wring power out of the engine? What brake set-up should I pursue? What rear end ratio should I plan to run?

Metallic dark silvery gray with red interior is not such a bad combo, especially on BAT 5, and is the color combo I am thinking of painting the SS.  Careful with the gray and purple comments my eagle-eyed readers!  I wonder if I can get a paint code for BAT5?

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Market 167: nice late model 1600 Sprint

Update 12/2/09: Oops, jeez, I published this initially saying $16,600, was $19,600, 22 bidders no sale. I wouldn’t have sold it either. Kind of strange that 22 bidders would have no questions -at least none worth responding to in public. Relisted of course… Min bid/BIN/make offer $27,500. Honestly about right.

Giulia Sprint 1600 10112*353231. This car is on eBay right now out of New England. Originally a red car but repainted in one of the various takes on celeste that Alfa used throughout the years with names like cloud blue and ice blue. A wise move in my opinion. If you look in the catagories section to the right of where you are reading you will see a link to ‘Sprint Normale’s’ and under that ‘Giulia 1600’. If you select that link you will see that very few of these late cars have been on the market that I’ve known about in the almost two years I’ve been keeping track.

This picture has a remarkable resemblance to the first picture in Market 132. I really dig the way the shape of the car is emphasized by light colors such as this. Grills, bumper, lights, hubcaps, you name it, it all looks great.

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Suspension #6: The 410?

It’s official kids, I’m back on the SS. I bought a CAD plating kit today online from Caswell, ordered a set of tail light base and lens seal gaskets from Velocespace, requested a price quote for a new set of door latch buttons, a rear view mirror and some interior handles from Afra, and made a list of engine parts I still need to buy from Centerline.

As far as real work, I removed the brakes from a spare rear end I got that I am thinking I will use for the SS -but I guess I better back track a bit here before I get into the gory details. I bought a big group of parts last spring and among them was a complete rear end, which having the cable style emergency brake cable set-up meant it was from either an SS or a Sprint Veloce. I have been thinking a 4:10 rear end might make some sense for relaxed freeway cruising during commutes and with the engine being a somewhat hot 1600 it wouldn’t be too terrible off the line either. Anyhow, the other day I decided it was time to see what I had bought. It went something like this…

The gentle approach to removing drums involves tapping and pulling with your hands. That is followed by prying and hammering. Prying and hammering gives way to a big puller and when the fins start to break you call it a day and think about it until your next day at the shop. Today was that next day at the shop for me. Picture above is what it looked like today when I started.

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Cleaning up my SS and TI gauges

Update 11/23/09: I started back in on the SS so I thought another repost about working on it would be good. I am especially proud of my efforts on this post and the one that followed it.
I have spent a lot of time going through catalogs and making shopping lists so the GTV has to be sold soon to buy a bunch of the stuff I need. If you have any interest in a 69 GTV let me know. It wont be expensive. I am working on the SS rear end right now so look for another post about it soon.
Original post 6/27/09. I know it’s hard to believe but I did some work on my SS! The buyer of Market 1 SS, that had the incorrect earlier style gauges, bought the Italian/metric gauges that came out of my SS so I started cleaning up the US market gauges I had been contemplating using. Funny what a wad of cash can help you decide. The condition of the US gauges turned out to be one of those better and worse at the same time deals. Cosmetically they looked bad and the guts were in need of cleaning and lubricating, but the fundamental parts were presentable and most important, the plastic had not yellowed, so I could make a good set out of them with a little effort.

allgaugesThe fruit of my labor. Lot’s of spiffy gauges ready to tell me how I and my car(s) are doing. Still need to clean up the SS tach.

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Market 166: Scruffy but nice early Spider

Giulietta Spider 1495*02713.  This car has been on Bringatrailer, Craigslist and Alfa BB.  It may be still available, but I doubt it.  This car is a 1957 which makes it elligible for events not open to 58 and later cars.  Car is in San Diego and asking price of $14,000 is reasonable if it needs as little as the sellers description indicates.  I am primarily adding this car for posterity.

This is how you like to find them.  Straight, dry and in need of the kind of improvement that is fun to do between drives.  Hood and door fit looks excellent.  I don’t see any evidence of rust.

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Market 165: Used car lot Interim Spider -nice!

Update 11/30/09: 21 bidders, $27,000, reserve met.  A good result!

Giulietta Spider 10103*10786. This car is on eBay right now out of Illinois. Car is an interim car falling right in the middle of 1960 production range for 10103 Spiders. Title year being one after production is the norm for these cars in the US. Car is said to be all restored and from a long time (28 years) owner.

The source of my title: the big 61 used car lot style window sticker. Front of the car looks great. Hood fits perfectly, chrome is exemplary and paint looks wet it’s so shiny. Wipers are higher on the windshield than I would recommend. At this height they would chatter in the wind and scuff the glass.

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Market 164: Another Spider racer roller

Update 12/5/09: This car sold for $5025. I would have to see the quality of the paint in person but this seems like a pretty good price for a car you can just start bolting parts onto. 

Giulietta Spider 10103*170861.  This car is on eBay right now out of New York. Seller says it’s a 1600 and it has a 1600 hood, but the vin number stated is that of a tipo 10103 1300. No big deal, it’s not going to get restored any time soon. 

170861 corner The car looks pretty good.  Wheel wells look to have been flared slightly.  Cage is pretty substantial.  Wheels are 105/115 era BWA’s I believe.  I kind of like these wheels and would put them on the 69 GTV given the chance.

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Market 163: Interim Spider racer project

Update 12/5/09: This car sold for $5000 even.  Seemingly the new norm for incomplete unremarkable Giulietta Spider rollers.

Giulietta Spider 1495*09110.  This car is on eBay right now from a seller in the north east US who seems to have a lot of Giulietta stuff in their barn.  This car is said to have been a long time race car, but seems to only be stickers, stripes and a roll bar away from being your usual remainder of a parted out Spider- very solid and rust free remainder I should add.

spider 09110 cornerRace number might help explain why it ended up years later stripped on anything of value and sold off.  Front looks tough with the bumper brackets and blanks where the signal lights go.  Certainly sits low for a car with no engine, supporting the race car claim.

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Fiat Fresh-up four: Phew!

Fiat 124 sport sedan engine transplant is moving right along -and if the 69% hp increase all indications point to it seeing is realized, it will probably finally live up to the ‘Sport’ in its name. Fiat enthusiast Csaba Vandor in Texas came through with a big box of parts that I needed and Friday was the day I was set to start. As usual I didn’t have a detailed plan, or much of an idea of the hurdles I’d be jumping, but I knew that it took starting the race for the hurdles to appear.

First step after the starting gun goes off? Remove the 1438 bell housing and install the twin cam bell housing.

IMG_9868Here’s the transmission after I removed the 1438 bell housing.  I was expecting the bell housing to put up a fight but it just came right off once the 7 nuts were removed.

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