164Q before/after pics

Pauliecarzz · #1 (**permalink**) 09-18-2009, 05:42 PM

Here are a few before pics of my 94 Q, unfortunately i didnt take any pictures when it was intact..came home and it was half apart. Im doing a restoration job (finally) and getting it ready for paint soon. I had a local alfa mechanic take almost the entire car apart including moldings, lights, interior panels etc. He is amazing and knows the car inside and out, Im very lucky to have him around. windshield is next! few issues along the way, damn trunk hinge weld is broken and were trying to figure out if we need to take apart the rear speaker deck in order to re-weld the hinge. limited room and very tight spot.
I will post some in-between pics and the finished product when complete.
The OZ wheels mounted will be available once the car is complete, they are 16"and need to be restored.

Pauliecarzz · #2 (**permalink**) 09-18-2009, 06:07 PM

here are a few more pictures of the surgery

AlexGS · #3 (**permalink**) 09-18-2009, 06:20 PM

Top effort there!

It's always so much better to remove trim as you have done, rather than to mask around it. But having said that, I would leave the windscreens in place.

Sanding blistered clearcoat is a horrid job, isn't it... looking at the bonnet (sorry, hood

) I can feel the pain... Because the clear is so much harder than the base, the basecoat and then the primer starts to disappear around the remaining patches of clear, so you end up with ripples and waves... best of luck! (I find it best to take the clear off with a razor blade, even if that means filling small nicks/scratches with primer/surfacer later).

-Alex

Pauliecarzz · #4 (**permalink**) 09-18-2009, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexGS

Top effort there!

It's always so much better to remove trim as you have done, rather than to mask around it. But having said that, I would leave the windscreens in place.

Sanding blistered clearcoat is a horrid job, isn't it... looking at the bonnet (sorry, hood

) I can feel the pain... Because the clear is so much harder than the base, the basecoat and then the primer starts to disappear around the remaining patches of clear, so you end up with ripples and waves... best of luck! (I find it best to take the clear off with a razor blade, even if that means filling small nicks/scratches with primer/surfacer later).

-Alex

NYCpersian · #5 (**permalink**) 11-05-2009, 04:37 PM

How's your project coming? I noticed in the first post you said the wheels will be available after your restoration. How much for the set?

Also i'm guessing your in NY because of your windshield reg sticker and NYPD decal so I can come pick them up locally.

Pauliecarzz · #6 (**permalink**) 11-05-2009, 05:18 PM

waiting on spray booth inspection, which should be done this month,,(hopefully!)
yes im in NY so you can pick up locally. they need to be restored but should look nice once finished. PM me and we can discuss price. thanks

v6junky · #7 (**permalink**) 11-06-2009, 03:53 AM

Impressive. If I did that to my back yard my wife would throw me out!!!!! Look forward to seeing the results. And yes, I agree with the matted finish being better than the gloss imho.

sonny · #8 (**permalink**) 11-06-2009, 08:03 AM

What brand of paint are you going to use? It's my understanding that auto painters do not buy their paint from the car manufacturers but from companies such as Akzo Nobel and PPG. The painter has a contract with one of these companies to access a database of original paints colors. Then the painter can mix the color from a few stock paints provided by the company. Be sure you know how the painter is going to make sure you get the right color. "Alfa Red" comes in many shades, even within a particular code, say 130 or 501, there are variations. Also, when I checked the Akzo database a few years ago (it was, and possibly still is, accessible online at their Swedish site), the charcoal black color used for the plastic trim on the S was missing (the color code is listed somewhere on Alfa Digest).

As far as your trunk hinges making dents in your rear fenders, it happens on all spoiler equipped N.A. 164s with the exception of early S models that had springs instead of struts to hold the lid. Even if you fix it now, it will happen again. In my opinion, the only solution is to connect the L+R hinges to each other in such a way that they cannot move out under the load of the strut, or to convert to springs (not easy).

Pauliecarzz · #9 (**permalink**) 11-06-2009, 11:23 AM

As far as paint im either going with Glassarous or BASF which are european paints.

Hinges are being converted to spring setup, i have the hinges from an S, springs and the quaterpanel hoops. Who needs the headache with the strut set-up...