New guy needs help!

[Superleggara]

Hello fellow Alfa nuts! I own a 1964 2600 touring Superleggara spider that needs restoration badly.

It belonged to my Father who passed away suddenly when I was 13. I am much older now and need to start on the restoration of this beautiful car.

It has body damage primarily on the front passenger fender having an unfortunate meeting with an 18 wheeler. Thank goodness that they really are built like an Abrahms tank!

The engine needs to be overhauled as well. When Dad finally parked it for the last time he was going to pass and it started making a rough mechanical noise and a loss of power. He thought that it might be the main bearing. He died before ever getting her back up and running.

I have another theory which I discovered in the new Alfa owners bible. When Dad hit the semi it knocked the body just the slightest bit left and the hood would never latch. In the A. bible it discussed the occurrence of the guide rod on the carbs possibly sticking which could cause a piston to burn through.

When I read this the first thing that I did when I got home was to check if any were sticking. The first two from the front moved freely but sure enough the last rod was stuck somewhat. I think that the elements being able to get to this part of the carbs may have caused the problem described.

It has rust of course, but the undercarraige looks to be in pretty good shape.
The trunk is rusted out also and there are places on it that are rusted through. I think that she could be brought back to life, albeit expensively.

I have heard that they can dip car bodies to get rid of rust but I wonder what this might do to the body filler type epoxy that the mfg used in the front end around the grill.

Please help me start to restore this car. I have been an Alfa nut since I was a little kid and would love to rebuild this car as a tribute to the memory of my Father. It would give him great pleasure if he were still alive to see it in all its glory again.

[tubut]

Sorry if I'm the bearer of bad news, but it appears you have quite a few things going against you:

1. You seem to have sentimental value attached to the car. That stands in the way of rational decision making with respect to how much money you want ot should pump into the car for whatever the desired result is supposed to be (from avergae driver to concours condition). In other words, sentimental value may cloud judgment as to whether or not this is the best car to start a restoration with.

2. The car was in an accident. I'm unaware of any credible information to measure chassis points in order to straighten the frame. This is not trivial in unibody cars. If the body is bent, it takes a lot of skill to fix it and make it run straight. The vertical structural members on the inside of the fenders need to be checked very carefully for skew and damage to the welds.

3. The car may have rust in places that you don't know about. I'm talking from experience here and suggest a few things to look for here.

4. In order to do the car properly, you'll have to strip it completely (to the bare shell) and then use sand blasting or another abrasive technology to remove paint and rust (preferably after opening the rocker panels). You'll need a gifted panel beater to make or fit replacement panels. Expect $20k just for bodywork. The paint job, chrome, interior, overhauling brakes, engine and drivetrain probably will cost twice as much.
I suggested elsewhere that, rather than overhauling an engine ($7-10k), owners are better off to buy a good used engine ($1,5-2k). Keep that in mind. You can always overhaul the engine later.

To give better advice, I suggest you post pictures that we can give you more specific advice (general condition and completeness of the car). Futhermore, it would help to know where you and/or the car are located so you can find a buddy who also has one of these cars...

Ruedi

[rags747]

Well I agree with the above but if it is within your means it would be a beautiful act to get her restored as a testament to your Dad's good taste and memory. BTW this is what she would look like restored...

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...004-20,GGLD:en

[Superleggara]

Well that is not good news but I guess this car is in good hands then. I would rather spend more than the car is worth do to sentimental value and for the fact that so very few were made. I have loved Alfas since a small kid and would like to bring another back to life.

I would never part this car out as it would mean one less 2600 in existence.

The Car still drove straight after the accident. It may be that the upper body may be the only thing slightly and unnoticeably askew.

I have contacted a local hot rod shop to perform the body work. They do great work and have great skill at body forming. The engine work I will probably do myself.

Thanks for the info.

Oh this is not the only Alfa that we have in the stable. We have a 1959 1300 Giulietta Sprint and a 1969 spider.

[tubut]

Don't get me wrong: There is nothing wrong with restoring a car for its sentimental value -- as long as you are aware of it up front and keep the sentimental value apart from the value of the car. I'll be happy to help in any way I can. Let's start with this:

http://www.alfaparts.net/106.htm

...and that:

[BWB]

Hi all
I am also rebuilding a 1965 spider that probably shouldn't be rebuilt if you look at what it will cost etc but I want to do it for the challenge. I have just recieved an order of panels from Erik Van Cauwenbergh so am hoping to get underway soon. Erik responded to my fax (he's not on the internet!!!)very quickly and I have spoken with him on the phone, his English is perfect I was worried as I am very poor at French and my Flemish is non existant!! Good luck with the rebuild at least you know what your car looked like before restoration, mine was and still is piles of parts and a stripped and partly welded up body structure. Brave or foolish I'm not sure yet. Having read a lot of what is said on this and the 2600 site i have gleened a lot of info and one person who always answers queries and tries to help is Reudi.

Again good luck and regards

Bryan

[Touringspider]

Bryan:

In addition to this wonderful forum, make sure you get on the 2000/2600 discussion group on Yahoo (start at www.alfa2600.co.uk). Mr. 2600 (that would be Ruedi) as well as a bunch of other knowledgable folks participate there too.

Seems like most 102/106 projects never appear to be viable, but there is a lot of satisfaction in bringing one back from the dead. My 102 Spider finally is painted after a year of pretty involved bodywork (mostly rebuilding the nose due to some ancient accident damage plus fixing the usual rocker rust). Scary thing was that this was a pretty rust free Arizona/California car and it took this much work. Now I just need to spend the next couple of years reassembling the darn thing...

Arno Leskinen
AROC-USA National Concours Chair
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