Now the perfect scenario would have been to find an original replacement diaphragm panel, as shown in the parts manual and is an assembly made up of at least a dozen pieces.
...but alas I could not find any supplier in Europe who had one of these kicking around. I did manage to come across a complete brand new original GTV front end form Italia-Classic out of France (some of you may recall my post from that e-bay auction I came across last year...which by the way did not sell )..probably for fear of the exhorbitant shipping costs. But I digress.....so my only other option was to look for a used front clip section. Ken Lee gave me a lead on a GTV being parted-out locally so I brought along my trusty 4.5 inch angle grinder and a dozen or cut-off wheels. Unfortunately for me, the complete assembly I was hoping to come away with was not in great condition and so I ended up cutting out only the side sections. On the left is "new' piece and on the right my original. As you can see, these have corrosion on the lower edges (further repair of these would be required).
...the opposite side was not much better..but at least it was useable and in better shape than my original.
Attachment 63213
..to be continued.....