Alfa Romeo Forums banner

Bob's Barn Alfa

Tags
1974 2000 gtv
142K views 694 replies 43 participants last post by  horsewidower 
#1 ·
With a certain degree of shame, mixed with a renewed enthusiasm, I present our Barn Alfa. 1974 GTV, 66,000 original miles. Parked by the previous owner since 1988, made it over to our barn 8 years ago. It was to be a father-son project with my then 15 year-old. He lost enthusiasm quickly, so the car has stayed firmly in "Jackstand Queen" status every since.

I want to get it running and road worthy for my wife's 50th birthday on December 27th.
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#2 ·
It might be appropriate to post the car in the "injured Alfa" thread as a proper penance.
 
#3 ·
Wahoo!

Excellent, enjoy the work ahead. She will look great someday and bring a smile to your face with every drive.
Ahhh, but, what is your definition of "running and roadworthy"? The only way to do that by 27 December (of this year) for a car that's been sitting since 1988 is to have a slot next week on an automotive reality show where a crew of pros jump on it armed with a few thousand dollars worth of all the right spare parts! :)
 
#4 ·
Well, I've had all these parts on the shelf for that 8 years. Now I just need to remember what they all are. :001_huh:
 

Attachments

#5 ·
I started working on the rear brakes this evening. The calipers are just dusty and need cleaning. We had red caliper paint for these, but 8 years later I'm not really liking the idea. The rear rotors' set screws wouldn't come loose without some persuasion. I was surprised by the handbrake drum and shoe arrangement. I didn't see that in either of Braden's books that I purchased.
 

Attachments

#6 ·
December 27th for your wife's 50th birthday? That might actually be doable as you did not specify what year, and you replace the current wife with one aged in her mid to early 40's.
 
#13 ·
That could all be arranged. :shifty:
 
#7 ·
It looks like the color is "Beige Cava" -- which I find to be an exceptionally good looking color for this model.

Congrats on re-starting the resto!
 
#8 ·
Interesting fuel can in the first picture. Is that some kind of pit stop refueler?

I'm guessing your wife shows horses. Been there, done that, hauled the feed for old carrot breath. A man's hobbies should kick him in the billfold, not the knees. You've made a wise choice. Good luck and have fun!
 
#10 ·
Yes, its a dump can for a racecar.

What's the most efficient way to turn money into crap...a horse.

We have a big barn, and dressage facility. There is a reason for my screen name.
 
#11 ·
I told my wife her horsecrap production plant was too expensive to run so I was going to outsource horsecrap production to China!
She did English riding, hunter/jumper mainly.
 
#14 ·
I had a wife that didn't like flying in small airplanes. One has to confront these sorts of decisions and do what is necessary. On the other hand, you could tell the current one that she doesn't look a day over 47, thereby getting the 3 years you need to do the job right, spare you a LOT of money, and perhaps get a really nice night out of it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: alfaloco
#15 ·
You are clearly wise beyond your years...or have lived a lively life. ;)

Through one of the threads here I found a wealth of reference information. Man, nothing beats shop manuals and parts references.

I'll need to pace myself when it comes to printing, I'll burn out the printer. I still like paper, it's really hard to write notes on a computer with a Sharpie.
 
#16 ·
When we purchased the car, it had sat since 1988 and the tires had dry rotted badly. We were barely able to pull it on to the trailer as the tires were losing air as fast as we could put it in.

So the car needs new tires before I move it from the storage barn into the working shop. However, the wheels were in bad shape. Rusty, crappy looking wheels.

So I restored them this last weekend, in anticipation of buying some tires.
 

Attachments

#17 · (Edited)
Elbow grease, Rust Kutter, and an 8 year old paint bomb. :laugh:

Kidding aside, it was a bit of trial and error.

My original intent was to treat the wheels for rust, scuffing them and then use my cans of Eastwood Argent Silver that had stood on the shelf waiting for use.

I cleaned the wheels well with soapy water and rinsed

Sprayed them with Rust Kutter ( Rust Kutter/Rust Prevention & Control|Sanco Industries )

The Rust Kutter raised the paint, so I finished it off with some spray on paint remover. I removed the paint that came off.

I resprayed it with Rust Kutter.

Rinsed the Rust Kutter and then sprayed them again because I was not completely pleased with the results.

Ran out of time and left them unrinsed and quit.

A week later I came back to find that the Rust Kutter had lifted all the remaining paint. Everything was dry

Using synthetic wool I scrapped all the easily removal detritus from the wheels.

Then used a brass brush and a sanding buff on a drill motor, I removed the rest of the crap.

I vacuumed out the wheels and scraped out the remaining material where the rim and wheel hub meet.

I used a paint prep product to finish cleaning the wheels, sometimes I use acetone, sometimes brake clean, sometimes metal prep.

I sprayed three coats of metal etching primer, in a light color to go with the silver. Light coats.

I finished with three coats of Eastwood Silver Argent. I only needed one can, I still have three extras.
Eastwood Silver/Argent Rally Wheel Paint

I had planned to "clear" the wheels, but it makes it harder to touch them up in the future, so I'm still contemplating that decision. I've got 2 cans of clear on the shelf.

The caps were just some chrome polish and elbow grease.
 
#19 ·
I took tomorrow off. The goal is to get the rear axle back in by the end of the weekend. I need to pull the lower control arms and work them over, R&R the third member, get the brakes back together and a bunch of little jobs to do. Let alone dust off all the parts and figure out what I've got.

I think I'm seeing a bit of gear oil leakage on the lower diff inspection plate. So I may need to reseal that.
 
#20 ·
This is where I'm starting from, although I have removed the rotors.
 

Attachments

#21 ·
If I were bringing to life an Alfa that had sat for a bunch of years, at this point I would replace the pinion seal and both wheel seals. Quite probably the upper trunnion bushings, as well as all 4 of the trailing arm bushings. These items are not terribly expensive, and the pain and aggravation is getting the rear end out so you can get the parts off and onto the hydraulic press. I would also be tempted to replace the wheel bearings for the same reason. Bearings that sit a long time can get corrosion in funny places, and it won't show up immediately but will eventually create more work for you.
 
#22 ·
Yeah, everything Don said except I have yet to replace the upper trunion bushings in any Alfa I've owned. That's not to say it shouldn't be done. Mission creep will be the undoing of your deadline but certain things do make sense. From what I've seen of your posts so far, I don't think I have to tell you anything.
 
#23 ·
I'm the king of mission creep. When I do a restoration a lot of parts get removed, cleaned, studied, and tossed into the bin.

The 102 that I restored between 2006 and 2009 got every bolt removed, and lots of metal replaced. Waaaaay beyond budget busting. The only two things that did not get the total makeover were the trans and dif, as both seemed to behave happily.

Trans blew up on the way to Concorso Italiano this year. Dif makes ringing noise with the convertible top erected, but is silent with top down. Trans kept me from accepting an award at Concorso.

Best to do these things when you have everything spread out on the bench rather than in the middle of a road trip.

And just in case my terminology is incorrect, by "trunnion" I was referring to the two conical bushings at the top of the transmission. Most of the ones I've seen upon disassembly are mashed a bit, and often decomposing due to age, oil, etc.
 
#24 ·
And just in case my terminology is incorrect, by "trunnion" I was referring to the two conical bushings at the top of the transmission. Most of the ones I've seen upon disassembly are mashed a bit, and often decomposing due to age, oil, etc.
You mean the top of the diff. but yeah, those always turn to mush and are a lot easier to replace than the two ends of the trunnion that attach to the body.
 
#25 ·
Uh, yeah. Top of the dif. OK wench, refill this glass...
 
#26 · (Edited)
Long day of working on the car. I spent a bunch of time cleaning up the axle and preparing it for paint, pulled off the LCAs and did the same to them. I started to pull out the back seat to get to the shocks, in order to get ready to replace them and then decided instead to clean the exterior of the car. I had hoped to clean the interior also, but ran out of daylight. I also pulled the parts off the shelves and moved them into the "working" shop. I'll try and catalog them tomorrow. I must have had a plan 8 years ago, but it escapes me now.
 

Attachments

#468 ·
Prophetic words those many years ago. I've had it, lost it, had it, lost it...lather rinse repeat.
 
#28 ·
Today's goals: clean the interior, pull the seats, paint the axle and LCAs, catalog the parts.
 
#29 ·
Does it run?

Horsewidower,
I enjoy threads like these. Thanks!
Just a question: I see your making good progress, cleaning and re-painting parts. But I have not heard you mention if the engine runs? If it was me, I clean-up the diff as you are doing, throw it in, then change all the fluids and get the engine fired up. You may be into bigger issues, if the engine won't fire up. I see its been sitting since 1988! :scared:
 
#30 ·
We think alike. That is essentially the game plan. I'm basically trying to get all the parts that were taken off the car, back on. That way I can move it from its current resting place to what we term the "working shop." It'll get pulled/pushed over there and then we'll work at getting it started.

I've got a buddy that owns the old Barber Shop racecar coming up to help me try and start it on Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. I've got to get the gas tank back in it, and (I found out today!) a new clutch slave cylinder in before we can try it. The car is equipped with SPICA, so that will be a new experience for both Dak and me.

Does anyone know where I can source a new glovebox lock? I found this one's on the floor of the passenger side broken. I can't close the door at the moment, and I think having it just flopped open has warped the door a bit. Bummer.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Start of the pictures for the day.

Right off the bat I found the "rosetta stone" to the parts trove. That really helped. It also shows that the car has been jackstand bound for almost 10 years. Wow.

I started off by painting the LCAs. I'm not doing it for show purposes, but to provide some additional corrosion protection.

I test fit the rear brake disc. Apparently we purchased a brake kit, as there are matching discs for the front as well as SS braided brake lines.

I cleaned up the interior. I needed to crawl in there to get the rear seat out in order to change out the rear shocks.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top