Refreshing a '71 GTV

[papajam]

Not a restoration mind you, but a refreshing meaning this car, which has been off the road for 18 years, will be put back to roadworthy condition with any/all go-fast mods that are deemed appropriate. The (hopefully) correct restoration is reserved for our '68 GTV. So it's time to have some fun with the '71.
The already stripped car is headed for the bodyshop for some rockers and a respray. In the meantime, I started out with the pretty sorry looking shift console. After two hours, one new toggle switch and new veneering the results were very encouraging.
Now to finish up the hi-po 2l Euro engine.....

[John M]

Hey Papa:

Did you get that extra GTV from KY?

Best Regards,
John M

[sono veL.O.ce]

Looks like its gonna be a pretty awesome "refreshing"! New paint, nice interior, hot motor!! Looks awesome! keep us posted.

[Geoffz]

Where's a good resource for the Veneering material?
Have a '74 GTV and the dash portion has been trashed and needs to be replaced.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Geoff

[papajam]

This veneering was obtained from Hurtienne in Germany a number of years ago before the stuff was available in the US. You might want to try one of the vendors on this suppliers list. Failing that, there are a few on this board that have described how they've made their own.

[papajam]

Finally got to do a little work on the '71 and have run into a bit of a headscratcher. The pic shows the leftside outer door trims (the ones that hold the 'felt') for both the '71 (on top) and the '68. Note the arrow that points to a hard rubber (or is it soft plastic) 'weatherstrip' on the bottom portion of the trim. The '68 did not have this weatherstrip. Having the complete service history of the '71, there is no mention of any bodywork having been done so I'm very confident that this weatherstrip is original and have seen it on other GTVs as well. However, there is no mention of it in the parts books that I can find.
So the questions are;
A) should a Euro '68 1750 GTV have this weatherstrip and
B) should the weatherstrip (on the '71 anyway) be the same length as the trim as it is a good 30-40mm short at each end.

[papajam]

Let me rephrase this; could some of you kind GTV owners look at this trim piece on your car and tell me A)if there is, or if there is not a black weatherstrip and B)what year, model and market for which the car was originally built? TIA


Given the storm we're having here at the moment, I thought this the perfect time to rebuild the door hinges. This pic shows the hinge prior to disassembly. Note the difference in the top and bottom gaps between the 'inner' and 'outer' hinges. More on this later.

[papajam]

After driving out the hinge pin toward the top with a 1/4" straight punch, the old plastic bushings pretty much just fell out. Note the replacement bronze bushing on the right (more on this in a bit). The bushings in the second hinge were not so co-operative and required a bit more persuasion; they had to be drilled out.

[JoeCab]

Jim,

IMO Bronze is too stiff for an application that Alfa originally intended to have a small amount of play. This is how I've dealt with these hinges:

http://www.alfacentro.com/features/j...nge/index.html

Joe

[papajam]

I found these bushings many years ago when searching for replacement bushings for some equipment at work. In their application at work, which involves a fair amount of loading in a very dust evironment, they last about 6-12 months. Doesn't sound like much but when one considers these bushings are being loaded 24 hrs a day, 4 days a week, I figure I could do nothing but open and close the doors for the rest of my life before these things wear out as a hinge bushing. The bushings are officially called 'SAE-841 oil impregnated bronze flanged sleeve bearing'. Available from www.mscdirect.com under part number 35401611. Size is 5/16" ID x 7/16" OD x 3/4" long. The catalog I have shows them at 63 cents each.

Next up was to take some measurements. The inner hinge length was 1.420" and the outer hinge length at it's narrowest was 1.489" and 1.510" at it's widest. It would seem that the hinge got a little tweaked over the years and not having the equipment to straighten the hinge, I elected to simply file the surfaces square. The thickness of the bushing flanges is 0.0625". Now for the math portion. Total distance between the ears of the outer hinge is 1.510"; the length of the inner hinge with the flanges included is 1.545". This meant that the one or both bushings would have to be shaved. Since the weight of the door is on the lower flange, I chose to leave this one at it's full thickness and shave down the top flange.

[papajam]

I put some 150 grit sandpaper on a flat surface and sanded the flange by hand until I got close to the calculated measurement. Then little by little until it fit in the gap.

[papajam]

I chose to hand sand the bushing prior to fitment since once the bushing is pressed into into the hinge, I saw no way to sand it down square. Plus, the bushing couldn't be removed without destroying it.
The bench vise was 'press' that installed the bushings into the hinge.
After the bushings were installed, they were reamed to size using a letter 'O' (.316") drill bit.
Here's the final product ready to go back on the door. Total time was less than two hours per hinge (after the doors were off ).

[papajam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeCab Jim, IMO Bronze is too stiff for an application that Alfa originally intended to have a small amount of play....

[GTD]

Papajam
Thanks for the pic's, I agree with your use of oilite bushings but IMO the rebuild should be taken a step further by using the bushings in the center point of the hinge as well as the top and bottom. This would provide for a bronze to bronze flange bearing surface. This, combined with the self-lubricating feature of the oilite surrounding the pin, would effectively provide for a permenant repair.

Here's a manufacturer of metric sized bushings:
http://www.beemerprecision.com/PDFs/...eMetriceng.pdf

[papajam]

Yes, I agree. But I don't have a clue how one would countersink the ears on the outer hinge from the inside. The stock setup has the bushings in the center portion while the pin is a press fit into the top.