'63 Giulia Spider Normale Restoration (Euro)

[pathung]

I went to a hydraulics supplies shop today, and they're unable to build a braided hose as thin as the hard line with the correct fittings; what they had was as thick as Christian's line, which obviously won't fit through the grommet. At this point I'm considering re-bending the hard line, zinc-plating it, and reusing it. Aeroquip has a few distributors in my area - I'll see what they can do.

[alfazagato]

Patrick,
Why not thoroughly clean the original hard line and paint it black as they were originally? You can then use the very nice flexible pipe you already have. Its precisely what I use.
Have sent you a PM.

[pathung]

I decided to use the original hard line, but am having it plated (I didn't know that it was originally black). And I caved; it'll simply exit the firewall, and head relatively simply to the hose bracket beneath the brake fluid reservoir - none of that 180-degree bend to duck between the firewall and reservoir. Whatever works best to get the car back on the road, I suppose. Now I can continue installing the instrument gauges - once I get the plated parts back in a week or so.

[pathung]

Had some time today, and made decent progress on the car.

I'm happy to report that I have the front bumpers installed, as well as all the instrument gauges (these were just waiting for the oil-pressure hard line issue to be resolved - I decided to use the old one and had it zinc-plated). With the gauges in, I also installed the steering column, now that its firewall bracket is back from the plater's. The set of 4 firewall rubber grommets I bought new, but the one for the oil pressure tube/speedo/tach cables was WAY too big and thick to fit, so I used the old one that worked just fine. Lastly, I bolted on the two NOS Torino relays from Alfastop. Tony also sent me some tie rod ends and hardware sets for the front suspension limit cables, which I'll get to next time.

Next on the list is building the brake lines, installing the emergency brake assembly, and refurbishing/installing the gas tank. With all this done, the car should be nearly ready to receive its refurbished drum brakes, engine, and transmission. Gettin' there! I'm shooting for next Spring.

[pathung]

This one's for you, Vince! I'm the one in the brown sweater. This photo was taken in Glenn Oliveria's shop, when my Spider's engine was being extracted.

[gowanusvin]

Nice dimples! Just kidding.

By the way, I got my Giulia spider on the road last weekend for the first time in 9 months after a very extended brake job. Got 800 miles on a rebuilt Veloce engine and transmission. New rear suspension. I actually forgot how great these cars are on a fall day, in my case in Georgia, top down warm sun, engine growling, passersby waving.

[user459]

Hey Pat!
It's always nice to be able to put a face with the name.

Terry

[Pat Garrett]

Your name came mup as having replaced your dash pad, I am looking for infomation as to which pad from what seller should I buy that will really fit. ? Any help would be appreciated.
Regards.\, pat

[pathung]

Pat, I bought it from Centerline. I gave it a trial fit a few months ago, and it seemed fine.

[alfabits]

Patrick, the windshield motor resistor is designed to save the ww motor from burning up if something were to block the wipers from moving. The resistor is a self resetting device available at any good auto pates store. You want a two terminal 35 amp self resetting resistor.

George
................................
George Kraus
Portland, OR
1960 Giulietta Spider Veloce
Complete nut and bolt restoration nearing completion
To see progress of this restoration go to: My Veloce restoration nearing completion. - Alfa Romeo Bulletin Board & Forums

e :: gekraus@comcast.net
...........................

[gowanusvin]

Hey Patrick:
How did you make out replacing your brake lines. I bought the same lines and tools to attempt the job as you did.

Some of those bends look tricky. Any advice

Best,
Vince Coppola

[pathung]

Vince,

Funny you should ask, as I finally overcame the fear and attempted at some bending last night in the living-room while watching Desperate Housewives (wife's idea!). Things didn't come out too bad, but I wasn't able to replicate some of the smooth curves in my old lines; instead I broke larger curves into two separate ones, as you'll see in my photos below. Not concourse level, but I think that I'm okay with it. Also, you'll find that the tubes curve on different "planes" - bend all the curves first; after you've cut the line from the coil, bend the tube "left/right" with respect to the logitudinal axis to emulate the old line. It helps that these Cunifer lines are easy to bend by hand without collapsing!

Not having invented a way to correctly measure a section's length, I refrained from cutting the line till I finished bending the last curve, though one still came out a bit short (hoping to stretch it a bit come installation time). An alternative is to use a steel wire and run it through the tube and cut it when it just as it protrudes out the other end, leaving some extra slack to compensate for flaring and mistakes. This wire can then be used to measure out the correct length of the new tube section. I haven't tried this yet; I still find bending and then cutting a bit safer.

Since the new tube came coiled, it takes some work to smooth out the relatively-gradual curve when a straight section is required.

I'm done with two short sections, but since my brakes aren't ready and I haven't installed my brakeline-Ts, I don't know if the fit is good. I'll bend the two medium-length sections next, then on to the long longitudinal section that runs from the front to the back. Then I'll try flaring with the rented tool from Fedhill, where I bought the tubes. Let me know how your experiment turns out; I've got lots to learn on this.

[GTD]

Patrick
Bravo! That's for attempting to do it yourself. You're on the right track; you'll get better at it with practice!
RE: Uncoiling - Place the coil in a vertical position on a hard surface, such as a concrete floor, stand on one end of the tubing and un-roll the coil away from the end, pressing the tubing down against the floor. Proceed slowly in a straight line, walking on the tubing as you uncoil it.
Keep the coil vertical; you'll soon get the hang of it.

With Cunifer/Kunifer tubing you can make smooth radius curves by bending around round objects (cans, pipe, etc...) while keeping an inward tension on the tubing.

A tailor's or seamstress’s cloth measuring tape is helpful for getting accurate measurements from old tubing.

[pathung]

Thanks for the tips, George! They'll come in handy when I attempt the fourth shorter section tonight.