'63 Giulia Spider Normale Restoration (Euro) - Page 52

alfazagato · #**766** (**permalink**) 07-31-2009, 05:16 PM

Great news Patrick...well done. Sorry I was unable to contact you this time...will keep in touch.

**alfabits** · #**767** (**permalink**) 07-31-2009, 06:57 PM

Patrick, Nice going. How exciting. I bet you can't wait to get her on the road for the first shake down drive. I know how excited I was after all the bits were sorted out. Now is the easy parts, Continue to have fun!

Cheers,

George

**pathung** · #**768** (**permalink**) 07-31-2009, 07:06 PM

Stuart and George, I'll get to work on the car again tomorrow, mainly to help Glenn ensure that the mechanicals are up to snuff, and take that first drive around the block (sans windshield)! If all goes well, it'll be ready to be driven on the back streets (no cops) of Berkeley to the glass shop a few miles away. Having done that, home to Aptos and freshen up for the Monterey week. Life is good with an Alfa.

George, Glenn thinks he saw your "pristine" black Spider at the Convention on Thursday; was that your car?

**alfabits** · #**769** (**permalink**) 07-31-2009, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathung

George, Glenn thinks he saw your "pristine" black Spider at the Convention on Thursday; was that your car?

**pathung** · #**770** (**permalink**) 08-01-2009, 08:31 AM

Very nice, George! Will you be coming down to Concorso Italiano? I'll see you there if you do.

**alfabits** · #**771** (**permalink**) 08-01-2009, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathung

Very nice, George! Will you be coming down to Concorso Italiano? I'll see you there if you do.

**mubezzi** · #**772** (**permalink**) 08-01-2009, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathung

but I forgot to bring the SNO Quadrifoglio sticker! That'll go on next, in the engine compartment or on the rear bumper.

**pathung** · #**773** (**permalink**) 08-02-2009, 12:18 AM

I arrived at the shop relatively early today and started right away to get the parts ready for the glass shop; these included the windshield, its rubber gaskets, vertical pillars and horizontal frames, vent windows, and roll up windows with respective mechanism in the doors. I basically provided for nuts and bolts where necessary so the glass shop could do its job quickly and be done by this coming Friday for my pick up on Saturday. One question that I have is which vent window assembly goes on which side? The attached photos show that there's a piece of metal welded on opposing sides of the vent windows as an attaching point for a screw; can someone tell me which one goes where? Thanks.

On the other hand, Glenn dove straight into installing the pedal box (recall the heat shield/exhaust header interference problem) so as to get the shifting linkages and brakes ready for our test drive later in the day. To allow as much space as possible for the heat shield, we ground down the pedal box some and installed it. Next came installation of the clutch linkages and brake fluid reservoir, which involved modifying the hard tube that leads to it from the after-market MC; this didn't take too long, but required welding on an adapter for a rubber hose to fit over the MC's nylon outlet.

Lastly was the hand-wringing task of putting my self-made brake lines and flares to the test; another unknown was the set of "speed bleeders" that I insisted on using for future bleeding's ease. None of this turned out easy, not that I "saw" any of it as I sat up high in the car pumping away at the brake pedal and staring at the ceiling while Glenn ran around plugging leaks here and there underneath the car, and there were some. Typical of Glenn, he fixed them all with only a light level of cussing and let me back down on the ground after about forty-five minutes; he did complain bitterly about the speed bleeders - some worked and some didn't (opening one up did not let out any air or fluid as the pedal stayed hard, for example). I guess that I won't be using them on any of my other Alfas.

Then came time for a test drive. We fired up the engine, Glenn hopped in, and took it around the block, with the half-installed exhaust setting off car alarms along the way. Then it was my turn. The car felt much smaller and more intimate than my 105 Alfas, as both the steering wheel and gear shift were practically right in my chest! The pedals seemed closer to each other as well. I was surprised by the power of the engine! Glenn described it as "zippy", and it felt as if we had a lightened clutch installed, which was untrue. The engine's basically stock, but the Webers must really be doing their part - so far they've been fairly cooperative. That was my first drive in a Giulietta, and t'was heavenly - loud and fast, while nimble. Can't wait to open her up on some fast twisty roads!

Enjoy photos and videos below. I apologize for the over-exposed videos - blame my old and most-of-the-time trusty Canon camera. I'll have more to report after picking up the car next Saturday, while using an actual videocam.

YouTube - Video #4 - Test Drive

YouTube - Alfa Test Drive

81gtv6 · #**774** (**permalink**) 08-03-2009, 05:09 PM

Congrats Patrick, she looks amazing!

**pathung** · #**775** (**permalink**) 08-04-2009, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 81gtv6

Congrats Patrick, she looks amazing!

**italcarguy** · #**776** (**permalink**) 08-05-2009, 12:22 AM

Awesome! I can't wait to see it.

alfazagato · #**777** (**permalink**) 08-05-2009, 10:51 AM

Bloody good Patrick, well done...it shows that, when done properly, a restoration can be mind-boggling good, and frankly the cars are worth doing well. Giuliettas are jewels and I am noticing that there are more and more discerning people becoming enamored and spending money on the reviving of these car. Have you kept a log of the time and money spent on the car to date as I am sure that many would be very interested in the balance of costs between essential bodywork, paint and mechanicals. For marital reasons you may well wish to keep this sort of information private and I totally understand that. But are you aware that less than 20 miles from your house, there is a Spider on which the owner has spent close to $100k??? Whilst this is, even for me, more than a little over the top, it highlights what is being done in today's market and shows the value that other perceive in the model.

**pathung** · #**778** (**permalink**) 08-05-2009, 05:34 PM

Stuart,

I did keep all my receipts from parts purchases and work that was farmed out, and will tabulate the results on a rainy day when I feel like doing something depressing. In terms of time spent, I could probably come up with a very rough estimate, based on the number of years it's taken, and the average number of hours per month I spend working on the car. Totaled, it will be a huge number, I'm sure, but well worth it.

I don't know about $100K! Who's this meticulous gentleman/lady? PM me if you wish.

Will you be around in October for a quick Jaunt in the Sacramento area?

**Lionel Velez** · #**779** (**permalink**) 08-05-2009, 06:00 PM

Stuart,

You could easily be just kidding. Spending that kind of $$$ is definitely very possible on a first rate restoration, I just spent a chunk of change along with a significant amount of sweat equity on my '64 Sprints still in progress. Parts and services alone exceed $25M plus. I just can not see how these jewels still in the low $30's

Regards,

Lionel

alfazagato · #**780** (**permalink**) 08-06-2009, 05:30 AM

No I am not kidding, but the works this gentleman instructed did involve quite significant upgrading both mechanically and bodily, so that will account for some of the total.
I agree with your comments regarding prices of refurbished cars....it does seem inconceivable that a Giulietta can be bought for less than it's restoration costs never mind the initial purchase price! I can only trust that in the future, as the supply of cars that need restoration reduces, those that have been well done will achieve a realistic value.
The reason that I asked Patrick for some indication of his costs is that it would be very useful to have some general consensus of prices for works, out of interest for some and for guidance for others. I know that it cost me over £20k for the bodywork and painting of my Lightweight which is not far from the price I know a friend of mine in the US paid for similar work to his Spider. I have no idea what the mechanical work will cost but I will be happy to share the information as and when I have it.
As an aside your Sprint looks a treat! Congratulations.