'63 Giulia Spider Normale Restoration (Euro)

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Za-gato Patrick, Your body looks fantastic...By the way, what type of paint did you use under the car and inside fenders etc? Ciao Joakim

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I've uploaded to my website the pictures I received from my painter; click here.

A few teasers:

[Gordon Raymond]

Patrick,
Even your body man takes great photo's. My vote fot the best goes to the painted car head on. Makes me {almost} want to do another one!
Thanks!
Gordon Raymond

[Touringspider]

Patrick:

The car looks great. I think that these older bodystyles look great in dark colors since it really brings out the contours and the chrome stands out. I did my 102 in graphite for that very reason (plus it was the original color). My painter told me not to worry about little flaws and stuff since he is convinced that I will put some nicks and scratches in it while putting it all back together (and dang it, he was right... ). He said to bring it back when the mechanicals were all in and he would do the final finishing. Your painter might do the same.

Arno Leskinen
AROC-USA National Concours Chair
102
115
116

[italcarguy]

The car looks stunning. Are you going to do a dark red interior? It's nice to see so many Giulia Spiders being restored to this level.

[pathung]

Hi all,

I've decided to just ignore the fragile paint for now. I'm no better than Arnold at assembly, so there is bound to be more scratches along the way; happily, as Arnold correctly guessed, my painter offered to take the car back after assembly for a final polish. I told him that I'd see him within a year but he didn't believe me. My goal is to debut the car at the 2007 Concorso Italiano... gotta hurry, and still do everything by the book. Next up, send the chrome out and powder-coat/paint wheels and suspension components.

Anthony, I've obtained two samples of red seat material from Re-Originals, one dark, one "orangy" red. I'm leaning towards the lighter red, as I think it's period-correct for a 101 Giulia, unless I'm mistaken.

The following car is close to what I'm working towards:

[pathung]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Raymond Patrick, Even your body man takes great photo's. My vote fot the best goes to the painted car head on. Makes me {almost} want to do another one! Thanks! Gordon Raymond

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It just now occurred to me that the BB does not seem to have a thread to show off these beautiful 750/101/102 cars, so I decided to start one. Please click HERE to post of photo of your car for the rest of the BB to enjoy.

[Andrew Schank]

Hello: Just joined the forum so I could see what Patrick has been saying about me behind my back (just kidding). His car was one of the more difficult projects I have taken on. When you strip/sand blast a 750/101 series Alfa, not only do you have to repair every bit of damage that car has ever accumulated over the decades, but you have to redo the coach builders finishing work, as these cars came with a lot of leaded areas and a very thick primer that was used to help shape the hand made bodies. I own a 1960 Spider, and have painted over a dozen Alfas from this vintage. This car was the hardest one to make right, especially in the black color. I told Patrick I think he needs to get a Darth Vader bobble head for the dash, or a DRTHVDR licence plate.

It really takes a lot of passion and a serious commitment to try and restore one of these cars like the way Patrick is doing it. I wish him the best and hope to have a finished car back in my shop for a final polishing at some point. I will keep an eye on this thread from time to time to check the progress. Got more Alfas lined up next on the schedule, including a 74 Spider and hopefully Conrad Stevenson's panel wagon next month.

[ste10105]

Hi Andy and welcome to the BB. I just wanted to
say I enjoyed the pictures of the work that You
and Patrick are doing on a very beautiful Spider.

I remember You saying the same type of things
when You straighted out and painted My 59 sprint
in 2004.

To those of You in the bay area that need
a good paint job ,done by an alfisti, check out
Andy.

Steve Smith

[Andrew Schank]

It could be the toughest car you ever worked on is always the one you just finished. Or maybe these cars just keep getting older and rougher and it takes more work than ever to bring them back. Having to end up with something that will hold a glossy black finish sure does step up the pressure.

Sandblasting a car from this era does make a lot of extra work though. I wish we had a soda blaster here in the Bay Area. (anyone out there with a bunch of money that loves old cars and needs a new business?) I got to see a car that was baking soda blasted down in Oxnard California, and the process left a super clean, unpitted surface. I was against stripping Patricks car so far down, but I now think he did the right thing. At least you know exactly what you are dealing with this way. Plastic media blasting would have left a less pitted surface as well, but the person I used to use closed up shop a few years ago.

I still haven't found any product that matches the unbelievably thick original undercoating Alfa put on these cars. Patrick had most of it removed because there was rust here and there. I tried a product called U-POL-GRAVITEX from England that comes in 1 liter bottles and needs a special large oraface gun to shoot it. You can controil the texture with air pressure/application, and it is paintable and can also be used as a rock guard. I am happy with it, but it still isn't anywhere as thick as the original stuff. It should give a good barrier from moisture and rust starting chips, and that is the main reason for undercoating anyway.

[pathung]

Andy, great to have you on board the BB, and thanks for contributing to this thread.

I'm sure lots of folks appreciate the information from a pro regarding body/metalwork and paint. We have a few members with excellent knowledge on the subject, but we always need more.

And now I can just refer to you on the thread as "Andy", instead of "my painter" - excellent!

[Alfajay]

Patrick:

Looks GREAT - Congratulations with the rapid progress your project appears to be making. I might have used a few more yellow tie-downs to secure that beautiful body to the trailer, though (Just Kidding).

Great to have Andy Shank contributing to the BB - he is a wealth of knowledge about body and paint matters, as well as Alfas (and Fiats too, if memory serves me correctly).

[pathung]

In retrospect, I probably should have tied the chassis down better, you're right, Jay. Thankfully, we made it home safely.

I'm in the process of getting the wheels trued and powder-coated, possibly in STOCKTON (a few hours' drive from me)! I couldn't find anyone close by (well I didn't look very hard either - a few leads in the Bay Area didn't pan out, and I'm giving up). I've also ordered five Vredestein 155SR15 tires, which will likely arrive tomorrow.

Unfortunately, all my tools are elsewhere due to another top-secret project (ok I'll tell, I'm rebuilding a '67 Sprint GT into a vintage racer), so I really have nothing to work on the Giulia with. I did however lay out the new wiring harness in the car, which isn't sayint much, as it merely required routing the correct ends through the correct holes in the firewall - just wait till I find a long-lost screwdriver somewhere in the house and the car will be done in no time!

Since the engine/tranny/axle/suspension pieces are off premises right now, I'll start hooking the wires up in the engine bay, as well as under the dash. Under dash may be a bit of a problem, as I haven't taken a look at the heater, nor wiper assembly yet; I could always tackle the driver's side first, as the gauges, speedo/tach cables, ignition switch, and fusebox are all ready to go. I need to look at my documentary photos again to make sure that I'm installing in the exact reverse order, just to be sure.

Here are a few pics of the GT - oh..., I'd give it about 5 years... but it sure would be fun to drive it on the California Melee next October! It'll look its part, too.

[GTD]

Pat
Sweet Step-nose! Great Project!
Question: What was that tow truck driver doing - lifting the tail and driving on the BRITISH side of the road??????