AFrench Blue '69 GTV Restoration

[1750GT]

No problem Bruce...just tell me exactly where...I have lots of pics.

[mfroble]

well I am replacing the front section of the inner sill and also the middle sill, so I need shot of the section that goes from the sill up in an arc to join the pillar, right bellow the lower door hinge. Also if you have a shot from just behind the front wheel looking at the sill. Any of those would be most appreciated, I think that I know how it should look, but just wanted to double check.

[SuperFab]

Rossano,

When the time comes to re-apply seam sealer here there and everywhere, I have pictures/diagrams from my collection of factory shop manuals. It's detailed out very nicely.

[1750GT]

Fabio, I'll take you up on the offer because I don't recall seeing that in any
manual on my cardisc

[1750GT]

Hi Bruce, I just checked out your restoration pics.....and it's amazing how similair the corrosion zones are on these cars. Now before I post those pics you were asking about, have you checked out Jeff McNeils' site (Alfa Restore) to see if he has the photos of this area?

[SuperFab]

Here is an excerpt from the body manual. Text is in Italian...but the pictures, as they say, speak a thousand words...in this instance - Italian

[SuperFab]

Rossano - I just had a quick look in my CarDisc CD and the same information is in there...in english, in the Body (Coachwork) Manual section. If you have the same one that I do...it's there!

[mfroble]

thanks rossano, that site is a great help, i'll check it out, and tell you if I still need any pics.

[rogerspeed]

Rossano, can you give us a holiday update? I was re-reading the entire thread tonight and am extremely impressed with your work and car. The attention to detail and execution is first rate. I was looking for information about my worn hinge pins, any experience there? BTW - the straw didn't grow in all those places, critters brought it there.

[1750GT]

Roger thanks for the compliments! the restoration work has been put on hold for the last couple of months due to work load at work and I was really hoping to do some serious floor work on the Alfa during the holiday break....we'll see. The hinge pin problem you're asking about seems to be a common one. The ones on my car also are quite sloppy at the moment and at first I thought that this was a result of the bore on aluminum hinges wearing out. Now I don't really know for certain however, I read somewhere that rubber bushings were used originally at these locations....and if that is the case, I can easily see these simply disintegrating over time. For restoring these I was going to go with the bushing kits that seem to be readily available from the usual supplliers .....they seem pretty straightforward enough.

[PSk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfroble well I am replacing the front section of the inner sill and also the middle sill, so I need shot of the section that goes from the sill up in an arc to join the pillar, right bellow the lower door hinge. Also if you have a shot from just behind the front wheel looking at the sill. Any of those would be most appreciated, I think that I know how it should look, but just wanted to double check.

[Hodges]

Hello again Rossano,

I am pretty sure that your '69 door hinges are the same as my '67 Sprint door hinges....if so I have some teflon hinge pin bushings that I had made that you would be welcome to if you are interested? I used them on my hinges and they work very well (although they have not been wear tested yet!)

Hodges.

[alfatreter]

hello rossano,

this is the best bodywork i´ve ever seen to an alfa. congratulations!!! after looking to your fantastic pictures i´m thinking about to strip my car for a third time and bring it to you!! really, really fantastic

wolfgang

[1750GT]

Thanks Wolfgang...to be honest though, the repairs I'm doing are quite straightforward and simple compared to some of the other current restorations being posted on this BB. One thing that I get a kick out doing is replacing or repairing metal work so that the repair is as invisible as possible (given my limitations on tools and skill set) and of course, this takes time and perseverance.

[1750GT]

Hey I'm finally getting back to the repairs! Now one of my prime objectives in this restoration is to make the repairs as clean as possible with no visible welds. Up to now I've been doing all my repairs with plug welds and have found them to be very sound and easy to do (although it is a slow process). So I will be using this technique to weld in the floor panels. So I welded a set of tubes in a cross brace fashion to support the opening and then cut-out the outer rocker all the way back to the B pillar (for now).



In order to remove the sill, the upper and lower flange spot welds have to be drilled out. Well after drilling a series of 1/4 in holes at the spot weld locations, I was dismayed when I then tried to shear the rest of the weld off and pry the panels apart with a thin chisel and hammer. Man the welds in this area are much, much stronger and larger than those on the front panels that I had repaired earlier on. Not wanting to cause too much mayhem this way...I came up with another plan that will not require the drilling off of these spot welds.



The lower flange welds were much easier to tackle. In fact a good number of them were already broken due to the previous accident damage. Thankfully the metal on these parts is in great condition with only minor surface rust so I should be OK to remove and re-install them without needing new parts.



The inner sill also needed some local straightening.....it was easy to do this now with full access to both side of the inner sill.....I just love these workhorse clamps! even these thick pieces were a breeze to straighten.



..more to come..