AFrench Blue '69 GTV Restoration

[1750GT]

I’ve been meaning to post this thread for the longest time…so here goes. Last year (while surfing the net) I came across the ALFABB and the fond memories that were resurrected of my previous GTVs, made me decide to get back into one again.. (after about an 18 year abscence). Initially I thought to limit my search to local cars only. A few GTVs were available and after checking them out and driving them I realized that I wasn’t going to be happy spending maybe $ 6-8 K on a rusty GTV with worn out interior, botched up wiring, unknown mechanical condition and…and…and…If I was going to spend over $10K on an +30year old car….I might as well look for a project car from southern (salt free) states which (hopefully) would be relatively rust free (in the key critical areas at least) and which I was going to restore in as pristine a condition as my abilities (and budget) would allow. In my younger days I had restored a ‘71 FIAT 124 Sports Coupe and then a ‘72 1300 GT Junior with very limited budget …this time around I feel will be much more enjoyable.

My search ended last February after negotiating for a 1969 US Series 1750 GTV in Alfa color AR342 (French Blue)…the PO had convinced me to buy this in lieu of his other ‘69 ocra yellow GTV..and since I was only looking at photos I figured he probably knew better. I had the car shipped from the southwest to Buffalo and then drove down and trailored it back home across the border, about an hour’s drive away. I will be posting photos of the work as it progresses. For starters….these are the first pictures……

[1750GT]

...some more early pics....



..not too pretty.........

[1750GT]

..and more...original engine maybe?...what do you think PAPAJAM?...



...must have spent some time on the farm ( or in field ?) .......OK maybe a lot of time...

[1750GT]

..a few more..

[67GTV]

Looks like you made a good choice Rossano! The rust I see appears to be minimal and the rockers look pretty solid. I look forward to progress reports.

Let's hope all the field mice and/or birds find a new home!

[GTV Ham]

Have fun and provide us with some progress reports! We won't grade you, so no pressure.

[Damo105]

That's a great project, the car looks pretty complete.

And it proves you don't need to spend a lot of money on fancy sound proofing, a bit of hay is all that's needed! Plus it has the added benefit of extra dampening in the rear end!

Good luck with the project, look forward to seeing some pics of the work in progress.

Damien

[1750GT]

...Damian that hay grew all around the car...even between the innner and outer fender skirt cavities...but I'll get to that later. I started with a teardown (or should I say a tearout) of the interior...and when I got to the carpets, I was left with not much more than dust as it disintegrated in my hands! (sorry I didn't get a picture of that). The rear trunk mats are the rubber type, but was as brittle as plastic...need to find a good set of those somewhere. When removed...found the trunk in this condition...



..which was a pleasant surprise....most of the ones I've seen around our parts have significant rust in this area. The tank came out and will get cleaned in the latter stages of the project.

[1750GT]

...thankfully, most of that brown material in the trunk is not rust but the adhesive used to hold the rubber mats (the normal colour for that should be yellow) but this car must have been sitting in some pretty hot sun for a long time..in order to turn all the rubber and soft plastic into......well brittle plastic.....

.....drivers side of the car from rear to front. The exposure to the elements pretty much removed most of the enamel on the top side of the car, I sprayed some cheap red primer over it for the time being...




....original rockers...no filler to be seen ( or heard at all!).....so far so good! ......

[akitaman]

Rossano my friend! This is an excellent canvas which to start with.

[1750GT]

.....the passenger side from rear to front.....



....the top of this door has the most surface rust....kind of deep.....this must have been the side most exposed to the elements.....

[1750GT]

...seems like it to me as well Daron....of course there will be some unexpected challenges as well.....

[1750GT]

..this side looks not too bad.....but I'll have to pull the quarter panel off (which I'll get to later)......




...and now the ugly!....(OK the interior was pretty ugly as well)....but this was not expected at all. Seems like the car suffered a front end hit at some point in it's life. The front nose panel was replaced as was the right quarter but not the inner panels (the photo actually looks better than in real life). The rad closure panel was left off, and no paint was added to the inside of the new pieces. The battery tray has seen better days as well. This area I've already fixed with new pieces....(I'll post the repair later on)......




...the floors I was crossing my fingers and hoping that since the rockers and sills were in such great condition, that it too would be. But I'm guessing the windows were kept down for a while allowing rain to pour in and onto the carpets....you've all seen this before I'm sure......obviously I'll need to put in new rear floor sections.

[GTA ALFA]

Hi Rossano,

This is a perfect canidate for a nice restoration project. Nice to know we will soon see a nice 69 at our club events. If you need any assistance, support, etc, just let me know. Have fun and good luck!

[velocedoc]

Excellent choice! The car looks very solid and will make a great restoration project. Best of all it is that real pretty blue that we don't see to many of.