1967 Sprint GT Restoration

[pathung]

This is actually Project #3, after my current unfinished Giulia Spider and the upcoming '59 Sprint vintage racer projects. But I figured it's never too early to start collecting information and finding parts. This is how people end up working on three projects at the same time, and never finishing any, I suppose. In any case, on with the GT's restoration.

I bought this dilapidated '67 that hails originally from Rome two years or so ago, with the intention of making it my vintage racer. Its very rusty body meant that it was cheap, and since it was destined to be a racer, I wouldn't have needed to spend too much money on it...; this logic worked till I changed my mind, and decided to build my '59 into the racer instead, leaving the GT with no clear future. Since then I've sold my two other 105s, and am missing the Bertone coupe badly - this has prompted me to bite the bullet and decide to restore the '67 into a nice street car, with some track car components thrown into the mix; after all, my set of Momo Vegas wouldn't look right on a Giulietta!

The engine currently runs, and things seem to work except the driver's side front brake sticks - it seems the pistons are rusted. This will be the first thing to be fixed before my being able to drive the car more or less normally on the street. Redoing the totally-flat cushioned seats might also help me see over the steering wheel!

The car was originally painted "Bluette", but has since been "sprayed" white, barely - see pictures. I've decided to stay true to my theme of black Alfas, and will be painting the car black. Black cars are faster, you all know, I'm sure. Black will also be a dead-on match for the Momos, which have black-colored centers. The topic of color brings us to my first question for this restoration thread: what color interiors came with black GTs? I'm tempted to go red, though I'm sure black was probably the most prevalent interior color for a black car. Second question, does anyone have photos of black step-nosed GTs?

We'll stop here for now, and let you all enjoy the horrible photos below. And yes, those are worms in the trunk when we first pulled the car out from beneath some old-growth redwoods in a soggy part of Berkeley.

Wish me LOTS of luck!

[Chsmadden]

Wow, that car looks pretty far gone in terms of rust, hope you're handy with a welder . You're off to a good start with a running engine, is it carbs or SPICA? as for the stuck caliper, to minimally move it about (say, into the garage) you could just, for now, unbolt the caliper, hammer it off, then cut and crimp the line.

Good luck!

[nero]

A few years ago a very nice factory black gt junior was for sale it had a red interior and looked very nice with this colour combination, was on ebay i think. The blue would look interesting also, worms in the trunk freak me out, what are they eating alfa iron oxide.

[GTV Ham]

Red interior will look marvelous!

And yes, the Momo Vega's will find a purpose in life via the Sprint! It's all there more or less.

[pathung]

The car's complete, but plagued by shoddy body - enough for some people to part this car out, unfortunately. Well that won't happen under my care.

A red interior sounds good, but I'm not sure how well that'll match the brown of the faux-wood dash? Hence a photo would be nice.

The brake capliper's out of the car, but I want more than just to push it into the garage; I want to drive it! The caliper's apparently an ATE, the lettering of which are cast onto the caliper. Has anyone restored one of these, and which kit and from which supplier was used?

Thanks.

[lowmileage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathung The car's complete, but plagued by shoddy body - enough for some people to part this car out, unfortunately. Well that won't happen under my care.

[Bill S]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathung The caliper's apparently an ATE, the lettering of which are cast onto the caliper. Has anyone restored one of these, and which kit and from which supplier was used?

[alfajay1]

As Chris Madden wrote "Wow, that car looks pretty far gone in terms of rust"

Restoring a car in this condition into a "nice street car", especially one that's painted black (which highlights every body flaw - the PO painted this thing white for a reason) is AMBITIOUS. My advice would be to strip off the trim and mechanicals, have it media blasted, see what you really have, and then decide how to best proceed.

I know there is some pride involved in saving another one from the crusher, but keep in mind that either that body, or your bank account, is gonna get crushed. Judging from your pictures, I am guessing that it would be far cheaper and quicker to start with a less rusted, less banged up body.

[Mikes4C1300]

Geez, Pat. You're a stronger man than I. Three restorations in the que and a new baby to boot. I'd have to say your life is planned out!

Best,

Mike Hollinger
Atlanta

[pathung]

Great advice, all. I might wimp out eventually, but I figure that the money's not spent all at once, but over a number of years, so the pain would be more bearable. I'll take it real slow, one component at a time. I think that the satisfaction gained by bringing a car back from the "really" dead will be worth the cost.

Well, let's try to quantify things a little here - everything works well enough except the body and upholstery. To repair and paint the body to a "driver" level, I'll budget $10K; to refurbish the interior, $3.5K; few other mechanical things here and there will require another $5K; all this brings me to $18K. I think that's acceptable for a street-quality restoration. A good driver can be had for $15K, but spending another $3K to $5K for the fun involved in restoration seems worthwhile.

Mike, you've pretty much covered it! These are all the classic Alfas that I've been meaning to collect, so I'd better make the restorations last a lifetime. Actually, I'm waiting for a 105 Ti to follow me home one day, so that'd be project #4.

Anyway, we'll start with rebuilding the brake calipers.

[alfaholico]

Any spares for the grill pieces outboard of the headlights (the small sections)?

[alfa2go]

Here is a black stepfront junior

[pathung]

Thanks, Derek, that's exactly the car that I remember seeing on these pages, and there's that red interior with brown dash... hmmm.

[nero]

Yes thats the black car i remeber, i think its a stunning colour combo. Also saw a 74 that was black with a tobbaco colour interior that looked very good.

[Alfajay]

Pathung had written: "To repair and paint the body to a "driver" level, I'll budget $10K; to refurbish the interior, $3.5K; few other mechanical things here and there will require another $5K; all this brings me to $18K"

Two comments on your budget:

$10K for body and paint seems light. I know, you just want a "street" level of work. But, if it's going to be painted black, the panels really need to be straight, which consumes hours. If the car has structural issues, that will add more time. And, the cost of materials is not insignificant - check the current price of automotive paint before assuming that $10K will do it.

Your item "few other mechanical things here and there" will probably exceed $5K. Once you add up tires, alignment, battery, belts, hoses, hardware, and all the other stuff you replace "while you're in there", it's amazing how much you can spend. I know that the car is running today, and that none of these items are expensive individually - but flip through the IAP and Centerline catalogs, and tally up all the $79 items that should be replaced while a car is apart - the total will amaze you (it sure amazed me!).