I have the front suspension of my 6C 2500SS completely apart for restoration. I wish to have the front suspension coil/shock units rebuilt. Does anyone know an expert shop that can take these suspension units apart and rebuild them?
My restoration shop does not want to learn how to work on them using my parts as subjects.
I got a pair of 6C2500 suspension units in dismaying condition–totally apart, with a broken spring and many missing parts. I sent them to the Bankos in Australia and got them back looking utterly gorgeous (see picture), with lots of detail info (about hardening and grinding of the races, etc.) giving me great confidence that they were done completely right. They (actually Damien’s father) had done this job several times before, so he knew all about it. I paid for the job by sending him my leftover parts, which you’re also in a position to do. It’s a course of action I highly recommend.
The only glitch was sending them out using a totally incompetent shipping agent, who I found online here. Return of the restored suspension, and shipping of my spares to Australia, was handled by their excellent guy, Michael Nelson. It was much cheaper, and no hassles. Ask them to arrange the shipping and you’ll be fine. Multiple huge crates at hundreds of pounds each (engine, rear end assembly, etc.) cost, in all, some $1500 or so to ship there.
I hope this works out as well for you as it has for me.
Thanks Paul. I have had some discussion with Damien Banko already. Your suggestion sounds like a good one. I do not wish to send the entire suspension unit over there because it is already being restored by a local shop. However the coil shock units need an experienced expert. I hope to pick them up for shipping next week.
Hi Fred, Great minds think alike. It seems as if you're heading in the right direction. I hope your local shop understands the complexities of restoring the trailing arm bearings. Getting the correct needles, and making properly hardened and ground races, were huge challenges even for the Bankos. Of course, if you're lucky, all you'll need is to have the units disassembled, cleaned, etc. If you make or find some rubber rings that fit as seals, please let me know. I didn't do a great job with that on my first car.
I might have some new bearing races if you need them.
Paul
My restoration shop is Alan Taylor Inc. They do nothing but high end exotics like Bugatti, Alfa, Rolls Royce, etc. Their mechanic Herb has over a half a century of experience working on cars like this and he is well into the job. He just didn't want to tackle the hydraulic suspension pots because he thought I could get the job done at lesser cost from a specialist. He envisioned having to make special tools, which adds a lot of labor. I will let you know if there are issues we have trouble with.
By the way, do you know what the original finish was on the suspension? I assume paint but every car I look at seems to be different. Your photo shows grey. I have black on my spare suspension units. The cast aluminum pots have been bare aluminum on some cars I have seen.
The Bankos painted them gray, which looks wonderful and I've seen on some cars. But I'm just working on an untouched original chassis which was certainly black to begin with. So I dunno. Maybe the frame and suspension are different. Or something. Advice sought from concours competitors who have done serious research on the matter.
I'm talking about the trailing arms. The aluminum pots are always aluminum-silvery.
Oh, another thing: I made a good repro boot for the upper arm, that goes over the pot, for my first car, and have the material and, I hope, the original pattern, for more. When I get to this on my second car you should copy what I've got.
The Banko Family are eager to acknowledge all the positives created and the good will of Mr Wilson.
It is still not clear to us what promoted him to find someone on the opposite side of the world to trust that would for fill his Alfa Romeo needs.
We have never personally met and we are very thankful that he found us.
We will try our best not to disappoint.
My father is willing to share his Alfa Romeo knowledge and he's happy to meet people who appreciate his high quality output.
Many thanks to you both.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Alfa Romeo Forums
2.1M posts
88.6K members
Since 2002
A forum community dedicated to Alfa Romeo owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, parts, modifications, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!