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My '72 Super is going under the knife

41K views 154 replies 36 participants last post by  autofair 
#1 · (Edited)
When I bought my Super a couple of months ago, I had originally planned to take care of the existing rust issues this coming winter, but have decided to start the project now. I have chosen a body shop that has done quit a few Alfa's, and I like their work. They estimate it will take a couple of months. I started removing things like the lights, door handles, and chrome stuff that I don't want painted, besides, it saves a little on the labor at the body shop. We will be replacing the rockers on both sides, the floors on both sides, front and back, the trunk floor, lower door skins on the drivers side (left), the lower portion of the A-pilar on the drivers side, as well as the surface issues on the rest of the car. A complete repaint will also be done in the same color the car is now. I am also going to take this opportunity to install a roll bar, if not an entire cage, I've not thought a lot about that yet. The main reason I've decided to do this now is that I have acquired a parts car that has all the body pieces I need for less than it would cost to order replacement parts from Europe and have them shipped to the States, and the body shop can cut out what they need, instead of me possibly ordering the wrong parts. Plus I'll have extra parts that I will be able to keep for later. I'm leaving bright and early tomorrow morning with a trailer for a drive to pickup my parts car.

If I still have the Super in 4 or 5 years, I might do a complete restoration, but for now the partial will have to do. I'll try to take progress pictures along the way, as I plan to go the body shop every Saturday until the project is complete.

Wish me luck.
 
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#2 ·
So where are you travelling to pick up the (rustfree, I assume) parts car?

Best of luck with the project!

Jes
 
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#6 · (Edited)
"The saga continues...."

A week later than planned, I "FINALLY" got home. After loading up the car in Anacortes,WA. at the home of George Willet, and thanks again for your hospitality George, I headed south. Since I had only exchanged emails and phone calls with Daron Walker at Vintage Customs in Auburn, WA., I thought I'd stop and meet him and his crew. Somewhere close to Daron's shop in Auburn, the transmission in the truck decided to take a dump. There was a trail of fluid down the parking area and a puddle under the truck when he came out to meet me as I pulled up. We proceeded to unhook the trailer, and Jay lead me over to the Auburn Ford dealer. After spending the afternoon there it was determined that a snap ring that holds a clutch pack together had broken and thrown a few piece through the case, and that the clutch pack was coming apart. Because the original warranty had expired, and the extended one was in place, they had to wait until an inspector came to look at everything before anything could be done. Well, after waiting for 6 days and paying a $50 deductible, I got the truck back and headed home Thursday morning. During this time, Jay took the car and trailer to has house which they said would be safer than leaving it out back at the shop, and I spent a vary long weekend at an uncle's house in Port Orchard.

I'd like to take a moment to thank Daron and the guys at Vintage Customs for their help in my time of need. If you ever find yourself in the Northwest, stop by their shop, they're a nice bunch of people.

I've attach a couple of pictures of the car I got from George, and like I said in my 1st post, all of the parts I need are undamaged.

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As a point of interest, if there are any of you hoping I might be selling anything off of this parts car, there's nothing to sell, as I only got the body shell. All of the mechanical stuff had been removed. I will however let everyone know if there are any useful body parts left after I salvage what I need.
 

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#9 ·
Update: 4-15-2008

I've spent a few minutes here and there over the past couple of weeks removing all of the chrome, the lights, and the interior, in preparations for my Supers "rustectomy". I've labeled the holes that I want to have filled because I'm not putting a few things back on the car. Well, this past Sunday I loaded the car in the trailer (there were people around to help push it in), and then this morning I delivered it to the body shop. So now if they can stick to the estimate (time wise) I'll get the car back in about 2 months (I hope).
 

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#10 ·
Saturday Update #1

Since it's a 55 mile drive one-way to the Body shop, I'll only be able to check it's progress on Saturdays. During the week Anthony and Santo (Santo's Italian Car Service) will keep an eye on the progress, as the body shop is close by and they have a couple other car in there.

Well, todays update is: There's no update. They haven't started on it yet, but it is closer to going into the shop than it was when I dropped it off last Tuesday.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Saturday Update #2

Well, the body shop has only been able to finish the removal of the interior stuff I couldn't finish. They plan to start the body work on Monday, so next weeks update should be more revealing. Anyway, I took these pictures today of what was uncover. I knew the hole was in the drivers foot well, but it didn't look as big from the bottom. I was unable to get to the right side of the car to get a picture of the driver side inner rocker, but here's the passenger side, and it's in far better shape. If I only had the option to replace one side, I'd leave the passenger side, I'm glad I don't actually have to make such a decision, both get replaced.
 

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#12 ·
...I knew the hole was in the the drivers foot well, but it didn't look as big from the bottom...

Gifford, it's a good thing you are getting the "Fred Flintstone braking access hole" fixed. Otherwise, the AROSC tech inspectors might think it a "brake upgrade" and bump you up a class :rolleyes:
 
#13 ·
Also, the car would be "under weight" for your class ;^) ! So much less road hugging weight.
I'm about to start the rockers on my Super. Going to do a home workshop job. Will post some pics as it gets going.
Randy
 
#14 ·
Saturday Update #3

Well, a lot of progress in just a week. My baby is still in intensive care, but stable. When they started into it,, there was much more rust then was known to any of us. There was rust forming on the edge of the roof just above the left side drip rail, the drivers side rocker panel was toast, the rust in the floors was starting to migrate into the drive shaft tunnel, etc. So it was decided to transplant everything from the base of the firewall back from the parts car into my Super. There is no rust at all on the car I got from George, and the only part not usable is the right rear quarter panel, and the right side doors, and the other little bit of damage can be straightened. Here's some pictures from today, and the last two in the second set are what is left of the back half of the '72:
 

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#16 ·
Great progress!

So, which car do you end up with? ;) Mostly a philosophical question I suppose.

Jes
 
#17 · (Edited)
Jes,

I suppose it's still a '72, since we kept the firewall, and that's where the VIN plate is. But I still thinks about a song by Johnny Cash "One Piece at a Time" where he sneaks parts out of an auto plant over the space of about 20 years and at the end of the song when he give a description of the car he built.

Have a listen: Johnny Cash - Jango Music
 
#20 ·
There's that, and a few other things that still need to be transfered over. Things such as the mounts in the trunk for my electric fuel pump, the remote battery tray in the trunk, and the seat mounting points for the front seats. And I'm sure other thing will be forgotten, but they can be taken care of later.
 
#21 ·
Saturday Update #4

A little more progress was made this week, and guess what, more rust was found. The passenger side front door was found to have a rust issue above the upper hinge, and just under the vent window, so they have repaired the damage to the front door I got on the car from George, and will be using that. The last good part from my '72, the right rear fender, has been move to the damaged section of what was the parts car. The spare tire well has also been repaired and is once again round (no picture). I have also acquired a set of seat from a '67 GTV, they'll provide a lot more side support in high speed corners than the original seat did. The body shop said it might be only 2 more weeks until they are done. That would be nice, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

No since in waiting, so today I took the new seats, the door panels, and the rear shelf to the upholsterer to be redone, the back seat is not going back into the car because with the roll cage in there, it won't fit. Well, here are some pictures from todays visit:
 

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#22 ·
Regarding door repairs

Hi GEH 458
Looking good on the prep.
Can I ask where you are getting the small channel that retains the rubber seal around the door, as obviously yours is now missing ?? I wasn't able to find any in the UK when I did my refurb.
Ta Stuart
The passenger side front door was found to have a rust issue above the upper hinge, and just under the vent window, so they have repaired the damage to the front door I got on the car from George, and will be using that. :
 
#23 ·
Hi,

I am not sure, the body shop is taking care of most of the details. But I assume that it's intact on the replacement door, but I'll know more when I go check on progress this Saturday, I'll let you know.
 
#24 ·
The seal channels (a spot-welded-on U-shaped channel) are commonly rusted away on the bottom of the doors that aren't in good condition. If they aren't present, there's nothing to hold the seal in place and they'll flop around and foul when closing the door. Best to check before installing the doors on the car.

Andrew
 
#26 ·
Saturday Update #6

Again, another week with out any progress. One plus however this week, I picked up my new wheels today. I bought 8 Panasport 14x7, 4 of them for the street tires, and 4 for the track tires. I'll post a picture once I choose a proper tire.
 
#27 ·
Again, another week with out any progress. One plus however this week, I picked up my new wheels today. I bought 8 Panasport 14x7, 4 of them for the street tires, and 4 for the track tires. I'll post a picture once I choose a proper tire.
What offset did you get, and where did you source them? From what I understand it's not easy getting anything wider than a 6" to fit under a Super.

-Jason
 
#30 ·
hmm.. lots of work

Hi and sorry to bust in on your thread with such brazen opportunism but I have a Guilia Super (sold 1970 build 1969) that I want to sell. Actually I do not 'want' to sell it at all but the car is in Adelaide South Australia and I live in Indonesia.
I have to sell it because to go on keeping it is unrealistic.
I can empathise with the work involved in your project as I did all this with mine many years ago. Fortunately though I was dealing with a much much younger car though and the rust was quite minimal rather than being of the seriously invasive nature depicted in your shots. OMG, those floor panels, and I wonder how the flasher repeater mounting holes acquired that ragged hole...
I have been storing it for many years at shocking cost and I have to just accept the reality that the chances of me ever getting to have the sort of fun with it that I fondly recall having in years past are now possibly just never going to happen.
It has been in a storage centre for nearly 10 years and I as I am in australia at the minute (sydney) I am thinking this is a good time to do something about it. It was the last Guilia Super sold in Adelaide and my family bought it from the Adelaide Alfa dealer where it had been returned with minimal miles on the clock because the original purchaser had changed his mind and wanted a Berlina (yes...odd decision I think). I took it over in the late 70's and did a full strip to bare metal shell and 2 pack re-spray a few years later.
It is the model with a single brake booster and has the under dash handbrake location.
When the restore was finished it was a better paint job than when new and actually looked better than when I first sighted it in the dealers showroom in 1970.
A handful of the subtly later model with 2 brake boosters and a floor mounted hand brake were sold subsequently to this one in Sydney and they were the last sold in Australia as far as I know. Mine was definitely the last sold in Adelaide though.
I rebuilt the engine and took care of a lot of small issues that had accumulated over time and the vehicle was returned to use in 'as new' condition.
It was subsequently re-furbished a couple of times as I always kept it in near concourse condition despite daily use.
In the late nineties a bit of rust popped up despite all the fish oiling, underbody and the cavity protection spraying done when it was stripped down prior to the original repaint.
By that time it also needed an engine overhaul to keep it in top condition.
That work was all done in Sydney were I was living at the time.
Shortly after I returned to South Australia but a con-rod bearing failed on the engine a few miles from my final destination. At this time I was still running it in. I was seriously disappointed.
I had done the trip between Adelaide-Melbourne and Adelaide-Sydney more times than I can remember with only a head gasket problem and a broken windscreen ever causing problems.
A problem like a failed bearing after using genuine alfa parts out of the box and a full crank balance and journal polishing was a sad moment.
The car sat in the shed at the back of my restaurant in the Clare Valley for over a year and then I got sick of not being able to use it and eventually took it to Adelaide for Repair.
The engine had another full rebuild this time by Luigi Amori of Italservice Adelaide. By coincidence he was the mechanic who serviced it when new and that was when I first made his acquaintance. I recall his spirited test drives through the adelaide hills after scheduled services when the car was new. Guilia's were very fast cars in their day and I do not recall anyone ever overtaking... ever .... I also recall they attracted higher insurance premiums as other road users had a habit of running into the back of them as they also out-braked anything else normally encountered on the road.
This car is really quite stunning. It has quite low milage (I forget how many-maybe 70-80,000), it looks great, and the 'new' engine has not even been run in yet having done only 'proving' miles.
It got put into storage before I even got to have any fun with it.
The interior is in very good condition (basically looks like a 6 month old car) and even has the original carpets. (I always used floor mats to protect them). The only significant modification is it has a Bose stereo system built into it. The only other mods are re-rated rear springs, Koni shocks and mag wheels, an alfa original sump guard, a small nudge bar (unboltable) with driving lights mounted to it and a radiator overflow (header) tank as the original specification did not have this feature. The Headlights were replaced with Cibee's rather than the original italian issue as the french lights were much better and I used to travel a lot at night at ridiculously high speeds.
I think it still has a mid-nineties era alarm system in it as an annoying insurer insisted on my fitting it.
It is a very serious car and has enormous potential for an enthusiast or collector. It is highly suitable for vigourous daily use and has a lot of potential as it has spent so little of it's life on the road.
I do not imagine there would be another Guilia like this anywhere in the world unless someone somewhere stuck one in a museum or something similar when it was only a few years old.
There are very few in europe I guess because of the old habit of spraying salt on the roads in winter.
I am sure any owner of an early model alfa will readily understand the implications of that practice.
I saw a couple in new zealand years ago and I also saw one in Jakarta Indonesia sitting on the side of the road back in the early nineties.
I heard a story the Italian Ambassador brought it in years back but it might have just been a story.
From looking around the web it appears they are getting pretty thin on the ground now.

My Guilia Super is a 38 year old car now but it has certainly spent only about half of that on the road as my family stored it for about five years before I bought it from them and I have stored the thing for more than half of the rest of its life.
It has also scarcely seen the road since 1991.
I always cared for it very well and always garaged it and I guess that is why it still presents like a near new car.
It still has the original engine (1600 of course) with the standard Webers.
The engine tune is standard.
I have the adapter for the Alfa oil cooler (GTA) but never got around to buying the cooling element and hoses.
I also have the adapter for the later 'canister' type oil filter but it is not yet fitted as the 'insert' filter was still available when the car was last on the road (I bought the last one in stock in adelaide at the time).
It is white with a black interior and has dark grey carpets.
If you know of someone who would like to buy it please let me know or pass on my details.
I am sure not everyone has the time/inclination/ability/patience to do a restore-rebuild like you are doing and may be interested in buying one that does not need it and is ready to go.
It is currently sitting on blocks with oil in the sump, no battery and a dry cooling system (I drained it of course when I put it into storage).
I can be contacted on +61428210585 or emailed at felix505@optusnet.com.au

Hope your rebuild goes well, please email me a shot when you are done.
Is it going to be a red car or a white one?
 
#31 ·
....Hope your rebuild goes well, please email me a shot when you are done.
Is it going to be a red car or a white one?
Hi,

My car when finished, will be white, and I'll post pictures here for all to see when I'm done. As for your car, there aren't many people following this thread, so you might want to post a thread in the forsale forum and/or the Australian forum if you are actually trying to sell it.
 
#32 ·
Saturday Update #7

Unfortunately, another week has gone by with no visible progress. In fact it seems that they have taken a step or two backward, as my car has been moved off to one side of the yard. I talked to boss at the shop and he tells me they will have it finished by next Saturday. I don't see it, as it appears to me that there's a lot work left, but I suppose miracles can happen.
 
#34 ·
Saturday Update #8

Well, some progress was made this week. More of the welding of patch panel from my parts car were completed, as well as the filling of holes for thing that won't be reused, like the front side marker lights. The floor mounted handbrake from the '72 was added to the tunnel of the '67 floor transplant. The process of rolling the rear fenders for the wider wheels was also started. Here's a few pictures taken today:
 

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