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1750 project!

10K views 58 replies 17 participants last post by  Lawso 
#1 ·
Hi all, I've been searching the forum for a few weeks now just trying to gather information and inspiration for a project I've just bought. It's a 1969 1750 GTV, it's been sat in a garage near me for nearly 30 years!!! And is in a sorry looking state. It's had 3 previous owners, has covered 68000 miles but has little history, only a few old receipts and mot's from the 1980's. It was painted red at quite an early stage of its life but was originally silver. It's going to need all the usual panels replaced; sills, A +B pillar repairs, rear quarter panel, rear + front panels, front wings, sure you get the picture. I'm an ex motor mechanic so I hope to do all mechanical work myself, body work I'm unsure, I've had some huge figures mentioned from proffesionals but after seeing some self restored projects on this forum I'm tempted to undertake it myself.? There is obviously a HUGE amount of info and more importantly advice available on here and I hope to make the most of it. That's it for now. Thanks.
 
#5 ·
I've not really done anything to it yet, its full of spares from a 2000gtv that came with it. The photos flatter it to be honest, I'll get some detailed pics eventually.
 

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#7 ·
There will be long periods between posts due to work, kids life etc!!! Oh and other cars!! I did manage to get the engine running the other day but until I get my garage organised properly that will be all for now. Then I'll get it up on stands, empty it of all the junk and properly assess it!
 
#8 ·
For a UK car thats not terrible! Some guys have very little metal to work with... Best of luck with the resto, and you are right, there is some great info on this forum. You also have some of the best specialists in your part of the world with Alfaholics, Classic Alfa, EB Spares, Highwood, Ian Ellis....
 
#9 ·
Strip down begins

Had a couple of hours spare yesterday so I removed all the carpets and seating from my car. Generally it's what I expected, floor pans are quite solid but patched here and there, sills rotted out, boot (trunk) floor totally rotted out, how it supported the spare wheel is beyond me!
 

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#12 ·
As a first restoration project ....you are about to undertake a massive one. But at least nowadays, almost every significant body panel and repair panel is available to you. These will save you hundreds of hours in fabrication time. I would suggest you take thousands of photos of every major teardown component that you remove from the car. The wiring, interior and mechanicals especially....it will be years before you get to the reassembly stage....those photos will be invaluable at that point. In my case 10 years has already passed and I am almost now ready to pop the engine back in. In any case..good luck with this project.
 
#14 ·
Hello, I am living in Japan and has been owning 1969 Sr.1 1750GTV RHD, same one as yours, for 30 years. I saw your pictures and guess it is not easy, but I think it is worth to make an effort because nowaday Sr.1 1750GTV with normal condition is very rare. I wish the success of your project.
My 1750GTV had slept in my friend's barn for 10 years because I was quite busy for my job and family, and from 2007 to 2010 I also repaired my 1750GTV by myself in order to drive again. In my case body panels and engine didn't have serious issues fortunately. But for other repairs there might be some helpful information. http://onboroalfa.blogspot.com/?m=1
Good luck!!!
Takeshi
 
#15 ·
I must admit to being a bit daunted but that is soon overcome with enthusiasm and excitement about starting this project! I'm hugely inspired by some of the restorations taken on by people on here who have no real motor trade experience at all so I think to myself "if they can do it so can I". I'm an ex motor mechanic by trade so I'm handy with tools etc, I can weld pretty good but I ain't ever done bodywork, one day it WILL be finished, hopefully sooner than later. Two weeks holiday start in two days so hopefully it will be completely stripped in that time. I'll post more pics along the way.
 
#16 ·
Given you are in the UK, I would have the car dipped and all paint/rust then primed. There are a few places in the Uk that do this for classic cars. Will make the resto faster and cleaner as you will be able to see exactly what is gone

Just my 2c
 
#18 ·
Best of luck. If you are in no rush and are prepared to learn as you go, you could end up with a nice car. I started down the path of restoring a similar basket case 1750 but the costs rapidly spiralled out of control, even though I thought I had a pretty realistic budget. But then I was not doing any of the work myself. I ended up doing what all people recommend to folks like me, pay for one that's already in good shape.

I suggest you join AROC UK and also get onto the Alfaowner forum in the "Classic Alfas" section (if you haven't already). Alfabb has the best technical advice for classic Alfas, but the UK forums may allow you to meet some folks in your area that would be willing to give you a bit of physical help and assistance. Get to some Alfa meets as well, always good for picking up tips and tricks and inspecting other cars.
 
#19 ·
Thanks for the advice so far, wise words about buying one already done, but I'll take my time and just tinker away.
Stripped a bit more this weekend, gearbox out, engine out, grill removed, more trim removed. One thing that has struck me is how much more awkward this car is to work on compared to my usual old Fords, VW's that I'm used to rebuilding, it's like they were built for small hands and fingers! Didn't find a lucky penny, but found a half penny, does that mean I'll only get half the luck?? Hope not!!
 

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#20 ·
Food for thought. Have you decided what you will do in terms of modifications, if any? It's worth bearing in mind that you have a Series 1 1750, which is generally viewed as one of the most desirable versions of the 105. Keeping it close to original spec will maximize its future value if that interests you at all.
 
#21 ·
NigelR, to be honest I'm not sure yet, I do like to make my cars original as possible,my Alfa has no real paper work though, just a few old mots and bill of sale to its second owner,also to get top value I'd think it would need to be restored by an Alfa specialist, which I'm not. That said I intend to do the job properly and I love the look of a standard 1750 s1 but right now I just want a solid, shiny, nice to drive car. So a long way to go before that? Oh... and I change my mind weekly about how I want it to end up!!?
 
#23 ·
So I would suggest keeping it original spec rather than putting on big wheels and modding it heavily, unless you want to take it on track a lot. You can always do that later if you want. These cars are great fun to drive in original spec.

Things that most people would consider (without major mods) would be electronic ingnition, suspension uprating (there are various handling kits) and a sports exhaust. There's lots of threads on here about the kind of mods people do.
 
#57 ·
I do not want to hijack this good thread but it relates some of my own thinking. I have an (close to) original GTV 1750 mk 1 from 1969. The one alteration I know of is that the original exhaust system has been changed for a newer and wider one in stainless steel, otherwise most parts seem to be from 1969. Suspension parts seem definitely be original as the car's handling is very soft and bordering to swaying at higher speeds. The motor and transmission have been served but not altered. The Weber 40 DCOEs seem completely original with their factory chokes and jetting still in place.

Questions: upgrading from original suspension to something firmer albeit not track/race specifications and upgrading the engine with mild fast road cams, slight porting of the head, modified valve springs and sport exhaust instead of original - would this be unwise as unmodified 1750 mk 1s are becoming rarer?

ps once again pardon for jumping into this thread
 
#24 ·
Just a little update for anyone interested, the car is pretty much stripped out now, I only have fuel/brake lines, floor mounted pedals, steering column/box (steering wheel puller arriving today) and the rear axle, actually the rear axle is pretty much out with only one trailing arm bolt seized into the bush sleeve so that’s keeping it connected to the car!! I’ll try some heat first then just cut the bolt if it comes to it. It’s all taken longer than expected with a few hours here and there but never a good full day on it,(kids on holidays so that has to take priority)
 

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#25 ·
Thought I would say hello as I started stripping my 1750 Mark 1 yesterday. I'm not a million miles away from you in West Yorkshire. One thing you might not realise is the Mark 1 has some unique bits and pieces so look after the bumpers, front lights and seats especially. They are special cars... which in turn makes the owners special too! :grin2:

An earlier poster mentioned dipping the shell. There's quite a lot of debate about this as a technique, so do your research before plunging in. There's a couple of experienced soda blasters near me so I'm going to go down that route. Well, I am once I've stripped it.

Good luck with it!

PS, your garage is far too tidy!
 
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