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Hello everyone,
I thought some of you may like to share my journey as I restore my 1957 Sprint normale.
I bought it about 4 months ago from an old-fashioned car restoration workshop near where I live. I had been talking to the owner- a great bloke called David Cooper- who said "I've got an old Alfa round the back that is a wreck- take any parts you want from it". I went round and found the Sprint. It was in pretty bad condition- almost overgrown with brambles, no doors or bonnet, and had been sitting outside for about 15 years (see top photo). David had bought it as a parts car when he restored Nick Mason's (of Pink Floyd) Sprint, but as this was a 101 he didn't use too many parts. The car is unusual in that it had been converted to RHD by Ruddspeed. As far as I can make out, it was originally delivered in Milan in '57 (thanks to the Archivio) but then imported and re-registered in the UK in '58 (it has a '58 Bedford plate). I assume this is when the conversion was carried out. The car also has unusual rear seats- with a large front bolster like the one shown in the Nada book but with a more styled back. They were original- when I took them out the Bertone three digit number was chalked on the back.
I started to take parts from the car, but was amazed at how solid the body of the car was given its age and exposure to the elements. Eventually, I came up with the daft idea of restoring it and bought it from David for £50.
I thought some of you may like to share my journey as I restore my 1957 Sprint normale.
I bought it about 4 months ago from an old-fashioned car restoration workshop near where I live. I had been talking to the owner- a great bloke called David Cooper- who said "I've got an old Alfa round the back that is a wreck- take any parts you want from it". I went round and found the Sprint. It was in pretty bad condition- almost overgrown with brambles, no doors or bonnet, and had been sitting outside for about 15 years (see top photo). David had bought it as a parts car when he restored Nick Mason's (of Pink Floyd) Sprint, but as this was a 101 he didn't use too many parts. The car is unusual in that it had been converted to RHD by Ruddspeed. As far as I can make out, it was originally delivered in Milan in '57 (thanks to the Archivio) but then imported and re-registered in the UK in '58 (it has a '58 Bedford plate). I assume this is when the conversion was carried out. The car also has unusual rear seats- with a large front bolster like the one shown in the Nada book but with a more styled back. They were original- when I took them out the Bertone three digit number was chalked on the back.
I started to take parts from the car, but was amazed at how solid the body of the car was given its age and exposure to the elements. Eventually, I came up with the daft idea of restoring it and bought it from David for £50.
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