[Berlinista]

Well. here goes.
Some time ago I uncovered a '70 1750 Berlina that had been hibernating in a leaking barn for 34 years. The roof had leaked. Fortunately it hadn't leaked rain but tar. And fortunately the car had been put away with the doors shut. It had overmats over the mousehair carpeting, and in the trunk were the manuals, books, and sales brochure.
1 original owner, original dutch car.
So here goes:

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc496/berlinista/berlina 1750 barnfind/021.jpg

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc496/berlinista/berlina 1750 barnfind/019.jpg

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc496/berlinista/berlina 1750 barnfind/016-1.jpg

 

[Berlinista]

so much for photobucket.
I'll try again. Tinypic is SOOOOO slow in uploading.

 

[Berlinista]

Hm, this is better than on the first posting. again!

 

[Berlinista]

I've purchased the car for a friend of mine, who wants it restored and will be posting on his own website soon.

Brakes are dragging, engine turns freely, carbs are clean now.
I haven't got a spark but the original steel Bosch ignition is out, I've new cables, plugs etc. Fresh fuel hoses and an auxiliary tank should see it run tomorrow. After sitting still since '77. I've checked the oil, old but pretty fresh, so I'll be running it on that, warm it up and flush the oil.
I've got oil pressure and it all looks good. Body is tight with very minor rust, interior is great bar 2 small spots that can be repaired on drivers seat. Factory paint, albeit with a little too much patina. Totally original down to the last hose clip and green Pirelli fuel lines.

We washed the car down and removed all the hardened tar from the roof and hood with a plastic spatula.

Of course, EVERYTHING needs restoring, but heck, this is one great base car for that.

Rik

 

[Bill S]

Man, 34 years! I thought mine had been sitting a long time at 18. You might want to drain the oil before trying to crank it. When I drained mine, a pint or so of clear water dumped into the pan before I saw any oil. It must have been from years of condensation because there were no liner or head leaks when I did a pressure test on the cooling system. If I had tried to start it I would have had an engine being lubricated with water and brown sludge and might not have the nice running engine I now have. You could always pull the drain plug and if you see nothing but oil coming out, put it back in and run it as planned. Just a thought. I look forward to the resto thread and seeing more "time capsule" pictures.

 

[alfa2go]

Nice Berlina! I love those Marchals too, also used on the Ferrari 250GTO amongst others. I am thinking of undermounting them on my Super bumper like the Polizia used to.

 

[Berlinista]

I'll be taking some pictures of the washed car soon. It really IS a time capsule. It even has that smell inside...

 

[jasparon]

Hi Rik very nice, the mine is also from 70! A lot of succes!

 

[Berlinista]

Hey presto!

it runs! turns out it didn't have a spark. Might be why they put it away all those years ago. Changed everything, plugs, coil, distributor etc ( swapped for an electronic one I had around) , gave it oil pressure on the counter, and vroappp! it ran, and like a beaut! No fiddling, just ran perfect, no noise, no valves, no smoke... (just lots of rust blowing out of the exhaust)
I'll warm it up this weekend and change the oil. It has 7000 km on the odometer, so has probably run not more than 107000 km. Engine dry, no oil leaks, no water leaks. Everything works!
Rik

 

[Berlinista]

Of course, since this car will receive a concours resto, I;ll restore the original ignition, a cast iron Bosch.(points didn't open, grotty, oxidized,condenser U/S) Use original small green plug wires etc..

 

[ZZ_jr]

unique find Rik and good to see that again a Berlina comes back on the road!

The car survived thanks to a dry garage and the Dinitrol treatment.

I will stop by soon to have look and some talk.

rgds,
Frank

 

[tdskip]

Nice find!

 

[hagen111]

Such a cool discovery! And great project to follow from here, keep up the good work.

Since I came back from Boston this week, I will drop by to go and see it for real.

 

[alfabiscione]

my Berlina 1750 (1970) after 21 years in a barn ... and now..


Stph'

 

[berlinaman]

Hi Rik, looking forward to seeing your berlina cleaned up just like stphs before and after shots. Love to see some interior shots including the back seat arm rest arrangement as I think it is a little different than mine based on what I have seen from other Euro cars.
cheers
Tony

 

[tdskip]

Those before/after pictures are pretty amazing.

 

[ZZ_jr]

@ Alfabiscione;

what a lot of elbow crease can do!

very nice car and as it looks in good condition.

again a Berlina on the road.