[jarrington]

Picked up the Super from Bill's storage unit today, and it's now sitting safely in my garage. The car has a bit of a murky past - apparently it was originally sold in Germany, spend a good bit of time in Maine, somehow has Alfa club stickers from New England and Northern California (?) and apparently hasn't been registered for the road since 1985.

One of the previous owners has removed the rocker panels and done a ton of prep work, removing surface rust, painting with a rust converter, etc. I believe I have a line on a place to do the welding and paint for me, so that might happen sooner rather than later. Once my wife is no longer embarassed to have it in our garage I'll start working on the mechanical bits.

Here are a few pics - the first four were when I went with Bill to look at it. Having the top down on the Spider was Bill's idea - it was WAY too cold that day. The last pic is from today, sitting in his new home next to his sister.

-Jason

 

[sono veL.O.ce]

You are in for soo much fun!

I love my Ti, it's the funnest thing ever.

What are you planning for mechanicals? rebuild whats there/drop in 2-liter/twinspark?

Looking forward to the progress.

 

[jarrington]

If you look back behind the Spider you can see my spare 2L (with Euro cams!) sitting on an engine stand, waiting patiently to be dropped in. It didn't come with a motor, but I may try to pick up a correct 1600 for originality's sake. Of course, the devil on my shoulder wants me to spend megabux on a full bore twinspark conversion, but I'll try to avoid that temptation until some time after I get it back on the road.

-Jason

 

[jarrington]

Quick question - is the Super as prone to rust around the windshield as the GTVs seem to be? I'm hoping to avoid having to remove the front and rear windows when I have the bodywork done.
-Jason

 

[Subtle]

Jason

It may be worth keeping in mind that engine size, such as 1300, or 1600 were arbitrarily designated by bureaucrats with taxation in mind. Not driver convenience.

2 L

 

[nochicken]

Quick question - is the Super as prone to rust around the windshield as the GTVs seem to be? I'm hoping to avoid having to remove the front and rear windows when I have the bodywork done.
-Jason

Jason,

My '66 had a fair amount of rust on the lower body but around the windows the metal was good. However, watch out under the cowl cover--that area there can have issues if water has stood there. On mine, we were able to clean it up and patch it here and there (it is hidden, so perfection was not required).

Regarding taking out the windows, I had planned on doing that with mine, replacing the seals and doing the headliner at the same time. However, due to logistics, time, and fear that the glass would be broken (either going in or going out), I did not do this. I ended up painting the headliner (it was structurally good, just dirty) and there is a separate thread with techniques, tips on that.

 

[jarrington]

Jason,

My '66 had a fair amount of rust on the lower body but around the windows the metal was good. However, watch out under the cowl cover--that area there can have issues if water has stood there. On mine, we were able to clean it up and patch it here and there (it is hidden, so perfection was not required).

Regarding taking out the windows, I had planned on doing that with mine, replacing the seals and doing the headliner at the same time. However, due to logistics, time, and fear that the glass would be broken (either going in or going out), I did not do this. I ended up painting the headliner (it was structurally good, just dirty) and there is a separate thread with techniques, tips on that.

Great, that's kind of what I was hoping, since I have the same worries about the glass and seals. My headliner is discolored and has one repairable rip, so I was planning on trying to salvage it.

-Jason

 

[rogerspeed]

I'll second the optimism about windsheild, and caution about, valence rust. The GTV's and Berlina's more prone to rust had the glue-in windsheilds. That said, the seals do dry out and allow water in, I've never had a problem changing the rubber seal widsheilds, the glue-in are the nightmere. Good luck with the car, a 2 liter will be plenty of fun. And subtly off topic, what about those bureaucrats with their arbitrary matching 15" wheels, time zones and train schedules!

 

[jarrington]

zoooooooooooooom.... What the...

(as Roger's last comment goes completely over my head....)



Oh, and the Super does have one 15" wheel, so there...

-Jason

 

[rogerspeed]

zoooooooooooooom.... What the...

(as Roger's last comment goes completely over my head....)



Oh, and the Super does have one 15" wheel, so there...

-Jason

Sorry, my last comment was intended as a gentle humorous response to Subtle's unsubstantuated politically motivated comment.

 

[Subtle]

When Road & Track was being published with "35 cents the copy" on the cover, there were many mentions of the European designation of taxes on the purchase price of a new car -- according to engine displacement.

When Alfa was selling high-priced cars for performance, they had no regard for such arbitrary notions. Also wealthy purchasers had no regard for the taxes based upon engine size. The bigger the engine-the higher the tax.

Then when Alfa started making cars for a price-conscious market they had a regard for displacement.

I'm just a humble historian on this one, and the point was why should an enthusiast today be constrained by the arbitrary decisions prevailing in the 1950s?

 

[rogerspeed]

When Road & Track was being published with "35 cents the copy" on the cover, there were many mentions of the European designation of taxes on the purchase price of a new car -- according to engine displacement.

When Alfa was selling high-priced cars for performance, they had no regard for such arbitrary notions. Also wealthy purchasers had no regard for the taxes based upon engine size. The bigger the engine-the higher the tax.

Then when Alfa started making cars for a price-conscious market they had a regard for displacement.

I'm just a humble historian on this one, and the point was why should an enthusiast today be constrained by the arbitrary decisions prevailing in the 1950s?

As a historian, do you realize that using the origninal engine conserves history better than a non-stock engine? Your comment infered ALFA engine size was an arbitrary decision of faceless bureacrats. BTW - Is it any more arbitray to tax based on weight, cost, displacement? It is interesting to note the original Guilietta was to be a 750cc, hence the designation 750, The Alfa's of the historic period we all know and love were designed and built by a state owned enterprise. Taxes on car by engine size displacement was used in most of western europe, almost all of western europe, as now, was democratic, with representational government. Interestingly the Pricinpalities such as Monaco, which might have more customers for the high end Alfa's, were non-democratic and would have been adminstered by arbitrary dictat.

 

[jarrington]

On the way to the body shop

The car is now at the body shop to have new inner and outer rockers, doglegs, rear corners, and lower front fenders installed. They're also going to strip and paint the entire car in the original Verde Muschio, including the engine compartment, door jambs, insides of the doors, and trunk compartment. We'll see how long it takes them to get it done, but it sounds like there's a good chance that I'll be able to go get it in late January / early February.

I removed "almost" all the chrome. I left the front and rear windshields intact as I said I would. The piece along the drain channel was a major pain. I tried removing that and despite my best efforts it started to bend, so I gave up and put it back on. I tweaked it pretty good, too. Not happy about that.

Here's a pic of my massively capable towing rig. It actually did a pretty good job - of course, the Super is only a shell with a rear axle right now, so it doesn't weigh much.

-Jason

 

[101/105guy]

Looking good!!!
Now....
Here's your goal !

 

[jarrington]

That car's so beautiful it makes me want to cry. If I didn't already have a new carpet set and decent door panels I'd seriously think about switching over to red interior.

Anybody have a good shot of the stock battery location? I need to let the guys know where to tack it back in.

-Jason

 

[JOEBMW]

More pics of the green giulia!!!

 

[nochicken]

Battery

Not sure if the attached photos will help (as the battery is in the way)...it may give you some reference to where the tray goes. Good luck with the project!

 

[sprintgtc]

Jason,
You might want to consider moving the battery to the trunk. I fits nicely to the right of the spare tire well. (and you can still get a regular sized spare in and out). Also with a 2L motor, it is much easier to change and/or check the oil. I moved mine (notice the battery is missing in the pic of my engine on the previous page, thanks Randy ).

I'm not near the car now, but if you'd like, I can take a few pics of the battery install later in the week.

 

[101/105guy]

Mike, your Super is my personal favorite sedan! Just wonderful!
Anyone restoring one would do well to reach for your level of excelence.
Randy

 

[jarrington]

Ditto to what Randy said. Mike, I'd love to see as many pics of your car as you're willing to send, including the battery setup. Some hints on sources for upholstery, etc. would be great as well.

Frank, thanks for the battery tray pics. They help a lot.

Thanks,
Jason