[zentoad]

Can anyone tell me the correct color for the airbox on a 1967 Duetto with weber carbs?
On the car in question it arrived painted a pale gold color , and the
"intake manifold/water jacket?" was painted the same... or plated?
I am not too concerned about concours originality, but I would like to get it close if possible.

Oh, and just want to say what a gold mine this website is to a new alfa owner. Thanks to all for sharing.

Tony

 

[Tifosi]

:waves to the new guy:

Dunno if it's of use, but there's a lot of nice pics in this thread that'll likely give you an idea.

Beyond that, I'd imagine that if it's aluminum it gets cleaned (mabe polished a bit) and left nekkind/uncoated, and if it's tinwork, it's either a shade of gloss gray (SPICA stuff) or gloss black (carb'd stuff), but I'm not a 'proven source' on that stuff so doublecheck please

Still, they're definitely not gold.

 

[zentoad]

Thanks for the link Tifosi,

Great thread. The airbox is cast aluminum like the first pic, but with a longer snout and a flat oval hose over top of the engine to the filter housing. I suspect that Nekid aluminum is probably the way to go. The filter housing is black of course.

The gold in question actually looks like it was some kind of a wash or semi transparent finish... odd.

 

[Tifosi]

Hmmm.....

Wonder if it was a fuel or oil leak that just stained/varnished the casting over time.

Gotta pic?

ghnl loves pics

 

[101/105guy]

Bare is beautiful !

Here is how they looked from new.

 

[GTD]

Tony
Yes, the entire air box and intake manifold are natural aluminum finish; two wing nuts w/wave washers. The filter canister is black but a chassis black. Not flat and not gloss black.

 

[Tifosi]

Making it a satin then?


I've only seen glossy, but then again I wasn't loking at original/concours stuff, but that which was trying to be sold 2nd hand (and likely painted up for appearance sake)

 

[peglegtom]

The Airbox is unpainted Aluminum

The airboxes on both of my Duettos are unpainted aluminum. If you want to clean them, you could either mechanically clean them (sand/grit/glass bead) or chemically clean them (Aluminum Navel Jelly). To keep that "as new" look, you could give it a clear coat of paint with a "rattle can" or similar.

 

[zentoad]

Thanks for all the info guys,

I just arrived at the same conclusion as Tifosi this morning... It appears that the gold coloring is discoloration/varnishing of silver paint or clear coat or just the bare aluminum(this last one seems unlilkely to me). It was a suprisingly consistent coloring, but after removing the manifold to replace the soft mounts, I found some evidence of the original finish that was not discolored...

So bare aluminum it is...

New question,
what is the purpose of the small vacuum line from the intake manifold to the top of the airbox?
the port on the intake manifold is blocked solid on mine, I don't have a valve in the larger hose as pictured here either.

 

[39cub]

Hey, 101/105Guy!

Are those period photos? From Alfa maybe? If so, what's the source and do you have more?





My August '65 production 105 GT had a semi-flat black painted filter canister. Not semi-gloss, but semi-flat (Krylon makes a very nice one). However, the strap that mounts the canister is gloss black.

If you want the bare aluminum look with a bit of corrosion protection, try glass bead blasting then a light coat of Seymour's Alumi Blast paint. It's barely distinguishable from freshly bead blasted cast aluminum.

(Seymour of Sycamore - Products) (All their paints are excellent.)

Good luck! Have fun!

Chuck

 

[101/105guy]

Period pictures ??

Well, Chuck.....
these are pictures I took recently of my Duetto after restoration. In fact, if you look carefully, some items are still not 100 % done.

I really like the original look and try to do the details like Alfa originally had them.

 

[lgbalfa]

wow looks like brand new. great job.

 

[39cub]

101/105guy,

You coulda fooled me! Excellent job. You even reverted to the Cavis green fuel lines and band-and-key clamps!

Very nice...

Is that a decal on your air filter canister, or silk screen (mine is screened)?

You need to show us more details!

Chuck

 

[101/105guy]

Thanks!

Here are some more pics......
All of the details were finished just in time for the Concorso Italiano.
The air cleaner has a reproduction decal. If you still have the original silk screened one, you are VERY lucky.
Also, the green Cavis spark wires have been changed to the correct small diameter ones.
Randy

 

[39cub]

Randy,

Yummy....

Chuck