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Painting 6C 2500 Villa d'Este from 1951

4K views 25 replies 6 participants last post by  AlfredBauer 
#1 ·
Hello,
I have to paint my alfa 2500 Villa d'Este (1951).
The interior is in brown leather.
can you help me to choose the colors of the different elements
Body : Metallic gray Ref: ?
Chassis: Gray ? Ref: ?
Engine compartment: Gray ? Ref: ?
Inside engine cover: ? Ref: ?
Engine : Black
Gearbox : ?
After deck ?
Brake drum ? Ref: ?
Suspension arms ? Ref: ?
Shock absorbers ? Ref: ?
Steering column ? Ref: ?
Steering box ? Ref: ?

Please excuse me for my english.
Tank you for your help.
 
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#2 ·
Dear Senmartin,

I cannot help you with the outside colour, but I might be able to help with suspension, chassis etc.
As far as I see it, the prewar 6Cs were simply gray on chassis and axle parts without a green hue to it. The later ones uo until approx 1948 and later had a greenish-grey engine bay axles and steering. After mixing the colour ourself on the first car, we later found that RAL 7033 "cement gray" is a lively green-gray which matches the original colour best. I have compared it with original chassis parts that had not been exposed to light (like on the steering box side which faces the chassis) and it looked pretty much the same if you choose a semi-gloss or silk mat finish. We have used this colour on approx 13 6C 2500 so far.

It seems that during the last years of production, more and more chassis were simply painted black, and on a Villa d´Este I think this should definitely be the case. This refers to chassis, axles and steering colloumn. Also on many VdEs, the engine bay is no longer green-gray, but some kind of sand-beige instead. I think Ermanno Keler´s #915884 is certailnly a valuable reference if it comes to originality.

Gearboxes are normally unpainted and just glass-blasted to get the correct dull finish without making it to dark of a grey or too shiny. Brake drums are also unpainted with the balancing weights (the riveted plates) in chassis colour or unpainted.

As to the shock absorbers, I think you are talking about the damper units on the front axle, not the ones on the rear. The dampers were unpainted on earlier models, but should definitely be black on a VdE. I hope you have the larger diameter, original dampers with only one large spring inside.

This is what I have seen on 6Cs so far. Wonder what the others think of it.
 
#8 ·
Hello,
My car is N ° 915901 with big shock absorbers D: 114 mm.
Currently the chassis looks like in the photo.
The Touring metal structure is welded to the chassis.
Can we paint the whole set in the same color?
Or should we paint in several colors?
-Engine compartment:.............Sand yellow..............RAL 1002
-Chassis:..................................Color........................RAL..........
-Metallic structure.....................Color........................RAL..........



Motor vehicle Vehicle Car Crash Tree


My car in 1960 ?
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Classic car Coupé
 
#10 ·
Dear Senmartin,

I compared the engine bay on our car, #915900 to a RAL colour fan, and it didn´t match up. This means nothing, of course, since our car has been completely restored from a relatively bad basis and therefore all paint is new. As far as I know, there are only two cars left in first paint, one of them being #915884 (but this is grey-green in the engine bay) and the other one one #915885 (but this one might have been restored in the meantime). Some of the remaining VdEs are polished aluminium on the bulkhead and gray or black on the sides, and at least three are sand beige. I do not know if there is a right or wrong. If you wish, I can match up our colour to get a definite colour code and then you compare with other owners. In any case, grey (RAL 7033) or sand beige definitely looks cleaner and more appealing than black or blank alloy.
 
#13 ·
On the 24th of April, there will be the next gathering of extant Villa d' Este cars, this time not at the Villa d' Este Hotel, but in Florence, which is also not an underdog location...In the past years, all owners were welcome, whether their car is finished or still in progress, which means they came without their car, but also received a warm welcome. Don´t you think of coming to compare the cars, meet the other owners and maybe discuss some of your uncertainties? A day in northern Italy is certainly not a case for Amnesty International, and if you try hard, you might be able to train and prepare yourself to be able to endure a day of luxury...;-)
 
#14 ·
Hello,
Thanks again for your advice and encouragement.
I went to the Hotel Villa d'Este rally in 2014.
I had taken a lot of photos but not enough.
I have very fond memories.
The cars and reception were of high quality.
I certainly can't go there this year.
I forgot to clean the hood that covers the gearbox.
It retains a shade fairly close to sand yellow in the hollow, the rest is black.
This therefore confirms what you have observed.
So I'm going to paint:
The chassis and the metallic structure in black: ....... RAL 9005
The engine wall in sand yellow: ........................... RAL 1002
The sides of the engine compartment: ............... ????

What do you think?
 

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#15 ·
Semmartin,
we are going to be a the Villa d'Este meeting in two and a half weeks. At first it was cancelled, due to Corona, but to my surprise it will now take place on the 27th of June. As far as I am informed, there will be 5-6 Villa d' Estes including our own plus several other 6C 2500s. I do not know whether you are in contact with the organiser or whether you would like to come at all, but in case you are in need of pictures of some specific details or would like to compare a few cars, I am offering to take some pictures for you. In case you are unsure about one detail or another, just let me know before the event. As far as I know from the past years, the event is also open to owners without their cars, in case they are unfinished. So, in case you need something, send me a PM
 
#16 ·
Hello Alfred,

Thank you for your help. I have been invited to Villa d'Este, but I cannot go this year and I very much regret it.
I don't think I need photos.
If one of the owners knows the reference of metallic gray paint I am interested.
I'm also looking for a way to install the windshield.
See drawing in 1, 4 and 5


Text Line Font Parallel Diagram
 
#17 ·
The questionable piece number ?5 is a wooden frame, which consits of several pieces and is most certainly individual for evey single car. I am in Bavaria right now to look after my parents, but Friday I will be back again and then I can send you pictures of the window frame from the inside and also of the partition of the two front screens insinde and out.
 
#18 ·
Here are some pictures of the understructure of the windshield and rear screen. The screens are glued in and then supported by the wooden frame pieces. As you can see, the woodwork has to be individually made for an exact fit. The wood is then covered by an aluminium profile which is also quite a job to adapt and align. Please note that there is also a second wooden frame below the rear perspex screen.
 

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#19 ·
Great documentation -- Thank you for sharing these pictures.
 
#20 ·
Thank you Tubut. I have thousands of pictures from various cars from the workshop, but of course I did not take specific shots of all possible details intentionally. It was just for documentation, and so I have to go through my pictures and see if I have accidentally photographed what somebody else is exactly looking for.
The inner window frame normally carries the last two digits of the body number. The frame looks quite simple, but to get it exactly right in its three-dimensional shape around the corners and without any gaps is really a tough job. I do not know how exact the fitting was back in 1949, but doing it properly for today's expectations is really taking days and not hours. Also aligning the dashboard to its elongation in the door trim (directly depending on the alignment of the inner window frame) is quite tedious. If you get the window frame wrong, the dashboard might sit too low and then you have a gap towards the door trim. These seemingly small things take a lot more time than installing large mechanical components.
The chrome trim between the two front screens is made from two pieces. An internal part and an external piece of trim, which looks chrome but I think it is polished aluminium, matching the window surround frame. I do not have proper pictures, but if you wish, I can take pictures and measure it by the end of next week.
 

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#21 ·
good evening Alfred,

Thanks again for your precious help.
The photos are very useful to me and allow me to raise certain doubts.
There are differences in the bodywork between two examples, the serial numbers of which are however very close.
I will try to see more clearly.
I don't have the outer strip (4 on my drawing). If you can make me a small drawing with the dimensions thank you in advance (it is not urgent)
 
#23 ·
The front screen consists of two flat panes, so it should be fairly easy to fabricate it. As for the chrome trim in the middle - there seem to be two different versions, a very slim one, and a more prominent one. I have taken a few pictures (with your problem in mind) when we were at Villa d Este last time, and I can also measure the part on our car. You can then decide which design you like best. I do not have much time today, so I have to keep you waiting until Wednesday, ok?
 
#25 ·
I will add a few pictures I took when I was at last years' Villa d'Este gathering. As you can see, the cars have different trim between the front screens.On the inside, they all have a relatively prominent trim piece, but on the outside, they either have nothing at all, or a rather slim piece. The black car ist #915884, which is the most original car I can think of. It seems to me that the later cars had a fatter trim than the earlier ones, but who knows..
 

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