[Alfajay]

I posted some pictures of my Sprint GT body when it left the bodyshop a few months back. It sat for awhile (a long while!) at the upholster, having its headliner, sound deadener, and a few other bits completed.

Now, it's been back in my garage for a few weeks, and the re-assembly process has begun. I figure it will take approx. 2 years to get it back on the road, and forever to get it "done".

Here are a few pictures of progress to date. The steering wheel and road wheels in these pictures are just temporary - I have better parts that will go on towards the end.

Two things that I have learned:

1) Absolutely the first thing that needs to be assembled onto these bodies are the brake lines - you can't route the lines that attach to the MC once the steering box is in place.


2) (I already knew this, but have been reminded) Once you modify ANYTHING, the time required goes up by a factor of 10. Or 100. And, even when the modification has been completed, it is likely to bite you down the road, when some other bit you try to install manages to interfere with the previous alteration. But, that's why hot-rodding is so much fun, right?

 

[Alfajay]

A few more pics

A few more pics

 

[1750GT]

Looking very nice Jay...I guess re-assembly marks the turning point of the restoration?....the fun part?

 

[Ricardino]

Alfa-porn!

R

 

[LS jr.]

gorgeous!

Jay -
and informative - keep 'em coming. With luck, I'll be at a similar point before too long.

Did you do all the steering, brake and suspension pieces? They're beautiful.

 

[Alfajay]

LS jr:

Cleaning and finishing the suspension components was a combination of done-at-home, and farmed out. The large/complex parts that I couldn't clean up myself were sent out for media blasting and powder coating. That included the differential tubes, disk brake shields, front spring pans, rear reaction arms, and a few other big pieces. The springs were powder coated because you need a very flexible coating for that application.

Smaller parts that could be cleaned up with a wire brush, were just finished with semi-gloss Rustoleum. Another criteria for the paint vs powder decision involved parts requiring a lot of masking (like the spindles) that I didn't trust the blast/coat shop to mask off properly (getting powdercoat off the id of the tapered holes for the tie rods can be a real pain). Of course, it was a LOT cheaper to clean & finish parts myself than to send them out.

I did the red calipers myself - they do look a little "hot dog", but I couldn't resist. I used the media blast cabinet at my bodyshop to clean up the calipers (don't worry - I masked them thoroughly, and air-blasted them upon completion), and then painted them with Eastwood caliper paint.

1750gt:

Yea, this is the fun part. There are also some frustrations. I'm not looking forward to installing the rubber seals around the door, nor the gas tank door boot. Both have been described as *&^%$#. But, yea, after owning it for 7 years, it's nice to see it coming back to life.

 

[Alfajay]

I've been making slow, but steady progress in assembling my Sprint GT.

Reached a milestone today, installing the engine. Here's what it looked like:

 

[Alfajay]

and the next three photos:

And, no, I didn't get it running by afternoon. In fact, it will be awhile before I start it. Since this was a "down to bare metal" restoration, a LOT of things need to be built/measured/installed before it's ready to go - stuff like the wiring harness as it relates to the engine, all hoses, exhaust system, etc. Since this is a 2L into a stepnose chassis, it isn't as simple as just reusing the old stuff. Plus, I don't work all that fast.

 

[Peter]

Good to see you're making progress....lookin' good Jay!

 

[RIQUE]

Awsome work, makes me shiver in anticipation to start my Alfa resto as well.
Rique

 

[gprocket]

Well done Jay! Looks like you are making great progress. I agree 100% about the brake lines. The only thing worse is the dual boosters. Twice as many lines, twice as many potential leaks, twice the chance to get brake fluid on your nice clean engine bay.

 

[alfa2go]

Hi Jay, Great pics on your progress. I was wondering what parts were "not so simple" in regards to the 2L upgrade. I am very seriously considering doing this on my Super. I will also keep the single circuit- (I love your float switch idea) and use the 2L and its belhousing to get the hydraulic clutch of which I have the pedals etc. People often say its a simple swap but I dont want to drop it in and then realise I have to pull it out again to modify something else!

 

[daveydog]

Hi Jay, I noticed in your pictures that your windshield wiper mechanism looks either new or refurbished. My '74's linkage has seen better days (the rubber seals have completely hardened and have broken off) and I was wondering if there's a better way than going on ebay to find a replacement. BTW, you're doing a great job. That motor looks better than the day it was originally installed at the factory!

 

[classicalfas]

Looking real nice, I'll be doing exactly the same thing in a couple of months. Take notes on installing the fuel neck boot, I remember it was a real pain getting it out, and not looking forward re-installing the thing at that time. Find some real easy way than post it in detail. Good luck with the rebuild. Peter.

 

[Alfajay]

Whoops, I hadn't monitored this thread in awhile - sorry to have missed your questions. Here are some quick replies. Progress is continuing - let me get it a bit further, and then I'll post some updated photos.

alfa2go had asked: "I was wondering what parts were "not so simple" in regards to the 2L upgrade"

Oh, there is nothing that complicated. Adding the hydraulic clutch to the chassis is the hardest part, and that isn't so difficult, once you have located a '69 pedal box. I didn't get any hard lines with my pedal box, so I had to source new ones from Fedhillusa. There are a number of minor modifications, like the length of the studs that connect the intake manifold to the head (if your 2L was Spica, the studs will be too long to accommodate a Weber manifold).

daveydog had asked: "I noticed in your pictures that your windshield wiper mechanism looks either new or refurbished. My '74's linkage has seen better days (the rubber seals have completely hardened and have broken off) and I was wondering if there's a better way than going on ebay to find a replacement."

If there is a better way, I don't know it. My old motor & mechanism was in sad shape, and I bought the one shown from ebay. The one from ebay used snap rings at the pivots, rather than the rubber thingies, so it could be disassembled, painted, and lubricated.

classicalfas had asked: "Take notes on installing the fuel neck boot, I remember it was a real pain getting it out, and not looking forward re-installing the thing at that time. Find some real easy way than post it in detail."

This has been discussed on the BB - I just did what others recommended. In sumary, saw the neck off your tank, remove a 1" section to shorten it, install the tank, and then use a section of rubber hose + 2 clamps to secure the filler to the tank. This has two benefits: 1) makes the tank & boot easy to install, and 2) lowers the filler so the gas nozzle will fit in more securely.

 

[Alfajay]

Here are some recent photos of the '66 Sprint GT that I have been assembling. Seems that a lot of progress has been made since the first of the year. I suppose the explanation for that is that a lot of subassemblies were painstakingly restored and put together, so when I got to the tail end of the assembly process a lot of progress seemed to happen quickly.

It is now running, the electrical system works, glass is in, ...

There is still a lot that remains to be done: The upholstery is still only part done - the shop I have been working with is very slow - the seats have been scheduled to be done "next week" for the past several months. Side panels are fabricated in masonite, but I need to have the upholsterer cover them. Carpets are partially complete. My powder coat guy, who is doing the air cleaner, must be related to the uphosterer. Dunno why it should take so long to powder coat a cannister-style cleaner. The air cleaner will be kind of slick - I'll post photos when it's back.

In addition to upholstery there are a lot of mechanical things that will need fiddling with: alignment, ride height, engine tune, ..., and probably some things that I won't know about until I begin putting miles on it.

But, it's getting there!

 

[Alfajay]

and, a few more photos.

I can't believe what a "rats nest" the wiring under the dash looks like in the picture below. Actually, I took some pains to make the wiring fairly neat. I took this shot because I wanted to show how I had relocated the fusebox from its original under hood location, to under the dash. I did this to get it away from moisture (as if I'll drive this thing in a lot of rain!) as well as to clean up the underhood area. I also wanted to show how I converted from the pointy-ended fuses to blade-type, which I believe will be FAR more reliable. The sharp eyed among you will notice that I pulled one of the fuses; this is because I don't yet have blades on the WW arms, and don't want to accidently scratch the windshield. By the way, what length blades does a Sprint take - 13" or 15"?

In the bottom picture, I covered up my license plate, just because I've noticed that other people tend to do this. I'm not sure why - obviously when I bring the car to a show, it's license number is open to photographers. Can anyone shed any light on why this is done?

 

[gprocket]

Jay:

That really looks great! With the motor running did you at least ease out the clutch and let it glide halfway out the garage?

It is nice to see that you are open to making a few appropriate improvements (ie blade fuses). I understand if you are building a museum piece but if you are going to drive it, why not make it safer, more reliable, easier to maintain? I think the motor world has learned a few things over the last 40 years...

BTW, It never dawned on me that the throttle and hood release levers could be polished - great attention to detail!!!

 

[Mikes4C1300]

By the way, what length blades does a Sprint take - 13" or 15"?

Jay --

They're 13". Mine had 15" blades when I first got the car and they constantly fouled each other. 13 inchers solved the problem.

Mike Hollinger
Atlanta

 

[Alex]

Jay,

Lovely work - and thanks for posting a pic of the wiring as I managed to fry a heap of wires the other day ... long story

The four-piece front grilles look amazing - I guess you had them replated? How did you deal with the issue of pitting? Were the oxidised pits ground out, welded, polished and then chromed? Or did you use one of these other products like Muggyweld or Caswell's Solder-It? Did the plater need a special anode and cathode to 'draw' the plate into the slats? Sorry for all the questions but that's impressive work from what I can see!

Alex.

PS I can recommend trying to find some Trico Hi-Speed wipers if you can, or the Carello equivalent. They have a wire frame and were designed to limit blade lift at speed ...