[Davo1954]

I'm flying down to Mexico City next week, visiting a sister there in Queretaro and then hopping into my 1969 GTV that's been getting a facelift for the last 5 months. I had found a multi generation family body shop thru my brother-in law down there. I saw some of the shops gorgeous classic car restore work and set a deal. Drove the 69 1400 miles down there in May after going thru and rebuilding most of the mechanicals, suspension, etc.
SO, showtime.. fuzzy digital pics from my bro-in-law thru the body work and paint job look great, the interior is being finished as we speak and Im mapping a return trip up thru the middle of the country, 1000 miles of Mexico and 300 of NM to get home.. Color sanded two stage, Sunset Pearl color, and charcoal grey interior.. thought you guys might enjoy the adventure....
I'll drop one of the fuzzy pic's here, and in a week see what I've got. Should be a fun trip and hopefully no big surprises.. like my car being long gone and a AMC Pacer waiting for me... I'll send some shots from the road if internet works well....

 

[gt601]

I had always wondered if there were good body shops in Mexico that could do that sort of thing. I would be interested in what the cost to do something like that is. (Not that I could afford it, nor would I make the drive in the 'Fetta.)
I went to school for a couple of years in Jurica just north of Queretaro. It was at the J.F Kennedy School. We would hop a Flecha Amarillo from San Miguel every mornig and ride it to Qro.That is in my opinion the prettiest part of Mexico. The weather is perfect all year and the people are wonderful. I'm really jealous of your drive back. That is a great drive as long as you dodge the occasional "Chicken Bus"

There was an Alfa dealer there several years ago when my wife and I were there in a visit. I saw a 147 in Gto.

Keep us posted. Pics will be nice

Paul

 

[Davo1954]

Before shot..

Here's the 69 before the trip down, and before I put the engine, brakes, heating system, radiator redo, calipers, rear end rebuild, suspension, exhaust, Ingram Spica, etc, etc, etc all put together....by last December or so.. Got everything to like each other and the car ran like a top going down..
The total on the body work will be around 4 grand, he estimated 3k, but a few panels needed metal work, and odd and end stuff added up as I guessed it would. I took the car down stripped of paint, just a coat of expoxy primer, made paint removal easy. Little rust, rear lower fenders, part of the rockers, and that was about it... A NM car most of it's life.. The interior looked like someone had sneezed in it for years, so we got a upholster guy thru Jose the body man and he's apparently done great redo work. Charcoal grey interior, lighter grey carpet, new headliner, new rear deck vinyl, vinyl tunnel padded, sound deadener laid down under it all. glove box repair, and door panels for 1200 clams... I've seen one fuzzy sample shot. Looked good.. or it'll look good fuzzy, leave my glasses off.....
I may have finally got a copilot, everyone seemed to be working, or had part time off. A great Armenian friend from Michigan will meet me in Leon and we'll do the zoom north from there. Nice to have a camera person and a female for the Federali's to drool on. I have a shot on here somewhere on the trip down. I'll just fill my thread as we go.
My girlfriend here in SantaFlee and I are going to buy a place in old town Queretaro, and leave the green alfa down there next year for Jose to redo.. The paint is 15 years old, looks good but showing cracks and a few dings... The rest of it is top notch. Much help from the threads on here for little stuff and my mechanic friend in Abq when I dug a hole

 

[Davo1954]

Well...Land of Manana strikes again... Flew down, went over to Jose's body shop and found a BEAUTIFULLY redone body and paint job applied to my 69. Redone seats, panels, carpet, etc, were no where to be found, and while looking over a flawless paint job and body work, Jose informed me that a small issue with the upholsterer was going to change dates a bit. All friendly, but he showed me three tiny dimples in the roof, all three in the general region where the inset part of the headliner is screwed in....yup,
SO... roof is being redone, upholsterer was given his last rites then put back on the car. Before I flew home, instead of a 7 day drive up the middle of the country, we chatted in Spanglish for an hour. He agreed to tackle the dash and a few extra small trim pieces that I was going to attempt when I got the car home.
Only one other issue that came up; a broken drivers side window... A glass company nearby took an interest and templated the other side. For the cost, 200 peso's each, Im having 4 pieces made and tempered.
Overall a successful adventure, with a delay that one could expect, just not in a foreign country 1500 fricking miles away. The cost of the work VERY worth the trips, flights, planning, FedEx'ed door seals and 6 months of time. Jose is an artist, his team of brothers and father true professionals that treated me with respect and fairness. I'll take my DS 21 Citroen down there in a year or so.
I fly back around TDay and drive north thru Guanajato, Durango, Chihuahua, a mix of freeway and secondary roads without the famous "topa's' ( harsh speed bumps put indiscriminately on the roads). A few pics..
D

 

[Peter]

looks very sharp. What color is that??

 

[sh0rtlife]

beutiful color choice

 

[Davo1954]

Peter, the color is a variation of a Mitsubishi 07 color....Sunset Pearlesence... I actuallly wanted it a bit deeper, he matched the color by a painted sample I sent down, but came up with this... it changes a bit with the amount of light.
D

 

[lowmileage]

Oh, I though you meant "Our" Roadtrip .

 

[Davo1954]

Well...I picked up the car last week. Body work and paint great, and the interior finally close to what I requested. A bit over 5K for everything. Nice to have it home. Sort of like having your kid off to camp....
The paint color isn't what I sent down as a sample, Jose mixed and matched something close to it, apparently not using or being able to use the color code I sent along, and... I like it better than what I asked for.. very unique, the color seems to change with the light.