Hi everyone,
As a newcomer to the forums I thought I should start a thread on my restoration project - a 1967 Spider 1600 'Duetto'. So far I've stripped it back to the monocoque and mounted it on a raised movable frame for bodywork to be completed. The plan is to have it blasted back to bare metal all over, removing any filler and rust. I want to replace the nose section to get the correct nose hump shape, and paint it in Rosso Farina AR514. Prior to blasting, I'm aware of some rust repairs having been done in the footwells and some ugly welding in the front end; these areas will be redone. Otherwise the body looks pretty good on the surface, I'm just hoping that the blasting process doesn't uncover too many surprises. Anyway, here's a photo of the current state of the body. I plan to continue posting photos throughout the rebuilding process.
Cheers,
Rob
Welcome !!
I started on the same journey nearly two years ago (i'm time poor, lazy), where are you located ?
Craig
Brisbane
Quote from: RobDee on November 19, 2012, 02:34:06 PM
I plan to continue posting photos throughout the rebuilding process.
Please do, I'd be very interested. I love these cars, they were the second best part of The Graduate, after Mrs Robinson.
Good luck Rob!
I hope it's smooth sailing for you with at least 'some' excitement along the way.
This forum now has 3 Duetto builds. Show yourself Duetto restorers! Update your threads!
Good on ya Rob. I'll be checking regularly for updates................. ;)
What chassis numbers are in work? Mine was 105.05.71.0348 and I often wonder what happened to it. Elvira advised that it was built 4 SEP 67 and sold to Stirling Investments in Perth on 5 Oct 67. I bought it from QLD, took it to NT and sold it to Melbourne :o
It had a lot 'wrong' so hopefully it's been reverted to original, or at the very least is still on the road.
Here are some pics of the soda blasting. I can highly recommend SDP Soda Blasting in the Geelong area. I could not have asked for better service and I'd definitely use them again.
I had it confirmed that the car was originally painted white (as advised by Alfa Centro Documentazione), then blue, then obviously red. (Paul, this is AR710340.)
I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of horrors under the paintwork. It was fairly free of rust and filler, although there was quite a bit of filler used to reshape the beaten up nose and to cover some interesting rust repairs behind the front wheels. (It looks like some galvanised sheet metal was bonded and pop-riveted over a cut-out and then filler was spread over the whole area to hide it.) Another interesting find was an old license plate that was used to patch a hole in the passenger (LHS) footwell.
I'm going to replace the panel sections behind each front wheel, and all of the nose panels.
Rob
I'm really aching to see some red on this thing!
White?
Update on progress...
Simply Stunning.
Craig / any danger?
Thats quite an update! Stunning!
Stunning might be a bit strong....I can see a bubble in the Dynamat ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Seriously though, she is looking wonderful. It takes some commitment to strip down a car which, at least in the initial photo, looked to be in quite good condition.
Quote from: pancho on April 21, 2013, 06:01:09 PM
Simply Stunning.
Craig / any danger?
No threat. I'm all over place. Quit my job to get 'stuff done' only to be contracted before I sobered up. Happy to outsource this work now so if anybody has QLD contacts please speak up :)
I think I've reached that point in the project where the last 20% of the work will take 80% of the time.
Truly sensational!
Well done!
I know the previous owner will be applauding too!
(Have you got part 2 ready for the July Mag?) :D
Ooooohh ;D Makes me go all tingly. Is that CARPET I see...............?????? That won't go well when you leave it parked at Coles with the roof down and it rains ::)
Have you rustproofed inside all cavities Rob? Twice??
Hi Rob
i have just started restoration on a 1974 2000 spider. I was just wondering about the stand you used during the early part of your restoration. It looks like it is fabricated from steel and has castors on the legs. Could you please provide details of the dimensions so I can have a go at building one. Should be good welding practice.
cheers
Peter
AROCA SA
Some additional inspiration here Peter: http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/car-restoration/17920-rotisserie-construction.html
Other versions consist of a half rollover stand which affixes to one side (via suspension mount points) and allows the car to be rolled onto it's side for access to the underside (vertical). http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/spider-1966-up/151944-have-you-seen-before.html
Mine... Lets me roll the car 360deg through long axis on the spot (limited space) :)
Inspired by some versions i've seen over the years at thesamba.com,
... of which this is the coolest >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzPzO6ECh8c
Hi pdub,
If you were prepared to come and pick it up, or arrange transport, I would happily sell you my frame as I don't think I'll be needing it ever again. Otherwise here are some tips for building one, from my experience.
At the front end I used the lowest of the three steering box / idler arm holes to support the chassis. At the rear end I used the lowest of the three suspension T-bar attachment holes. I used 50 mm square hollow section with some pipe welded at the top of each upright to take a 10mm bolt (see pic).
I would recommend building the frame on the car. The car was already on stands so we fitted the uprights to it, then laid the horizontal bits on the ground and welded them all together. The bottom rectangle isn't a rectangle per se but rather a trapezium because the front attachment points are closer together than the rear ones. We then jacked the car up and welded the castor wheels under the frame. Buy the biggest castor wheels you can find. You'll need to go to an industrial supplies store. The wheels should be around 6" diameter. I initially bought a set from Bunnings that was about 3" diameter and I immediately tore them off and bought bigger ones because they were barely up to the task. The bigger ones cost the same amount as the Bunnings ones.
The rotisserie is a more useful setup but not essential in my opinion unless you plan to do quite a lot of fiddly detail work under the car.
Rob
By the way, if you build the frame on the car like we did, you'll have a lot of fun working out how to get it off again later without destroying the frame.
Some more progress on the Duetto. I'm getting my engine and gearbox back soon, and I look forward to what will be a momentous juncture in the build - returning the heart to the body.
Rob
Those gauges look fantastic! If only I had a space like that to work with!
Rob - in the first picture - is the drivers door closed properly?
Pancho don't get me started on the driver's door. It isn't possible to line everything up at the same time. There's each end of the top edge, each end of the bottom edge and each end of the top and bottom ridges of the scallop. I think I've got it to the best 'happy medium' position that I can, giving preference to the look of the scallop. The sound it makes when it opens and closes isn't as nice as the other door. From most normal viewing angles it looks OK, that photo probably shows it up a bit.
That is truly sensational...dream car
Quote from: pancho on June 25, 2013, 12:25:22 PM
Those gauges look fantastic! If only I had a space like that to work with!
x2, who did the gauges ??
The gauges were restored by Howard Instruments in Melbourne (http://www.howardinstruments.com.au). New chrome bezels, new glass, new globes, overhauled internals on the speedo and tacho, re-chromed rear surrounds for the small gauges, blasted and re-plated rear housings. The cost of nearly $800 was soon forgotten!
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now...
Money shot - right here ;) Brilliant Rob. Except for the bit where I miss my duetto terribly...
(http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=9854.0;attach=24485;image)
FINITO...FINALMENTE :-)
Well done!!! Looks amazing!
Congrats on getting to the 'get to drive it with a big smile on your face' phase. Looks great.
Absolutely gorgeous. Great effort. Another classic Alfa lives again.
Congrats on a brilliant job and also for having the patience and enthusiasm to see it through to the end. Satisfaction really is matched by the smile on your face every time you drive the car now.
Wow Rob that looks sensational, more photos please :D
Absolutely superb job! Well done! And the GTA wheels look perfect on there.
supurb, what are these worth?
..... If you need to ask :)
Humour me, I'm in deep.
Awesome Rob...Saw the car in Nov at the Alfa show. Stunning.