Who knew Spider bonnets were made of fibreglass?

[cc]

When in doubt buy another Alfa. This can be done many ways. Arriving at the owner's home to find your almost purchased spider with its nose buried into the concrete post at the bottom of the steep driveway. See attached pic! We have gone on to purchase the spider from an auction house, organising its delivery from said auction to a repairer skilled in repairing said Bonnet
Can someone recommend a repairer in Brisbane. Thanks CC

[bazzbazz]

You must be running your own restoration workshop there! How many Alfa projects you got running at the moment?   

[cc]

4 Alfa and one back deck.

[cc]

The spider project is progressing; detailed discussions with two panelbeaters have been had.
One came to the car and over 20 minutes took many pictures and has given us  a quote.

With the other panelbeater, a discussion was had in the shadow of the office on a hot afternoon here in Brisbane. Next to a sloping concrete forecourt full of cars.
Both are ok with the customer supplying panel parts and doing some of the dis-assenbly,which has started. See pics.

Wrecking yards were visited and the UKAlfaworkshop web site visited and a shopping list of service parts compiled waiting to be paid for.

The spider has been a Brisbane car all its life and with only 2 previous owners and being garaged is in pretty good nick. The momo pelle rossa seats and carpet show very little wear : )

Being a phase or series one; June 1998 build, its all alloy under the bonnet. Apart from the flat section guarding the pulleys on the side of the engine. So it looks great! No plastic inlet manifold.. So if the later cars don't appeal for they're plastic, this is the one to get.

Some quirky maintenance history includes using a black mastik?  to plug a bad crack on the soft inlet manifold attached to the throttle body.. See pic. Also a soft orange sealant used to seal leaks on the rocker cover gasket.

The next step is to remove the buggered condensor and radiator. The air con is still pressurised so we are having a guy come in to de pressurise and capture the gas.

Ive included some other pics including the front chassis member drivers side. You can see its curved at its end and was hoping other spider people can confirm that this part of the original build of the car and not from the accident.

Removing the engine would  make the panel work easier and  be a good oppurtunity to remove and replace everything that moves on the outside of the engine : ) Also check the alternator and replace the thermostat and its housing and probably a few of the smaller coolant hoses.
Having the front stoved so the fans are touching the heat shield of the exhaust manifold is restricting things..
Really impressed by the build quality too..

[cc]

side of engine

[cc]

showing the trapped radiator and condensor.

[Citroënbender]

Panel shop 101, don't cut the front crossrail yet. Span it from side to side with some strong hollow section like 100x100 and pull out the kink to slightly (2-5mm) past original line with a tough ratchet strap. As you've braced against the chassis ends, there's no further deformation to them.

[cc]

i like the idea... will the ratchet strap be able to exert enough load force to pull out the rail sufficiently to make the radiator and condensor removal easier?

I do want to give the car over without the engine, to save labour and also see if something thats hidden has been damaged..

Will a panel beater with all the wiz bang gear; laser alignment.. do the same job as one without the wiz bang gear??

[Citroënbender]

It comes down to skill and budget, in that capacity. The car almost certainly needs a little pulling, nearside rail up and out, offside probably just a shade up.

Your strapping job just needs a stout strap, not a cheesy piece of junk. You can also use instead, a chain loop joined with a shackle and tensioned with a scissor jack on the outside of your bracing beam - care is required to avoid it flipping over suddenly and causing injury.

Similar idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62FrpLfGY1c

Basic pulling, with informed commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be4TofjrAiM
Using laser to check dimensions/squareness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxxmdJ2yJCQ
DIY trammels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rvm3v2Oqpt0

[cc]

thanks : )

[Citroënbender]

Another trap for young players, fun to watch but I'm not likely to be there so I'll clue you in. 

Once the AC is degassed, immediately "crack" the system.  Otherwise it will build up pressure again and when you do open it, invariably you'll have your mouth open, gabbing to a mate and a good blast of PAG46 oil will spray right into the cakehole. Plug the refrigerant lines promptly, clean rag smeared in Vaseline and tightly twisted in, is one good measure. You can flush everything with shellite or Wurth brake cleaner afterwards, when it gets to reassembly. 

[cc]

Hi
CB's method for pulling out a bent front rail works : ) It does load up with some force.... was idly thinking about the stored energy as i wound out the jack... The Warning from CB didnt register!
Beforehand  a cigarette paper wouldnt fit between the bent back componentry and the exhaust  manifolds heat shield.

After the unbending was able to take out fans and radiator and air filter box. Am de gassing the condensor before removing it.
Happily the bend in the  fans housing is fixable.Fans are ok.
The heat shield fitting (like a tin meat pie tray) over a fan motor is  not too badly damaged.
The air filter box has a hole punched by an air con fitting. Should be repairable too with plastic welding.

A knowledgeable chap observed that the fibreglass bonnet in its damaged areas, didnt contain as much resin or the same resin  as in a yacht hull. This not to say it cracked where it did because of a lack of resin, just that the resin and quantity of is different. See pics below of after the 'rail adjustment' and some parts for repair.

The exhaust headers are amazing. Interestingly the pipes are a smaller diameter than the 156 V6. Even tho The 156 has 0.416L/cylinder and the spider 0.5L/cylinder.

[cc]

the damaged air box and a  v nice 1998 alfa rim. Am after a alfa centre insert as in this one..
Added a pic of the repair to  the air box.

[Citroënbender]

Came out well, looks like the nearside chassis nose might just need a little massaging when the crossrail is replaced. Now save some dosh and fix the bonnet.

Fibreglass hints:

• http://www.westsystem.com.au/west_system/
• http://atlcomposites.com.au/category/1/Adhesives
• https://www.spaparts.com.au/ips-weld-on-810-two-part-adhesive-sealant-repair-k (best price in Oz, amazing stuff, can be tinted with pigment powder, eg carbon black)

You won't find these in a standard panel shop, too slow and require practice/skill for good results. Q-Bond is a poor cousin of 810, as it's just a cyanoacrylate ester and quite brittle.  Always observe correct proportions when mixing, even if you have to buy lab gear to be accurate.

[cc]

A 2nd hand bonnet may be the go as the damage was pretty severe..