It begins...

[Alfamet]

It was going ever so well....

Today, we found the only corrosion present on my Sprint.

The underside of the car is like new and the rear beam axle was always going to be replaced with a galvanised item anyway but when we removed the interior side panels we found corosion around the rear windows with both winders and lifting mechanisms completely seized on both sides.



There are some plastic tubes located at the base of the mechanisms that are designed to drain away any water ingress via the rear window glass but on one side the tube has become corroded and blocked and the one on the other side isn't even connected due to rust.



The glass windows themselves slide up and down the runners OK but the lifting mechanism and the winders (regulators) need replacement.



Thankfully, I've managed to find some good useable replacements.

Onwards and upwards!

UPDATE:
One of the most time-consuming parts of this restoration has been the re-instatement of the corroded metal around the rear window regulator areas on both sides of the car.

Regular readers will know that I wanted to restore the seized regulators to their full working order rather than to leave them as they were in a non-operational state. Well, Peter at Alfasud Parts Online was able to supply a pair of useable regulator units which have now been bolted into place into repaired regulator housings. Manufacturing and letting-in of the repair panels proved to be quite tough but I'm very pleased with the results. It's a very neat job in fact!

Repaired housing with new regulator installed o/s

Repaired housing with new regulator installed n/s

[Kegsti66]

That looks better Colin. Glad you are keeping them in working order.

[Alfamet]

That looks better Colin. Glad you are keeping them in working order.

The repair was completed using plenty of grease and waxoyl to make sure that they keep that way.

Reinstated drainage tubes were essential to ensure that moisture is drained away to keep rust at bay.

[dralf1965]

Nice work by the repairers.

[Alfamet]

Well now, I thought it was about time for an update on the ongoing restoration of my Sprint Speciale.

All the mechanical part of the restoration is now done and in summary is:

* Engine overhaul: new oil seals, gaskets, core plugs, cam belts and tensioners, engine block painted and custom rocker covers fitted.
* Carbs rebuilt with polished and ported inlet maifolds.
* All new engine mountings.
* Cooling system overhaul: thermostat, radiator, fan switch, new expansion tank and water pump.
* New clutch, stainless steel flexis and hydraulics.
* New brakes all round including all new discs, calipers, pads, stainless steel flexible pipes, balance valve, handbrake cable and DOT4 fluid change.
* Suspension overhaul with new springs, shock absorbers, strut bearings, galvanised rear beam axle, all arms and anti-roll bars stripped, primed and painted and new OEM bushes throughout.
* Distributor overhauled with new cap, rotor arm, ignition leads and Golden Lodge plugs.
* Complete new exhaust system with new gaskets and hangers and twin pipe silencer.
* Gearbox overhauled with new oil seals throughout and new gearbox mountings.
* New wheel bearings all round and front drive shafts overhauled with new inner and outer CV joints.

All the above work was carried out to a very high standard by Euan Colbron and the guys at CP Garage Services in Dundee.

So, the Sprint is now in the body shop for the bodywork to be fettled and a respray. This is taking time as I am by my own admission a fussy bugger and I've been collecting as many parts as possible to keep it all 'stock' and as original as I can.

However, the good news is that the micro-blistering which was present all over the place turned out to be not rust under the surface as was first feared but simply the result of poor preparation work at the time of the car's last paint job. Stripping the paint has revealed nice shiny steel so the car will be treated to a bare metal respray once the previous poor repairs to the wheel arches etc have been put right.

It's been a long haul but I'm feeling upbeat.

[Alfamet]

Here's a couple of pictures of the ongoing bodywork refurbishment:

The front wings fully prepared and ready for top coat.

Nice shiny steel revealed.

[dave.armstrong]

I still can't wait to see it when its finished!

[Alfamet]

I still can't wait to see it when its finished!

Me neither Dave!

[Sud 145]

Golden Lodge ? Are they also for originality?

[Alfamet]

Golden Lodge ? Are they also for originality?

Yep. Trying my best to retain as much originality as possible Tony. Even the plug leads and clips are OEM.

[Alfamet]

One of the unique features of the Sprint Speciale limited edition was and is the rear rubber spoiler.

As you can see from the pictures, on my car it's in pretty bad condition and quite honestly is realistically beyond saving. So, if it can be removed in one piece, I'm going to have a replica made using the original spoiler as a mould by the legendary Bob Wright: http://www.alfapanels.com.

Hopefully, the original will come off without dropping to bits.

Wish me luck. I think I might need it!

[Sud 145]

How about freeing it just a little and putting bands of masking tape around it to hold it together before removing it completely?

[Alfamet]

How about freeing it just a little and putting bands of masking tape around it to hold it together before removing it completely?

Good thinking Tony.
I'll let you know how it goes.

[Kegsti66]

Colin, don't rule out super glue as an option.
It often holds rubber stuff enough to keep it all together.

[Alfamet]

Colin, don't rule out super glue as an option.
It often holds rubber stuff enough to keep it all together.

Another good suggestion.
Great to meet you last Sunday mate. Love your car. It gives me the inspiration to get mine finished.

Speaking of which...
Both sides of my car and the bonnet are now stripped down to bare metal. Surprisingly for a thirty-three year old car the steel revealed is all shiny but the bonnet has signs of previous poor repairs to its leading edge and a few stone chips which will be remedied before we go any further.

[Alfamet]

Update. It’s been a while so here’s the latest news on the Sprint Speciale’s bodywork restoration.

The shell is now completely stripped and down to bare metal. This has revealed some pretty poor previous ‘repairs’ which have consisted of tack-welding a piece of sheet metal over one or two spots of corrosion following which the patch has then been brayed with a hammer and the resulting indentations filled in with a great wodge of body filler that was several inches thick in some places.

Rear roof section built up with thick layers of body filler pre-paint removal...

...and after. Note the crude tack welded steel plate 'repair'.

The areas to receive these ‘repairs’ were the rear wheel arches, the door bottoms and the rear section of the roof. Naturally, all these botches are being removed and new profiled repair sections let in. The rear arches and the door bottoms will be replaced with genuine Alfa Romeo repair panels.

Both rear arches looked like this before replacement

Both door bottoms have received sub-standard 'repairs' like this in the past

Hidden rust has been found on the front door window channels and the rear window frames. All these parts have been replaced with NOS items as have the B pillar trim panels. There’s some work to do also around the tailgate aperture, which has also unfortunately received previous repair of the same shocking standard.

Hidden rust to the rear window frame

It may sound as if there’s a lot of work still left to do but, according to the bodyshop, my thirty-three year old Sprint is in better condition body-wise than some Fords and Japanese cars that they’ve had the pleasure of working on that are only ten years old or even younger so the ‘Sud repairs don’t present much of a problem for them, which is nice to know.

After much deliberation, the rear spoiler has been ever so carefully removed - thankfully intact - and this will either be repaired or, most likely, replaced with a replica item after it has been assessed at a later stage.

More pictures to follow presently.

[Kegsti66]

Over all Colin, she still looks a sound old girl.
Good to see she is coming along.

[Alfamet]

Over all Colin, she still looks a sound old girl.
Good to see she is coming along.

She is Keith. It's just a pity that the previous repairs were so crude. All better now though...

[Alfamet]

Some more of the 'quality' repairs found after stripping the body down to the bare shell.

Previous 'repair' to one side of the tailgate aperture...

...and the other side.

The hidden rust discovered after dismantling had been completed:

Rear side window frame had rotted insitu...

...as had the B post pillar covers...

...and the front door glass runners to both sides

Now all remedied with NOS parts sourced from over the place. John at Justsuds has been great as has Peter from Alfasuds-Online but other hard to find bits and pieces during the rebuild have come from Portugal, France, Gremany, Hungary and of course Italy. Alfasuds still cut it obviously!!

[KevJTD]

looks like plates had been laid over the top without chopping out the corrosion Col?
then guess they just built the layer up around it with filler?
not claiming i'm good enough to weld a plate in without needing filler but at least I cut the rot out first!


progress looking great though, nice to see such a through job, should last another 40 years

[Alfasixnut]

Excellent work and well done on getting correct replacement panels where possible.
I suspect the "Bodged" repairs were the only way of keeping the repair costs below the scrap value of a Sprint a few years ago.

[KevJTD]

Excellent work and well done on getting correct replacement panels where possible.
I suspect the "Bodged" repairs were the only way of keeping the repair costs below the scrap value of a Sprint a few years ago.

a very good point really, would have been a tidy up to a budget as the value wasn't in the car to warrant spending a lot of time and money on it

[Alfamet]

looks like plates had been laid over the top without chopping out the corrosion Col?
then guess they just built the layer up around it with filler?
not claiming i'm good enough to weld a plate in without needing filler but at least I cut the rot out first!


progress looking great though, nice to see such a through job, should last another 40 years

That's exactly the case Kev. Rust left insitu, plated, then built up with filler.

The car itself has very solid underpinnings. It received these plated repairs and a very poor respray twelve years ago before it spent the next decade in a Museum in Wales so obviously, as has been suggested, the repairs and the respray were carried out cheaply as the car, regrettably but true, won't have been worth much on the open market back then.

On the one hand, I'm pleased it was done because the work, even though shoddy, has undoubtedly saved the car and I feel that it wouldn't have survived if it hadn't been kept off the road in the Museum. On the other hand, in an ideal world, the job would have been done properly first time and the rot would have been cut out first before it had the plating and a light skim of filler applied.

The car should indeed last another forty years by the time I've finished. Whether I will is quite another matter....

[Sprint88qv]

Colin,

Absolutely love the car but the crackle finish cam covers are truly amazing.

If I were you, I would buy up a load of second hand covers, spray them up like that and then sit back and wait for the orders to come flying in.

Unfortunately mine is the 1.7 hydraulic tappet version, so the best I have managed is to paint the Alfa Romeo red on each side. I thought they looked pretty good but nothing to those crackle covers.

You should definitely do a side line!

Ed

[Alfamet]

Colin,

Absolutely love the car but the crackle finish cam covers are truly amazing.
If I were you, I would buy up a load of second hand covers, spray them up like that and then sit back and wait for the orders to come flying in.
Unfortunately mine is the 1.7 hydraulic tappet version, so the best I have managed is to paint the Alfa Romeo red on each side. I thought they looked pretty good but nothing to those crackle covers.
You should definitely do a side line!

Ed

It was quite hard work to achieve the finish I wanted on the rocker covers Ed and I had to have a couple of goes at it. The black crackle paint is a little tricky to build up in layers unless the rocker covers themselves are warm to the touch during the spraying process as this helps the paint flow and cover evenly. I used my wife's hairdryer for this so probably made life difficult for myself as, thinking about it, it would have been much, much simpler just to place them in a hot oven first. Ah well; we live and learn.

I've got to say though that I was very pleased with the way they turned out. It was well worth the effort.

Even I can't quite believe how good they look!

[Alfamet]

UPDATE:
The lads in the bodyshop are doing a grand job!
All of the car had been taken back to bare metal recently and the tailgate aperture repaired both sides with all the rust cut out and new metal sections welded-in needing just the merest smear of or no filler at all.

Rusted metal cut out and new steel section tacked in...

...before being seam welded in position and ground flush

The same the other side of the aperture

This is in contrast to the front windscreen surrounds which had seen previous crude repairs of metal plates welded directly to rust and covered over with nearly an inch in depth of filler! Thankfully, the lads have made up proper metal repair panels and these have been let in both sides. The standard of workmanship is so good that if you didn't know the repair sections were there, you'd swear that it was all original.

So, with all the existing paint and filler removed and the bodywork thoroughly cleaned down, the car has now been fully primed to protect the newly exposed shiny and rust-free metal and to keep it in good condition.

Full car down to bare metal

And now all primed

What happens now is that the lads will only remove primer in the areas where further surgery is necessary, such as the rear wheel arches and the door bottoms using New Old Stock genuine Alfa Romeo repair panels, which is work due to be completed in the next few weeks or so.

[Johnboy]

Looks like there doing a top job on your sprint

[Alfasixnut]

Excellent job - thanks for keeping us updated.

[Kegsti66]

She is really taking shape now Colin.
Top job.

[Alfamet]

Yes. I'm chuffed at the work being done by the lads in the bodyshop.
It's always nice when the car actually starts to look like a car again and you get the feeling that the end is in sight!
Here's another couple of shots of how she is at the moment:

I'm getting giddy now!