SPRINT RESURRECTION

[LooLooSud33Spider]

I think I’d be inclined to turn up at the Atherstone branch and demand to have a good root around you just know it’s sat in a store room and know one knows who’s it is or even what it is (probably because the labels dropped off)

[Alfaoldgit]

If it wasn't so far away I might be tempted. I believe (but not sure) that the boss of Envirostrip tried to do the same as Fedex are only a few miles away, but got nowhere. There's no local number to contact them; another party to this fiasco tried to get the Atherstone number off a driver doing a pick up. Refused point blank to give it to him. They also don't allow pick up from the depot. Basically, once you hand over something to FedEx you relinquish ownership, they treat it as their own property. You get it back at their discretion.

[justsuds]

I think Loo is right about the label, if for any reason it won't scan then thats it, finished, - they either don't have time, or can't be bothered ( more likely )to do anything further with it, but what happens to them, - do they just have a big skip ??? It is infuriating, you have my sympathy Chris, I've been there, numerous times, and don't bother insuring your parcel, it's very hard to successfully claim, so many hoops to jump through ....... If there is room I put 2 or 3 labels on packages.

[Alfaoldgit]

Hello folks,

The mystery of the tipping lower spring pan on one of my front struts has been resolved now that Sudshop have supplied a new set of springs. The "old" springs are at least 40mm longer and have 4 & 2/3rd turns instead of 4 & 3/4. No wonder I struggled to compress them enough to get them back on. It also explains why the front end looked jacked up. Ian Brookfield reckons that somebody fitted a set of after market 33 springs (probably when the Monroe inserts were installed).

Thanks also to LooLoo for posting the Sud front leg assembly info. Although I have a set of original unmolested legs with upside down shox, it is still good to have another source of info to make absolutely sure reassembly is correct.

Regarding the lost fuel tank...............it remains lost. Thanks FedEx However, a resolution is in hand but I'm not saying anymore until I actually have a usable tank in my hands.

[Alfaoldgit]

i got all hopeful today - Mr Fedex turned up with a large but battered box, the one I had sent up to Envirostrip. Inevitably when I opened it my original tank inside was damaged. Tank vent pipe missing, just a hole in the tank where it should be, a new dent and a film of rust all over it. It looks like it spent some time in a garden shed............So it's fingers crossed for tank #2.

Meanwhile, the outside of the shell is nearly ready for paint. The agenda is to have it fully painted before Christmas so that there is plenty of time for the paint to cure over the Christmas break.

[Alfaoldgit]

And now the topcoat, these pics show the paint straight from the gun taken by Chris, who sprayed it. He’s reflected on the rear quarter.
It will be left to harden over the Christmas break then fine sanded and buffed. The B post covers will be green, Chris has decided. I might tell him to strip & polish all the matt black stainless trim strips as revenge

[Alfaoldgit]

My wife has christened the car Sweet Pea............................

[Veesix75]

That looks amazing, I love the colour. With the b post being green I’d seriously try and go for chrome ‘ polished door/window trim instead of black - go the full stainless steel trim.

[Kegsti66]

She is looking great. Nice drop of paint on her.
Will look fantastic after a flat and polish.

[Alfaoldgit]

Just been quoted 42 weeks leadtime for a new windscreen by National Windscreens

Not unexpected, next move is direct contact with Pilkington to see if 42 weeks is for real. If so, Plan B !!

[KevJTD]

Just been quoted 42 weeks leadtime for a new windscreen by National Windscreens

Not unexpected, next move is direct contact with Pilkington to see if 42 weeks is for real. If so, Plan B !!

I had a right job getting one for my Lancia Dedra, Autoglass said they could get one but after 2 months said not..
I contacted Auto Windcsreens and they found one within a few days.
Pays to shop around.

Has John not got a good used one? At least they never used to rust away!

[StescoG66]

https://parabrezzauto.it/en/windscreens ... 1977-nuovo

Might help

[Alfaoldgit]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the suggestions and the link to the Italian supplier. Auto-Epoca have a screen ditto AFRA but I suspect the issue will be shipping.
If Pilkington come back with a silly lead time, I think I'll get Glasweld to have a look at it, has a C shaped crack about 28mm long in Zone B and some vertical scratches in Zone A extending about 6 inches from the bottom. It's probably legal but it looks meh, I'll try Autoscreens again, following an online enquiry I had a call from somebody claiming to be them saying they could get a screen in 6 to 8 weeks. However my alarm bells rang when I was asked to give my credit card details to cover the insurance excess to what was a with held phone number.

I wonder if my wife fancies a road trip to Italy? It's only a bit further than Bavaria More likely I'll be restricted to John up in Lancashire.

Best wishes for Christmas to all who read my epistles. More pictures of a green car after the break.

[Alfaoldgit]

Pilkington have replied promptly. 8-12 weeks lead time & price about the same as Italian suppliers. But.......Pilkington use Fedex to ship so I've asked them to confirm its fully insured (at £90 for delivery it should be). I've also asked if I can collect from Redditch.

[KevJTD]

For £90 delivery I'd be tempted to just collect it, assuming they will allow that?
At least you'd know it would be safe, and not get lost!

[Alfaoldgit]

Hi Kev,

Pilkington are happy for me to collect, so I have ordered. No road trip to Milan, just Redditch in 8-12 weeks.

AOG

[KevJTD]

Hi Kev,

Pilkington are happy for me to collect, so I have ordered. No road trip to Milan, just Redditch in 8-12 weeks.

AOG

Perfect.

Get some decent packaging material sorted for the collection, old bed quilts, blankets, inflatable matress, anything like that so the ride home is safe!

[alfadave]

He should be able to get there and back in a day, without having to kip in the car?

[KevJTD]

He should be able to get there and back in a day, without having to kip in the car?

I meant for laying the windscreen down on, soft and safe to stop it sliding around

[junior]

PM me when the screen is ready as I may be travelling down to Chichester around that time and could easily carry it down.

Redditch is not far for me.

[Alfaoldgit]

Hi Junior,

Thank you, I may take you up on that.

The fuel tank saga is nearly resolved. The original tank that FedEx lost, rediscovered & arrived dented also has pin holes in a few areas; all repairable but... The second tank that John@justsuds supplied has survived Envirostrip in much better condition - no pin holes . Like the old tank, the vent pipe on the top corner has disappeared. I'm guessing it was soldered on so a replacement will need to be made & some minor alterations to the clips on the tank roof as it seems to be off an injected car.

As for the shell, all painting is complete; the doors, front wings & tailgate are not yet refitted. Due to shop workload, my car will be set aside for a while & probably not finished until March. Doing this eases my cashflow so it's a win win. In the meantime I shall start investigating the rusty lump of an engine, so orange pictures instead of green for the time being.

AOG

[Alfaoldgit]

Hello,

Fuel tank repairs are complete, I sealed it myself, it will now go back to the body shop for epoxy paint.

i have carried out a compression test on the engine (stone cold), the figures aren't very encouraging:

Front cylinders 180 psi dry, 200 psi with three squirts of oil through the spark plug hole.
Rear cylinders 120 psi dry, 150 psi as above.

Before I embark on a rebore adventure, can any one recommend a source of oversize pistons? I assume that for the 1.5, pistons should be 67.5mm tall.

I have also acquired (because it was cheap) a 1.7 8v complete less starter motor and air box, but fixing the 1.5 is my preferred choice.

AOG

[Veesix75]

I traded some 1500cc +4 pistons as part payment for an engine rebuild Dave Ashford did for me at Brunswick Racing, he might still have them. They were dished pistons.

Low compression might be valves, if the block is good and a hone will be enough I do have some new 1500 std pistons and rings, again dished top. They are on rods and all built up but never used.

[alfadave]

Before you take the heads off, maybe do a cylinder leakage test?

[Alfaoldgit]

Hi Veesix75 & Alfadave,

V6, thanks for the offer of the pistons. I think I will just forge on and take the heads off. Fortunately I have three good engine machine shops nearby who can measure the bores and do the necessary machining if needed, One of them has seen Alfa flat fours previously. I won't be getting near the engine for a week or few as I have domestic priorities, also the remote workshop is getting a major clear out next weekend as it's full of junk & dirty - no good for an engine rebuild.

I'm expecting the body shop to return to work on my Sprint soon; no doubt I shall have tasks to do!

AOG

[Alfaoldgit]

Hi Folks,

If you're wondering why I haven't posted for some time it's because there hasn't been much to post about. Work on my car had been deferred with my agreement as the body shop is overwhelmed, also a member of staff has been lured to the aviation industry. As if this isn't enough the body shop has been commissioned by a major German manufacturer to paint a new build 1934 concept car in cellulose single coat metallic paint. I didn't even know that metallic colours were available in cellulose! Talking to an acquaintance employed in Rolls Royce's paint shop, this paint is evil to apply - you only get one go at applying it: it's also highly toxic. As he put it, there's not many people left who know how to apply it as most of them are dead. When you are commissioned to do something, you don't turn it down, so I have no problem with helping Chris out.

Sorry for going off topic. I have repainted both front hubs, cleaned out the bearings, repacked with new grease and replaced the seals. I posted what I learnt doing this on the bearings replacement thread. I have also repaired and repainted the steering column. Repaired........? Yes the plastic sliding block behind the up/down adjuster had shattered. I made a new one out of a piece of 'er indoors' nylon chopping board. She didn't need it, but can't understand where its gone .

I could post pictures of shiny hubs and the column if you want me to, but it seems a bit 'look at me'.

Work should restart mid May and to alleviate the shop workload I will be putting the suspension & steering gear back on. The plan then is to reinstall the doors and front wings with weight on wheels to ensure a perfect fit. Then there will be the external trim to fit. We are still waiting for the new windscreen from Pilkingtons, I'm going to have to get it delivered as my 159 is dying.

Finally, thanks once more to John at Justsuds who supplied me with a pair of original seat belts. After market ones don't have the extended bottom shackle and spring loaded bottom shackle plate. Maserati Biturbo belts are the same but they can only be bought with a mortgage (yes, I looked everywhere for new ones!).

[alfadave]

Welcome back after your Winter hibernation.
Any engine/gearbox news?

[Alfaoldgit]

Not a lot of news on the engine. I managed to obtain a set of used oversize pistons complete with con rods from an Alfa garage in Thessalonika for a fair price should a rebore be necessary. They are as good as new (the same place had new oversize pistons too). As ever, time is the challenge plus I have the mess in the picture to get put back together (after I have R&R the gearbox & maybe changed the clutch & DMF) before Chris sends the Sprint back. The gearbox I'm going to take a gamble on, apart from changing the selector rod seal & cleaning it up. I have worked on 164 gearboxes & Alfetta transaxles but the Sud box is unknown to me & if the Haynes manual is to be believed, a pig to work on. If 2nd is crunchy, I will have to drive around it. Anything more, I'll be looking for someone to fix it.

AOG

[KevJTD]

Nice looking mobile lift there, is it fairly sturdy and stable?
Guess it has pads or little arms that pick up on the sills?
What make/price are they?

[Alfaoldgit]

Kev,

Yes it's very stable & sturdy, rated at 2.7 tons. Made in China, to a UK spec, but not the usual rubbish; the quality of the welds is very good. It has arms that can swing and pads that slide along the arms. Purchased direct from Automotech, current price is £1350 so not cheap - you can buy similar on ebay of unknown quality for less but what price your life? Is sold as portable but IIRC it weighs in at around 300Kg so it's movable rather than portable! The same company supply the equipment for the "Car SOS" workshop. I found the company very helpful, but be warned these lifts sell fast: I had to wait three months for mine.

https://automotechservices.co.uk/produc ... ssor-lift/