It begins...

[Alfamet]

Today is a good day.
The galvanised rear beam axle is due in at Justsuds ready to be shipped to Euan and the lads at CP Garage Services. This means that the rear suspension overhaul can begin next week.
There's been a surprisingly small number of problems during the car's restoration so far. A minor issue is that the gearbox, having had all its oil seals replaced, has decided to develop a fresh leak on the driver's side output shaft, which is annoying but thankfully easily remedied.
If that's the only setback there's going to be on this restoration then I'll be extremely chuffed!
We'll see. More pictures soon....

[PETROLHEAD]

Great news, mostly

I look forward to seeing the next phase and the axle.

[Alfamet]

The galvanised rear beam axle from Justsuds on its way to Euan at CP Garage Services as we speak.

[Alfamet]

So, the galvanised rear beam axle was fitted yesterday along with new OEM Spica dampers, new springs, new brake discs, calipers and pads and wheel bearings. All the tie rods have had new OEM rubber bushes and a further coat of fresh underseal has been liberally applied before the beam axle was replaced.


The new axle in place.


Everything renewed or overhauled. Note fresh underseal.

That's the good news. The not so good news is that the engine and gearbox unit has had to be dropped again due to the fresh oil leak discovered at the hub flange. Luckily, John at Justsuds has found one of these in his stock.
One thing to note is that these seals are different sizes depending on which side of the diff' they fit. The one I need is for the driver's side which differs from the one for the other side by 1mm outside diameter.


The engine and gearbox have had to be dropped again due to the weeping gearbox hub oil seal.

Another issue is that the white plastic gear cog on the end of the speedometer drive was found to have cracked so a new unit is needed. These are proving to be tricky to get hold of so could cause the job to be held up. Unless someone here has a spare one they could let me have?


Cracked white plastic gear cog on the end of the speedometer drive unit.

So that's the story so far. To be continued...

[Alfamet]

The newly discovered weeping gearbox hub drive flange seal has caused the job to be held up. Here's a picture of the offending article in all its glory:


The leaking drive flange oil seal.

Onwards and upwards....

[Alfamet]

So, we're back on track.

John at Justsuds supplied the hub flange oil seal and Stephen Parry (Mr Sud) has put a speedo' drive in the post to Euan at CP.

This is an uprated and remanufactured part and replaces the troublesome nylon drive.

New Old Stock original speedo' drives like the one below are available in very limited supply but those I've seen have hairline cracks in the white nylon wormdrive due to their poor quality materials and time in storage.



The ones supplied by Mr Sud are more substantial and made entirely of metal so should be a lot more reliable and longer lasting than the weaker originals.



Sighs of relief all round. More progress photos soon.

[Alfamet]

More progress with the Sprint recommissioning....


Both the driveshaft flange oil seal and the speedo drive have now been replaced and so the motor and gearbox are reunited once more in the engine compartment.


New exhaust system throughout. Note the superb rust-free and undersealed undercarriage and new brake discs and calipers.


Nice attention to detail from Euan and the lads at CP Garage Services.


The overhauled rear end with new parts fitted throughout including rear beam axle, springs, dampers, brake calipers, discs and wheel bearings. Note the new twin pipe rear silencer.

More news soon.

[Alfamet]

It lives!!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... 0177893390

Now searching for a thermostat housing or its core plug after a small leak was found during the test run.



It's getting there!

[junior]

Looking good to me. You should have much peace of mind after this is done.

[alfachris]

Looking good what's next?

[Sud 145]

Is that the housing with replaceable thermostat Colin?

[Alfamet]

Looks like this Tony....

[Alfamet]

Another view of it.

[Alfamet]

Looking good to me. You should have much peace of mind after this is done.

That's exactly what I'm after.

[Alfamet]

Looking good what's next?

Wheels. Three out of the four leak air through the rims meaning that the tyres go flat after a while so this will be seen to next. They'll be trued-up then they'll be refinished to match existing...

That and replacing the spare tyre that happens to be the original Pirelli P2000 and is over thirty-two years old so obviously is not very safe...

Then the MOT...

[Alfamet]

Another view of it.

Thermostat housing now sorted. Thanks for helping me out Tony!

[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!

[Kegsti66]

Glad you found some replacements Colin.
I once had a Sprint 1.5 Veloce (same colour as yours) and they had seized like that.
Car is coming along nicely.

[KevJTD]

I've successfully stripped and freed off seized regulators like that before so they can be salvaged, but if you've got some decent ones then that's the easiest solution. sure you'll be packing them with grease so won't say that

I always make a point in telling anyone with a sprint to pour water down the side windows and watch for it coming out of the outlet pipe just in front of the rear wheels, if it doesn't then you have issues that need solving asap or the water will just collect in the sill bottom

[Kegsti66]

Yep !!
and rot them out.

[Alfamet]

Progress has been a little delayed over the past few weeks.

A pair of good useable condition window regulators were delivered to Euan earlier in the week along with a pair of rust-free front wings from Peter at Alfasud Spares.

At present, the interior has been stripped out of the car and stored safely leaving just the driver's seat in position. This will allow the regulator housings to be repaired on both sides using refabricated panels without the danger of setting anything alight (I hope!) Once this has been done and the drainage pipes have been reinstalled, the whole area will be covered liberally with Waxoyl. Fortuneately, the sill bottoms are unaffected but will nevertheless receive many coats of cavity wax as a preventative measure before all the interior trim is reinstated.

The offending clutch pipe

And the new replacement on its way to CP Garage Services

A victim of the engine being removed and installed then having to be removed and reinstalled again due to the porous gearbox flange oil seals is that the plastic covered pipe that connects the clutch slave cylinder with the clutch master cylinder gave way due to the signs of age. This is what's holding the job up at present. Fortuneately, Peter at Alfasud Spares has sourced a new one for me and this means that it can be fitted by the guys at CP Garage Services some time next week. This will then complete all of the mechanical side of the restoration. I'll then become more than a little nervous as the car has to have an MOT Test to make it road legal again.

We're getting there!

[Alfasixnut]

Good work!
It was such a shame that Alfa insisted on having wind down rear windows in the Sprint. A front edge hinge and opening rear would have saved so much grief!

[dave.armstrong]

I know but that would have been so mainstream. Wind downs in the reat were a bit of class. Nobody planned cars in the 80s to last 40 years

[Kegsti66]

Another good thing is that you can open them from the front without having to climb into the back of the car.
I think a nice touch and once in winter my drivers door mechanism froze and I had to drop the front of the quarter down and door window to tie the pillars together to hold it shut. Cold trip home.
Car is looking good Colin.

[justsuds]

Is that clutch pipe the right one Colin ? It looks a simpler shape than your original, - perhaps a 33 one ? they come through the bulkhead in a different place, hence the slightly different shape.
John.

[Alfamet]

Is that clutch pipe the right one Colin ? It looks a simpler shape than your original, - perhaps a 33 one ? they come through the bulkhead in a different place, hence the slightly different shape.
John.

I'll know next week John!

[York Sud]

If its the wrong one Colin give me a shout, sure I have one in the box o bits.. Rich.

[Alfamet]

If its the wrong one Colin give me a shout, sure I have one in the box o bits.. Rich.

Thanks Rich. Appreciated. We'll see what occurs...

[Alfamet]

Well, after a bit of a delay Alfie lives again!

Finding a usable replacement clutch union pipe proved to be difficult so, to save time, Euan at CP Garage had one made up in stainless steel braided pipe by his local Pirtek branch. A further delay here was caused by the fact that the pipe made and marketed by Goodridge as being suitable for the Alfasud and Sprint turned out to be way too short (see photo) so be wary of this if you decide on the Goodridge item.

So, Alfie is now up and running again as all of the mechanical side of the restoration is done. A test drive has revealed that there's one or two things need tweaking but nothing serious. The exhaust needed a bit of fettling to fit properly and one of the carbs needed a bit of a play with. He's now ready for his MOT.

So, we move on to the bodywork. The first thing to be tackled here are the rear window winder housings which had rotted out due to blocked drainage pipes. Repair panels are being made up ready to be let in and the drainage pipes replaced. Then we'll look at having a full respray once my wallet has had a chance to recover...

[Alfamet]

Looking good what's next?

Wheels. Three out of the four leak air through the rims meaning that the tyres go flat after a while so this will be seen to next. They'll be trued-up then they'll be refinished to match existing...

That and replacing the spare tyre that happens to be the original Pirelli P2000 and is over thirty-two years old so obviously is not very safe...

Then the MOT...

The wheels are now in much better shape (no pun intended!) and have been trued-up with all the inner rims cleaned so now, with the beads making a perfect seal, the tyres no longer go flat.

The spare tyre has also been replaced and the car now wears matching Pirelli rubber all-round.

Another job crossed off the list!