Classic Alfa Forums

just a quick update.....nothing at all done!

although i have managed to get a brand new, still in alfa packaging, gear lever gaitor.
was amongst a job lot i bought inc the panels i'm selling on here, but the gaitor was the real reason for the purchase

have got half a plan to do some jobs this weekend but a lot depends on the weather, could well be either flooded or snowed in by then!

Interested to hear you found a NOS Sud gear lever gaiter Kev. Presume this was probably found in a parts stash located outside of the UK looking at the script on the panels you are selling on here?

I found a black gaiter last year in Germany - still in its orange Alfa Ricambi packaging. I am going to fit it to the dark blue S1 Ti I recently imported from Australia. As it is most likely over 30 years old I am not sure how flexible the leather cloth will be as it does harden with age as the plasticiser chemicals leach out. I paid in excess of Euro 50 for mine which is steep I know, so hope it will not crack up like the old one the first time I use it!

Another alternative is the replica leather gaiters listed on EBay UK. I purchased a brown one for my 78 Sud Super restoration and found it is a reasonably good copy. Being leather it should last better too.

To improve it's originality I salvaged the rubber grommet from the top of my original one and got the local shoe mender to sew it onto the new gaiter as it only had a leather cloth ring to finish the shaft surround. I also got hold of some 15 mm thick upholstery foam and used this to line the inside of the gaiter in four sections as per the Alfa original. I found that you need to glue the foam quarters onto the outer edges next to the sewn seams only - so that the gaiter does not become rucked looking and also so it stays supple enough as the gear lever is moved through the gate. The Alfa original has the foam sewn into the main four seams with no glue, so it is soft enough to bend easily.

You can purchase both brown and black reproduction gaiters from the EBay seller. Here is the link for anyone that might be interested:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FITS-ALFASUD- ... 35d22ace15

I bought one of these for my S1 and am pleased with it as well.

picking up the odd bit is half the fun isn't it, if we could just ring up and order anything we needed like the beetle boys can then where would the challenge be



now, anyone recognise this part?

Under dash trim?

Is it plastic?

Also looks like an inner wing/suspension turret

all will be revealed tomorrow.....

rare item

Tease!

I know Kev , but I won't spoil your thunder.
I will confirm they are metal and are quite rare !!
I trust you have them both?

Is it the corner section under the windscreen scuttle, air vent hole?

I am sure not many people will know what this is Kev.
Have never seen one as a NOS part before, a very rare (if not unique) item theses days I would imagine as they had the durability of a chocolate fire guard.
You would really have to be a bit of a Sud anorak to know what they were used for which makes me feel a bit red faced as I recognised the part straight away!

Sorry Veesix75 - they are not part of the scuttle/bulkhead structure.

Ha! My 'new' 1974 sedan still has those items fitted, I'd never seen them before. Certainly worth a few more points for originality!

Are they front disc brake covers

iv only ever seen one sud with these still on and thats jon trinders

great find kev

Simonsud wrote:Are they front disc brake covers

I was thinking the same but have only seen photo in the manual

Think you have been rumbled Kev.

I was wondering when they'd surface kev, lol!


This is a very deserving car for them for sure, glad they've found such a good home

thought you guys would know it in the end although, like to me, they aren't as widely recognised as they maybe should be.
talking to tom at BLS about these some time back he said they were a royal PITA and most got left off when they were removed.
pretty sure it was only the earlier cars that had them as the mounting points aren't on all sump pans..

i didn't fit them initially as wanted to get the brakes all done first, thought i'd "pop" them on at some point when i got a minute.
yes, right!

i now realise what tom was on about.
the only way to fit them is to drop the exhaust front pipe down from the engine! imagine having to mess about like that when you need to change the discs or the driveshaft. although you can still get to the driveshaft bolts from above it'd be a pain to line them up.

they bolt in 2 points to the sump pan then to the outer edge of the calipers

these pair were very kindly given to me by rodger some time back, haven been blasted and powder coated by shrew, they look fab fitted

They are a right royal PITA.
Glad my 77 never had them.

talking of backward steps, i had to remove the o/s driveshaft & disc to fit the speedo cable, a massive oversight on my part not fitting it ages back.
what held that job up for a while was the lack of the circlip, but john came to the rescue again
glad to say it all works fine.
couldn't find a new cable for sale anywhere but did find a good used one in the parts so that at least got a few weeks hanging up with some oil on it so it runs smooth.
have actually had one made before from an old one...

fitted the sprung bonnet stay too, had to tap out the threads in the pointing point on the bonnet to clean the overspray, you don't want to wind that in too far and poke through the bonnet skin!

also got a new vlotage regulator so that also went on. loads of little steps....

as it is now 95% watertight and the heater box water drain is now in place it was about time it had its first proper wash. amazing how dirty it was!

will look better once the steelies go on, and a few more trim bits and reflectors etc. plus once the interior goes in it'll help!

Beautiful!

That. Looks. Fabulous. I know Alfasuds have always been about funky colours, and I love that, but I think it looks great in silver too.

Really intrigued by the brake shields. Like everyone else, I have only seen pictures of these in the Haynes manual (which used an early car for the strip down) - what was their primary purpose? They have foward facing air intakes, so was it brake cooling or protecting the brakes from stones and stuff, seeing as they weren't inside the wheel like normal outboard brakes?

Lauren

I was wondering what their primary purpose was whilst fitting them Lauren, heat shield? dust shield? They also seem to protect the brakes/driveshaft boot from exhaust heat.
The fact that they go forward also points towards scooping clean/cool air as you say.

Always wondered what those brackets were for on the gearbox sump.

Great attention to detail, you are going to have to enter this in a concours when done!

She is looking really nice now Kev.

yeah a fantastic looking sud kev

WOW!

I don't think silver was your first choice Kev, some reservations initially i seem to recall, but has it grown on you now mate?


I think its gonna be one of the best decisions you made on it, i reckon its looking stunning in that colour against the black contrasts,


Gorgeous!

Not long now Kev, this will be you.


Ok, you will be on the other side, but you get my drift.

There seems to be quite a few silver Suds now maybe it will make other colours stand out even if they don't look anywhere near as good as Kevs'. Lol