Alfa Romeo Sprint restoration

Jason - sorry, no good news. The Alfas of that era were built of sub-standard Eastern bloc steel, and as you have found have built-in rust traps.

You have two options. Go to evening classes, learn to weld, wheel, planish and do the job yourself. If you have the basic ability (I don't) then it will be very rewarding. Second option - go to a specialist restoration firm (after many years doing this I can recommend but one) and it will be built to far better than new specification but cost you far more than the car is worth. But you'll love it, probably keep it for ever, so the resale value is irrelevant. And you will have saved a worthwhile motor car.

I think you are on the learning curve of classic motoring! Good luck.

Geoff MacK

In article , Geoff Mackenzie writes

Lovely car! Probably my all-time favourite

what about the box section under the front wings, running from bulkhead to top of struts? This is the first place they always go, and a bugger to fix

On the plus side, I did once manage to weld up a basket case, so it can be done ;-)

If you do it yourself, make sure you get a good quality MIG that'll turn down very low - the bodyshell metal is so thin you just burn straight through it with a cheapo mig. Probably worth using argon instead of co2, as well

Oh and watch out for the foam-filled box sections (did they still make them like that in 88?) - they catch fire very nicely when welding, and you can't put them out as the fire is hidden inside. Nearly lost a very nice sud that way once :-(

Good luck ;-)

snip

The advice you have already had from this NG is very sound, and I don't know anything about these cars anyway. But spare a thought for your studies - once you start on such a project it tends to take over. You might just finish your course with a half-restored car and no university degree!

To be honest, it sounds like it's too far gone to restore. Have a good prod around the base of the windscreen, especially in the corners - if it's gone there, then scrap it. There's some other critical bits that are pretty much condemning, but can't remember where at the moment - try a post to alt.autos.alfa-romeo - Catman, the founder of the group had a Sprint condemned due to unrepairable rust, so he'll know exactly where to look.

They're not worth all that much even in concourse condition (around £2-£2.5k), so you're better off putting all the restoration money into a tidy example (from around a grand).

Trust me on this ;-)

It's perfect at the front, around the windscreen scuttle, bulkhead and strut mountings. It's really only the rear end of the sills/inner rear wheel arch area that really worries me. The rear valance should be easy to fix. It is in no way as bad as Catman's black Sprint, and is in better nick than the silver one from what I have seen from photos.

The car is stripped of all trim and interior - and I've had an extensive look into all areas of it. It's all the mud in the rear mudtraps that have caused all the problems. The car has otherwise been very well looked after.

Really - apart from those areas at the rear, the car is very good. My post probably makes it sound worse than it is. It looked mint until I took the sill covers and bumpers off. I really should have prodded around the rear arches when buying, to get a discount. I'd still have bought it though.

Cheers

Jason

Yeah I know. That's why I've tried to ignore it for the last couple of years.

Jason

Yeah. I had been a fan of the Sud and Sprint for a decade before I bought it. (I'm 28 year post-grad architecture student) so I've heard all the scare stories. But I still had to buy one.

Apparently it was a Italian-Soviet deal to involving trading Fiat>Skoda technology and reclaimed steel from Soviet warships. I also heard that the interior plastic was really just dark coloured pasta.

Cheers

Jason

It's perfect from the doors to the front. The engine is absolutley first rate. After a battery recharge it started up first time this morning. That's the first time I've tried since Christmas time.

Really? What was involved? You should see my website when I finish it.

I think I'll have to get this done professionally. It seems like a very complex area to me. There doesn't seem to be any foam in my car, apart from the bonnet. Maybe also in the A-pillars. Also my car has plastic liners in the front arches. The front end is perfect. Sounds like you had a sud-based chrome bumper Sprint?

cheers

Jason

Formerly used to restore cars for a living, and have done quite a lot of work on Alfas.

If you are able to weld and have all the equipment, then it is certainly within the realms of possibility to rebuild most vehicles, if you can get the panels.

However in the case of paying someone to do the work, the cost of this work is likely to far exceed wht you would be able to buy a an up and running car with a new MOT.

On nearly every Alfa I have worked on it seems that the more serious areas of corrosion, are hidden behind other panels, and are only visible when you start to remove things like sills and wings for replacement.

If you are paying to have this done professionally then with paint its going to cost around £3-4k............if you have that sort of money to spend then thats fine, but personally I could think of lots of better cars for that sort of money, and without the terminal rust problems linked to Alfas!

Stu

In article , Synapse Syndrome writes

Most of the normal rust points - under front wings, a-pillars, sills, floor pans, rear wheel arches. What I did wasn't pretty, but I got another 2 years motoring and then sold it at a tidy profit :-)

My favourite moment was welding the windscreen surround - it was so thin I was just chasing the burn-through around the screen. Luckily a pro- welder friend appeared just before I destroyed the screen

Yep. I forgot about the plastic liners, must make a big difference

Cheers