The Alfa Thread

[LateFan]

Whoodathunk that car could look like this?! Quite a rescue, good work.


Pics!

These are cool without all the plastic on them.

[BlackbirdM3]

All buffed out.




I can't wait to see this in natural light.

Will

[BlackbirdM3]

Will

[flyboyx]

Whoo-eeeee! She gittin' there!

[2mAn]

Giggity

[ajhostetter]

[LateFan]

Petrolicious feature on a vintage racing TZ. I've been scolded recently by an Alfa guy from Europe that there is no "TZ1." There is a "TZ" (Giulia Tubolare Zagato - Giulia based, tube chassis, shape designed by Zagato), and the later "TZ2."

Whatever...here it is...

http://petrolicious.com/this-alfa-romeo-tz1-is-a-living-legacy-for-one-classic-racing-family

[BlackbirdM3]

I got a little done on the Alfa this evening. I've been waiting for new faces for my gauges to arrive, they did so this afternoon. I'm still waiting on the chrome retaining rings for them, but I figured I'd go through the rest of the gauge and get things cleaned up.

Inside of the housing. Pretty clean for being nearly 60 years old.


Back side of the tach, also pretty clean considering its age.


The face of the tach was looking a bit dull, especially in the center. A little aluminum polish will work wonders on it however.


Oil Pressure gauge


Looking a little dull


With only a single light to illuminate the gauge at night, I figured the inside better be as brightly polished as I can make it.


Tach looking like new


Also might brighter


All the parts ready to go back together.


Like New.


Will

[flyboyx]

sweet! been waiting for updates.....

[E30_Pare]

single stage paint job?

[BlackbirdM3]

single stage paint job?

Two stage.

As far as updates, its kinda on pause. I was going to pick up the engine and transmission last week, but had no way of moving them since everyone who has a vehicle that would be able to do such a thing went on vacation, the upholstery guy for the head liner is on vacation, and I still don't have the windshield surround trim polished so its ready to go on the car when the head liner is done.

That said, I spent 7 hrs polishing some aluminum bits with my new buffing wheel. The before and after pics will blow your mind. (need to take some after pics.) The aluminum trim that goes along the tops of the doors has gone from looking like it was aboard the Titanic, to looking better than new (mirror polish). The stuff is seriously impressive. Total car jewelry. That said, I still have a good 14 hrs worth of polishing, if not more.

I think I now have all the weather stripping ordered as well as some random clips and whatnot.

I finished refreshing the speedo this morning. It looks as nice as the tach. I also have the new face for the multi gauge, but I need to polish the inside of the housing on that since there is a single small light bulb to illuminate each gauge. Need to have as much reflected light as possible. The new chrome bezels for all three are in the order with the weather stripping which is coming from England. I'm still waiting for that stuff to ship.

The actual chrome pieces are lined up to be sent off to Victoria Plating in Victoria BC. They were the only people who would give me a quote, and even so, I'm saving 25% with the exchange rate. That alone makes it worthwhile to send it there.

I dug my door latch assemblies out so I'll get those back in the car sometime this week. That will make working on the interior far easier since the doors are currently wired closed for transport. I also ordered a black oxide kit so I can redo all the nuts and bolts that should be a black oxide finish. Some of the screws are a strange head that I can't find, so I'll just redo them. Once I have the doors free, and the gauge faces, I'll start rewiring the dash. That is going to be my biggest headache, I hope all my labels are still in place, and I can still read them.

I cannot wait to get this car back together. I can't wait to see what it looks like. Its going to be nearly a NOS car, there wasn't a single piece of rubber I could reuse, all the chrome screws are dead, so they will be replaced with stainless, the whole interior will be new, and all the trim is going to look awesome. I think its going to be a stunning car.

Will

[BlackbirdM3]

Italian toggle switches from the '50s.... There are four of these in the Sprint. Headlights, dash lights, heater fan, and windshield wipers. Before I pulled the car apart I did drop a battery in it to see what worked and what didn't. Mostly, nothing worked. The headlights sort of did. If you look at the switch, there is a brass roller that moves up and down to make or break the contact. Of the four switches, I've found only one that had the roller actually work correctly. After pulling them apart, cleaning them, and reassembling, they all seem to work correctly with the roller moving up and down rather than the switch just making a loud clack and doing nothing.

The switch would be in the "on" position here.


Yep, pretty crusty.



How many pieces do you need to make a switch?


All taken apart, cleaned, polished, ready to go back together.


All clean and back together. (in the off position)


It takes about 45 min per switch to take apart, clean, and reassemble. I gave the switch a good coating of "CorrosionX" to keep things from getting crusty again. Its safe for electrical parts.

Slowly I'm making progress on getting switches and things back in place. Its sort of depressing how little gets done in 3 or so hours of work.

Will

[flyboyx]

thats one way to look at it. another way is to say that those 3 hours were productive enough that items were brought closer to a finish and won't have to be worried about again as long as you own the car.....

[BlackbirdM3]

thats one way to look at it. another way is to say that those 3 hours were productive enough that items were brought closer to a finish and won't have to be worried about again as long as you own the car.....

This is true. However, I'm not 100% sure I won't have to deal with the switches again. If the rollers fail to roll, the switch still clicks, but no contact is made. Out comes the switch, to verify. Its not hard to pull the switches, but I could see one acting up on a dark night when I don't have a flash light. I was thinking a little dielectric grease might be a good idea, but it might also attract a ton of dust and gum stuff up anyway. For now I think I'll leave them as is, unless someone has a better lube that will not attract dirt, but will still transmit electricity, and not catch fire.

Will

[flyboyx]

yeah....doesn't look like there is any way to seal up the sides of the switch. the product that came to my mind is "dry slide". its mostly graphite. i don't know how well that stuff transmits electricity though. it will probably still attract dust on some small level.