Classic Alfa Forums

LooLooSud33Spider wrote:Looking good Colin and your right better to do it right even if it takes longer . I'm about to get in a position to start the repairs on my Ti and would like it to be in the paint shop early next year .

Quite right Lou.
So, with the bodyshop fully staffed again, work has continued on the Sprint. This time on both doors, which were in a bit of a state. I don't mind waiting when the work's to this high standard!
I'm a little bit impatient to get my car back but, as you can see from the last picture here, the quality, fit and finish of the completed work is so far top of the shop so I can wait. Note the standard of the inner wing repairs, front scuttle and A posts, all carried out by using hand-made panel-beaten repair sections. The craftsmanship is beyond good. It's brilliant.

More updates and photos to come as work moves on to the rear wheel arches.

Good to see the momentum has re started Colin.
Sorry to hear you ran into problems, lets hope they have it all sorted now.

It's great Keith. There's light now at the end of the tunnel.

Apologies to those of you of a nervous disposition...

The Sprint's rear wheel arches were made up mainly of filler so all the grot has been cut out and the panel taken back to bare metal. There's no good news as to what this revealed though. The inner wheel arches have corroded where the outers and inner panels fold over and meet to expose the mess that can be seen in the pictures below. I've been assured by the bodyshop that this is in fact not as bad as it looks, although it looks pretty horrible to me...
According to the bodyshop, this is no worse than any newer more modern cars and is by no means uncommon. They're going to be using the outer arch panels that I supplied to them to fashion the repairs to the inners. Meanwhile, Louise West (LooLooSud33Spider on this forum) has kindly supplied me with another pair of outer arches to complete the job and these will be sent up to the bodyshop to arrive next week. Thanks Lou!

That can often work out pretty well, but when there are no inner arches available theres little option other than fabrication anyway.

I've got the same task with a mk1 sierra xr4i now, pretty horrid inners, probably worse than i can see of your sprint to be honest, but its coming together,

No thanks to some pretty shoddy sills etc by magnum panels,

Atrocious!

Good work on getting your Sprint to this stage.
Looking at the earlier posts re the repair sections from Peter, I think they might have come from one of my cars, which ended up at Peters, as it was declared "uneconomic to repair" after I had sold it with the 16v engine installed but unfinished. Nice to think that parts are being put to a good use! There is a "16V Build" thread back on P 14 in this section, with more information/pictures of my old car.

Yep. That's the one A6N. Thanks to your dearly departed, my boy Alfie lives on.
Thinks... Maybe we should all carry Alfasud heart and body organ Donor Cards in our glove boxes just in case the worst happens?

OK. I've been away on holiday in Ireland but have returned to some more excellent work by the bodyshop.
Previous pictures in this thread will show you what a mess the rear panel was in thanks to rust breaking out around the holes for the rear spoiler attachment points and one or two other areas too.
Well, now it's all good again thanks to the ex.F144 DCY (Alfasixnut) panels sourced from Peter at Alfasud Parts Online.
Needless to say, I'm very pleased with the standard of workmanship here while work progresses on the rear wheel arches. Pictures later.

With the rear panel repairs completed, work has begun on the rear of the roof panel which if you remember had been crudely bodged in Alfie's previous life. Once the two inch deep layer of filler had been removed, the true extent of the damage could be seen.
It's obvious to me that whoever did this botch job had just made things worse and I think it'd have been easier to carry out the repairs properly the first time round by cutting out all the rust and letting in new repair panels formed from a used but sound original roof section.
That's what we're doing right now. According to the bodyshop, it looks more difficult than it is though and, when it's completed, there's no guarantee that the fragile interior headlining (that's had to be moved out of the way in order to have the repairs done) can be replaced in exactly the same place that it was originally so I might have to have an upholsterer to make all good again.
That's one for the future though but for now I'm more than chuffed that work is going so well at the minute. (I certainly hope that I'm not tempting fate with that last statement). More progress photographs below:
It's getting nearer...

Ouch !! that rear roof looks nasty Colin.
Pleased to see it is getting sorted and you are happy.
Moving along nicely.

Have they done the rear arches yet Colin ?

Kegsti66 wrote:Ouch !! that rear roof looks nasty Colin.
Pleased to see it is getting sorted and you are happy.
Moving along nicely.

It's triple-skinned in places Keith but the bodyshop know what they're doing and they're confident of getting good results. It's a tricky one but not impossible.
The structural integrity of the roof panel will be reinstated after the repairs which can only be a good thing. Much better than the 2" depth of body filler that was found hiding under the paint... Scary.

LooLooSud33Spider wrote:Have they done the rear arches yet Colin ?

Ongoing Lou but they're making good progress.

Hi Colin, just managed to persuade an owner to part with his Alfasud Speciale and wondered if you have managed any further progress on yours ? I also have other Alfas including a '89 1.7 Sprint

How is it going Colin?

Anybody who knows me Dave will know also that I'm a stickler for detail. Fortunately, the body shop carrying out the work for me also know this to be true. That's why some aspects of the restoration match my own approach and subsequently take longer so I'm prepared to wait to have the job done properly first time.

Well now, after quite some time, the epic journey that is my Alfasud Sprint Speciale's restoration has resumed.
My car is now back with Euan at CP Garage Services after the firm originally carrying out the bodywork for me have had to cease trading due to staff shortages.

So, a quick resumee of what's been done so far:

1. Bodywork stripped back to bare metal.
2. Bonnet repainted.
3. Front inner wing rails repaired both sides.
4. New front wings.
5. Both A posts have had all rust cut out and new metal let in.
6. Repair panels let in to windscreen corners both sides.
7. Both door bottoms have had all corrosion cut out and factory repair panels let in.
8. Inner rear wheel arches have had all rust cut out and repaired using new fabricated panels.
9. New rear outer wheel arches replaced using factory repair panels.
10. Rear panel and valance have had all the rusty bits cut out and good sound panels and sections from a donor car let in.
11. Rear window surrounds de-rusted, primed and top-coated.

So, the Sprint is going to be going to another bodywork specialist for the outstanding work to be finished in the next week or two. The only thing left now is that the repair to the rear section of the roof needs to be completed and the wheels refurbished. The full respray can be finished at the same time and the ulta-rare side stripes and rear spoiler applied plus a lot of 'details'.

More pictures soon. My intention is to get her back on the road this year. Wish me luck!

Good luck Colin.

Thanks Lou.

It will be good to see the car again Colin.
Thanks for the update and looking forward to the pictures.

Cant wait to see it Colin. Good luck

Thank goodness - it's been a while.

Blimey, just looked and it's been well over a year since those last pics Col, guess you don't need me to remind you of that!

Time flies..

Hope progress gets back on track, might just get out before you now

Yes Kev. I know.

The original bodyshop had their master craftsman, who was working on the Sprint, suddenly leave them for Arnold Clark's.

As I mentioned earlier in this topic, a replacement technician arrived who turned out to be no better than average so they had to let him go and then there was a guy whose CV and delivery at interview was apparently far, far better than his ability so he was shown the door too.

They tried, they really did, but eventually realised that they couldn't continue one man down on a permanent basis so reluctantly the decision was made to cease trading. Sad I know as the standard of workmanship couldn't be faulted.

Still, we're back on track again now. Onwards and upwards! I only hope that the new bodyshop have the same attention to detail as the original guys. Time will tell I guess...

More progress photos will follow shortly.

Alfamet wrote:More progress photos will follow shortly.

Here we go then....

And there's more...

More progress shots...

The new guys are certainly on the case Colin.

Great progress Colin!