Best source of replacement panels for sprint?

[edgy]

Hi folks,

New to the board ( http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php/topic,12951.0.html )

Looking to pick up a sud sprint to rebuild it with my son as his first car, its the early sud (I read the later romeo sprint is better for rust? ) so its rusty in the sills from what I've been shown by the seller (I'll be looking at it this weekend in person).

I have googled parts suppliers and to my pleasant surprise they're quite abundant in the UK, my question is whats a reputable brand or supplier of the replacement panels? In the past I've restored a 69 Camaro and while there is many suppliers of replacement panels a lot of it is dicey.

Cheers

[peter dunkley]

Hi cant help with advice re panels but ensure you check the area below battery and also behind the rear edge of the front guards. from the inside kick panel there are three bolts which hold the guards on if these are rusty then the sills will be the least of your problems.
Worth a really really careful look at the area around steering rack to..
Would suspect if sills are rusty then these areas will be to and may well have already been repaired/ stuffed up anyway.
A thought.... buy the best and make it better, a shit Sprint will be so much effort, money and potential heart break.
If you can find a wrecked sprint then unspot the welds and remove what you need.. replacement panels can be a nightmare for all cars esp cheap copies.. ask anyone who has restored a 105 coupe.
pete
Pete

[colcol]

And there are 2 types of Sprint, the early ones based on the Sud with 4 wheel disc brakes and inboard front brakes and the later based on the 33 with outboard front brakes and drum braked rear, with working handbrake.
Try and buy the newist as hopefully it will have less rust.
From what i have seen they all seem to suffer from rust, whether its the early or late versions, but i may be wrong on that one, as its just a casual observation.
The Sud suffered from rusting, but the replacement, the 33 didn't rust as bad, due to better steel and painting, but the 33 based Sprint still seemed to rust, i was told by a Sprint person that the better steel and painting was transfered to the new Sprint, but they still had a lot of water traps, Colin.

[edgy]

thanks for the words of advice guys, do they rot out in the plenums and footwells too? I'm super skeptical as I've been bitten in the past with MAJOR rust repairs on a car (literally rebuilding pieces that were non existent) I've been contacted by a member too who has a sprint that needs a motor rebuild... much much more up my alley!

Will look at both (depending where second one is)

[Craig_m67]

I've owned two sprints and two sud across the ages, gorgeous things.

1. They all rust, suds worst.
2. The later (33 mech) sprint rust the least, however this may be down to age.

My '87QV still had rust (and it was only 3yrs old!!)
In my experience places which rusted include (but are not limited too)

Rear hatch construction, where the skin is joined to the frame.
Also in and around the roof where the rear windscreen wiper jet is located

Top of the side panel below the rear windows, at the front where they slide into the frame, also the winding mech inside for the rear window.

Door sills
Lower door skin and front quarter window frame where it bolts (inside) to the door

Sill directly infront of the door, behind the front wing

Look carefully at the bulkhead/tray/section which houses the battery, ventilation unit and fuse box. Water can pool here (especially under the battery) causing rust. If this rusts through or leaks the water then seaps through into the double skinned firewall (filled with foam) directly below, causing it to rust from the inside out. The steering rack amongst other things is bolted to this firewall.

I've only ever seen(fixed) a firewall on an early sud but they would all have the propensity for it.
Obviously check the floors on an older car

I'd be buying the youngest, best condition body I could find. Mechanicals are cheap and easy and all interchangeable with a reasonable amount of skill.  The later body can be backdated for the earlier chrome bumpers if you desire, the pressings are still there in the panels for them.

Other things to look for are stress cracks in the front chassis rails around the shock tower front bulkhead.  Alfa produced a bolt on buttress for this area on the 33 to alleviate this

I'm sure others will be along to advise other areas too

[Evan Bottcher]

I've seen Sud/Sprint repro panels for sale on http://www.alfa-service.com/ in Germany.  I've bought other parts from that supplier, but not panels so can't vouch for quality.  There are some panels available at http://alfasud-parts.co.uk/.

cheers,
Evan.

[edgy]

Thanks all, so I am hearing a common theme... Get the best body you can and do mechanical work instead!

Makes a lot of sense to me, especially as I've been bitten in the past with rusty projects that just seemed to have gotten rustier the more I stripped back.

A member here contacted me and offered a nice looking sprint that seems to have a solid body and interior the motor is no good though and it is on the old/nsw border, Im in Sydney.... just trying to get my head around my schedule and how best the logistics of it would work.

Cheers

[edgy]

Thanks for all the advice guys it proved invaluable in evaluating the car, upon a very thorough inspection we took the plunge on it yesterday and made a deal with the owner.

From my evaluation this car has bits of rust due to design flaws & build quality rather than neglect and it is solid in all the right areas.. its been very well used and very well loved with all history documented since day 1.

I look forward to getting it home and rolling up the sleeves and playing with the welder and angle grinder 

The plan is to just restore it to its former glory and preserve it, the owner has even in the log book got a photo of it from when it was new... so we'll know what to aim for! 

I'll be sure to document its restoration here.

Cheers