Recommendations Bodywork|Upholstery for Alfa Romeo GTV 1750 1969 Coupe, Perth WA

[Joe Chindarsi]

Hi Everyone, I'm currently getting mechanical restoration work done on my GTV (via Cileberti Motors) but will need to turn my attention to the bodywork soon.  Rust needs to be cut-out and whole car will need to be resprayed.  I'm toying with the idea of stripping it back to bare metal and sandblasting (ie doing it properly vs not pulling apart)....still to decide...depends on funds i guess.  I'm also looking at getting the car seats (vinyl) re-covered.  I will probably just buy them pre-made from Classic Alfa or similar but will just someone to refit.
Perhaps the inside head lining and internal pillars redone as well.  Anyone have any recommendations for the above that are good operators with classic cars, and reasonably priced?!
Any recommendations would be appreciated.   Regards Joe

[poohbah]

I don't have the name of any place on hand, but I recall asking the guys at Cilebertis for a recommendation in the past. I'm pretty sure they said there is a place nearby in Osborne Park that does good body work. So maybe ask them next time you are in the workshop.

Wherever you go though, what you have described will be very expensive if you are a doing a full body restoration and re-trimming the interior.

[bonno]

Hi Joe
In the past 12 months my 1983 Alfetta GTV undertook a refresh project as distinct to a full restoration. This involved a full body respray, new refurbished dash and currently in the process of doing the interior. In my case I owned the vehicle for several years and had previous history on work done by the previous Alfisti owner, involving mechanical and body work. Needless to say that the body had no evidence of rust when stripped down to prepare for paint. Obvious areas of special attention was around windscreen, front guards, wheel arches, sills, doors, boot and underbody and all found without signs of rust. The vehicle was prepped and full resprayed to factory colour in acrylic, which took me 3 months to complete.

For the refurbished dash I used a donor unit from another vehicle so I could still drive the car. This was done by a semi-retired guy here in Sydney outer western suburbs. This took a little longer than expected and was compensated for this in a reduced price.

As with the interior I have carried out considerable research on bringing my interior back to original factory spec, but found this impossible because the velour insert material is no longer available. I decided to upgrade to the later model recaro interior, which is in the quotation stages at present. There a several options available with interior and favour to go with purchasing a set of tan leather seat covers manufactured in Italy and arrange to fit here locally, together with recovering door cards to match leather to my requirements.

I have not costed this entire refresh project, but I estimate it will cost me in excess of $8K in total, this is because most of the work was done by me. Several parts such as front grille, badges and some trim, is included in this estimate. The major cost for me will be the recaro interior, as early estimates suggest this will be around $4-5K, that includes the purchase of an old donor interior. I am not suggesting that this is what your restoration will end up costing, but be assured it won’t be cheap. Suggest you look at a post on this forum “Our very own barnyard find project”, just to give you some idea of what is involved. Have included link FYI
http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=363.0

Cheers
bonno