Our very own "barn find"...

[Evan Bottcher]

I'm actually posting these in the hope it will inspire me to spend more time in the garage!

[Evan Bottcher]

I found some of the screws in the rear side window trim were rusted and the heads stripped.  I had to drill them out which was exceptionally painful.

[alfagtv58]

Bump.....what is happening Evan, broken arm is no excuse for not working on the car (well alright maybe it is) but either way you need to get back in the shed and update us.

[Evan Bottcher]

Heh - no definitely no excuse in the last couple of months at least.  Absolutely no action at all since October last year.  Not a lot of car action at all, actually.  I *will* however be out at Sandown in the Sud this Sunday which I am very very excited about.  I keep looking wistfully at the GTV, will have to put my thermals and parka on one of these days and get stuck back into it.

[Evan Bottcher]

You might be surprised, but I actually started some more work stripping the GTV!  I got some shelves installed in the garage, cleaned out a bit and made a small start again.  I'm not sure, but this might be the slowest 'restoration' in the history of restorations?  Removed a bit more brightwork and started dissassembling a door.  At least I'm all enthusiastic again.

I had forgotten that the Alfa Romeo Centro Documentazione sent me a full copy of the parts manual and owners guide for the GTV a while back. Must be about 500 odd printed A4 pages double-sided.  It's an awesome reference when taking a car apart (and hopefully putting back together one day).  It also didn't cost me a cent - not even for postage.  Awesome.

[Fast Eddie]

which they wont do anymore, at least not without a courier fee.

[Evan Bottcher]

I got in very early when I got a sniff that they were doing it - glad I did!

[Evan Bottcher]

The doors are fiddly to pull apart - should be a lot of fun to put back together!  The RH door isn't too bad.  The LH door is rotten.

[Evan Bottcher]

Question - it's only the passenger side footwell that's meant to have a map pocket?  On the drivers side this car had a piece of carpet with some black vinyl attached to the edge.  The red stitching on the carpet doesn't look original - what's originally on the drivers side?

[Evan Bottcher]

Engine bay is a bit empty now.  Need to pull the heater box and hoses, and the brake lines.  Lots of surface (hopefully) rust around the brake reservoir and battery.

Is this battery tray original?

Third photo - on the LH side of the engine bay the panel has unusual folds.  Only one of the folds is matched on the RH side.  Can someone tell me this is how they are meant to look (please)? Looking inside the front guard it all looks pretty straight - no accident damage or repairs evident.

[Evan Bottcher]

I pulled the fuel tank out of the boot.  Wish I hadn't, now I can see the rust in the floor of the boot behind where the tank sits.  The boot seal didn't for a few years I think, so water would have sat in this area every time it rained.

The spare wheel well was replaced not long before I got the car, so it seems okay apart from some light surface rust.

The rust in the boot floor is pretty bad where it meets up with the rear panel - lots of bubbles visible now the bumper is off.

[Evan Bottcher]

For those who've seen 'Love the Beast'... here's my campfire.  Mostly just me enjoying it though.

[Mat Francis]

great stuff- that was one hell of an update!
wish i could keep my work area/car looking that tidy during such a project

[Evan Bottcher]

That's the first update in a couple of years so... 

It's a very small work area, so I have to pick stuff up so I can get around the car :-)

[1750GT]

Guys I was interested in the contacts for getting a cars history and documentation (Automobilismo Storico Alfa Romeo Centro Documentazione) and Gary Unsworth for door sills.

Would appreciate contact details, web adress etc. Evan a lot of G & D required for this resto. Good luck and keep sending the photo's, makes interesting reading.

Thanks in advance for the info:

1750GT