Our very own "barn find"...

[Evan Bottcher]

The email address for the Archives is CentroDocumentazione@alfaromeo.com.  The bloke's name is Marco Fazio - he responds very promptly, a much appreciated service provided by Alfa Romeo.

[Evan Bottcher]

I found this photo in a thread on AlfaBB about cleaning up a battery tray:



Shows the same folds in the panel above the battery tray, so I'm happy!

[Evan Bottcher]

I want to throw the car up on jackstands to get under it.  Forgive the numpty question, but what's the best/safest place to put jackstands under a 105?  At the rear I guess that's the axle.  Where on the front?  Should I jack under the spring pans and put stands under the jacking points?

Wish *I* could afford a hoist like some of our members

[cjheath]

Should I jack under the spring pans and put stands under the jacking points?

That's what I do.

[Colin Byrne]

hi even
i jack up the front on the big cross member behind the sump, means you can jack the front end up in 1 go but you need a decent trolley jack to do that, a block of wood between the jack and the cross member is a good idea also.(actually i have to jack up one side of the car with a small jack so i can get my big jack under the sump, probably not an issue with your car though).  if you do jack up under the spring pans be carfully when you lower the car onto the stands as there will be a big angle on the bottom arms and the jack could slide out, putting cup of the jack under the bottom ball joint is probably a safer option

[pep105]

Hi Evan

To answer one of your earlier questions theres only one map pocket on the passenger side, on the drivers side footwell theres a vinyl cover with a pattern on it. In the process of removing my interior so i will post some pics to give you an idea of what Im talking about. Only other thing is mines a GT Junior whereas yours is a GTV so there might be a difference there.

[AndrewO]

My GTV only had the one map pocket on the passenger side.  Driver's was just a flat vinyl panel.

[Gary Pearce]

Hi Evan,
I believe the best places for the jack stands is the jacking mounts providing your front ones are sound and that isn't the area that you want to work on. This leaves your axles hanging (like on a hoist) for easy attention to joints etc.
I rarely disagree with Colin the guru, but I never jack under the cross member behind the sump because the panel is quiet soft and deforms easily. Don't know how often you will be looking under your restored car but as you know I do and that often makes a difference.
Your garage jack only needs to be a cheapie as our cars are light and you usually are only jacking a corner at a time. You will find that you are using it a lot and the lighter the better for chucking it around the place. It needs to be no more than 140mm when fully lowered and under the front spring plates is good provided you have a rubber block that 1) prevents the slide off effect 2) prevents marking your newly restored powder coated spring plates 3) is handy in a lot of other places like body work that need to be jacked.
The new reproduction plastic battery trays are available from Riambi-Automobilia in Holland for U$45.00 and when painted are unreconisable from the original.

[1750GTV]

My 1970 GTV -
Vinyl map pocket on passenger side.
Carpeted panel on driver side.

When jacking, I must admit I do as Colin suggests - trolley jack under the cross member with a strong piece of timber to spread the load and then place the jack stands under the front jacking points. For safety, I release the hydraulic jack and rejack it until it is just putting light pressure on the cross member and lock it there.

If I take the front wheels off, I sometimes put them under the car behind the jack stands as well. A bit paranoid maybe, but a good friend of my elder brother lost his left lower leg years ago when a car jack (and car) collapsed on him. I was quite young at the time and it left an indelible impression.

I must admit that I never knew that the cross member was relatively soft.

Good luck with your rebuild and keep the pictures coming.

Regards,
Chris

[Evan Bottcher]

These are just reference pictures, but I'm posting them here just for amusement.  I've pulled the full loom out and it's all in a big box - I'm going to pretend it doesn't exist for a while... damned if I know how it will go back in.

[Evan Bottcher]

Heater box is out - the firewall looks really bizarre all bare like that.

[Evan Bottcher]

I'm starting to pull the brake lines, master cylinders etc.  Going to leave the suspension, steering in place for now until I move the car to where the bodywork will be done.

I'm a little anxious - the rust around the brake fluid reservoir is pretty well into the seams against the firewall and along the rail.  How much of a problem is this?

[Gary Pearce]

Hi Ev,
The rust behind the brake fluid reservoir is common as the spilt fluid breaks the paint and allows rust to occur. It just needs treating and sanding back and repairing like other areas. It is not really a structual area so not a big issue.
I will do the wiring harness for you if you like.

[Evan Bottcher]

Nice one Gary - that's a very generous offer! I'll definitely be looking for all the help and advice I can get when I get to the reassembly stage.  Right now it seems a long long way away... 

Car is now pretty much bare, just need to pull the brake and clutch masters, brake lines and calipers.  I've left the front and rear screens in and headlining until I can get some help pulling them out.  Then I've got to find some space in a certain club sponsor's workshop and wait for his panel guy to have some time to look at it.

Could be a bit of a wait, so I'll probably set about with the heat gun and get some of the deadener off the floors and find out what atrocities lie underneath...

The race car is fairly well sorted now (and I haven't run it since the 6 hour last year anyway) so I don't have any other distractions, I'm quite keen on this project now.  I'd love to get it down to Bruno's before it gets too cold...

[Evan Bottcher]

off-topic, but here's my 6yo at a dress up day at his School...

When do I get *my* race suit?