Project car - 1989 75 3.0 V6 [Updated 12 November 2021]

[shiny_car]

Cheers guys. Yes, I'm in the Geelong region.

Indeed, once it's completed, it will make an appearance at Spettacolo, for sure.

[VeeSix]

Bet ya I know who your favourite royal is! 

[ANG156]

Honestly, haven't give it much time; they are back in the packaging. I think it needs to be taken into context of the whole, completed car, so that's going to be some time away.

You've made a good point there. I guess you will need to assess things once near completion. Will the car be resprayed?

[shiny_car]

Bet ya I know who your favourite royal is! 

Bahahaa!

Will the car be resprayed?

Mostly, yes. Probably everything except the roof and A-/C-pillars.

[VeeSix]

A fantastic 75 kit, tempted myself, god dam the sill gap is decent! 

[Cool Jesus]

Have been watch this thread with baited breath for each new installment Shiny. Love your work and even more so at how your doing it in your own backyard. Kudos mate, keep the updates coming.

[shiny_car]

Cheers Cool Jesus. 

Merry Christmas everyone.

Overall, it's been a productive year on this project, but things have slowed down a little during this busy family period. Not a great deal to report, but some progress none the less.

Last month, we relocated house, including the car, parts, and tools. There is now a double garage, so the 75 shares space with the GT, which has come out of storage.    And until the new house and garage are built, the 155 and 159 are still in the driveway!





To transport by trailer, the car of course needed to be in 'rolling' condition. So the front left suspension needed reassembly. At this time, I replaced the left tie rod because the inner joint was slightly worn. The right side is ok; the inner joint remains tight, such that the tie rod (steering arm) can be moved around without sagging down under gravity. On the left, the arm would simply drop down. No discernible  slop in the joint (compared with the very worn one on my 155), but certainly a sign there was wear.

The rubber steering rack boot was slid off after cutting the cable ties. Then a 22mm open spanner unscrewed the tie rod.





New vs old tie rods. I already fitted the new outer tie rod end (ball joint) to the old one, so this, and the boot, were transferred across.



New tie rod screwed to the steering rack, with boot and outer tie rod end. Notice how it can hold in place horizontally without dropping down under gravity. I need to fit new cable ties to secure each end of the boot, and spray the tie rod black to match the other side.



Steering knuckle, with hub and disc brake, bolted to the suspension control arms and tie rod. The hydraulic jack used to support the assembly in position whilst fastening the castle nuts.



This is the current front ride height, after 'resetting' the torsion bars. Too low?! Possibly. The heavy rake of the vehicle, because of the standard rear height, exaggerates the front stance. Nearer completion, I will re-evaluate the final height, with a fair chance I will raise it a little.



Lastly, before the move, I completed the refurbishment of the left Brembo caliper, and test fitted the new adaptors.

Appyling a new decal, the surface and the decal were measured, and masking tape used to mark alignment. Decal then applied.







Then, multiple coats of VHT Clear sprayed over the caliper, and baked in the oven to cure. Unfortunately, orange peel effect was the result of so any layers.





The 'visible' side of the caliper was gently sanded smooth, with 800 then 1200 grade wet&dry sandpaper. Then machine polished, and finished with Pinnacle Cleansing Lotion and Poorboy's World Wheel Wax.





After polishing, most of the orange peel was removed, and a high gloss finish achieved.



The 4 pistons and seals were then refitted, using ATE grease.



The competed caliper.









Caliper adaptor bracket, with high tensile M12x40m and M14x100mm bolts.



Adaptor bolted to the right side steering knuckle.



Brembo caliper bolted into position for test fitment.









And test fitment of the brake pads confirms a nicely positioned caliper over the brake disc.





The calipers have since been carefully boxed and placed aside for future permanent fitment. No front brakes for now!

Thanks for reading, and see you next year!

[Nate Dog]

merry xmas champ. amazing work on the 75. I marvel when i see the lengths you go to,
As to the car having no front brakes...
never mind, consider leaving them off, breaks are for pussies anyway

[Cool Jesus]

Shiny, before you go. It's perfect timing that I'm also doing my 147 callipers. My question is, did you scuff the decal for clear paint adhesion? How many coats of clear did you go with?

[shiny_car]

merry xmas champ. amazing work on the 75. I marvel when i see the lengths you go to,
As to the car having no front brakes...
never mind, consider leaving them off, breaks are for pussies anyway

Cheers mate! Yeah, who needs brakes! 

Shiny, before you go. It's perfect timing that I'm also doing my 147 callipers. My question is, did you scuff the decal for clear paint adhesion? How many coats of clear did you go with?

I simply sprayed over the decal without sanding its surface. I only sanded the paint around it, in fear of damaging it. Seems to be no issues with paint adhesion.

I would have done maybe 8-10 coats of clear over the main surface (the side with the decal), and probably 5-6 for the other side.

[lombardi]

Love your painstaking work, u are a perfectionist, am in love with the alfa car cover on the car opposite, u have the goods, congrats and i admire ur skill.regards

[Cool Jesus]

Damn that's patience with all those coats. Worth the end result. Do you have a dedicated oven? Tried it in the hooded BBQ with a plate to seperate the flame from the calliper. Unfortunately one of the bits was over the fat drain on the plate and the paint just burnt off with the jetted heat coming up through the hole. Temp gauge isn't the best either as two other pieces were also browned by the heat, I was rushing the job too, may have been better to do it in two seperate bakes. So imletting it cure for 7 days before I clear coat.
One final q. Did you go with silver or white decals? I got the white and now I'm second guessing myself as I think silver would have been more OEM. Not sure whether to get silver instead, White would stand out a little more I guess.

[shiny_car]

Love your painstaking work, u are a perfectionist, am in love with the alfa car cover on the car opposite, u have the goods, congrats and i admire ur skill.regards

Thanks lombardi.

Do you have a dedicated oven?

Did you go with silver or white decals?

I used a heat gun whilst painting  . It means I can apply coats a little faster; gently keep the caliper 'warm', not hot. A hair dryer would suffice.

After all the coats were completed, I use the house oven! It can stink a little after an hour (fumes), but nothing too bad.

My decals are silver. The original lettering on the 159 calipers is silver. Not sure about the GT/GTA calipers. I think white or silver are fine.

[Craig_m67]

Are the decals heat resistant... So they don't go black under the clear coat?

[shiny_car]

Yes, heat resistant. 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Alfa-Romeo-Brake-Caliper-Decals-Stickers-156-157-GTV-Spyder-Mito-Giulietta-/350952953922