Hello forum,
I have come into possession of a 1972 1300 GT Junior (White, will put some pictures up tonight). The car has been dormant for about 7 years. There are good aspects and bad aspects about the car.
Good aspects - The interior is immaculate, the black leather seats/dash/centre console are still in beautiful condition.
Bad aspects -
The dreaded rust. The boot has a reasonable amount of rust that I would call deeper than surface rust but on most panels there appears to be small amounts of (what appears to me) to be surface rust.
The paint is still a beautiful crisp white and comes up very well after a wash etc, so I would be reluctant to respray the whole car. However as most panels have small amounts of rust, would it be best to do so?
A further issue I have is with the brakes. The back right and front right are seized. The rotors appear completely rusted and will probably need to be replaced. Other than that I am not sure what else would require replacing to make the brakes ok.
The engine is obviously a concern. The car has done about 190,000km. The car was last started (but couldnt move) around 2007. During that time the engine sounded fine but obviously time has passed since then.
Being only 24, I have only just come to appreciate the car that is now in my possession. Even in its current state it has really impressed my friends. Any advice as to how to proceed from here would be greatly appreciated.
I will be joining the alfa club soon.
Thanks for your time guys, feel free to check back in when I put the pictures up.
Best regards
This is only photo I have at the moment - it was taken at night obviously and was just a random general photo.
Join the Alfa club in your area and talk to as many people as you can, with a few dollars spent on this car you could turn a tidy profit ....or...My guess!.. by the time you fix or even restore the GTV you wont want to sell it
Thanks for the post.
I inherited this car and therefore tremendous sentimental value and as such would never sell.
1. Back left boot - where most of the exposed/deepest rust lives
2. Drivers side, with what I believe is an alfa racing mirror
3. Boot - with more rust
4 - top of the back window
5- top of front window
6- Steering / Gauges
7 - Inside
8 - Engine
Inside
The leather seats
Hi there and welcome to the world of Alfa 105s. regarding your 1300 junior,have you checked your engine number or chassis number. ?. The chassis numbers should be as follows : from AR10531-1296185 to AR10531-1296524. The engine numbers should be from 00530-125657 to 00530-158330. The carburettors on your car appear to be Solex not Weber or Dellorto,and the side mirror is correct,probably made by Vitaloni. These cars are always worth restoring,because there is so few of them left any where in the world,most 105 Bertone cars that people restore are usually 1750 GTVs or 2000GTVs,but 1300 Juniors are not very common here in Australia. You have a lovely car,please do all you can to restore her,and enjoy the nice free revving 1300 engine,fitted to your Junior,it wont have as much power as a 1750 or 2000 engine,but nevertheless it's a sweet engine.The colour of your car really suits all 105 Bertone cars,because it highlights the flowing lines as penned by Giugiaro way back in 1964. Cheers and happy Alfa ownership. Joe
Agree with Balocco save for this.
To restore a Junior will cost the same as restoring the more powerfull versions which in the end are more sought after for their added performance which in the main is a core criteria for Alfa owners. Having cost the same, the returns will be less. Not quite as bad as restoring a sedan VS a coupe but along the lines.
Rare it might be but don't overlook the end game if that is an issue for you.
Otherwise welcome and happy motoring.
Thanks very much for both posts, I certainly appreciate the fact that there are pros and cons for the 1300. Basically I just want to make this an excellent specimen of what it is, rather than trying to make it something it is not.
I would be interested to see whether people would do a full respray or rather fix the specific rust affected areas. Where there is no rust, the paint is bright and lively.
I think I have the funds to fix it mechanically and a good quality full respray, just seeing how other people would approach the issue.
My take on your questions re repairing the rust and paintwork, is that so long as the rest of the bodywork is fine, if it were my car, I probably would go for localised repairs rather than a full repaint. I say that given it should be cheaper and so long as who ever you use is competent, then they should be able to match the colour, white paint being relatively easier to achieve this with than darker or metallic paints. Obviously, though I would check with the repairer that they believe they can achieve this. If not then go for the full respray.
Afterall, if the car is a keeper, as I think it probably is to you given you inherited it and it has sentimental value to you, then you could always later on have it completely re-sprayed when really needed, but in the meantime delay that cost.
The good thing as Balocco mentioned is that 1300 GT Juniors are not common, and it would be really nice to see one be saved and kept in original condition, rather than modified, ie. larger engine etc etc. Just a thought to consider.
Nice car and well done.
Hello proud 1300Junior owner,as others have pointed out,it really depends on how extensive the rust is,meaning does it have just superficial rust,or bad rust in the usual places,such as the sills,bottom of front guards,bottom of doors,and boot floor,also check the front flooor area,on both drivers and passenger side. I think the colour of your car is BIANCOSPINO,or HAWTHORN WHITE, which was used on many cars ,including 1300TI and Supers and also 1750 Berlinas,GTVs,and 1600 Juniors,2000GTVs,and yes even on the Spiders. Hope you enjoy this delightful car,as compared to the blandness and anodyne looks of modern sports cars. Cheers Joe
I reckon localized repairs get it on the road as soon as you can and drive it for a while so you get so attached to it you couldnt bear to have it off the road for too long, then commit to a respray. More chance of the resto not stalling is hopefully the result, unlike my snail resto.
The car is getting towed on Tuesday so the process can begin! This has been occupying my mind for weeks now so it will be a great feeling to start the process.
Just a question guys, I have been reading a bit about cam belts on this forum.
I assume mine will need replacing as the car has not been properly driven in 9 years is that correct?
Or would you get a mechanic to inspect the belt and see?
Thanks guys
Your engine has timing chains and Not timing belts so no need to worry about this part.
Thanks very much for the prompt response.
The car has been at the mechanics for about 3 weeks and has been gone through.
I think I have new rotors/pads, the rear suspension needed a fair bit of work. I also had a broken choke cable and a leak in the master brake cylinder.
Not sure what else has been done, is yet to be done.
My carburetors have just been sent for reconditioning. The mechanic tried for a fair while apparently but said they were no good.
Time of hopefully 1-2 more weeks.
just out of interest who is your mechanic?
Thanks for the help so far with respect to the fuel etc.
There is a slight electrical issue at the moment. All the lights work, however sometimes the parking lights stay on after the car
is switched off. This obviously drains the battery.
What is the best way to approach the issue? What are the likely problems?
Thanks forum, I got to drive the car about 50 metres today, my first 50 metres, I think I am hooked already.
Hi & love the Junior. I had a 1300 Junior during my Uni years and loved every minute of it. I agree with Derek on getting it on the road as soon as you can and enjoying it before getting into serious restoration work. These cars are a joy to drive, and surprising even today how well they handle.