GTV project finally started!

[scuzzyGTV]

so tonight i finally spent a little time in the garage and got my hands dirty. and boy was it good.

i'm guessing that most people will think i'm a bit mental taking on an alfa resto, but i'm glad to have the challenge.

anyway this is the current condition of the beast:

[scuzzyGTV]

more pics of rust and the like:

[jimnielsen]

Looks like a great start! And the car already has a set of extractors (if i'm not mistaken) and a goodly bit of 'spare-oil'!  Good luck with it all - keep up the pics, I love to see restos!

jimn~

[alfagtv58]

i'm guessing that most people will think i'm a bit mental taking on an alfa resto

Not here mate, you are among equally derranged people...

Looks like you have got yourself a challenge there.  Whats the plan?  Road/Track/Concourse etc??

[MD]

Well I don't want to put anyone off a restoration especially a GTV. Looking at the nature of the rust in it, I would be seriuosly investigating where this car came from. If it ever spent part of its life close to the coast, you might rethink the exercise and start iff with one that lived on Dad & Dave's farm.

After all your hard work, the restoration may last as long as a $100 bill on the Collins street pavement..

Be careful is all I am saying. What is the manufacture date?

[scuzzyGTV]

jim - yep they are extractors and it has high compression pistons too. not sure on the cams tho.

phil - not too sure on final plans yet, but it wont be concourse! possibly road/track, not sure on how i'll liberate some more power yet.

md - the car is originall from melb, then came to hobart bout 10 yrs ago. the rust is bad, but it is only localised in 7/8 spots. plus i have a mate who is a panel beater. my real concern is the light crash damage on the front wing, i may need a new one.

the paln at the moment is to slowly strip it down of parts, get the body fixed and by that stage i should know exactally what i want to do with the motor area, which will determine the rest of the running gear.

anyway best start doing a bit more work.

scott

[MD]

Scott,

Just deduced from your signature that it's a 1980 model. Well, if that's the case, I got some bad news for you.
Pre'82 in any rate pre plastic bumper transaxles were made from a different metal to the later ones. This metal is prone to rust more readily and unpredictably so. Rust can develop in weird places that usually does not affect cars in general. On the positive side, structurally these cars are just as tough.

What this means is your preparation and finish will need to be industry best practice or your post restoration expectation less due to some regression.

It's hard to defy gravity. Best of luck.

[k76]

MD,

I'm really not sure what you are talking about here, there is nothing magic about how these cars rust. True, these cars rust more easily because of the crappy russian steel. But, I think the patchy quality of the coating and the built in rust-traps are much more important. If I use my own car as an example its total surface area was probably 98% rust free. The 2% or whatever that rusted(pretty badly though) is mostly where water or dirt got trapped. Sure the steel probably rusted faster once the paint broke down, but it never really had a chance.

The challenge in restoring these cars is that they rust in awkward places. That means its hard to spot in the first place, difficult to fix properly and difficult to coat after you're done. Using my car as an example again, someone had a go at removing the "easy" rust but didn't deal with the difficult bits like the a-pillar. Of course it was going to come back and crack the paint, there was still water leaking through and getting trapped. For mere mortals perfection is impossible, but I'm sure doing the best you can and keeping it dry later on will do wonders.

Good luck Scott!

Kris

[Jekyll and Hyde]

Scott,

Just deduced from your signature that it's a 1980 model. Well, if that's the case, I got some bad news for you.
Pre'82 in any rate pre plastic bumper transaxles were made from a different metal to the later ones. This metal is prone to rust more readily and unpredictably so. Rust can develop in weird places that usually does not affect cars in general. On the positive side, structurally these cars are just as tough.

What this means is your preparation and finish will need to be industry best practice or your post restoration expectation less due to some regression.

It's hard to defy gravity. Best of luck.

I have to ask at this point, why did you need to know the year of manufacture of his car to say this?  The rear lights, the 'GTV' inlay behind the windows and the air intake at the base of the windscreen (all clearly visible in his photographs) should have all been dead giveaways to it being a steel bumpered car (therefore pre 81), not to mention other small details.  I thought you said you'd owned one of pretty much each model of transaxle and 105 Alfa?

[MD]

Agreed. Realised that myself after the post. Glossed over the photos too quick. Makes no difference. The advice is the same. You know what advice is like. One can take it or leave it.

Scott is a Newbie. For all I know, he is altogether new to Alfa. People like him come to forums like this to learn about their new interest. Surely members who have some background knowledge about issues would want to volunteer useful information. This is my intention here. No more, no less.

If you have opinions totally opposite to mine, perfect. Post them.

Kris, I am sure I do know what you're talking about. You have elaborated on what I have said.

[MD]

Scuzzy, just returning to your original issue of restoration, you may find a couple of products helpful remembering that the key objective for corrosion control is to prevent oxygen coming into contact with the metal.

A product made by Valvoline which is called Tectyl 506 has been around a long time. Historically is was used to preserve armaments during the second world war. It's military specs stuff and dependable. Best used for "internal" sections such as doors, sills, chassis box sections, inside pillars and the like. The only drawback is that you cannot paint over it so keep that in  mind. The good part is that it is cheaper than house paint !

Surface corrosion control is a little more tricky as most paints are porous enough to allow some oxygen through. Five-six years ago, Dulux had a 2 pack primer sealer just for this purpose which they guaranteed would stop corrosion provided the preparation was in accord with their specs. You may care to investigate if this is still around and discuss it with your painter.

I have used Tectyl for over 30 years and it has never let me down. I have the Dulux primer on my GTV now for 5 years and there is no rust problem.

There are plenty of good examples of cars from that period around and there is no reason why yours should not join them given the right preparation.

Best of luck with it all.

[Paul Gulliver]

MD , Is Tectyl 506 thin enough to be sprayed

[Gary Pearce]

Sorry forumphiles, I beleive the Russian steel thing to be a myth. The reason that post mid 80's cars (all makes and models) didn't rust so prolifically was due to the emergence of manufactures understanding the benefits of rust inhibiting metal surfaces at manufacture. Up until then it was generally understood that good painting was all that was required to fend off tin worm. I worked for Merceded Benz in the 70's they rusted, 60's and 70's Holdens rusted in the wild when only 2 years old, Nissan and Mazda all had issues and no Russian steel in sight. Environmental issues either sped up or slowed the inevitable progress, hence worse on salt treated roads and better in Mildura where the air was dry.
By the early 80's 'dipping' the partially assembled bodies was the new bechmark, then 'electrlysis' with the dip to attract the right ions to the metal and even zinc coating began with some manufacturers.
Just like today with water based paints, they all watch one anothers techniques and try to keep abreast of their respective markets to remain competitive and comply with legislation.
On the subject of the resto, I do remeber seeing another blue ALfa GTV for sale on this forum for $500.00. Maybe take a look just incase it has spent some time in a dryer climate.

[scuzzyGTV]

hi all,

as i've said before i'm not too concearned with the cars condition. i will be taking it bach to bare metal as i've had this car for 6 years now and am no stranger to the conditions these can end up in. if worst case is that under the paint it is too far gone, then i'll search for another gtv and this will become a spare parts car.

i have pleanty of time to do the resto, although i would like to have it back on the road now (i havent driven it since 2006). ultimately i would like it back on the road by christmas, but its not too likely whilst renovating our house and heading back o/s for 6 weeks.

hope to update some good progress (i.e. consulting with a alfa bodyworks specialist, i'm open to suggestions in hobart)


but thanks you all for taking an interest and giving advice etc.

scott.

[MD]

Paul,

Tectyl straight from the can is fairly thick and would require lots of pressure to move it. It can be thinned with mineral turps to a consistancy appropriate for your gun. It actually works incredibly well even at fume level inside a section. It bonds to the metal so well and repells moisture. Stops corrosion too if you remove any loose stuff on the surface.

It should be applied with an airless nozzles so it gets applied without too much "fan"

It is not supposed to be exposed to sunlight but I had a 1968 Giulia Super daily driver that had a small section of rust on the surface of the body. I kept putting off the paint restoration for about 5 years and where I had applied the Tectyl, it stopped the rust and prevented any further development even though it was used in an inappropriate location. Honestly, I constantly recommend it to friends and guys doing restorations 'cause I know it really works. Has a bit of a sweet smell to it when it's applied but that disappears over time. No, I am not commercially associated with this product whatsoever just in case some people may think that.