I am always impressed with how friendly and approachable the old timer Italians are by true enthusiasts of the marque. This applies to Lamborghini, Maserati, etc. They always seem genuinely happy when approached about the old times and the old cars. I think they seem proud that people from other parts of the world are fanatics about what they worked on.
That is so true. Signor Cozza looked like a kid in a candy store. He is very passionate about the older cars. It was good to see him still very energetic and in good health. Ivan
There was rust on both sides of the front wheel wells. This was caused by water and dirt from the front tires seeping into the area between the outer rocket and the inner support panel. The metal was cut and a new patch panel fabricated and installed. Drain holes will be drilled in order to avoid the same problem in the future. Ivan Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Well done Ivan! Yes Signor Cozza is always full of energy and it is good that Fabio Collina struck you as an enthusiast, I have not yet had the pleasure to meet him. Keep up the good work! (By the way that black automatic Khamsin you had, 1232 is now being worked on near Modena getting Euro bumpered and it is rosso rubino now). best regards, Marc
Now that the metal work has been completed it is time for the very time consuming work of block sanding. This phase should take about a month and a half before the car is ready to get some paint. Ivan Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ivan, for sure this is Spyder Vignale will become one of the very best restored. I hope you'll keep it for a long time...! Ciao (currently from The Sultanat of Oman)! Walter
Man this restoration is happening fast. I've been doing metal work repairs on my Alfa GTV for years ... Pete
Pete, Two things are helping move this project along; first is that the body did not need much repair and hardly any fitting. You can spend many hours fabricating a panel or getting a door to fit properly. Second; that the body man is working almost exclusively on my car. His style is to do one car at a time, which I like. Too many times projects take many years because only a few hours a month are being dedicated. No matter how you look at it a restoration project is going to burn many hours and there are not too many shortcuts, if you want good results. BTW: Alfa GTV is a great car! Ivan
Ivan, Your spyder reminds me of the 3500 GT spyder I saw at the SCCA national races at Montgomery, New York in, I believe, 1959 or 1960. It was light metallic blue with a red interior and black top. What a beautiful car.
Sheridan, I had a 1960 Vignale spyder that somewhat fits that description, except mine was a medium bue metallic. I sold it to a gentleman on the northeast coast early last year. Perhaps it was the same car. These are a couple of photos .... was this the car? Ivan Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ivan, No; the car I saw was a light blue metallic. Your blue spyder is just as beautiful. I have always liked the Vignale style from that era after seeing that spyder at the Montgomery races. Sheridan
Sheridan, ...photos available from Montgomery? It could be possible that the car you saw there came from Alfredo Momo`s shop. Ciao! Walter
Ivan, I finally got logged on. I was speaking with the family and we are so glad that you were the one who ended up with the car. Especially after seeing the photos, you have done this car justice. Our Grandad knew this car was special but I don't think he knew just HOW special it was. I am looking into the photos you asked for and I will get back to you. Also the car ran when Grandad parked it so I am pretty sure there was no engine damage other than 30 years in the garage. As we told you he was a funny old guy so no one really knows why he parked it other than he wanted to save it for a rainy day. If you ever get that car back to the west coast especially like Pebble Beach Concourse let me know and i will be there. Grandad went there every year and dreamed of that car going there. I will continue to follow, Matt Beavers
Yes, Momo was a Maserati dealer that was later closely associated to Rallye Motors on the East Coast of the USA. Ciao! Walter
Matt, It is great to have one of Mr. Good's family members participating on this thread! Edwin Good owned this car from the mid 1970's until I purchased it in 2007, and is a very significant part of the history of the car. Funny you should mention the Pebble Beach Concours as the car was invited for this year's show. Unfortunately it will not be ready and I had to decline. Hopefully the car will get invited for 2011 and if that happens I'll be there with bells on. Did your Grandad take you for a drive on the spyder before he parked it? Please ask your family to dig through their old photos. It would be great to post photos of the car in the 1970's. Ivan Image Unavailable, Please Login
So Ivan, did you submit the car or did they approach you about showing it? Just curious to know how more or less "normal" people get in with all of the high rollers that take cars to Pebble (that said, a couple of years ago I was there talking to a guy who was part of the Bantam (I think) class showing his car. He did the resto himself, obviosuly not a high roller like mist. He did not win anything, but I was rooting for him.) Alberto
Alberto, Us normal people, whose last name is not Leno or Lauren, have to submit their cars for the Concours' consideration. Being selected has to be with what classes and the type of cars they want to show that year. Ivan
I could not find anyone that would do cadmium plating and decided to use transparent zinc plating instead. The parts turned out very good! The photos shows just a sampling of what was plated. All the brakes lines now look like new, the seat tracks, hose clamps, headlight rings, lock nuts, door latches, plus other miscellaneous items. Ivan Image Unavailable, Please Login
Looks good, but I've always had Burbank plating do my yellow and silver cad parts: http://www.burbankplating.com/
That is a good resource to know. One of my requirements on this car is that parts need to be worked on at driving distance from my house. I just get too nervous about sending stuff long distances and then having to deal with someone that becomes unreliable. On a prototype that risk is just too high for me to take. I just had a bunch of stuff powder coated (85 pieces) and two pieces got mixed with some other job. I crawled through the other job until the parts were located. Luckily I had a detailed spreadsheet of all the parts with photos. Did I mention I can be a bit anal about details ? I do plan to send the brake booster to California to have it rebuilt, but worst case is they loose it and those can be replaced. The same cannot be said about some of the stuff that got plated. Ivan
Oh, I completley agree with that! I only had them do some buckets of nuts, bolts and parts from some MGB's and my 328. here's the 328 parts; see post 58 http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=174763&page=3
I hope you realize that a zinc plating such as a yellow zinc chromate [typical of most gold finished parts you buy from auto stores] is a sacrificial metal and will vanish much more quickly than you would like. Cadmium is more durable from what I understand, but I have no experience with it, so I cannot say one way or another. It however is not readily available due to toxicity issues. The only way to securely protect that zinc finish [read investment] is to powder coat it. You can use translucents to clears, flat to gloss as needed. Ciao, George
