Interior Design (Post # 40)

Old Business

Ever wonder who besides you is visiting this blog?  Where they are from?  Why they visit this site?  How much pageview traffic The Alfatross gets?  I do too.  Fortunately Blogger makes some statistics available. One of them is traffic by country.  Not surprisingly, the vast majority of the people who visit this site are in the US.  Then comes Germany, also not too surprising.  But what country do you think is third?  Italy?  France? The UK?  No, its Russia!  Another big surprise is who's in 10th place: South Korea! 

Which posts appear to be the most popular?  According to Blogger,  In the Beginning (January 1st) has been viewed the most.  I guess that's not too surprising since it tells the back story.  But the next most popular post is the one that talks about The Alfatross' family, The 39 or . . . . (March 26th). That suggests to me that readers are intensely interested in the 1900 SSZs that are left and where they are.  The third most-viewed post is The Rotisserie (January 29th), which is surprising to me because it isn't really all that informative.  About the only conclusion that makes any sense is viewers are going there to see the two images of Dave's resto-mod, The Helcamino!

There haven't been all that many comments.  Most posts don't get any at all.  The one that elicited the most was Buried Treasure (June 5th).  Blogger statistics say that The Alfatross has had just under 3,000 pageviews over the last 7 months, and that the largest number of pageviews in a single day is 80.

Brian Williams at AutoRight Collision, Dave's shop, found a video that you have GOT to see: http://jalopnik.com/this-57-alfa-romeo-1900-ss-zagato-is-a-cocktail-for-al-1109712894.  It is a 7-minute, professionally produced video in which Andrea Zagato, grandson of Ugo Zagato drives and discourses on the red 1957 1900C SSZ that has remained with the family.  His observations about automotive design, the unique blend of form and function that characterizes the Zagato brand, and "essential beauty" are worth considering.  Thanks, Brian and Dave--this video made my day!

New Business

In the last post I mentioned critical decisions that need to be made ranging from in-your-face obvious ones like exactly what shade of red (its original color) to paint The Alfatross, to invisible ones like what kind of seam sealer to use between the body panels--something that will never be seen unless the car is disassembled. 

One of the biggest decisions is what to do about the interior.  The factors to consider here are originality, functionality, attractiveness, and appearance in keeping with the rest of the car.  The first two factors are pretty objective.  The last two are totally subjective, and that's the rub . . . .

The Alfatross' interior just before dismantling for restoration.

Let's start with originality.  The Alfatross was originally equipped with some desirable interior features such as the domed dashboard studded with Veglia instruments, Nardi wood-rimmed wheel, lightweight Zagato seats with vented backrests, and floor shifter for the 5-speed gearbox.   The Bueg accelerometer and Jaeger chronometer may have been original equipment or added later.  Those features define The Alfatross' original interior character: no-nonsense, Spartan, everything that you need to race and nothing that you don't!  

The Alfatross' lightweight Zagato seats with ventilated
backs.

On to functionality: A race car doesn't need a fine leather interior, so The Alfatross got blue Naugahyde in different types and different textures.  Was that because plastic fabrics were less expensive than leather, or because plastic is more durable?  The front and rear seat cushions are covered in a smooth-finish textured Naugahyde, while the seat backs and door panels wear a kind of suede finish in a slightly darker shade of blue. 

The driver's door panel: simple, light, functional.

The headliner is yet another different kind of Naugahyde, very similar to the seat cushions but consisting of three layers of material: a visible layer of the same Naugahyde used to cover the seat cushions, a backing of white Naugahyde, and a thin layer of some kind of fibrous material sandwiched between and held in place by heat-fused lines bonding the front and back layers.

The front and back sides of the headliner.  The white backing material is partially
obscured by the adhesive that held it to the underside of the roof.  This adhesive
formula was later used by NASA to bond the ceramic tiles to the Space Shuttle
(just kidding, but that's what I was thinking when I was trying to get it off!).

The headliner uses two layers of Naugahyde with a fibrous material sandwiched
 in between to give it a more substantial look and perhaps even add
a little more insulation.

The rear deck cover was similar to the headliner in that it also
had the same striped pattern as the headliner, but without the
two other layers behind it.

The embossed pattern.

The panel that fills the enormous space between the back of the back seat and the lower edge of the rear window is covered with yet another variation of the Naugahyde theme. 

So that's a lot of different textures and shades of probably hard-to-find materials!  No wonder so many restorations choose to re-upholster in leather.  But then you have the paradoxical situation of, in the words of Peter Marshall, "leather imitating plastic imitating leather." 










I don't know what the original floor covering was, but most restored 1900 SSZs are nicely carpeted.  Car 01915 is thought to be very original and the covering is an understated low pile brown carpet with contrasting piping.



Car 01915 sports a more sumptuous interior with larger front seats and
carpeting throughout.

On the other hand car 01845, also very original, seems to have ribbed rubber floor mats although it is difficult to tell from the available photographs.  With respect to originality and functionality, I think we would be safe to give The Alfatross carpeting similar to what car 01915 has, but in a shade of blue or possibly gray that will compliment the rest of the interior.  I notice that although cars with both restored and original interiors seem to use contrasting piping on both upholstery and carpeting, The Alfatross' upholstery is uniformly trimmed in matching piping, so that should carry through to the carpeting as well.



The floor covering in Car 01845 appears to be rubber mats, but these may hide carpet underneath.  It also has the spacious front seats appropriate for grand touring.  The door panels and transmission tunnel look like they bear original leather upholstery.

Now we are down to the last two factors, both subjective: attractiveness and compatibility with the other elements of the restoration.  The Alfatross' original interior could be cleaned up and re-installed (think of all the money I'd save!), but it would not be in keeping with the rest of the car.  So that is not a good option.   The alternatives are to reupholster in Naugahyde or in leather, keeping the original color and texture scheme.  I get the impression that at least some original interiors were partially upholstered in leather and most restorers of 1900 SSZs have opted for re-upholstery in leather, taking the leather-imitating-plastic-imitating-leather path.  Is that because original fabrics are impossible to duplicate or because if you are going to the trouble and expense of re-upholstering everything you may as well cash in on the cachet of leather? 

What am I failing to take into account?  What about safety restraints, seat belts?  They weren't original equipment, but if The Alfatross is to be driven we will have to make provision for them, probably an arrangement that can be easily disconnected and removed without leaving visible traces.

I hope these questions generate comments from whoever is going to the trouble to look at this blog from time to time.  How about you Germans and Russians?  What do you think is the right choice?  What would you do if The Alfatross' restoration were in your hands? 

Shocking Developments (Post # 39)

Originally, this post was going to be titles "Spring Time," but Spring came and went while other issues seemed more timely, and "Shocking Developments" is a lot more gripping.  But first, some "old business" follow-up on previous posts:

Engine, Part I:  Commenters noted that I erroneously assigned two different engines the same engine number (01915).  To set the record straight, the third engine photo is number 01909 not 01915.  The fifth engine photo is 01915.  I hope this doesn't undermine my credibility too much, but at least it tells me that some of you out there are careful readers! 

Engine, Part II: Roger Lorton at Standard Machine sends word that flow-benching has begun on the carbs, intake manifold, and intake and exhaust ports in the cylinder head. 

Crossing the Rubicon: An anonymous commenter makes a case for using bumpers on the grounds that they finish off the ends of the car, and rightfully observes that on these cars the bumpers were too flimsy to offer much actual protection for the bodywork. 

Wheel of Fortune: Dan Allen sends a photo showing the original Nardi wheel from a Fiat 8V (left) and the copy he made in his shop (right).  Now THAT's craftsmanship!


Dan Allen's replication of the Nardi wheel from a Fiat 8V with the original--
which is which?  Dan's total understatement: "Fun, but time-consuming project."
Dan Allen.

Keeping Cool: Last week I received a package from Jason Wenig of  The Creative Workshop (http://www.thecreativeworkshop.com/bio_jasonwenig.asp).  It contained items I loaned to him to hasten the restoration of the Ghia Aigle bodied 1900 Spyder he is preparing for Pebble Beach--and a replacement radiator thermostat for The Alfatross!  I hasten to add that both the Ghia Aigle and The Alfatross now have working radiator shutter warm-up systems only because Ed Leerdam was generous enough to loan me the very rare original parts from his 1900 Zagato to replicate. 

The Ghia Aigle at The Creative Workshop nearing completion.  Then off to
knock 'em dead at Pebble Beach.  Nice workspace!  Jason Wenig.

Shocks and Springs

When I dismantled The Alfatross' suspension I discovered that the rear shocks and springs were in surprisingly good shape.  The front shocks and springs were a different story.  The first surprise was that the shocks were made by different manufacturers.  One is definitely Girling, but the other, badly rusted, had no identifiable markings until we cleaned it, after which we could barely make out the word "Armstrong", a British manufacturer known for making lever-action shocks.  A seal on the Girling had let go and oil was seeping out.  The Armstrong was rusty, but still soldiering on. 



The two front shock absorbers.  The broken Girling is at the top, the Armstrong
at the bottom. 

Even worse, one of the coil springs was broken.  It was a classic case of what seemed like a simple job getting more difficult the more I worked on it.  Rebuilding the Girling shock might be an exercise in futility, and the Armstrong may not be salvageable either.  Where do you get shocks and springs for an extremely limited production car made almost 60 years ago?

Springs

The front springs.  Now what?!

Well, the first thing you do is contact Peter Marshall, the "go to guy" for everything Alfa 1900.  "Gee, Peter, I got this broken spring!  What do I do?"  A couple of weeks later here comes a big brown envelope with a tabloid size print of not only an engineering drawing with specifications of a front spring for an Alfa 1900, but specifically for a 1900 C second series Coupe Zagato!  And just for good measure he included a similar drawing for a "normal" 1900 C for comparison and one for the rear springs, too! 

Engineering drawing for the front springs of a Zagato bodied 1900C in July, 1954.  Note the peculiar reference to white patches on three of the coils indicating--what?  .

That's great, but I still have to figure out how to make that spring from the drawing and specs alone.  So I go to my go to guy for Porsche parts, Jason Burkett of Paragon Products (http://www.paragon-products.com/) because I know he handles a lot of suspension and brake components for modern high performance cars.  Turns out he has a special relationship with Hyperco, the company that makes Hypercoil springs for the racing industry.  His contact said they could custom make the springs if I would supply them with dimensions like the overall length, inside and outside diameters of the coil, the wire diameter, and the "spring rate", the amount of weight it takes to compress the spring a certain distance. 

Getting a spring rate I was happy with was the hardest part, but I managed to do it with 300 pounds of diving weights and a bathroom scale.  In the end, I sent Hyperco the engineering plan, the requested dimensions (translated into Imperial values) and the spring rate along with the surviving original intact spring.  About 6 weeks later I received four new springs and the original (I decided to order 2 pair in case some other owner might need replacements).  As far as I can tell, the only downside is that the new springs are powder-coated in Hyperco's signature purple; the originals were black.

The original front spring (top) and the Hypercoil reproduction.

Shocks

So the spring problem has been solved, but what about the shocks?  Rebuilding shocks is a specialty--an expensive exercise requiring tools not found in your average shop.  It might be different if The Alfatross did not have mis-matched shocks in front to start with.  So I began casting about for an alternative.  Someone (probably Peter again!) sent me to Tony Stevens at Alfa Stop (http://www.alfastop.co.uk/) where I picked up a full set of adjustable replacement shocks, front and rear for a very reasonable sum. They carry the "Avo" logo and the catalog says they are made by a leading UK manufacturer.  As the photo below shows, they don't look like the originals, but being adjustable could be a major asset.  In any case they will get the Alfatross back on the street while I continue to mull over restoration of the originals. 

Tony has a lot of other replacement parts, too.  I ended up getting new rubber bits like "silentblocs" for the anti-roll bar and new rebound straps for the rear axle because I had to cut the originals to free the axle.  Fast, efficient service, reasonable prices, and good advice--another excellent resource for us restorers. 



The replacement Avo rear shock (top) compared to the massive original Girling rear shock.  Below them are the replacement Avo and original Girling front shocks.

Only 6 days left before the Pebble Beach Concours.  Jason's Eagle will be there but The Alfatross is going to miss this round.  Maybe 2014 will be the year The Alfatross takes flight once again  . . . . after being grounded for more than 40 years!

Crossing the Rubicon (Post # 38)

There comes a time in every restoration project for pivotal decisions from which, once made, there is no going back.  I don't mind admitting to a degree of indecisiveness about some of these. Because we are talking Italian cars here perhaps we can take inspiration from an important event about 2,050 years ago when Julius Caesar pondered a risky course of action while camped on the banks of the Rubicon river.   Crossing the river with his army would be a capital offence.  Victory meant honor and riches.  Failure, certain death.  In the end, he crossed, saying "alea iacta est!" (the die is cast!).

OK, so a 2,000-year-old inspiration is a little stale.  Point is, there are important decisions that have to be made, they won't wait, and once they're made you're stuck with it--so get it right!

Decision time for The Alfatross.  No place to hide.

So far, most of the things that have been done to The Alfatross were necessary if you wanted a car that could actually be driven, no matter what the final product of the restoration might be.  Things like patching holes in the gas tank, replacing the radiator core, foggy Plexiglas windows, broken spring and leaking shock, restoring the splintering steering wheel, reconstructing the smoldering wiring harness, and rebuilding the smoking, noisy engine and gummed-up brake master cylinder and wheel cylinders.  Strictly speaking, we did not need to restore the Borrani wire wheels and knock-off hub locks, repaint the car inside and out, or re-plate the peeling chrome bits, but those were things I did years ago and now the restoration must be compatible with them.

The two front suspension springs.  The broken one has to be replaced.  Without
complete disassembly this serious problem might never have been discovered.

The delaminating wood-rimmed Nardi steering wheel.  Not something you can
just put up with!

But now we are looking at a long list of decisions, the sum total of which will permanently define The Alfatross' character and appearance going forward.  The decisions need to be compatible with each other and defensible.  Some of the decisions are big and obvious, like choosing the period-correct shade of red for the body.  Others are small--sometimes even invisible--but still important, like using the right seam sealer between body panels.

What factors play a part in making these decisions?  There are at least the five listed below, but there could be others under special circumstances. 

Originality.  Sounds simple, but there are a lot of "judgment calls" when it comes to establishing what is original for a particular car and what was added or subtracted by six previous owners over the last half-century or so.  Then there is the question of replacing missing or damaged parts with period-correct items.  If they are not the parts that were originally fitted to the car do they still count as "original"?  These days, completely original historically important cars are seldom actually used because using any machine wears it out eventually.  Worn out parts can only be replaced, and there goes your originality . . . damned if you do, damned if you don't!

Functionality.  At a minimum, The Alfatross must be fully functional.  Not just with respect to going and stopping, but leak proof, rattle free, and non-smoking, with windows that wind up and down smoothly, wipers that work, doors that lock, comfortable seats, and hinges that don't groan.  Even brand new cars have problems getting all these things right, so making a 60-year-old one functional is a challenge!

Safety.  If it is likely that the car will participate in driving events like the Copperstate 1000 or the California Mille, fitting it with safety restraints might be prudent or even required by law.  the Alfatross has only two, probably dim,  little tail lights. They have to do triple duty as turn signals, brake lights and running lights.  Some of its restored brethren have two pair of rear lights.   While such  modifications are not be in keeping with maintaining originality, they could be seen as necessary concessions to safety. 

Esthetics.  The Alfa 1900 SSZs seen in period photos seem to sit a little high on their suspension, perhaps in response to the condition of normal roads at the time.  Lowering The Alfatross, even slightly, could result in a more appealing stance, but that would conflict with originality.  And what about the paint?  After going to all the trouble and expense to restore The Alfatross, do I really want to give it the kind of mediocre (by modern standards) paint job that it would have had originally? 

In period photo (1954) shows a lot of ground clearance, but car has no occupants.
Le Zagato Michele Marchiano.

Part of the difference in stance between the car in this photo, which appears
to be rather low-slung, and the previous one is the presence of the driver and
co-driver. Check out the beautiful paint job--far better than original.
 Dirk de Jager, Supercars.net.

One of the Alfatross' original U-joints.  Note the drilled
studs and castellated nuts for cotter pinning or safety
wiring. 

Cost effectiveness.  Restoration can be unreasonably expensive.  If you aren't careful you can end up spending a lot in the wrong places.   When you say "I'm restoring my car," some vendors hear "Money is no object."  How important is it to spend a lot of time and money looking for an original tool bag to replace mine?  Even if I found one and paid a lot of money for it, it still wouldn't be "original" to The Alfatross.  And what about the U-joints?  If the old ones are bad can you get away with perfectly functional replacements that are attached with nuts and bolts, or do they have to have drilled studs and castellated nuts secured with cotter keys or safety wiring?  The difference could be hundreds of dollars.



This modern replacement U-joint uses through-bolts with Nylock nuts.
Is it close enough?     

So just exactly what are these decisions that are so important? 
There are a lot of them, so let's just start with a  relatively simple
one having to do with the body: 

Bumpers: The Alfatross' brethren exhibit a variety of bumper forms including none at all, but the front bumper  when I bought it is a travesty, totally unlike any of the other bumpers I have seen.  I suspect it was a replacement.  It is not going back on the car. There is no question that a bumper was present from new because the brackets that held it to the frame are still there.  So the decision options are: (1) fabricate a new bumper patterned after one of the original bumpers seen on other 1900 SSZs, or (2) delete the brackets, cover the holes in the body and go bumperless.  

The Alfatross in 1965.  Rear bumper shows a lot of battle scars.  Original? 
Replacement?

There was no rear bumper on The Alfatross when I bought it, but a photo  from 1965 shows that it had one then. When I stripped the paint from the rear body I discovered two holes where brackets for the bumper once passed through the body.  Decision options are:  (1) try to recreate a bumper like the one in the photo (not overly attractive) or (2) go bumperless.  Going bumperless front and rear has a lot to recommend it.   It compromises safety and functionality but it improves esthetics and is a cost-effective solution.  Originality gives us little guidance because I suspect the front bumper is a replacement and the rear bumper was removed by a former owner decades ago.

But the die isn't cast yet . . . there's still time . . . how about some comments from the Blogosphere?