While the work is progressing on the rotisserie other important aspects of the restoration are moving along in parallel. The rotisserie is one of the items on my list of individual tasks that can be done in-house. But there are a lot of tasks that it is wiser to farm out. It isn't always easy to decide which is which. A good example is the Wire Wheel Saga.
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The Alfatross triple-laced 72-spoke "Record"
wire wheels before restoration. |
My wheels were in pretty bad shape from the beginning. They were one task I knew I would have to send out to a sub-contractor. Why? you might ask. They look like nothing more than beefy bicycle wheels. How hard can it be? The correct answer is VERY! The somewhat delicate light-weight alloy rims have to be separated from the spokes and hubs, which are steel. Everything has to be cleaned, re-chromed, and re-assembled. Special jigs and equipment are necessary. I asked around for advice on who could be trusted to do the job and was directed to Mr. Cork Adams of Precision Wire Wheels in Quincy Illinois. Two years and $2,763.65 later they came back. It was worth the wait. I almost hate to put tires on them and put them back in service!
In addition to cleaning, re-chroming, and re-lacing, Cork also re-stamped the rims with the original manufacturing data and applied the "Carlo Borrani SPA" decals to the hub interiors.
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| An original spinner after the vacation in California |
As the wheels were nearing completion I turned my attention to the knock-off "spinners," which seem to have seen a lot of neglect and curb-surfing over the decades, not to mention the fact that you are supposed to hit them with a hammer to tighten or loosen them! They were rusty and in need of re-chroming, but the biggest concern was how to restore the embossed Alfa logo and "dismount" instruction engraving. I considered trying to do this myself as well as trying to buy NOS replacements, but I really wanted to restore the originals that came with the car. Both options dead-ended. Cork said he knew a guy in California who might be able to restore them, so I sent all four spinners to Cork to forward to his engraver. At this point things started to go sideways: an object lesson in what can happen to your stuff when you send it out to a sub-contractor. The guy in California was going through a divorce, or his dog died, or his pencil was dull or whatever. At one point he said he lost my parts! Finally, months later, I got the spinners back in much worse condition than they were sent out in--and a bill for $50! Restoration was no longer an option!
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| Restoration is no longer an option |
Then a miracle occurred. Leafing through a car magazine one day I saw an article about the revival of the Borrani company, long out of business. The article said someone had breathed new life into the firm and they would soon be up and running again and able to manufacture new wheels and spinners using the original dies and equipment! I saved the article but didn't follow up until I decided that 2013 would be Resurrection Year for the Alfatross.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote to Matteo Bosisio, Head of the Classic Wheels section for Ruote Borrani. He wrote back immediately with the order information for exact replacements for the Alfatross, and referred me to Borrani's supplier in the US: A&M Garage in Austin, Texas. To make a short story even shorter, the order process was as seamless as it was painless and the new spinners arrived THIS AFTERNOON!
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| A new spinner from Borrani |
The new spinners are perfect replacements. I will keep the old ones because they are original, but they are now just paperweights. There are a couple of things worth pointing out in the Wheel Saga: First, the cost of sub-contracted wheel restoration is not out-of-sight, as I had feared. The wheels and spinners together cost $3,965. The real drag was the time it took! Point Two: Modern interest in old cars like the Alfatross enabled the revival of Borrani and the availability of authentic replacement parts. And the Internet made it possible to find Borrani and parts I needed in a matter of minutes. FedEx got the parts to me almost instantaneously. Somehow, at least in this case, things that used to hold up progress for months--like exact part identificaion, customs, currency exchange, check clearing, translations and the like--just weren't there anymore.
And get this--Sr. Bosisio had a look at this blog, liked what he saw, and wrote back: "If you happen to be around Milan, please call me I will be more than happy to guide you thru the Alfa Museum and take you for a visit over to the Zagato facility."
How's THAT for service!
