One of the problems associated with restoring an "Italian Exotic" like The Alfatross is there are so few of them that most restorers have never see one in the flesh. When I delivered my car to Tim Marinos of Vintage Autocraft for chassis and bodywork I supplied him with a catalog of photos of The Alfatross before and during dis-assembly as well as photos of other 1900 Zagatos I had collected over the years. The catalog was helpful, but his job would have been far easier had brought him the run-down, but intact vehicle instead so he could see what it's supposed to look like when reassembled.
About a month ago Tim called with a suggestion: could I arrange for him to see one of The Alfatross' brethren that recently moved from Florida to Chicago--no. 01915? Seeing an intact close relative of The Alfatross would be a great help with the restoration, he said. And if it could be arranged, Derrick Dunbar of Paul Russell and Co also wanted to come along to study the details of the interior. What a great idea! I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. Maybe we could all go together?
So I contacted the owner, Joe Hayes of Hayes Properties, Inc., with the request and he graciously agreed to make his car available for inspection. It took some doing, but we set up a date that worked for all four of us plus the owner of the shop where 01915 was getting some minor body work. This car is particularly well-suited for detailed study because it has never been restored and therefore is more original and authentic than some of the other examples around.
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| 01915 at Radnor Hunt in 2003, making its "barn find" debut after many years in storage. |
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The parking permit and inspection sticker for 1961-2 are still in place on
the windshield! |
The first time I saw this car was in 2003 when it made its debut at the Radnor Hunt Concours d'Elegance. Like The Alfatross, it was laid up decades ago--just another used car at the bottom of its value curve. But unlike The Alfatross, the owner did virtually nothing with it or to it over the years. Shortly before the Radnor event, it surfaced. The story on the street was that it sold three times in one weekend!
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The car we came to see: Joe Hayes' Alfa 1900C SSZ chassis no. 01915. Note the license number.
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| . . . and here it is 59 years ago competing in the 1955 Mille Miglia, the world's most famous road race. Note the license number |
Last Saturday we converged on M and V Auto Body located about 3 miles from O'Hare where we were met by Joe Hayes and Vince Delmedico, the proprietor. It was good to see 01915 again after 11 years. The previous owner and I helped each other over the years by loaning parts for replication and exchanging information. He decided to keep his car in original condition and Joe has continued along those lines, resisting the ever-present temptation to restore it.
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The interior of 01915 is very different from that of The Alfatross. but there
are a lot of similarities, particularly with respect to the materials used. |
I was fascinated to see Derrick and Tim focus on the details that are most important to them and go to work. Obviously, this was not their first rodeo! Between the two of them they shot hundreds of photos and made pages of sketches of shapes, locations, and critical dimensions.
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Derrick spent a lot of time sketching, measuring, and photographing the
carpets, which are undoubtedly original. |
Derrick's main interest was what he could learn that would help him restore The Alfatross' interior. 01915's front seats are the more sumptuous "grand touring" style rather than The Alfatross' Spartan light-weight race seats and there are differences in the shape of the dash and placement of the shift lever, but the types of materials used for the upholstery are very similar. Perhaps most importantly, 01915 has its floor and firewall coverings intact whereas The Alfatross lost its carpets long ago. He noted where the snaps were positioned on the carpets, how the piping was connected, the type of stitching used, the grain texture in the vinyl firewall insulating pads.
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| Derrick inspecting one of the interior firewall insulation pads. The Alfatross has these pads too, but they seemed so haphazardly made that I thought they were "after market." Derrick pointed to the type of cotton thread used in the stitching and the fiberglass insulation material sandwiched inside as proof of originality. |
Tim's main concerns had to do with the chassis and body details. What kind of weatherstripping was used around the doors and windows? How did the bottoms of the doors seal? What is the diameter of the screws that secure the trim around the windshield? When we got the car up on the lift I remembered that the area around The Alfatross' clutch and brake linkage was originally covered with an aluminum panel. Sure enough, part of that panel was present on 01915 and we could see fastener holes indicating where the rest of it had been. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that this panel is missing or modified on a lot of cars because it must be removed to work on the transmission, the brakes, and the shift and clutch linkages. Unfortunately, it is very fussy to remove and re-install.
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Tim and Derrick examining the floor panel of the trunk. The Devil is in the details!
After pouring over the car for hours, we agreed that we had what we came for. Joe offered to treat us to a late lunch down town before returning us to the airport, and by the way--would we like to see his car collection? Car collection? You mean you have other cars, too? It turns out that Joe is a very discerning collector. One of his properties is dedicated to indoor event space and the outer perimeter of this basketball stadium size room is lined with to-die-for, museum quality cars. As soon as we entered we knew that lunch was going to have to wait! Tim would have been happy to stay in that room all weekend.
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| Derrick, Tim and Joe examine the way the windshield, body, and molding are sealed with "dumdum"--a tarry black weather-sealing substance commonly used in the '50s. |
Special thanks to Joe Hayes, proud owner of 01915, for making his car available for us to learn from. Thanks also to Vince Delmedico of M and V Auto Body and Sales for opening up on a Saturday, moving the cars in his shop around so we could get 01915 up on his lift to look at the undercarriage, and putting up with us in general. If there is anything we can do to help you guys, just let us know!
