The "Little Jobs" (Post # 57)

The circles indicate the locations of the fasteners that secured
the leather straps for the tool roll to the top of the rear axle
hump in the trunk.

All Alfa 1900s came with a set of tools in a canvas roll and a jack in a bag of the same material. Canvas bags and rolls wear out quickly, and the tools that used to come as standard issue with cars are often pressed into service elsewhere and quickly become separated from their rightful place.  The Alfatross had its jack and a nearly complete tool set when I got it, but no roll or bag. 

The Alfatross' original, but fragmentary straps with buckles, rivets and fasteners.

Parts of the leather straps that secured the tool roll to the rear axle hump were still there, but in poor condition.  Fortunately, the surviving parts retained the buckles and holes of various sizes showing how they were attached.  This may seem like minor details, and I notice that none of the 1900 Zagatos I have had the privilege of inspecting had their tools, tool rolls, or even straps, so maybe it isn't that important to most people--but it is to me! 

The tool roll on the left and jack bag on the right.

The first step was to figure out what the original tool roll and jack bag looked like.  The factory Alfa 1900 manual shows detailed images of both of them so I thought this is going to be easy.  Then I mentioned my quest to Peter Marshall and to Jason Wenig of The Creative Workshop and both of them responded with photos of original tools, tool rolls and bags--and that's when things started to get complicated.  In reality, there appears to be more than one type of tool roll.  As these photos of original rolls show, there is a "long" one and a "short" one.  The long one looks more like the illustration in the manual.  Perhaps it is longer to accommodate the hammer?

An example of a "long" tool roll with eight slots for tools and constricting bands that meet in the center, just like the illustration in the 1900 shop manual.  This particular kit is missing the valve adjustment tools and the cam cover wrench, but it has the mysterious tiny hammer--what are you supposed to do with that?  Jason Wenig.

The shorter tool roll doesn't have the constricting bands and appears to have
other internal and external difference as well.  Jason Wenig.

So this is a typical "little job," starting with research and communication and moving on to restoration for some elements and fabrication for others.  I knew that The Creative Workshop's restoration of a 1955 Alfa 1900CSS Ghia-Aigle last year included replication of an authentic tool roll and jack bag so I asked them to to make a set for me using their patterns.   

The Alfatross' tools in the "shorter" roll fabricated by The Creative Workshop.  

The raw leather strips after narrowing and before dying.

It's easy when you have the right tools!  

From the surviving original straps I was able to get width and thickness (2.3-2.6 mm) dimensions, but not overall length. I sourced 3/4 in. leather strips from the local Tandy Leather dealer but had to reduce their width to 18 mm and dye them to match the originals.  I noticed that there is a faint but definite decorative groove near one side of each of the original straps, so I duplicated it on the new straps using a handy-dandy grooving tool I picked up at Tandy.

The original straps give the spacing between the tie-down holes, but not
the overall length or where the tongue hole sequence should start or the
shape of the end of the strap that fits through the buckle.

The rest of the process was just a matter of duplicating the spacing of the buckle tongue slot, rivet, tie-down screw and tongue holes.  I detached the original buckles, cleaned them up, and secured them to the new straps with copper rivets.  

From the buckle rivet to the first tie-down hole on the original straps was 105 mm, with 92 mm between the first and second holes.  Stuffed with tools, the roll was 340 mm in circumference.  Because I don't have the entire length of either strap from buckle to tip, I had to guess at their overall length, where the first of the tongue holes should be placed, and how many there should be.  

The tool roll, stuffed with tools and one of the finished hold-down straps.

So much for the "small job" of restoring a part of The Alfatross that will seldom be seen by anyone--unless I have to change a tire or make a roadside repair!