ReinCARnation (Post # 88)

Restoration of an automobile is as much a re-birth as it is a re-build. If The Alfatross could see, smell and hear, it might think that it is back in Zagato's workshop in Milano, 60 years ago--except that everyone is speaking English instead of Italian, of course, and their hand gestures are less . . . expressive. 

A restoration shop is a place of sensory contrasts, a place where things of delicate, ethereal beauty somehow miraculously emerge from the sturm und drang of shrieking power tools, endless thrumming of massive compressors, hissing air lines, crackle of welding torches and the cringe-inducing nails-on-chalkboard sound of hand filing.  A place where all verbal communication is delivered as a shout. Where handshakes are replaced by elbow bumps. Where the atmosphere is perpetually flavored with the aroma of strong solvents.  It's easy to imagine that the sensations in Zagato's shop, where The Alfatross was born almost exactly 60 years ago, were very similar.

Whether it's a piece of furniture, a house or a car, "Preparation is 95% of a good paint job." The Alfatross is living proof of that adage.  How do you get a car ready for a paint job?  Well, if it's your 1991 Toyota 4Runner with 250,000 miles on the clock, you hose it off, let it dry in the sun, buy a case of rattle cans, and have at.

But if it's a 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Zagato there are a few additional steps in between the "hose it off" and "have at" steps--like, about 18 months' worth! And don't even think about it if you don't have a few hundred thousand dollars worth of building stuffed with all the right equipment and spacious paint booths like the one at Vintage Auto Craft.

The body shell in paint.  The color was carefully chosen to match the original.  Tim Marinos.

The doors, hood, and boot are painted separately.  Tim Marinos.

Yes, the body shell looks good, but there's still a lot left to do before I can bring it back to The Shed in Santa Fe: The doors, hood, and trunk have to be painted, everything has to be baked, cured, sanded, and polished. The bottom, engine bay, trunk, interior and wheel wells have to be painted, each requiring a different finish. Then the grills, windows, and trim can be re-installed. 

In addition to the main body shell, which is all one piece, there are a number of essential panels that also needed removal, repair and repainting.  Some of them are quite intricately shaped. Here is the panel that defines part of the left front wheel opening. The hose that supplies fresh air to cool the exhaust manifold comes through the hole in the panel. Tim Marinos.

The area from the bottom of the firewall to the beginning of the enclosed drive shaft tunnel was originally covered by aluminum panels that protected the brake, clutch,  and shift linkages.  Tim had to fabricate new ones because the originals were lost long ago.  Tim Marinos. 

To keep the weight down, all the windows are Plexiglas except the windshield.  Fitting Plexiglas quarter windows to their frames is a tricky business.  Plexiglas scratches if you look at it too hard!  Tim Marinos.

If the cost of restoration seems exorbitant, stop and think about what it takes to get the job done.  The physical infrastructure, the financing, the time it takes to gain the necessary expertise in so many areas, the research, the knowledge, the connections . . . .  Everyone wants three things: Good, Fast, and Cheap, all of which are relative terms, and everyone knows that you aren't likely to get all three of these, but sometimes you can get two. When it comes to car restoration, in my experience if all you get is Good, be happy.  Be very happy.

D.N.R. (Post # 87)

The first time I heard the expression "It's only original once" I wondered what that was supposed to mean. Eventually I came to understand that at least among some car collectors it means Do Not Restore. That made me think of the medical order Do Not Resuscitate, which has the same acronym. So, what?  Just let it die . . . . ?  

As an archaeologist as well as a carchaeologist I interpret the DNR order as a reaction, or even over-reaction, to over-restoration. Some restorers lost the "All things in moderation" ethos along the way and "better than new" became the level necessary to win the big prizes. People and judges liked it and that became the norm.

The Alfatross was a complete, numbers-matching car when I bought it in 1969, but by the time I finally got serious about restoring it on January 1, 2013, its condition would not have qualified it as a "preservation candidate," "barn find," or even "derelict." Although I did make the often fatal mistake of working on the car in fits and starts over a period of many, many years, at least there was method in my mistake-making.  I observed carefully, bagged and tagged parts that were removed, made notes and took photos. So it wasn't a disaster. 

For The Alfatross, the only reasonable course of action was disassembly and full restoration. There are times when I wished I had never touched it all those years, but who could have foreseen how desirable The Alfatross would become?  And who has the wherewithal to store a car in a secure, nitrogen-filled, climate controlled environment for 46 years? 

Which Once?

Back to the "It's only original once" admonition.  When, exactly, is "once"? The day it rolled off the assembly line? The day the dealer bought it? The day the first owner drove away in it? The day it was dragged out of the barn and into the limelight? The day the first photos were taken to create an actual record of what it looked like? Italian exotics from the 1950s bodied in small numbers by carrozzerias like Zagato do not seem to have formal "birth certificates" like collectible American and German cars, so there is no "build sheet" specifying what features they had or even the original colors of the body and interior.

The Alfatross has unusual features that could be original or added by one of its previous owners years later: the Jaeger clock, Nardi wheel, Berg Dynometer, redundant ignition coil, and the Stridor air horn.  Which of these qualify for "original once" status?     

Is there a downside to imposing the DNR order on an historically significant collector car?  My own experience tells me there is. When I look back on the restoration of The Alfatross I think of the many things we learned about the car that would have remained hidden and unknown if we had not completely disassembled it. The following is a short list of some of the things we learned:

Serial Numbers

During disassembly and cleaning I was careful to log the make, model, and serial numbers of every part that had them.  This was a lot of work but it provides a record of exactly which parts were on this particular car.  I venture to speculate that The Alfatross is the only 1900C SSZ with that kind of build detail.

The Zagato serial number, scrawled in pencil on the back side of a thin strip of upholstered
plywood affixed to the roof just above the ceiling, hidden since the day the interior was finished.

The Zagato serial number also appeared on the inside of the door panels. Here seen for the first time in 60 years. Derrick Dunbar.

After cleaning we realized that many of the suspension and steering components bore cast and stamped numbers and codes such as these "Cs" on front and rear suspension members signifying a short chassis.

Unexpected Finds

There was relatively little standardization among The Alfatross' brethren, but some departures from "conventional wisdom" were more surprising than others. Stripping the paint from the left front fender revealed two such surprises. The first was two parallel dark-colored strips just above the break line between the front wheel and the driver's door, apparently made by a trim strip. But there is no matching pattern on the other side of the car and although some later cars were fitted with trim strips none of The Alfatross' closest relatives have them.  Is thisp evidence of an early design experiment that didn't find its way into production until later?

The Alfatross' left front fender between the wheel arch and the driver's door, showing the mysterious parallel lines of discoloration suggesting it was once fitted with a trim strip.

The second surprise is two small holes providing conclusive evidence that The Alfatross was originally fitted with the small "Z" emblems just above the break in the body line and ahead of the doors.  Other Zagato-bodied cars of the period more commonly carry the written-out Z-a-g-a-t-o emblem.

The Zagato emblem that came with the car but was not re-attached after the 1965 repaint.  
Various authorities have assured me many times that this is not the "right" emblem for 
the time period.  The two small holes in the photo below prove they are wrong. 

Previous Owners

Two of The Alfatross' previous owners left their personal touch to parts of the car.  Pat Braden scratched his initials and date into the engine's bell housing and Paul Turner engraved his name onto some of the tools.  Both were discovered after cleaning. 

Previous owner V. Pat Braden's initials and date (10/64) scratched into the bell housing as a reminder of when the clutch was replaced (the inscription is easier to make out in person).

Paul Turner inscribed his name on some of the tools in the
tool kit.

Hidden Damage

In The Alfatross' case, the main reason for disassembly and full restoration was to discover hidden damage and potential safety issues with the chassis, suspension, steering, power train, brakes and electrical system. 

The original sleeve bearings from the suspension and steering systems showed wear and were replaced, but kept for later reference.  

Only after disassembly did we realize that the right front suspension spring was broken . . .

. . . and that the two shock absorbers were different: an original Girling on the left side and a replacement Armstrong on the same side that had the broken spring!

Among the worst of the engine's hidden damage problems was dramatic wear on the camshaft lobes.  Carter Hendricks.

All the exhaust valve lips were ground too thin and had to be replaced.  

Cylinder three showed evidence of having digested a foreign object at some point which damaged the head.  Roger Lorton.

Once and for All

So it seems to me that if during disassembly you took photos--lots of them--and made sketches and notes, you captured the originality for all time.  On the other hand if you just wiped the dust off, put gas in the tank, and drove it to the nearest concours (as some purchasers of "barn finds" claim) then you didn't preserve, or learn, anything . . . but you did save the enormous cost of restoration--a powerful incentive!