Tempus Fugit--whether you're having fun or not! (Post # 47)

With my initial overly-optimistic goal of substantially finishing The Alfatross by the end of 2013 now clearly unachievable, it's time for an honest progress evaluation.  On the whole, I am pleased with the progress made in 2013.  I learned a lot and made some very important connections.  The Santa Fe Concorso in September was a turning point, raising my awareness of what car collecting, restoration, and judging are all about and causing me to re-evaluate my previous decisions.

One area I neglected this year was research into the Alfatross' history. Establishing a race history for the car (if any) is important, and seems likely because it was built to race.  The Sanremo badge on the dash is still a mystery.  I know that there has been a Sanremo rally every year since 1997, but did they also exist in the 1950s?  I have written to the organizers of the modern rally, but so far I am none the wiser.  

The Sanremo badge on the Alfatross' dashboard.  Is it evidence of
competition history, or just a decoration?

Even more important is locating former owners Carl Joseph Michels, Will Henderson, and Paul Turner, the second, third, and fourth owners, respectively.  Did any of them race the car in the US?  This is a real challenge. You wouldn't believe how many Will Henderson and Paul Turner entries there are on the Internet--almost 64 million for Henderson!  I need more to go on than just a name.  

The following is a year-end review for the three main restoration tasks that I have entrusted to specialist restorers: the mechanicals and engine, the chassis and body, and the interior trim and upholstery.

The Mechanicals and Engine

The wheels, brakes, suspension, differential, drive shafts, u-joints and transmission were easy to restore and are now just waiting re-installation. But the engine is another story.  At this point the Alfatross' engine has spent almost 10 years in various restorer's shops and still seems to be a long way from finished.  

In my perception of the overall restoration process, I always considered paint, body, and interior to be the most difficult, time-consuming, and expensive elements requiring the most skill and experience.  In contrast, the engine is just . . . an engine . . . and a simple one at that.  Frankly, communication with the engine builders has been sporadic and terse, at least from my perspective.  They have not accomplished nearly as much as I expected of them.  It is probably my biggest disappointment this year.  That said, I will give them credit for their attention to engineering details.  They know what they're doing.  I am reluctant to second guess them, but there is not doubt my engine has spent more time on their back burner than it should.

Damage to the hemispherical combustion chamber of cylinder no, 3.  

Heavy wear on  this cab lobe will require building up and re-profiling.

What's been accomplished:

The engine is at Standard Machine, Phoenix AZ.  Disassembly revealed a number of obvious problem areas that require attention in addition to all the normal procedures required during an engine rebuild:

• damage to the hemispherical combustion chamber for cylinder number 3,
• heavy wear on several cam lobes,
• evidence of poor lubrication on one of the main bearings
• valve seats recessed into the head by previous valve work
• valve edges ground too thin
• wear in the cylinder walls and damage to one piston    

The block, head, crank, and major components of the engine were tested and inspected for "fatal flaws," but none were found. Pistons, rods, valves, valve springs, guides, main studs and timing chains have been purchased and the cams and crank are slated for machining and friction-reduction coatings.  Flow-bench testing produced data on how well the engine breathes.

My hope is that with all this preliminary work done the reassembly of the engine can proceed quickly.  Rebuilding the carburetors, refinishing the visible surfaces, test running the engine and tuning it still remain.

Flow bench testing the carbs, intake manifold, and cylinder head.  

Lessons learned: 

• With the engine I made the "How hard can it be?" mistake.  Yes, it is a simple, small-displacement 4-cylinder engine, but no, that doesn't mean just any mechanic or machinist can sort it out.  It can be a challenge to restore--not because it is technically difficult or because parts are hard to find, but because it is perceived as part of an historically important automobile and therefore every decision has to be agonized over. Consequently, progress is slow, deliberate and expensive.
• . . . But  the good news is that a lot of parts are readily available due to a resurgence in interest in Alfa 1900s and the efficiency of the Internet.
• In retrospect, I could have saved a lot of time and money if I had thoroughly researched the subject of 1900 engines to learn who the real experts are and which shops have produced the kind of final product I am looking for at a reasonable price and in a timely manner. 

The Chassis and Body

Perhaps because the Zagato body is what makes The Alfatross both rare and valuable, it has been the most critical element in the restoration.  The chassis and body are currently at Vintage Autocraft in Lebanon, TN, undergoing rust repair of the steel chassis, re-attachment of doors, windows, trim, hood and boot lids to check for fit, surface preparation and painting.  Tim Marinos is supervising all the work.  He estimates the time required at 1,000 hours.

The Alfatross is off its rotisserie and on a cart at Vintage Autocraft .

The steel chassis needs rust repair in several places such as
here at the bottom of the left front wheel well.

What's been accomplished: 

Plans supplied by Jean-Marc Freslon enabled us to build a rotisserie to make stripping the chassis and body down to bare metal using a combination of chemical and mechanical techniques both easier and more thorough. Hundreds of photos were taken to document the process.  

Even though The Alfatross was largely complete and original when I acquired it, part of my "due diligence" has been to look very carefully at other 1900 Zagatos that are thought to be original to see how they compare. After all, The Alfatross had 6 owners before me and at least one repaint.   So research has been a big part of the effort, particularly with respect to body paint color, colors and finishes under the hood, in the trunk, and on the undercarriage.

Lessons learned:  

• Money spent on equipment can save a tremendous amount of time.
•  . . . But you need a lot of equipment just to prepare the chassis and body for patching and painting.  So far I spent more than $10,000 on a new compressor and associated filters, hoses, electrical installation, etc. Luckily, I was able to borrow a $3,000 industrial soda blaster and blasting cabinet from son Dave. Even with recycling, the cost of various blasting media was more than $2,000.  
• Soda blasting is very effective and safe on aluminum, but for removing undercoating and rust from steel you need aluminum oxide, glass beads, or sand.
• . . . But blasting is a lot more involved than the literature led me to believe. It requires a lot of finesse, experimentation, equipment modification, and fiddling with the controls.
• Achieving the correct final finishes and colors is paramount for a car like The Alfatross and requires the skill, experience, and technical knowledge of a seasoned professional familiar with the current concepts of "correct" restoration practices.  

The Interior

I have to admit that I underestimated what it would take to restore the interior.  Like the engine, the interior is spartan.  There is no fine wood inlay in the dash, no plush carpeting, no two-tone leather upholstery.  The materials are all functional vinyl in two shades of blue and four different textures.  The Alfatross was lacking its original carpeting when I bought it, so that will have to be reproduced by copying the surviving original carpeting in Joe Hayes car, *01915* (formerly the Ed Leerdam car). 

What's been accomplished: 

Tim Marinos encouraged me to contact Derrick Dunbar at Paul Russel and Company for an evaluation of the condition of The Alfatross' upholstery.  I sent him copies of all the photos and research material I accumulated as well as the driver's seat and samples of the different types of upholstery used in the Alfatross' interior.  In a subsequent conversation we agreed that the original fabrics could not be restored to a state commensurate with the rest of the car, so the best option is going to be to re-trim most of the interior using new vinyl similar or identical to the original.  We are hoping that the original headliner can be re-used after cleaning.  Tomorrow I am shipping the rest of the interior components--the seats, door panels, rear window shelf, headliner and other elements--to him.  After a bad experience using FedEx Ground to ship the first items to Derrick, I spent the holidays building crates for this next shipment which will travel strapped down to a pallet!

Based on evaluation of the material I have already sent him and experience re-trimming other similar interiors from the same period, Derrick estimates it will take on the order of 336 hours to complete and install.

Derrick Dunbar, trim master at Paul Russell and Company.  Sports Car International, May 2006.

Shippers beware!  This box containing the driver's seat
arrived ripped and battered at Paul Russell via Federal
Express in this condition.  Fortunately, the  packing  inside
the  box around the seat protected it from damage.  

For additional security, I decided to box all the upholstered interior  panels and seats and send them together on a pallet to Paul Russel and Company in Massachusetts for re-trimming.    

Lessons learned:

• It is difficult to resist the temptation to "over-restore" a spartan interior like the Alfatross'.  
• Pack anything you have to send out with the certain knowledge that it will be handled roughly by the shippers.
• There is a big difference between a good trim shop and one that is good and has experience in the nuances of preserving authenticity and originality.
• Separating paint and body work from interior work means that your car will have to be shuttled from one shop to the next, adding time and expense to the overall restoration process. 

So much for 2013.  Today is the first day of 2014 and time for a new Completion Date goal:  September 1, 2014.  How hard can it be?  All it takes is time and money . . . .

All It Takes Is Time and Money (Post # 46)

More than 11 months ago I wrote in the second post to this blog: 

In December 2012, I was contacted by two different parties within days of each other who wanted to buy my car.  Both  needed a Zagato-bodied Alfa Romeo 1900 to add to their collections and both had been looking for such a car for more than a year.  It slowly dawned on me that I had the car, the workshop, the time, and now buyers.  Could 2013 be the year I free myself at last of the Alfatross?  That revelation was the genesis of this blog.  Starting January 1, 2013,  I am going to do my best to finish the restoration this year and document my 44 years of its ownership over the next 52 weeks.

People with experience in automotive restoration told me that the goal of restoring a car as old and rare as The Alfatross in one year was wildly optimistic--and they were right!

And this wasn't even the Alfatross' first rodeo . . . .

The Alfatross some time in the early 60s when it belonged to its fifth owner, Pat Braden.  Alfa Romeo All-alloy Twin Cam Companion 1954-1994.

There are many potential pitfalls in any restoration project, most of them triggered by the lack of time or money or both.  Pat Braden, Alfa enthusiast and author of seven books on Alfas, Ferraris, and Weber carburetors, put it this way in Alfa Romeo All-alloy Twin Cam Companion 1954-1994:

An overestimation of one's skills has ruined more cars--very valuable cars--than any other single cause.  The surest way to destroy a car is to present it to a starry-eyed new owner who sees himself, only several weeks hence, standing with a 100-point car while all sorts of nubile females throw themselves on him and/or his car.  It happened to my 1900 Zagato.

He goes on to recount how he sold his 1900C SS Zagato to a law student and enthusiast who decided on a "total" restoration, and laments that "like so many candidates for restoration, it remained apart for many years and changes hands several times."   The picture he paints is undoubtedly intended as a cautionary tale rather than a carefully-researched account, and as such his advice is well-grounded in experience.  But the subject car is none other than The Alfatross!  I am its only "subsequent owner," and it was never apart for many years.  The law student was my cousin, Bo Bricklemyer, and if you are so inclined you can read more about it in the January 19th, 2013 post.     

The Braden 1900 Zagato some time in the early '60s (seen with a BMW 328, 6C Alfa Romeo and a Frazer-Nash).   Alfa Romeo All-alloy Twin Cam Companion 1954-1994.

I corresponded with Braden as early as 1973.  He was extremely helpful and wrote down everything he could remember about the car, including the names of the two previous owners, Will Henderson and Paul Turner.  In his last e-mail message to me days before he died in 2002 (the same year the book these quotes were taken from was published) he wrote:

It's nice to know where my old Zagato went.  It was my absolute all-time favorite Alfa, and I've owned 6C and 8C pre-war Alfas.

Maybe he was thinking of The Alfatross and I when he wrote the concluding paragraph in his chapter on automotive restoration: 

Very few people are capable of "total" restorations, emotionally, physically, or financially.  The tragedy--for many valuable Alfa Romeos--is that many people image that they are capable of completing such a project themselves. 

Having fallen into every pit imaginable and still managing to extricate The Alfatross, I consider myself amply qualified to elaborate on this theme.  I may not always have done right by my car, but I got the most important part right: I kept it.  The Alfatross had 6 owners during its first 14 years, but only one for the last 44.  If would-be restorers were to ask my advice I would admonish them to:   

1. Keep It.  However you managed to acquire your car, hold on to it!  Store it properly until you are well and truly prepared to take it to the next level.  This will likely require some sacrifice.  There were many occasions when The Alfatross and I came close to being separated. A worthless car that didn't run and placed a burden on my meager finances, it was during this time that it became known as The Alfatross.  Between 1969 and 1993 I moved and relocated it at least 9 times.  In 1991 I began to notice that something had changed.  Now it was starting to appreciate in value. People began making offers to buy it.  I was tempted to sell to Martin Swig, a well-known collector and enthusiast who came to see the car and offered to buy it on the spot.  But somehow I couldn't quite part with it. Now, of course, I'm glad I kept it all those years, but a positive outcome was never certain.
2. Keep It Together.  It's easy to lose parts.  Casual disassembly over a long period is to be avoided. Keep it in one piece. Keep all documentation, related paperwork and photographs together.  Keep a log of everything you do and spend related to the car.  Don't trust your memory.  It is important to remember the archaeologist's mantra: If you didn't write it down, it didn't happen!
3. Research It.  Learn everything you can about the car's story, who the marque specialists are, what level of restoration is most appropriate, and what it is likely to cost.  Don't wait until you are finally ready to work on the car.  People die, records are lost or destroyed, part sources are depleted.  Don't wait 40 years like I did to try to get in touch with the original owner only to learn that he recently passed away.  This part of the restoration doesn't cost much or tie you up for weeks on end--and it's fun!

I intended to dive right into an end-of-the-year overall update on progress made restoring The Alfatross in 2013, but that will have to wait for the next post.  Obviously, the project will fail to meet the original goal of being substantially completed by December 31st, but I am satisfied--well, mostly satisfied--with the progress made so far.  All it takes is time and money!

Re-What? (Post # 45)

"Authenticity" and  "originality" are such a disarmingly simple words.  The English language contains a number of different terms with similar, but distinct, meanings having to do with the concept of saving, or improving, or copying something that existed previously.  Words like Restoration, Replication, Reproduction, Reconstruction, Re-fabrication, Remanufacture, Replacement, and Rebuild allow a lot of wiggle-room for interpretation.  The terms can apply on a micro scale to a single object like a nail, or on a macro scale to an assembly of thousands of objects, such as a entire ship or car.

Archaeology

As marine archaeologists we encounter the "re" words all the time when people try to "replicate" things that existed in the past.   Consider "The Ship of Theseus Paradox":  Two thousand years ago the the Greek writer Plutarch used a ship to raise the question of what's real, and what's REALLY real--and we've been scratching our heads over this conundrum ever since.

A "replica" of an ancient Greek merchant ship based on the remains of a ship that wrecked about 2,500 years ago.  Wooden Shipbuilding and the Interpretation of Shipwrecks.

I'm sure the readers of this blog are abundantly familiar with the ancient Greek mythological hero Theseus who saves Athenian boys and girls from being sacrificed to the Minotaur, a half-human, half-bull monster. Plutarch tells us what happens next:

"The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned had thirty oars and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demitrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed putting in new and stronger timber in their place, insomuch that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same and the other contending that it was not the same."

So people who have been collecting old things have been asking themselves what is real and what is REALLY real for at least 2,000 years.  One of the goals of maritime archaeology is to figure out what ancient ships looked like and how they performed.  We use methods very similar to those used by the most rigorous car restorers.  If you want to find out about something that existed in the past--the Spanish caravel of the 16th century in this example--you have five avenues of research to follow for accurate information:

Avenue of Research #1: Artistic (or photographic) representations, like this very detailed drawing of three ships off Dover, England, in the early 1500s.

Avenue of Research #2: Written records and descriptions,
like this list of equipment on board Columbus' ship
La Nina in 1498.  National Geographic Magazine.

Avenue of Research #3: Archaeological evidence (actual remains of original examples), like this main mast step of an early 16th- century shipwreck in the Bahamas.  KC Smith.

Avenue of Research #4: Examination of traditional methods of manufacture that still survive, like these shipwrights in Bahia, Brazil, shaping hull planks by hand.  Ships of Discovery.

Avenue of Research #5: Recreation of the subject using all four of the research avenues above to test and refine its performance, such as this seaworthy recreation of Columbus' caravel, Santa Clara.  Ships of Discovery.

Carchaeology

I mention this parallel between archaeology and carchaeology not only to reassure readers that "I get it" when it comes to those seemingly simple words "authentic" and "original," but also that I am aware of the enormous gaps between words like "replica" and "reproduction," words that most people blithely use interchangeably.  

The passion for collector cars is at an all-time high.  The prices some cars obtain can be stratospheric, but there are rules for assigning values . . . well, more like guidelines, really.  One of the rules is that "original and authentic" cars are the most highly valued.  But that's not always true.  Consider the case of Tom Merkel's "Car Garden," a work in progress since 1973 that now includes at least 1,200 cars, give or take a few hundred.

Part of the 1,200-car Merkel collection.  Midnight in the Garden of Eldorados and E-types. Car and Driver.

When adding to his collection, Tom doesn't look for anything in particular, just old, used-up, motor vehicles of any type in any condition.  He doesn't restore the cars in his collection and he doesn't sell them.  That's not the point.  I don't understand the point, either, so I'll let him explain:

"The massive 20th-century time-capsule monument project, the Lost Highway [part of the Car Garden], came about by happenstance . . . .  The work in progress is basically the 20th-century equivalent of the Chinese clay soldiers.  The cars are as if they were pages from hundreds of family albums.  The vehicles from police impound often still have their owner's belongings in them.  Eighty percent of the old rides were on 'death row' and were bought for scrap.  To me they were three-, four, and  five-thousand pound sculptures a person could buy for 200 bucks in the 1980's."

But for all the Car Garden's rich authenticity and originality, it just continues to get older--not more appreciated, more widely recognized, or more valuable. Evidently, it isn't enough just to be original.  There has to be more to it.  If cars are like shipwrecks, the "more to it" is the richness, detail, and depth of their story.

Now take a look at  the other side of the coin--the side where authenticity and originality translate into millions of dollars.  In Dave Kinney's "Insider" column in the November issue of  Octane magazine I ran across this tidbit having to do with the confusion that often arises when trying to establish "originality" for race cars that are sometimes crashed, rebuilt, recommissioned, modified, re-bodied, crashed again, scrapped, rediscovered, and restored:

"The back-story of this 1955 Jaguar D-type: buy one car claiming to have this car's serial number then, to alleviate the problem of another car having the same serial number, buy that as well.  Take all the original bits from both and put them back into the car.  Stamp each important bit and panel of the copy with the word 'replica' in hidden areas.  Sell it on at a replica price, then present the  real thing here.  It [chassis number XKD 530] achieved $3,905,000 (RM Auctions, Monterey, California, 16 August 2013."

1955 Jaguar D-type chassis XKD 530 . . . or one of them . . . .

At some point the definition of and quest for originality, whether it be an ancient ship or an historically significant automobile, becomes more of a philosophical issue than a practical one.  The Alfatross is an exercise in achieving a balance between preserving the soul of a machine, while returning its appearance to the way it looked in 1955, and improving its mechanical functions when possible to extend its life.  So which "re-" is that?  It seems to me that several distinct processes are involved.  The engine is being rebuilt.  Parts of the upholstery will be replicated while other parts will be restored.  Various rubber parts have been reproduced. A few original parts such as the thermostat that operates the shutter in front of the radiator will be simply replaced with new old stock.

So, like the Ship of Theseus, it can be argued that The Alfatross  is original--or that it is not--depending on which side of Plutarch's paradox you prefer.

Now, where was I? (Post # 44)

I can't believe it's been one month since my last post.  October and November were "complicated." No matter how hard I try to focus my efforts on The Alfatross, life keeps getting in the way.  It's going to take a few posts to catch up. 

Happy Trails

Getting the Alfatross to Tim Marinos' Vintage Auto Craft (www.vintageautocraft.com) before winter set in was my immediate goal after the Santa Fe Concorso.  That sounds simple enough.  Tim mentioned that there are plenty of companies and individuals who transport cars for a living.  All you have to do is get in touch with a dispatcher and decide when you want your car to be picked up.  That might work fine for a "rolling chassis," I thought, but the Alfa is on a 19 ft 7 in long rotisserie.  How would you support it and secure it?   Could I really trust someone else to do that?

Maybe I could rent or borrow a 22  or 24 ft trailer and tow it myself?  Tom Linton offered to lend his trailer, but it is only 20 ft long.  Dave's trailer for his race car is 24 ft long but with built-in cabinetry, tool storage, air compressor, winch, etc. it needs a diesel dually to pull it.  Then Dave suggested that I cut down the rotisserie to 18 ft and buy The Alfatross it's own personal trailer.  That way, I can tow the trailer with the chassis and body to Tennessee and leave it all there until it's time to bring it back.  The Alfatross will need its own trailer from here on, anyway, he pointed out.  Might as well get it now.

So I started listing the things that needed to be done and looking at the calendar.  It was going to be close. 

1. Find a trailer, buy it, and get it back to The Shed. 
2. Cut down the rotisserie.
3. Figure out how to stabilize the chassis and body once inside the trailer.
4. List all the parts that need to go with the chassis and body, box them, and label everything.
5. Finish cleaning the chassis and body.
6. Load the car and stabilize it inside the trailer while still on the rotisserie.
7. Borrow a truck capable of towing the loaded trailer to Tennessee.
8. Coordinate the trip with Tim.
9. Conscript a co-driver.
10. Plan the itinerary and make reservations. 

Except for about 40 miles, the entire trip would be on I-40.  Why the big rush?  Why worry about the weather on a major Interstate in November?  Well, it happens that the worst ice storm I have ever been in was on I-40 in Tennessee on the 400-mile stretch between Memphis and Knoxville--and I have the photos to prove it! 



My VW bus in 1978 (the same one that towed the Alfatross on its own wheels from North Carolina to Texas) after 8 hours on I-40 crossing Tennessee.  Hundreds of pounds of ice weighed the body down until the tires scrubbed the ice inside the wheel wells. 

1978: The air temperature was hovering around the freezing point.  Perfect for creating fantastic radial ice art. 

1978: Volkswagen defrosters depend on air blown across the hear exchangers under the rear engine being warm enough by the time it gets to the windshield to melt ice.  Works great . . . in the summer!  The windshield wiper on the passenger's side has already broken off under the weight of the ice. 



The brand-new "torch" blade in my Sawzall made short work of the rotisserie axle. 
The PVC pipe supports fitted into the shock tower sockets provide stability.
Threaded fittings on the bottoms of the pipes allow for height adjustment. 

While Jeff Kramer searched for trailers on the Internet, I went to work on shortening the rotisserie.  This turned out to be one of the easiest items on the list.  All I had to do was hold the rotisserie axle in place with an engine hoist while I cut off about 18 inches of length.  Before I started this process I cut 4 lengths of 3 in PVC pipe to serve as supports between the floor and the chassis so that the axle would not be supporting the entire weight.  This turned into part of the solution for how to stabilize the body and chassis once in the trailer.





The new trailer and Ridgeline coming back from Tucson.  The Ridgeline did
the job without complaint, but gas mileage was cut in half.

Meanwhile, Jeff found a new Haulmark trailer for sale in Tucson, AZ.  The 525-mile trip down was easy, and the trip back towing the empty trailer served as a good test of whether our Honda Ridgeline would be capable of hauling the fully-loaded trailer 1,250 miles from Santa Fe to Vintage Auto Craft just east of Nashville, Tennessee.  We decided we needed more truck.




Fragile items such as the doors, exterior one-piece aluminum window frames,
and the Plexiglas rear window had to be boxed to make sure they did not suffer
damage during transit.

I knew Tim would need all the body panels and windows so he could make sure everything fit before reassembly for painting.  But the more I thought about it the longer the list of bits and pieces got.  In addition to the doors themselves he will need the windows, regulators, locks, trim, weatherstripping, hinges, and fasteners to hold all that together.  In the end, counting fasteners, the list probably included several hundred items.  Then they had to be packaged, clearly labeled, and prepared for shipping.  This was unexpectedly time-consuming. 



Does this trailer make my butt look big? 



Getting The Alfatross inside was easy, Stabilizing it wasn't.




New Nest for the Alfatross

Before we could test-fit the rotisserie to the trailer we needed to give The Alfatross and all its body panels a final blowing out, vacuuming up, dusting off, and pressure-washing.  Eventually it was time for a test fit in the trailer.  Jeff and I got it in easily using a block and tackle.  Immediately it was apparent that there was one consideration we failed to take into account: the slope in the trailer's floor in front of the door.  This isn't a problem for a rolling chassis or complete car, but  for us it meant that the last several feet of the rotisserie hung in thin air 7 in above the deck.  Uh-oh.  Time for some jackleg engineering.







The final solution: the rotisserie is supported and trapped on top of 2 X 8
beams.  The rotisserie wheels do not touch the floor. 

A rolling chassis has its own suspension to protect it from vibration  and vertical shocks.  A couple of tie-downs to the suspension front and rear and the car is secure.   But the Alfatross, mounted on its rotisserie is a completely different animal.  First we lowered the rotisserie axle until it bottomed out on it hydraulic cylinders.  Then we installed four "legs" made from 3" PVC pipe to give support to the steel chassis at suspension attachment points.  This took most of the strain off the rotisserie axle and connected the chassis directly to the trailer floor to reduce vibration.  Then we installed three transverse bulkheads, one in the front and two in the rear, anchored securely to the sides of the trailer to support the rotisserie frame and prevent it from moving laterally or axially.  Finally, we stabilized wobble in the rotisserie towers with ratcheting tie-downs secured to heavy eye-bolts set in the bulkheads. 



The chassis is supported on 3" sched. 40 PVC pipes fitted into
the rear shock towers and around the front suspension upper
bump stop cones. 


 

Tim, Tom, and Toni

Toni: "It's all yours, Tim!  See you in six months"

So now all I needed was a tow-vehicle, a co-driver, about $1,000-worth of gas, and 5 days to make the round-trip to Tim's place.  Using the old "Tom Sawyer" ploy of asking for something you don't really expect to get in order to improve your chances of getting all you actually need, I invited Tom to lend me his honkin' Silverado 2500 AND be my co-driver.  I got the truck.  Long-suffering Toni was conscripted (again) as my co-driver. 

Tim gave us a brief tour of Vintage Auto Craft, The Alfatross' new home,  before
we turned around and hit the road for the return trip.  The Alfa will feel right
at home with all those Early 911 Porsches.

No matter how you cut it, towing a 20 ft enclosed car trailer is not fun.  Even with a 26-gallon tank, gas stops are all too frequent.  You can't meet, much less exceed the speed limit.  Everything takes longer.  You have to be patient.

We made it to Vintage Auto Craft in 2 1/2 days, largely without incident--except for that wrong turn onto Tennessee Hwy 13 (no kidding), a narrow, winding two lane that led us off the Interstate and deep into Daniel Boone country.  At night. In the rain.  Give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around!  To my great relief, nothing in the trailer moved an inch.  Tim gave us a brief tour of his impressive facility but we couldn't stay long.  Inside an hour and a half we were back on the road again.  The trip back without the trailer was a piece of cake. 

. . . but I digress . . . . (Post # 43)

For me, 2013 has been a year almost entirely devoted to restoring The Alfatross with few distractions or digressions.  An exception was the Santa Fe Concorso.   For most of us local car guys life was put on hold during the last week of September until the driving tours were over, tribute was paid to racing legend Denise McCluggage, cars were placed and polished to a fare-thee-well on the viewing field, and the judges verdicts were in. You can read all about it at http://santafeconcorso.com/about.html. We are now settling back to earth and the buzz is finally starting to fade.   

In addition to taking in all the events and even managing to participate in a couple of road tours, I volunteered to help the Concorso organizers in the manual labor department, schlepping boxes,  setting up tents for vendors and the like.  Although physical work on The Alfatross stopped cold some very important connections were made and decisions reached.  More about that later . . . .

I'm trying something new in this post: a short video.  I hope it works!  Let me know if it causes a problem.


Six Days of Cars, Cruises, Congratulations, and Companionship

Wednesday September 25th: the Georgia O'Keeffe Driving Tour
Jeff Krammer signed up for this one and asked me if I wanted to ride shotgun.  He said it was a tour designed by Denise McCluggage, so it was bound to be the kind of ride every sports car driver dreams about--and it would cover about 300 miles of twisty northern New Mexico mountain roads! Who could pass up an opportunity like that? With Jeff driving all I had to do was rubberneck and make scintillating conversation.  Besides, I had never ridden in Jeff's 1974 2000 GTV Alfa. 

Unfortunately--or fortunately, depending on how you look at it--the GTV developed an ominous vibration somewhere in the running gear and we had to take the Yellow Peril (my wife's 40-year-old Porsche) insetead.  We were among the first to arrive at the 8:30 departure rendezvous with a full tank of gas and no idea at all of what to expect.  As we waited, a McLaren MP4 glided into the parking lot, followed by a Ferrari Testa Rosa.  Then some kind of new Porsche and a top-end Audi.  What's going on here?  We thought we would be joining a troupe of tired old "classics" like ours, but these arrivals are cars that cannot be driven slowly.  They idle at 75 mph. 

Once outside the city limits of Santa Fe the McLarens, Ferrari, Audi, and even the turbocharged Abarth Fiat 500 vanished ahead, but we soldiered on with the Triumphs and a '65 Pontiac GTO.  Well, it wasn't a race after all.  The day was perfect, the Targa top was out, and we had a great drive.




The Wednesday tour found Jeff Krammer and I in the Yellow Peril trying to keep up with the likes of  a Ferrari Testa Rosa,
a Corvette C6, a pair of  pumped-up new Porsches and TWO McLarens on Hyw 64--a great drive!

Thursday September 26th: the Big Cats Arrive
Having volunteered to help set up for the events at The Club at Las Campanas, I found myself under the direction of Beverly Little, one of the organizers, loading a U-Haul truck with supplies and equipment. It was promising to be a very dull day.   On the way to the Concorso site Beverly spotted a pair of large, double-decker car transports headed the same direction.  "It's the Jaguars!" she said, then "Follow them!" We made a quick detour to the unloading area where, for the next two hours, the transports disgorged 8 C-Types, D-Types, XKSSs (including Steven McQueen's!), 140s and 150s--millions of dollars worth of legendary cars.  Then, out of thin air, equally legendary Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis appeared to oversee the unloading.  What started as a day of drudgery became a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have my picture taken with Norman, surrounded by a pride of C- and D-Types!



The author with Norman Dewis, now in his early 90s and apparently
 as unaffected by the passage of time as the Big Cats that were being
off-loaded from the transporters.  He probably knows each of the
C- and D-Types personally! 

Friday, September 27th: Two Events Paying Tribute to the Racers Themselves
There were two events this day, both designed to honor legendary drivers who made the cars and the races famous.  The first was "Legends of Racing," a tribute to Denis McLuggage, during which Denise, Sir Stirling Moss, and Norman Dewis shared their experiences racing in the 50s and 60s.  Various cars that Denise raced were on display.  The event was scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.  I got there a few minutes early only to find an animated discussion well under way and the meeting room completely packed with a long line out the door.  I think the huge turnout for the tribute surprised everyone.  The revelation for me was that not everything in Santa Fe starts late.

The second event, the Friday Night Gathering at the Santa Fe Air Center afforded hundreds of people the opportunity to meet Denise and the other VIPs, as well as Concorso entrants, and view vintage aircraft and some of the cars and motorcycles that would be judged on Sunday.  An open bar and food provided by Chefs from the Southwest (http://santafeconcorso.com/Concorso_Chefs.pdf) insured that a good time was had by all (the fajitas were great!). 


Legends of Racing: Denise McLuggage, Norman Dewis and Sir Stirling Moss
reminiscing at the Friday Night Gathering.  Host Tim Considine kept things
interesting.

Saturday, September 28th: The Main Tour

While we were admiring his 1974 Porsche RS on display at the Friday Night  Gathering, Tom Linton asked me if I wanted to ride shotgun with him during the Mountain Driving Tour.  This was open only to actual entrants in the Concorso and was a BIG DEAL.  Again, I couldn't resist.  The route took us through downtown Santa Fe where I was amazed to see people lining the roads to view the cars.  It was a brisk morning, but some drivers of open cars, such as Mark Reinwald in the video below, were appropriately attired . . . .

The halfway point in the tour was Los Cerrillos.  Somehow, Tom and I managed to arrive first and savor the peace and quiet of a tiny, nearly abandoned New Mexican town on a quiet Sunday morning.  Then, like Marlon Brando and his outlaw motorcycle gang riding into Carbonville, California in The Wild One, the other cars roared onto Main Street, one by one.  Dust, oil smoke, rumbling exhausts, and gasoline fumes filled the air and shattered the peace--much to the delight of the small group of good citizens gathered there to witness the spectacle.  It was a brief invasion and the only damage our Wild Ones inflicted on Los Cerrillos was to seriously deplete the water supply used to flush the toilets in the Visitors' Center.

In 20 minutes we were all gone.  Peace and tranquility settled over little Los Cerrillos once again--like smog.



The Wild Ones and a few tens of millions of dollars of collector cars arrive in Los Cerrillos, the mid-point of the Sunday morning tour.  For some reason the good citizens were neither surprised nor terrorized..  Uh, which way to the restrooms, please?

Sunday, September 29th: the Concorso
Sunday dawned bright and clear.  I got to The Club early and, armed with my "Event Staff" lanyard, waltzed onto the exhibit field while entrants were still setting up.  You could not have asked for a nicer day.  After shooting a lot of photos I ran into Tim Marinos, a well-know restorer who was highly recommended to me as someone who could do the chassis, bodywork, and paint on my car.   We ducked out of the Concorso for a few hours so he could have a look at The Alfatross. 



The Ferrari 275 GTS/4 NART Spyder that took Best of Show, Sport category.  But look at the setting!

Tim and I returned to the Concorso in time to see the award winners being photographed--and stayed on until the cars were off the field and everyone went home, to help Beverly clean up the aftermath.  The Concorso relies on a lot of volunteer help.  I can tell you from first-hand experience that volunteers should have to pay for the privilege!

There were too many great cars and interesting people to comment on individually--but the two images below were moments in time I have to share.

Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis (left) and Sir Sterling Moss aboard "722" -- the immortal number of the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR Moss drove to victory in the 1957 Mille Miglia  with the fastest time ever recorded. 

1957 Aston Martin DBR2 Recreation.  Recreations were not eligible for awards, but recreation or not, I want one of these!

Monday, September 30th:  Tim Marinos and Mark Reinwald visit The Alfatross
The Alfatross didn't get to go on any of the tours, meet the legends of racing, or see the Concorso.  The highlight for The Alfatross was being visited by Tim Marinos and Mark Reinwald, both well-known restorers, concours judges, and authorities on classic cars.  I thought they might browse for a few minutes, look at their watches, and say "Oh, look at the time!" But after a while I started to wonder if they were ever going to leave!  Suffice it to say that The Alfatross had a thorough going-over.

The upshot of it all is that Tim (http://vintageautocraft.com/) is going to do the chassis, bodywork, and paint on The Alfatross, which I will deliver to his shop in Tennessee before the end of October.

So now The Alfatross and I are racing to get ready for the trip to Tim's shop.  Let's see, first we need a trailer, then we need to shorten the rotisserie to 18 ft and figure out a way to stabilize it for the 1,200 mile trip to Tennessee--and don't forget to include the doors, windows, window trim, trunk, hood, hinges, locks, handles, headlight bezels and buckets and  . . . .



Tim Marinos of Vintage Auto Craft and Mark Reinwald, Curator of the Ralph Lauren Collection, visit The Alfatross.  Why are they so happy?  





Lots Going On . . . . (Post # 42)

In case you haven't noticed, it's been three weeks since my last posting--the longest pause this year!  That doesn't mean nothing has been happening to The Alfatross.  Quite the opposite.  So much is going on that I had to postpone writing about it until the dust cleared (literally, with respect to the on-going soda soda blasting). 

Still Blasting

I thought I was close to finished with blasting, but then I started rotating the car 360 degrees and seeing all the places I missed!  It's down to detail work now: all the little nooks and crannies that still harbor bits of undercoating, paint, and primer.  It's slow going and now I have to use a simple, low-output suction gun instead of the dedicated soda blaster in order to get into tight spaces.


"I said keep the rubber side down!"  Soda blasting--still at it!

Soda, even when mixed with aluminum oxide doesn't remove undercoating or tarry seam sealer.  That stuff has to be removed chemically.  I brush on paint remover, cover it with aluminum foil to reduce vaporization, and leave it overnight.   It usually comes off easily the next day with a Scotchbrite pad or a paper towel.



Bird's eye view.

Santa Fe Concorso

The Santa Fe Concorso will be held this weekend http://santafeconcorso.com/about.html.  For classic and collector car guys around here it's like Christmas in September.  I volunteered to help out schlepping boxes around and setting up tents for the various vendors and hospitality providers.  With luck I'll meet a variety of restorers, owners, and judges, and pick up some pointers that will be helpful with restoration of The Alfatross.  One of the more than 100 cars on display will be Steve McQueen's Jaguar XKSS.

 

 Driving tours associated with the Santa Fe Concorso start today.  I signed up for a 300-miler to be held tomorrow.  With fingers crossed and an enhanced tool kit for insurance, co-driver Jeff Krammer and I will join the fray in the Alfatross' stablemate, a 1973 Porsche 911E Targa borrowed from my long-suffering better half.  Thanks Toni!    

 

Phoenix Connection

Treated parts are starting to come back from sub-contractors.

I made a trip last week to Phoenix to check on the progress Roger Lorton and DeWayne Samuels have been making on my engine and to take samples of upholstery to John Pollock at Young Guns Designs to see if anything comparable still exists.  I drove my truck to Phoenix this time because I also needed to pick up some antique hard hat diving equipment  my friend Dr. Randy Davis has been accumulating for a museum exhibit we are designing. 

I was relieved to see that considerable progress has been made with the engine, but a lot of problem-solving and careful work still lies ahead.  The first batch of nitrided parts is back, all neatly shrink-wrapped to protective cardboard backings.  Looks like something NASA would do!  The new main studs are in and the main bearings re-measured for out of round.  All were found to be too loose and have been sent out for coatings to bulk them up and reduce friction.  One camshaft will have to be welded up, heat treated, and ground to obtain the proper lobe profiles. The crank will need to be turned, nitrided, and cryrogenic treatment, but that will have to wait until the bearings come back.  We're also going to need new pistons, valve guides, and exhaust valves. 

DeWayne and Roger flow-bench tested the carbs, intake manifold, and head at various valve lifts to determine how well it breathes.  This sort of work is way beyond the usual engine rebuild.  In DeWayne's words "If we just replace worn parts that doesn't fix the problems that got us here in the first place."  We already know the dual downdraft Solex 40 P II carbs are too small for all-out performance, but they're original, so we're keeping them!


Right now they are pondering the grooves milled into all the cam tower bearing surfaces.  Are they factory or some previous owner's idea of a performance improvement?  Roger thinks that they must bleed off a huge amount of oil pressure, perhaps contributing to the lubrication problems seen elsewhere in the engine.  If anyone out there has seen this before and can explain why these grooves exist, I'm sure Roger would like to hear from you!


Pressing on to Young Guns Designs Randy and I met with Tyler Tibbits,  John Pollock and Frank Bennett to discuss bumper fabrication and upholstery for The Alfatross.  While we were there we got to see the 5,000 sq ft addition to their operation and some of Frank's painting artistry.  We came to the conclusion that yes, the interior could be re-upholstered in modern materials very similar to the originals in color, texture, and pattern .

Bookkeeping (Post # 41)

"Bookkeeping" is the only word in the English language I can think of that has three sets of double letters in a row.  Most people misspell it.  I'm going to spell it correctly, but misuse it to talk about two books that have given direction to The Alfatross' restoration.   But first . . . .

Old Business

What to do about bumpers for the Alfatross has been at issue over the last several posts.  It had no rear bumper when I bought it and the front bumper that came with the car is an obviously incorrect, hideous replacement.  The restoration options are (1) delete one or both bumpers for esthetic reasons, (2) design and install "custom" bumpers more to my liking, or (3) determine what the original bumpers probably looked like and fabricate and install exact replicas.   That the Alfatross had bumpers originally is not in doubt because bumper supports are still present in front and attachment points for the rear bumper are visible in the trunk. 

Consulting the Alfa Romeo 1900 Companion (http://www.alfa1900.com/stories2/extant_zagatos/index.html), which has photos of all known 1900 SSZs, I had two important revelations:  First, that while cars that left the Zagato factory probably had bumpers to start with, the vast majority now have no front bumper, and probably no rear bumper, either (most photos just show just the front of the car).   This is probably due to a decision by most restorers to delete one or both bumpers for a cleaner appearance.  Second, that there are two distinctly different types of bumpers that show up in period photos of 1900 Zs.  The most common (with variants) is a thin, blade-like, probably aluminum, strip curving inward and upward at the ends to follow the shape of the horizontal grilles in front with a simpler flat, straight matching rear bumper.

The  front bumper type most commonly seen in period photos. 
Le Zagato.

. . . and the matching  flat, straight blade type rear bumper. 
Le Zagato.

The other bumper type looks more substantial and less like an afterthought.  Sometimes called "mustachios,"these bumpers are split in the middle, both front and rear, wrapping around the corners.  They are seen mostly on cars produced later in the series (late 1955 and '56).  Although these bumpers are more refined and attractive that the more common blade type, they too are frequently absent on restored cars.

Verdict: Authenticity votes for replicating the thin, flat bumpers front and rear for The Alfatross--even though most restorers seem to think the cars look better without them.

 

New Business

I recently bought a copy of  The Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles edited by Dr. Fred Simeone with contributions by numerous well-known collectors, curators, conservators, auctioneers, and concours event organizers and judges.  The book was compiled to make a simple statement:  It starts with the concept that certain cars transcend individual ownership and should be preserved unmolested for future generations.  I bought the book because I wanted to know if The Alfatross qualifies as an historically important automobile.  On page 19 I found a list of 6 criteria used to determine a car's importance:

1. association with a particular historic event or individuals
2. rarity as a survivor of its type
3. evidence of past design innovation, style, construction techniques, etc.
4. condition and extent of remaining original material
5. political, cultural , or spiritual significance for a particular segment of society
6. exceptional aesthetic qualities of form and decoration

I was already aware that many authorities agree that The Alfatross and its siblings qualify as rare examples of design innovation and aesthetic achievement, with varying degrees of originality, but until I read Michele Marchiano's book, Le Zagato: Fiat Berlinetta 8VZ Alfa Romeo 1900 SSZ. I did not realize that they might also qualify on the basis of the part they played in an historical period involving the dynamic between Fiat and Alfa Romeo, the post-war racing scene in Europe, and the Zagato family.   Most of the following information comes from Marchiano's book, which I have had for 10 years, but never read carefully. 

Fiat "Ottovu" (8V) Zagato

At about the same time that Alfa Romeo began to produce its 1900 series, Fiat introduced the "Ottovu," an 8-cylinder 2-liter (1,996 cc) coupe.  Racers immediately recognized the car's competition potential and created a demand for cars with lighter, more aerodynamic bodies.  Zagato bodied 30 (or possibly up to 46) 8V chassis between 1952 and 1954.  In the right hands they proved to be formidable contenders on closed tracks as well as in road races, and rallies. 


The  Leto di Priolo brothers Fiat 8VZ, driven hard in the 1953 Stella Alpina
event.  Le Zagato.  



The 8Vs engine was an aluminum block, aluminum head 70 degree 2-liter V-8
cranking out 125 hp in its final form--only marginally more that the 1900 SS
4-cylinder engine!  Le Zagato.

One pair of the right  hands belonged to none other than Elio Zagato, son of the founder of  La Carrozzoria Zagato.  Behind the wheel of his 8VZ he was one of the most winning drivers in the under 2-liter class.  The record speaks for itself.  According to Le Zagato, although Alfa 1900 SSZs racked up 18 first-in-class wins and two overall wins in major events between 1954 and 1960, Fiat 8VZs took first-in-class 52 times, overall wins 7 times, and 2-liter championships 5 times!  Elio Zagato accounted for 22 of those class firsts and 3 championships in 8VZs!



The Alfa Romeo "millenove" 1900C SSZ  at speed.  Le Zagato.

So the historical event The Alfatross and its siblings were part of was the rivalry between Alfa Romeo and Fiat that provided the basic hardware and environment for Ugo Zagato and his sons to apply and field test their unique design and construction techniques.  The Alfatross and its siblings may not have won the most races in their day, but  they were worthy opponents.  In the words of Elio Zagato,

"The Alfa Romeo 1900 SSZ, however, was my rival.  It was a car just as outstanding.  It seemed strange "fighting" against it but when I got into a car I became a racing driver and forgot about everything else.  Even so, few cars gave the Ottovu so much competition.  The real winner then was not myself but the person who had built them both: my father."

This Zagato-bodied Fiat 8V was sold at auction in 2012 for $750,000.  Viewed
from the side the car bears a striking resemblance to Zagato-bodied Alfa
1900C SS cars like The Alfatross.  Sports Car Market.

This photo encapsulates the long mid-'50s duel between the Fiat 8VZ and the
Alfa 1900Z; even though the 8V spun out in this 6-hour event, it went on to
win the race!  Le Zagato.