Adios 2014: The Year of Spending Extravagantly (Post # 73)

In the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark renegade French archaeologist Rene Belloq tells Indiana Jones  

Look at this [a pocket watch]. It's worthless. Ten dollars from a vendor in the street. But I take it, I bury it in the sand for a thousand years, it becomes priceless! Like the Ark.

Metamorphosis

Fifty-nine years ago some guys in Italy built 39 examples of a limited-production race car.  One of those examples in its fateful trajectory crossed my path and we bonded.  It wasn't an easy road to travel.  I was 21 years old and The Alfatross was only 14.  Too young to marry, but I like to think that the relationship was beneficial to us both . . . most of the time.  Like all relationships, it was always a work in progress.  It was on my "bucket list" for decades, but 2 years ago it rose to the top. I hope 2015 will be the year I can finally strike it off the list.

The Alfatross for sale in 1965.  Asking price: $2,250. Pat Braden.

So now we are entering the third year of its restoration. I have no way of even estimating the amount of time I have spent working on it, but what does it matter? Every second spent was fun and I always looked forward to the next time I could get to work on it and always regretted having to quit. In the beginning it was an exciting project that could piddle along in the rhythm of my life, providing an excuse to hide in the "flow state" for a while. 

But nothing stays the same. It is important to stop and reassess from time to time, particularly if the process is taking decades to resolve itself. Eventually, it became apparent to me that my original plans for The Alfatross had to be scrapped. Somehow, over the decades, while wrapped in its car cover cocoon in a dark corner of my garage, it metamorphosed from a kinky old foreign car into something else. I was no longer just the person who owned it but the Steward of an Historically Important Automobile. Along with that revelation came the realizations that (a) its restoration had to be done in a very particular way and (b) it had become very valuable. 

But how valuable?  Two years ago I started this blog with the statement (in the header above) that these cars are worth "half a million and up."  Since then the bar has been raised.  Considerably.  

Value vs. Cost

The steward of an historically important automobile should not correlate the costs of restoring and maintaining such a vehicle with its value. Valuations are ephemeral, changing over time, growing and shrinking like all other assets. Prized mechanical possessions wear out or are rendered obsolete by improved technology. They lose value. Desirability fades. Then the survivors become rare. Scarcity enhances value. Nostalgia kicks in. Perceived value goes up . . . and so does the cost of restoration!

In 2014 I spent extravagantly on restoration costs, in spite of the fact that a lot of  work was done in previous years.  I do not regret a penny of it, but like a mistress (or so I am told), The Alfatross absorbs all of my unencumbered time and money!

Still, it is important to know what value the market places on an historically important automobile and the trajectory that value has taken over a long period of time.  My research has turned up very little information in that regard, as most sales over the last decade or two have been private.

One of The Alfatross' brethren (chassis no. unknown) sold
at auction in 2001 for $217,000.  Sports Car Market.

Chassis no. 02056 sold at auction for $557,000  in 2009.
Tim Marinos.

The Record

The price of a new 1900C SSZ in 1955 was $6,637. From that point their value decreased steadily with time as it does for most cars. By 1963 The Alfatross was on its 5th owner, Pat Braden. I don't know what he paid for it 8 or 9 years later, but in 1965 or '66 he sold it for $2,250. Its value continued to decline precipitously, allowing me to buy it in 1969 for $770 . . . It would never be worth less.

There follows a twenty year period for which I have no valuation information.  In 1992 I was considering selling The Alfatross. I had soft offers of up to $80,000 from four different bidders including Keith Martin and Martin Swig, but in the end decided to keep the car.

Chassis 10593 "Zagato's Zagato".  Private sale in 2013 for
 $1,200,000?  Matteo Bossisio.

Nine years later I was surprised to see an article in Sports Car Market about the sale of a 1900C SSZ at the 2001 Bonhams and Brooks auction at the Cavallino Classic in West Palm Beach auction.  It was apparent that the author was very familiar with the model--their engines, handling characteristics, interior space, and even noise levels inside the cabin. The author was none other than Pat Braden!   

Chassis no. 01947 (unrestored) sold at auction in 2014  for 
$1,012,000.  Sports Car Market.

The serial number of the car was not mentioned, but its condition was described as "pristine" and it brought a surprising $217,000.  This was doubly surprising because the SCM Price Guide valued the car at only $85,000-$120,000. 

Perceptively, Braden concluded his analysis with ". . . this car sold for a remarkably high price, appropriate for its remarkable condition. The new owner faces a classic question: whether to use the car as it was meant to be used, thereby risking injury to it, or to retain it as a showpiece and conserve a considerable investment. It will be very interesting to note the price of the next 1900 SS Zagato to cross the block and see if this price was an aberration, or a harbinger of value increases to come."

The answer to that question came in 2009 when chassis no. 02056, another beautifully restored example now part of the Arturo Keller collection, sold at auction for more than twice as much: $557,000. 

Sports Car Market's Price Guide recorded another sudden jump in value in 2013 with a new figure of $1,200,000 for an excellent example.  Although we don't know anything about the sale that produced this figure I suspect that it was "Zagato's Zagato", chassis no. 10593.  In any case it is a new high-water mark for 1900C SSZ values.  

An even more surprising result occurred this year when chassis no. 01947 sold at auction for $1,012,000.  I say surprising because this was a non-running car without matching numbers in need of everything. 

What does the future hold for The Alfatross? Will its value continue to increase or has it reached its zenith? Who will become its next Steward? Will that person set it free to once again roam the open road? Or, like so many of its brethren, be "confined to quarters" like the Ark of the Covenant in the last scene of Raiders? 

Marcus Brody: Where is the Ark?  Major Eaton: I thought we'd settled that. The Ark is somewhere very safe . . . .

Separation Anxiety (Post # 72)

It's hard to believe that the restoration of The Alfatross began almost two years ago.  Knowing what I know now, it's even harder to believe that I ever thought it could be done in just one year!  With 2015 fast approaching it's time for updates from the guys who are working on The Alfatross' sub-assemblies. Here are their latest reports: 

The Chassis and Body (Tim Marinos at Vintage Autocraft)

The Alfatross at Vintage Autocraft.  Tim Marinos

"Zagato built beautiful car bodies but was not well known for exceptional fit and finish.  I heard a restorer tell his customer, 'The great thing is it’s a Zagato' and in the same breath, 'The difficult thing is that it’s a Zagato.' 

"The good news is, it's a Zagato.  The bad news is . . . . " 

The hood skin minus its steel framework.  Tim Marinos.

With the vast majority of the underbody repairs to The Alfatross complete, we now focus on fitting the body components. One of the more tedious aspects of the restoration process is repairing past “sins” or issues such as poor build quality, poor repair methods, and existing damage and decay. This requires repairing and fitting up virtually every part pertaining to the body: all open and shut panels, window mechanisms, latches, trim, bright work etc. Rubber seals must be sourced, fitted and modified or made if an original style is not available. 

The hood skin with frame reattached.  Tim Marinos.

Every screw hole must be checked, re-welded if needed and sized for the correct hardware. During final assembly is not the time to deal with stripped out 2.9 mm trim screw holes! The extra effort spent at this stage returns in spades down the home stretch in terms of time and stress.

We must always be aware of the need to maintain a balance between fixing poor build quality issues and over-restoring. I always go back to the intent of the builder and take it to the highest level which is evident that they could achieve over all. This is the course we are following with The Alfatross."

The Engine (DeWayne Samuels, Samuels Speed Technologies)

The water pump housing.  DeWayne Samuels.

The shaft, bearing, impeller, seal and spring after
restoration.  DeWayne Samuels.

"Supplied water pump assembly was disassembled and initially cleaned and inspected. The housing had very bad corrosion creating porosity and pitting requiring chemical and glass bead abrasion to clean the metal enabling the surface to be ground to clean metal and prepared for welding. 











Various areas, especially at the radiator coolant supply hose bib, required multiple weld passes with shaping and re-welding to restructure the unit's integrity and restore the housing's original shape. 

Corrosion on the hose bib required building up and
grinding back into shape.  DeWayne Samuels.

Water pump restored and ready for installation.
DeWayne Samuels.

Once the porosity and corrosion problems were corrected; the entire internal surface in contact with coolant was coated with a protective sealant. The mating surface in contact with the engine block was machined flat as it too had porosity and corrosion problems. The new bearing assembly was modified to accept the fan pulley and machined to the proper length for the Zagato setup. 







The new bearing assembly was then pressed into the housing along with anew carbon dynamic seal assembly.  The coolant impeller was pressed into place with attention given to proper seal spring compression height and impeller clearance with the housing vortex seat. The unit is now ready to accept the fan pulley and awaits installation."

The Interior (Derrick Dunbar, Paul Russell and Company)

Body color overspray on the vinyl trim of the back seat
panel.  Derrick Dunbar.

"I am sending you three photographs of the material that came off the back panel of your rear backrest.  If you look closely you will it has some overspray residue on the vinyl edges where it wraps around the back panel.  This is evidence that the body was sprayed while in the car at the factory. Because the restoration calls for replacement of this piece of vinyl, we can either duplicate the overspray to preserve the way it was done at the factory, or leave it clean. Let me know what you want us to do".    

The back seat backrest panel.  Derrick Dunbar

One of the black vinyl quilting panels that cover the fire-
wall.  Derrick Dunbar.

  

The front seat backs and frames being reupholstered.
Derrick Dunbar.

The black quilting is your original that has been cleaned and dyed,  and the red wooden reinforcements on the underside of the parcel shelf are also originals.  If anything can be salvaged I like to retain it."

Everything Else (Me, Steward for The Alfatross)

When the body and chassis come back to Santa Fe I need to be ready to install all the other components except the upholstery.   Many of them are compete, but there is still plenty left to do.   Jeff Kramer, The Alfatross' chief Web scrounger, recently sent me a link to an ebay ad by Luma di Mazzotti Gianluca for a complete original Alfa 1900 radiator, thermostat, shutter and linkage assembly.  I didn't really need the radiator or shutter, but the thermostat and its intricate linkage alone were worth the purchase. Incredibly, it arrived less than a week later!

The radiator from The Alfatross (right) dwarfs the one
just received from Italy.

I was surprised to discover that the radiator and shutter were shorter than the Alfatross', although the other dimensions were the same.  It made me wonder if Alfa supplied different radiator types for different engines, or whether different body shapes required lower radiator height.

The shutters are sized proportionately.

The wiring harness laid out for testing.  Front of the car is at the top.

One of the other facets of the restoration I'm working on now is the wiring harness.  I had the original duplicated years ago by YnZ's Yesterday's Parts, but until now it had never been laid out.  My intent is to test each circuit and each electrical component to make sure they are functional before installing the harness in the car.  Although the harness and components are relatively simple, there are plenty of opportunities to get wires crossed.  Fortunately, YnZ numbered each wire and supplied 4 pages of notes on what they connect to based on the labels I attached when I removed the original harness and on their years of experience with this sort of thing.  I also had 9 pages of schematics sent to me decades ago by Berge Bergesen, another 1900 Z owner and notes by Peter Marshall on how to improve the exterior lighting system.

Things get a little complicated in the vicinity of the dashboard.

Separation Anxiety

I have to admit to being anxious about how long this restoration is taking.  I am well aware that The Alfatross is not the only car these guys (even me!) are working on, or even their highest priority (except for me!).  Over the 45 years I have been taking care of The Alfatross my experience with contractors has ranged from utter frustration with charlatans to mild amusement over some of the citations from The Book of Excuses I have been offered, to a sense of awe at the knowledge and competence demonstrated by the true professionals.  

If I ever do this again I will definitely establish agreements with anyone I contract with for when their part of the job will be finished.  If a potential contractor cannot or will not do that I will look elsewhere. 

Because of a Nail . . . . (Post # 71)

Because of a nail the shoe was lost, 

Because of the shoe the horse was lost, 

Because of the horse the knight was lost,

Because of the knight the battle was lost 

And because of the battle the kingdom was lost!

The Alfatross in 1969.  The trim ring is missing
from the passenger side headlight.

Chassis 01848 missing trim ring and headlight
lens. www.alfa1900.com.

What do nails, horses, knights, battles, and kingdoms have to do with the Alfatross? Well . . . read on!

The Alfatross was missing the trim ring around the passenger's side headlight when I bought it. OK, big deal, part missing, add it to the list! All I have to do is find another one . . .  or so I thought!

Beautiful car, but where is the trim ring
around the headlight? Michael Marciano.

The culprits: three simple spring steel clips susceptible to
breaking.  

It turned out that finding a replacement trim ring was not as difficult as determining WHY the original was lost in the first place. Headlight trim rings don't just fall off, even during competition or when being chased at high speed by the Polizia.  I noticed that at least a couple of The Alfatross' brethren were also missing their trim rings, so there seemed to be a pattern.  

There is always a reason, but it isn't always obvious. This time it was!  After cleaning the headlight buckets it was apparent that the one on the passenger side was missing two of the three clips that hold the trim ring to the bucket. And the driver side was missing one too.  

In my imagination I could see the series of events leading up to the loss of the trim rings: First, the headlight bulb burns out. The ring has to come off before the lens can be removed.  The person doing the work can't see what is holding the ring on or how to get it off (it isn't intuitive!) and breaks one or more of the clips before finally getting the ring off.  Now there is nothing to hold it in place, so either it isn't replaced, or it is jury rigged and falls off later. 

The exploded view diagram of the Carello headlight assembly for The Alfatross (top).  No. 14 in the diagram, "chiavistello" is the clip, or "latch" that holds the trim ring to the bucket, three per bucket.  Lose two and the ring will not hold!  Peter Marshall.

Looking at the headlight parts catalog sheet Peter Marshall send me years ago I made a feeble attempt to find replacement clips on line using the part number and description. It didn't take long to conclude that there probably isn't a stash of chiavistello "latches" left anywhere on earth so I better get busy making my own.  

I removed one of the three surviving clips still in good condition and took its dimensions. The problem was going to be finding spring steel of the right gauge to duplicate the example.  Shaping, drilling and bending it and would be easy (I thought!).

The nail that lost the shoe!  The 35 mm long, 
24 gauge, spring steel clip.  Try finding this 
on ebay!

The spring steel donor: a 
common paint scraper that 
just happens to be 24 gauge.

Cutting the spring steel blank with an abrasive wheel on
a Dremel tool.  Given the small size of the blank, sawing 
was impractical. 

I tried a number of pieces of scrap metal and saw blades before Jeff Kramer handed me a common paint scraper and said "Why don't you try this?" The blade turned out to be exactly the right gauge and large enough to make 5 or 6 blanks to allow for experimentation.  

Heating the spring steel blank with a MAPP gas torch 
in preparation for bending.

Finishing a new retainer clip on the sanding wheel.  The 
pointed tip must have exactly the right shape or it will be
difficult (impossible?) to get the trim ring off again!

I won't elaborate on all the things that can go wrong when you're cutting, shaping, drilling, heating, bending and grinding pieces of spring steel that are about an inch and a half long, but rest assured that Jeff and I discovered them all.  

One of the fabricated clips (top) with the original example.

This exercise is a good example of why car restoration is so time- and labor-consuming and hence so costly.  The materials in this case cost virtually nothing, but it took days of labor to restore critical parts that may never be seen again.

. . . and all because a tiny piece of steel--about the size of a small horseshoe nail--was lost .  . . .

Two for the Road (Post # 70)

The Alfatross in  about 1964 when it belonged to Pat 
Braden.  Note that the driving light on the passenger's side 
is completely different from the Marschal 640 fog light on 
the driver's side.  Pat Braden.

From the first time I saw The Alfatross I wondered if the driving and fog lights mounted in the horizontal grilles on either side of the central grille were "right". They looked too big for the grille openings and they were the type of light that is supposed to be attached using the threaded lug at the bottom of the case.  I assumed they were substitutions for whatever was supposed to be there and resolved to replace them with the "right" fixtures one day. My confusion deepened years later when I received this photo from former owner Pat Braden, taken in about 1964, I noticed that the Alfatross' driving light was completely different from the one on the car when I bought it.  So what is The Alfatross supposed to have? 

Screw holes in the rim of car 01947 (ex-Kelly) are all that 
is left of its grille lights.  Tim Marinos.

When good photos of The Alfatross' siblings started showing up on the Internet I noticed there is a lot of variation with respect to manufacturer, type, and size of the driving and fog lights.  This could be due in equal parts to what the cars were originally provided with or, due to their highly vulnerable location, the need for replacement due to rock damage.  

Note the way the lights are recessed into the grilles of  
chassis 01844.  Can't make out the manufacturer in this
photo.

Most lights seem to be Marschals, but the models vary.  Some have one fog and one driving light while others have two driving lights or even two fog lights. Although the dimensions of the grille openings appear to be constant, some lights appear to be smaller in diameter and recessed entirely inside the grille.  

Chassis 01915 in the 1955 Mille Miglia.  Note the additional
driving light attached to the central grille. Michele 
Marchiano

Period photos are hard to come by, and have not been much help.  Most are insufficiently sharp to distinguish makes and models of the driving and fog lights.  Occasionally the lenses are even taped over! But it is apparent that they protrude slightly from the grilles and it is possible to make out the Marschal crest on top of the light bezels.  In other words, they look just like the lights on The Alfatross!

Chassis 01954  is fitted with twin Marschal fog lights, but 
not the same type as The Alfatross.  Note the characteristic
Marschal shield on the lens, raised lens cone in the center 
of the lens, and pronounced chrome hood.  

Chassis 10593 (ex-Zagato) seems to be equipped with twin Marschal fog lights exactly like those of The Alfatross with the Marschal crest attached to the top of the chrome bezel ring and the clamp protrusion at the bottom of the ring.  

Chassis 10279 also is equipped with Marschal 640 fog lights, but these are different from The Alfatross', lacking the Marschal crest and clamp .

In period photo of an early 1900 Zagato taken during the 1954 Campione d'Italia Concours d'Elegance.  Photo resolution isn't good enough to identify the exact type of lights used.  Michele Marchiano.

Chassis 01845 in "as found" condition with the lens broken
on the passenger's side.  Can't make out the model,
but it does not seem to be a Marschal product. Octane.

 

The Alfatross' original Marschal 640 lens (right) is
chipped and cracked.  The NOS lens and reflector are  now
mounted in the original case (left)

My research reveals that Marschal products were and are present on a number of The Alfatross' siblings. When I bought The Alfatross it was wearing a 642 Marschal driving light and a 640 fog light. I have chosen to restore them. The cases were a little rusty, but could be re-chromed. The real problems were the reflectors and lenses. 

The original lens for the Marschal 640 fog light (right) 
with its NOS replacement from France via e-bay.

Are my lights "original equipment"?  There is evidence to suggest that they are: The mounting lugs on the bottoms of the cases had been removed so the lights could be affixed to the grilles in a somewhat slap-dash, non-adjustable manner by two screws passing through the sides of the grille opening and into the cases. There are only two screw holes in the grille, and they match perfectly the holes in the sides of the light cases. There is no evidence of modifications to install any other type of light, the first photo in this posting notwithstanding. 

The original reflector for the Marshcal 640 fog light
(right) with the NOS reflector that will be used to replace it.

I was lucky enough to locate a NOS Marschal 642 in 2003.  It donated its lens and reflector to the original Marschal case and bezel.  More recently, I acquired a somewhat used Marschal 640 fog light in France through e-bay.  The case was in bad shape, but all I needed was its lens and reflector, both of which were in almost perfect condition. Even with international shipping it cost me only about 1/10 of what the NOS driving light did 11 years ago!  E-bay rules!

Four States of Separation: Shifting Gears in New Mexico (Post # 69)

Gear Fear

One of the potential big-dollar expenses associated with restoring The Alfatross was the transmission.  You can't just take a 1955 Alfa Romeo 5-speed transmission to AAMCO and ask them to check the seals, bearings, synchros, and gears.  I was afraid there might be bad news inside the box because it was hard to shift back in 1970 or '71 when I last drove it.  The ever-resourceful Jeff Kramer recommended I take it to Gordon Self of Gordon's Imports in Albuquerque. Gordon is ASE certified for Alfa, Ferrari and other European imports.

The Alfatross' 5-speed transmission, now with new front
and rear seals, fresh oil. and a clean bill of health for the
bearings, synchros, and gears.

   
Gordon looked it over skeptically, ran the shifter through the gears, scratched his head, and said "It's been a long time since I've seen one of these!"  It looked pretty good on the outside, anyway.  But even if the gears and synchronizers were good it would still probably need seals front and rear at a minimum.  

Gordon Self  in his shop with the Alfatross' transmission.  As
you can see, racing is his thing!

Gordon called a few days later to say that he had opened up and found the synchros, gears, and bearings to be fine.  It did need seals, though, and finding new ones might take a while!  He was also a little concerned about the condition of the cap at the end of the driveshaft rubber "donut"mount and asked me to send down the front section of the propeller shaft to make sure the would engage properly.

The shift bracket welded to the frame had
torn loose.

If everything was fine inside the box, why was I having shifting problems?  I discovered the most likely reason when I was soda blasting the bottom of the chassis.  A bracket designed to anchor part of the clutch linkage had peeled away from the frame member making it impossible to totally disengage the clutch.  That problem was rectified during the chassis repairs.

50 years ago to the month, V. Pat Braden, The Alfatross'
5th owner, scratched  his initials (VPB) and date (10-64) 
inside the bell housing,  probably during a clutch 
replacement.

Carchaeology

An interesting aside: I know when the last clutch change took place: October 1964, 50 years ago to the month, because Pat Braden, a former owner, scratched his initials and the date on the inside of the bell housing! 

Max Jax

Optimistically looking ahead into the not-too-distant-future when The Alfatross' body and chassis return home from Tennessee, I have been shopping around for some kind of hydraulic lift to help with installation of the engine, running gear, brakes, suspension, wiring harness, etc.  I favored a two-post lift because it would make access to the suspension, wheels and brakes easier.  I had been putting off buying and installing a lift for a long time. The Shed has 11 ft ceilings, so height is not a problem, and there is plenty of space, but not so much that plunking a permanent lift down in the middle of it wouldn't create problems when reconfiguration of the space was necessary.  I discovered this site on the Web, http://www.maxjaxusa.com/, watched the set-up video, and was sold.

Installing the MaxJax.  The hardest part was deciding
where to set it up and how far apart to set the columns to
fit a variety of vehicles.

I placed my order and the unit arrived before the end of the week--all 800 lbs of it.  I was surprised and delighted at how easy it was for one person to unpack, assemble, and install it.  I did the assembly on a leisurely Sunday afternoon and the installation in less than 6 hours.  If I had to do it again it wouldn't take half that long.  

Each of the lift columns bolts to the floor using 5 special
wedge anchors.  All you need is two masonry bits and a
good hammer drill.

The MaxJax unit lifts to 48", handles up to 10,000 lbs, and breaks down into two columns and a cart-mounted hydraulic pump.  The whole thing can be removed and wheeled out of the way into a corner in a few minutes--just what I needed!