Finally got it sorted

[cyborg7]

I thought I'd share a few photos of my pride and joy, now that I've finally got it 95% sorted. I bought it last April so it's taken me longer than it probably should have done. To be honest there's still plenty to do. But in the meantime summer's here so it's time to enjoy it.

Things I've done:

1) Had it lowered back to EU height
2) Sorted out floor pan rust (fortunately only surface rust, due to a long unresolved leak from above). Still not managed to trace it, but it's now a fair whether car so no big deal. Also fortunately it seems to be the only rust anywhere - result.
3) taken out the indicators in the grill (following rubber to chrome bumper conversion) and replaced with some driving lights. Thanks go to Toplessexpat for these driving lights. They've since been lacquered yellow with a chrome outer ring added. They fitted a treat, missing the bonnet (aka hood) by a hair's breadth and are a massive improvement on the look (in my opinion at least).
4) mounted some indicators under the bumper - ideally (one day when I can afford it) I'd like to cut some Carrelli ones into the wing, but it'll mean dropping the bumper and respray, so that will have to wait.


It's a 1976 1800cc (132A1.040.6) engine with a 34ADF 250 carb and a straight through exhaust with the cat & smog all removed.

It was 1st registered in San Diego California and imported into the UK in 1996 by DTR Sports Cars. I'm the 3rd owner and luckily (by the power of google) was able to trace the original owner who had it for the 1st 20 years (and is now in his 70's) . After sending him some photo's saying it's still going strong / cherished, I got a fabulous letter replying saying what happy memories it brought back.

Some photos:

How it used to look this time last year:

Floor before:



How it looks now:






I need to apologise in advance for the stickers - the OCD knows no bounds.



OK - not genuine I know, but a bit of artistic licence never hurt







Topgear test track (Dunsfold) - unfortunately they didn't let me on and said they'd set Clarkson on me if I tried.






I did warn you about the sticker obsession



















Wrinkle finish on the steering wheel (before it was like hammerite that had all dripped)





More wrinkle finish to replace bad hammerite finish





Need to stop buying pointless accessories:


Bought a 1970s period radio off ebay and then killed it 3 months later by connecting too many speakers to it. Yes I am that dumb. Couldn't fix it without spending an arm and a leg, so went the easy/cheaper option and just got a mini amp that's tucked behind the seat to drive an ipod.


It's the single most fun car I've ever had. With the straight through exhaust I'm probably not that popular with the neighbours any more.

I just wish the car wasn't so popular in car parks. As per usual - picture the scene: 7am and an empty supermarket car park. Parked up all alone in the far corner miles away from the nearest car. Return 15mins later and as per usual it has company...

[philbert]

Congratulations on your project, looks great, thanks for sharing photos. I like the wrinkle finish on the steering wheel.

[focodave]

She's beautiful.
Nicely done!

[RRoller123]

Nice!

[vandor]

Yes, that wrinkle finish is a nice touch!

Where did you find those turn signals? I've seen similar ones on some Eastern European cars.

[cyborg7]

Cheers guys. Glad you like it. It's at the stage now where I don't want to overdo it by over-restoring. I quite like that the carpet is tatty, the dash is scratched etc.

Just glad I finished it for the start of the summer and the car show season. I went to Brooklands for the annual AutoItalia car show a few weeks ago, slumming it with various Ferraris, Lambos and other exotica. But the amount of comments I got from people saying it was one of the nicest looking cars there was really great.

Looking forward to another car show coming up in 2 weeks time (Bromley Pageant) featuring no less than Ronnie and Amy Shirley in the UK from the Lizard Lick Towing series. How random is that? http://www.bromleypageant.co.uk/whats-on/4580860883

I got the indicators from a kit car parts provider called Car Builder Solutions based in the UK (I'm in the UK by the way)
http://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/s ... ator-light but I think they're a fairly generic pattern as I've seen them on other cars.

[dreavis]

I recently purchased a 1977 with the exact same color combination (dark red, tan interior, red carpet). I have the two-point lap belt and would love to know what I'd need to do to convert it to the belt system you have. Any advice would be appreciated.
Also, do you know what the exterior color is called?

I hope to get mine looking as good!!

[cyborg7]

dreavis - I'm not going to be much help to be honest, as the belts were in before I bought it (albeit there were red OMP ones that didn't look right so I swapped them for the black Sabelt ones). Having only had the car a year I'm still feeling my way and there's others on here infinitely more knowledgeable than me. I think I've come across some links to fitting these so best to do a search of the site. There's some issues with making sure the bolts don't foul the transmission tunnel, but other than that they should be pretty straight forward.

Also I've never been able to find the actual colour reference. I took it to a specialist to computer scan & match it and the closest they came up with was the following:

Cell Piaggio 820/A Rosso

But although it seems to be a 99.99% match, I wouldn't say it's an absolutely perfect match, so I'd urge caution relying on any advice from me.

[autotransgression]

beautiful.