This
page will document the complete restoration of a car I have desired for many
years. I've inspected many 'restored' examples, but never found one that convinced
me it was anything other than a very glossy 'makeover' of a rusty, worn-out
car. And the unrestored cars were just so sad, so metal-fatigued (cracks) and
rusted and 'saggy' I simply couldn't justify the asking price.
In early August 2016 I chanced on a new entry on an Australian Alfa Romeo Internet forum, where two Alfas were being listed for the contributer's computer-illiterate uncle. I immediately made contact and drove the 540km round trip to view this car (the other was a truly superb, genuine 60,000km '85 Alfetta GTV that also sorely tempted me when I saw it). A very thorough inspection on a hoist proved to me that this quite rough-looking car was indeed a diamond waiting to be discovered. Never repainted, no rust repairs, severe sunburn to the interior from a life in the dry, hot climate along the Victorian/NSW border in Australia, but incredibly rust-free!
It has 91827 miles on the odometer (definitely genuine, with the original door hinges still tight and unsagged and original pedal rubbers with commensurate wear), matching numbers (all mid 1972), and has been laid up since its last registration (AR-060 in Victoria) ran out on the 5th September 1990...truly a barn find, asleep for 26 years. The search for a truly honest Alfa 105 was over.
I am looking forward to doing a thorough and accurate restoration on this gem-in-the-rough, and enjoying it for the rest of my days with my other classics. Progress will be documented on this page. Heath O'Brien at O'Brien A.M.S. in Kerang, Victoria, Australia is my machinist of choice, and will be doing any necessary machining. I highly recommend Heath's services to you!
Already many thousands of dollars of parts have been ordered. After extensive checking of worldwide sources, three exemplary UK businesses have been chosen and are a total pleasure to deal with and extremely competitive with pricing, even with DHL international shipping to Australia. Kevin at E.B. Spares, Giles at Classic Alfa and Richard at Alfaholics are all extremely helpful, knowledgable and worthy of your business.
Tyres were sourced from Longstone Tyres in the UK, after finding all the Australian suppliers of classic Pirelli Cinturato 165HR14 CA67 tyres to be vastly unaffordable. Tom Homan at Longstone did me a deal on five tyres that was less than half the cost of the best quote from any Australian dealers, and they were delivered to my remote Victorian location within three business days of ordering.
Picking the car
up from its delightful home in Melbourne's north-east hilly fringe to trailer
to its new home and well-deserved restoration.
Next stage is
stripping the car, including removing the engine/gearbox.
Now fully stripped,
ready for paint stripping, minor rust and dent repairs and etch priming.
This article in
the Yarrawonga Chronicle Wednesday 7 September 2016 proved very helpful in discovering
more of the
car's history, including contact from the 94yo mother of the late owner.
