Re: '58 Giulietta

[MMosko@xxxxxxx]

Dear David:

I'll share some experience with you and perhaps save you serious grief.

I'm in the middle of a ground up restoration of a '65 Guilia spider veloce.
The real deal. When you're dealing with a 40 + year old car the expense factor
can become a bottomless pit. Forget about the purchase price. Whether you pay
$500 or $5000 has little bearing on the final outcome if you want a nice car
to drive.... and they are nice cars. I owned one new from the showroom in '61
and drove it 120,000 miles as a daily driver for 7 years.

Here are some of things you absolutely must know.

1) Rockers (composed of eight different pieces)... is there any rust at all?
If you see a little on the outside you can figure that the insides are gone
and rockers will have to be replaced. Cost? $1500 for the metal alone plus
labor. And if you doing that you may as well redo the entire car. Body work
(labor alone) on my car will  be $8000. Add re-chroming and replacement of
cosmetic parts.. another $4000.

2) Engine... take it someone who understands Alfa's to check it out. An engine
overhaul is $3000  if nothing major is found. If you start replacing pistons
and liners the bill could reach $5000. 

3) If you're planning on a serious restoration of the car I suggest you find
an original 1300 engine coupled to a 4-speed tranny. They're available. You'll
be pleased to know that Alfa never kept track of the engines that went into
the cars. Therefore, no-one can ever question the authenticity of the complete
car. What I don't understand is how a 1600 cc engine fit into this car without
changing the hood as well. The Guilias (1600 cc cars) had a hood with a fake
airscoop to accomodate the slightly taller engine. Do you have a Guilia hood
with fake airscoop?

4) If you pockets are deep enough to do a complete restoration including
mechanical rebuild of all systems you had better figure on spending over
$30,000 of which half will be parts.

I think you'd be better off finding a good well restored Guilietta. They're
out there for $15,000 to $20,000. Buying a beater can be an endless outpouring
of money and little driving pleasure.

Good luck,

Marc Mosko
'65 Guilia Spider Veloce  (under restoration)
'74 GTV2000 (almost new)
'98 BMW M3 (very fast - no soul)
'98 BMW Z3  (Not as good as a Guilietta)

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