Keith’s Blog: No Concours Restoration for the Alfa

For those following the saga of our 1965 Alfa Giulia Spider, you’ve seen it go from a slightly disheveled but much-loved daily driver to a completely stripped shell.

It was last year that we took it to Bill Gillham, in Jefferson, Oregon, for some minor rust repairs. As he dug into the car, he found it had various serious rust issues that were not immediately apparent.

We made the decision to have him proceed and take care of its problems. The further he went, the worse it got, until our only real choice was to take the car completely apart.

Now, all the rust repair is done, and an exquisite paint job in the correct Grigio Mare (Sea Gray) has been applied. (Gillham found some original paint on the backside of the glovebox door and sent it to PPG to have it matched.)

We had a decision to make: How far to take the restoration? As Gillham correctly pointed out, if we wanted to have a 100-point concours restoration, now is the time to do it. However, he also noted that it can be much more expensive to make a car perfect than it would be to make it just a “handsome daily driver.”

I reflected on the way I use my cars. I have them only to drive them. I’ve never been very interested in showing my cars at concours, where better-than-perfect examples are on display. When you use cars, things happen to them. They get rock chips. The seats get worn. Instrument needles fade from the sun. Engine oil leaks out. It just happens.

I’ve made my decision. I’ve told Bill that I want him to make my car a very nice daily driver. It ran and handled well when we drove it to him, so apart from a minor repair, there really aren’t any needed modifications to the suspension. For reliable maintenance and any necessary repairs, visit an auto repair Lynchburg shop to keep your car in top condition for daily use.

I’ve asked him to clean everything, and to paint the suspension and driveline parts that look crappy. If something stands out as not being up to the standard of a “handsome daily driver,” he should fix it.

There are two small holes in the front bumpers, about a half-inch in diameter, where an aftermarket bumper guard was once installed. Rather than replate or replace them, I asked him to just plug the holes with small chrome bolts.

The interior was completely restored a few years ago, and has a nice lived-in look.

What we should end up with is a car with a fantastic paint job and great shut lines. The engine bay will beautiful and completely correct even if not totally redone.

I understand I only get one chance to make this decision; going back to take the car apart to turn it from a 90-pointer to a 100-pointer would be much more expensive than doing it now.

But I simply have no interest in making this a concours car. So the die is cast. Bill will start on the car in the next 60 days, and we might have it back by the end of summer. Just in time for those great fall tours on back roads, perhaps in the rain, and certainly with gravel that will come flying up from the cars ahead.

It will be nice to have my “driver-quality” Spider Veloce back again.