Professional Body Repair Once the chrome trim and bumpers were removed, some fairly significant body damage from an earlier collision was revealed at the nose of the Alfa (figure A). It was determined that some professional front-end bodywork was in order prior to repainting the vehicle. Following is a summary of the body-repair steps as shown in the episode.
- The first step in the repair is to pull the damaged area of the nose back to its original shape as closely as possible. Professional body tools are used to carefully pull the dented area out (figure B), returning the nose to something close to its original shape.
- A slide-hammer with a claw attachment (figure C) is used to further work the damaged area back out and into its original shape. As the slide-hammer is used progressively around the edge of the damaged area, some old body filler from an earlier repair breaks loose.
- A grinding wheel (figure D) is used to remove some additional filler and reveal the extent of the original damage.
- After grinding, and some additional tapping with a hammer from underneath the damaged area, metal studs are spot-welded onto strategically placed points on the damaged metal (figure E). The studs will help in pulling the damaged area of the nose back to square using the slide hammer. Once that process is complete, the metal studs are ground off, and the metal surface is ground smooth again.
- The next step is to apply some spray-on adhesive to prepare the area for application of some body filler (figure F).
- Once the adhesive has been applied, a small amount of body filler is applied to the metal (figure G) to finish out the shaping process. With the metal-shaping that was done prior to this point, only a small amount of body filler will be necessary.
- Once the filler has dried, it is shaped with hand-tools (figure H) and then fine-sanded to bring it to its final shape.
- Once sanded down to approximate the original shape of the nosepiece, the repaired area is primed to prepare it for painting, and given a final sanding (figure I ).
In the segment that follows, the major steps in the Alfa's professional paint-job are shown.
RESOURCES :
Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible: A Hands-On Guide to Getting the Most from Your Alfa
Model: 0837607078
Author: Pat Braden
Order this book from Amazon.com
Bentley Publishers
Alfa Romeo Spider: The Complete Story
Model: 1861261225
Author: John Tipler
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Crowood Press
Original Alfa Romeo Spider (Bay View Original Series)
Model: 0760311625
Author: Chris Rees, James Mann
Order this book from Amazon.com
Motorbooks International (MBI Publishing)
Essential Alfa Romeo Guilia & Giulietta Coupes & Spiders: The Cars and Their Story 1954-95
Model: 1870979591
Author: David Hodges
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Motorbooks International (MBI Publishing)
Alfa Romeo: The Spirit of Milan
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Sutton Publishing
Classic Car Restorer's Handbook: Restoration Tips and Techniques for Owners ...
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H.P. Books
Classic Car Restoration Guide: The Complete Illustrated Step-By-Step Manual
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Haynes Publishing
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