LE 43 Restoration

Thought I'd put up a post to let you know what's happening to LE43 (Advertised a few months ago by Paolo, it's a one owner Coupe in Red with 67k miles)
I've been a member on here since I purchased my 1st coupe in 2004.
My cousin had a red coupe as a company car in the mid 90's and I loved it. I thought to myself 'I have to have one of those one day!'
So I bought my first coupe in 2004 and I still have it.
It's a silver LE and I love it, but I've always wanted a red coupe..... so when Paolo advertised his car I decided to buy it.
It hadn't had a belt change for a few years so after getting it home the 1st thing was to get it checked over by my mechanic (who's been looking after my coupe since 2005) he's an alfa/fiat specialist (& he was telling me that when he started as an apprentice in the main fiat dealership in Belfast in 1998 one of his first jobs was PDI'ing, coupes as they arrived in!)
So, as I expected, LE43 needed a timing belt service, a radiator and an oil cooler and pipes. It's also had a new rear exhaust section, a CHOD, new rear brake pads and discs and the turbo refurbed. The car was boosting and driving really well but we decided to get the turbo checked over and refurbed as the car was dismantled so far already!) Probably had one or two other bits as well (Many thanks to Joe, CountryCruising, on here who supplied many of the parts I needed both new and used, when new were no longer available - he's a great guy to know!)
The mechanical work is now 95% completed - just need the hand brake cables replaced- so it's now gone to the paint shop. The paint had faded a bit (typical red car!) and the lacquer was starting to peel on the roof.
So here's a few pictures of how it's looking now....



I'm removing the pinifarina badges on the rear quarter panels and having the holes filled in and then the rear quarters pumped full of waxoyl! I've found near identical pininfarina badges on ebay (Mitsubishi ones that are stick on with no pins)
Is there anything else that should be done when the car is in this stage of its restoration?
Thanks,
James

Fantastic,nice to see its gone to a good home.
Great work.

Thanks JBT,
I hope LE43 will soon look as good as some of the coupes on your great website!
Cheers,
James

Nice work Jamesy Looking forward to seeing the finished article!

Thanks! I will post some more pictures as the restoration progresses.

Should have said that all the work so far (incl. mechanical, removal of the bumpers and skirts ready for the car to go to the paint shop etc) has all been carried out by Jonny Cargo. He has a garage just outside Lisburn www.jrcauto.co.uk and he does a top job! Thanks to Jonny the car will soon be A1 again. Can't rate him highly enough and I think we're very lucky to have someone with his skills here in Northern Ireland. Anyone with a coupe (or, in fact, any other make/model of car) should give him a call. I've no hesitation in giving him the highest recommendation.

Wish my garage was that big.

Well done Jamesy

Great work on the restoration, look forward to the final pictures

Lovely Jamesy, this is going to be one cracking coupe
Good to hear you have such a reliable and trusted coupe guardian at your garage too - for him this is also great advertising!

Do you mind me asking what the cost is for the respray with all glass out etc ? Great work btw, as above, look forward to seeing the finished car!

Hi,
Thanks for all the positive comments so far!
The wheels have been refurbed, separately, at a cost of #220. I'm very pleased with the finish and the colour looks to be as close a match as possible.
Got Gareth from 'Dent Devils' to run over the car and take out all the parking dings so that there would be less preparation/filler etc. at #120 for both sides (2 doors/2wings)
Quote for the glass-out respray is approx. #1850....
I was expecting the glass to be removed & the inside masked off but, as you can see, he's doing a full job! Painter has a proper spray booth so it should be a great job....
All prices are in pounds sterling btw (can't get the pound sign = # to work on this laptop!!)

Top man!
Nice to see, once it's finished you will be rewarded by being able to drive it around knowing it's all shiny!

Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

You know the Coupe has become a proper classic car when people start stripping them down for a full respray. You'll be able to enter it as a "Concours" example among the E types and the MGBs !

Hey James,

I forgot to remind you that you'll be freaking out that you'll get a stone chip on your lovely flawles paintwork..............

.......I got my first chip within 50 miles of my respray.

Luckily I've had none since then, but then again, the car is only driven on dry days, when the prevailing wind is from the east and its velocity is less than 20mph, when the humidity level is below 30%, when the ambient temperature is above 14 degrees and when the pollen count is low.

Hence the car hasn't moved since December

See you on 25th in Lisburn at the show.

Mmmm....two shiney LE's on display

and one not so shiney....Poor Dixie!

You should really treat Dixie to a respray too.

She deserves it after all of the faithful service she has provided you over the years.

Going to give her a wheel refurb and a service, IF I've any money left.....so probably forget that..... just a wash and a polish

One week later!

Taking shape....

VERY nice

Looks like an excellent job has been done

Thanks! It will hopefully be back on the road next week..... Can't wait!

Jamesy

looking great!

did the painter take the glass out himself or did he give you the option of removing it yourself to save a few quid?
im in northern Ireland too and have been debating about spraying my low mileage inky

The retoration has been carried out by Jonny Cargo www.jrcauto.co.uk (02892621377) If you own a coupe then you probably have already heard of him! He was the head mechanic in Mervyn Stewart's and is the man to go to if you need any mechanical work done to your coupe! (& tell him I sent you!!!)
When I mentioned I was thinking of painting the coup he recommended a friend of his. I saw an Alfa 166 that he'd painted and it looked the business!
Jonny then suggested getting Gareth Devine to pop out all the parking 'dinks' as it would mean less preparation & less filler etc. I'd had Gareth (& Maurice, his dad) work on my silver coup several times over the years and knew that they (Dent Devils) do a great job!
Joe Knight, Country Cruising, has been fantastic. He was able to get me oil cooler pipes that Fiat have stopped making, a used turbo cooler pipe that Fiat have stopped making....etc. etc. THANK YOU again, Joe, & I will buy you that pint!!
When I mentioned the glass-out respray to Joe he advised that whoever was removing the glass took their time not to damage the rubbers on the rear quarter glass as the seals are bonded to the glass when made and are not removable (from the glass)
The glass is now back in (my photos are a few days old) and the coupe is ready to go back to Jonny's for a few finishing touches! (including a lot of waxoyl!!) He tells me that the painter got someone else to bond the windows back in ..... so, all in all, a 'proper' job. Jonny also tells me that the guy doing the paint has polished? (I think he said) the headlights which were a bit crazed and they're now looking great! He also took the time to spray the wiper arms, the door handles etc. etc. so he goes the extra mile.
I'm hoping to have the car on display at the NIIMC show in Lisburn on Sat 25th May. Should be a great display of Italian cars and at least 4 or 5 coupes (from North and South) so please bring your inky along.....

That looks mint, out of interest, can you pm me the costs for the respray? Fantastic job, all the best with it

PM sent

unfortunately i havent quite finished the heart transplant.....

Ah won't be able to bring it to the show then! Come along anyway if you aren't busy!

if i can get my head up after night shift i'll come up a blip, although arriving in a passat just wouldnt look right

Finished!

stunning!

That's a beauty alright!! Congratulations

Thanks. I'm over the moon! Turned out really well.

Well done, she looks lovely, lucky you!

Very nice, congratulations.

What a car!!! Saw it in the flesh on Saturday at NIIMC. No idea what your total spend was but it was worth every penny.

Thank you. Yours was looking great too. Lovely colour!

Just reading through these posts a bit late as I have been kept informed of the twists and turns of this restoration directly by James.

As the only previous owner of this car I can honestly say that I am absolutely delighted that it went to James. I couldn't have done the restoration anything like James has done. I don't have the knowledge and I don't have the skilled technicians here to take such care and attention.

I'd like to publicly say a great big "Thank You" to James for buying my car and restoring it to such a fantastic level. My sale was very reluctant (based on health reasons) but I am so pleased it has found the very best home possible.

Cheers,.
Paolo

Thank you, Paolo.
I'm very glad you sold me it!
I think the guys have done a fantastic job.....

Ooof, how could you park it so close

Super job Jamesy -

You're welcome James, and your car looks absolutely stunning. You are a very proud owner, but can I please be your car's Godfather?

Of course! And remember that you're welcome to call next/any time you're over in this part of the world!

Hi Jamesy

Hope you are well sir, and of course all the other members.

Bit of a post resurrect.. I need a bit of work for an MOT would JRC be the guys to go to in Northern Ireland?

regards mike