Since I was a child I have always loved spending time to diassemble things and putting them back together.
Actually I was much better at taking them apart than putting them back together. For this reason, I started buying things with the thrill of fixing and eventually became good at it.
This abandoned car was calling me because it needed to be rescued.
I decided to buy this vehicle and to devote months of time for its complete restoration.
The big debate about this project was whether to do a full restoration or a restomod.
Considering this is our first important project, we wanted to follow the original setup of the car and make small upgrades to improve the efficencity without loosing the former design's autencity.
My father always told me that it takes the same time to do a good or a bad job.
Therefore, with this in mind we decided to disassembly every single screw, bracket and make it RIGHT.
The working hours were over 80's after disassembly.. and we were just getting started.
when you want to renovate an object, you start with the best hypotheses of restoration and conservation..
but let’s be clear, a car thar has spent more than 50 years in the countyside in the mud, had very little to preserve.
Thankfully, we found chassis in good condition, some parts have been replaced and rewelded in their place.
Our mission, we have focused on rebuilng a vehicle that can spend another 100 years on the road (and why not even off road).
We decided to replace the points where the chassis weakened more easily with better performing and thicker metals and better heat treatments.
We added small drain holes, where water and mud deposists could be created.
We tresated the frame inch by inch and eventually add a sandblast, a cataphoresis coating and a powder paint.
The bust have been replaced with polyurethane and the old absorbers with brand new ones to improve the stability.
We decided to revise all the mechanical components of this car because many parts were refitted or non-original due to time and interventions by different owners.
We rebuilt the front and rear axles from scratch with OEM parts.
At the moment the only upgrade we have done is to replace the bushings with polyurethane ones and increase the tyre size.
The engine renovation involved a series of fundamental technical interventions to ensure the efficiency and longevity of the unit.
First, a deep cleaning of all internal and external components was performed to remove any residues and deposits.
Next, we checked and replaced all lubrication and distriubution systems.
Calibrated and checked the injectors and fuel system to ensure optimal combustion.
Wear-prone parts, such as bearings and seals, were replaced with new, high-quality components.
The cooling system was completely overhauled, from the radiator to the water passage tubes, with the new oversized aluminum radiator providing better temperatures.
In the end, we improve the performance by enhancing the air intake and constructing a new stainless steel exhaust manifold.
We started the bodywork makeover with a detailed assessment of the parts to identify dents, rust, and other imperfections.
The bulkhead was in poor condition, the wheel arches were from two different models (the right from a III series and the left from a II Series ),
the hood was dented under the spare wheel mount, the doors were full of filler, and the rear body was completely deformed. Luckily, the gear knob was in good condition!
We sandblasted and straightened all the aluminum parts, replaced the rusted lower parts of the bulkhead, then applied an epoxy primer.
The body was then sanded to achieve a smooth and even surface. More than 300 hours of work were invested in these tasks because we did not want to use filler!
