Parts arrive

As I continue to strip the body of our Giulia the hard way I have started to order replacement body panels and parts for the restoration. The body is pretty banged up and has significant amounts of bondo on it. I'm about 75% done with stripping the exterior but still have the interior, trunk and engine bay to do. I will do some of that with paint stripper as opposed to abrasive discs. I have placed orders with Highwood Alfa, Alfa Parts, IAP and Wolf Steel. Yesterday the postman brought a large box to the door with International shipping stamps on it. I was surprised that the parts arrived so quickly. Chris had told me he'd ship them out right away, but I didn't expect them to arrive via courier. The biggest piece in the box was the front center clip. As you are no doubt aware panels for step nose models are very hard to find these days and while remanufactured parts are available for some areas, their quality is always suspect. This turned out to be the case with the center panel I received from Highwood. It doesn't look too bad, but the top bracket for the grill is tacked on a good inch off center, meaning the spot welds will need to be drilled out, and it will need to be welded in the proper place. This is simply unacceptable, especially for a part that costs $900. Unfortunately I don't have a choice. I've also encountered a poorly made repop grill, which doesn't it properly at all. NOS parts are truly worth the time and money required to acquire them, assuming you can. So far the worst damage I've found is on the rear end. The car has been rear-ended at least once in its long life, and there is also substantial rust in the trunk. This will no doubt be the most challenging area of the body to get straight, but I'm committed to doing it properly, with a minimum amount of body filler, regardless of the time it takes. Mechanically, the engine parts are starting to come back from the machine shop. I got my crank back, newly magnafluxed, ground, micro polished and with fresh oil galley plugs and am now awaiting the head and block. I have nearly everything necessary to put it back together, including new liners and pistons, fuel and oil pumps, a gasket kit and various ancillary items. Another project that I need to embark upon is the cosmetic and mechanical restoration of the carburetors. With the coming car show season nearly upon us I'll be looking forward to seeing lots of restored Giulias for ideas, inspiration and instruction.