147 GTA progress thread (July 2013 to present)
Discussion
My Dad went over to the body shop yesterday to check on progress. Bonnet was only stone chipped but they've (Alan) taken it back to bare metal. 
There was some corrosion in the offside sill behind the plastic trim which has been cut out and repaired. It was only evident, to me at least, by the front wing but they've apparently cut out a section running the whole length of the sill.
And the rear bumper was in primer. Gloss primer by all accounts. In Alan's words "if the painter can't get a finish on that, he'll be looking for another job" :lol:
They've also been busy knocking out the various dings that cover the body. Knock out as in with a hammer, skill and patience rather than with a tub of filler.
Another one of Alan's quotes was that they only do 1 or 2 jobs like this a year so if you (the lads on the forum) want yours doing, the answer is NO.
It was too dark for my Dad's camera phone, so no pics.
There was some corrosion in the offside sill behind the plastic trim which has been cut out and repaired. It was only evident, to me at least, by the front wing but they've apparently cut out a section running the whole length of the sill.
And the rear bumper was in primer. Gloss primer by all accounts. In Alan's words "if the painter can't get a finish on that, he'll be looking for another job" :lol:
They've also been busy knocking out the various dings that cover the body. Knock out as in with a hammer, skill and patience rather than with a tub of filler.
Another one of Alan's quotes was that they only do 1 or 2 jobs like this a year so if you (the lads on the forum) want yours doing, the answer is NO.
It was too dark for my Dad's camera phone, so no pics.
Dropped in to the body shop on my way over to somewhere else today - They're not exactly local, a 40min drive. Had quick gander and took some pics:
IMG_5034 by Chris, on Flickr
IMG_5035 by Chris, on Flickr
IMG_5039-2 by Chris, on Flickr
IMG_5036 by Chris, on Flickr
After a conversation this morning it was agreed that the bottled needed to come off and the glass out. All because of a little problem that could have bubbled into something of a real problem;
IMG_5040 by Chris, on Flickr
IMG_5042 by Chris, on Flickr
IMG_5043-2 by Chris, on Flickr
IMG_5034 by Chris, on FlickrIMG_5035 by Chris, on FlickrIMG_5039-2 by Chris, on FlickrIMG_5036 by Chris, on FlickrAfter a conversation this morning it was agreed that the bottled needed to come off and the glass out. All because of a little problem that could have bubbled into something of a real problem;
IMG_5040 by Chris, on FlickrIMG_5042 by Chris, on FlickrIMG_5043-2 by Chris, on Flickr
davebem said:
Going to look amazing once done, that colour always looks much better in the flesh. I dont know how you have the patience though, having my car away for so long would drive me nuts.
Yeah, I'm pleased with it so far but it's going to be another month before I get it back. 
Really starting to miss it now.Picked it up today...
Happy doesn't cover it. It looks mega
At the bodyshop (Taken using an iPhone)
Still quite a bit to do though. Bilstein B8's being a major example. Which means I can't put the boot back together. I started with the doors instead, which needed new liners;
And a couple of shots down the flanks. It really is a weird colour, cosmos blue. It looks black until it's in direct sunlight. - For reference, the 156 next to it IS metallic black.
Happy doesn't cover it. It looks mega
At the bodyshop (Taken using an iPhone)
Still quite a bit to do though. Bilstein B8's being a major example. Which means I can't put the boot back together. I started with the doors instead, which needed new liners;
And a couple of shots down the flanks. It really is a weird colour, cosmos blue. It looks black until it's in direct sunlight. - For reference, the 156 next to it IS metallic black.
Edited by Zombie on Saturday 7th April 22:12
Next step. Bilstien B8's and Eibachs. Plus other "sundries".
Existing ride height
Which starts here with the boot stripped down and the suspension turret exposed
Moving on. This wasn't in the plan. Worn out brake pads. But my Dad (thanks Dad!) had some genuine pads in stock...
The bolts that go through the rear hub are a PITA.
The shank is exposed between the hub faces and corrodes making its almost impossible to remove.
The strut tops are known for corroding and welding themselves in place but I squirted them with some fancy lube the bikers like and they almost dropped out.Normally they require percussion removal which doesn't do them much good.
The dampers were fubar and destined to munch one of the rear tyres in a short space of time
They'd also corroded where the bumb stop sits;
The strut tops aren't that bad but genuine new ones had been found on eBay... (Thanks Dad!)
The turrets were showing surface rust so we've cleaned them up, chemically treated the rust and blasted them with stone chip and a wax oil type grease.
Things went a bit Pete Tong with the ARB bushes. The bolts snapped.
This wan't entirely unexpected though. Removing the subframe at this point is just 4 bolts and it drops out with the traverse arms.
And as it was out, that was the time to make sure the tracking adjustment (eccentric inner bolts) was free and does actually work. They didn't.
Rear view of the non adjustable rear traverse arms
Top view
Front/underside view
Bunged that back in with new ARB bushes and drop links. Weedy plastic things that they are...
Random pic of the GTA's flared arches and shine paint in the sun. I was getting fed up by this point...
New struts in...
Oh, did I mention the new traverse arms? the front ones don't wear but my Dad (thanks Dad) had found some genuine Alfa ones on eBay cheap... And the rear arms, which do wear? New Delphi...
All in that's new;
Springs,
Dampers
ARB bushes
ARB drop links
Traverse arms - front and back
Brake pads
Strut tops
Nuts and Bolts - all of em!!
The trailing arms are new and the discs have done less than 5k.
So it's all new at the back!
Thanks all!
Existing ride height
Which starts here with the boot stripped down and the suspension turret exposed
Moving on. This wasn't in the plan. Worn out brake pads. But my Dad (thanks Dad!) had some genuine pads in stock...
The bolts that go through the rear hub are a PITA.
The shank is exposed between the hub faces and corrodes making its almost impossible to remove.
The strut tops are known for corroding and welding themselves in place but I squirted them with some fancy lube the bikers like and they almost dropped out.Normally they require percussion removal which doesn't do them much good.
The dampers were fubar and destined to munch one of the rear tyres in a short space of time
They'd also corroded where the bumb stop sits;
The strut tops aren't that bad but genuine new ones had been found on eBay... (Thanks Dad!)
The turrets were showing surface rust so we've cleaned them up, chemically treated the rust and blasted them with stone chip and a wax oil type grease.
Things went a bit Pete Tong with the ARB bushes. The bolts snapped.
This wan't entirely unexpected though. Removing the subframe at this point is just 4 bolts and it drops out with the traverse arms.
And as it was out, that was the time to make sure the tracking adjustment (eccentric inner bolts) was free and does actually work. They didn't.
Rear view of the non adjustable rear traverse arms
Top view
Front/underside view
Bunged that back in with new ARB bushes and drop links. Weedy plastic things that they are...
Random pic of the GTA's flared arches and shine paint in the sun. I was getting fed up by this point...
New struts in...
Oh, did I mention the new traverse arms? the front ones don't wear but my Dad (thanks Dad) had found some genuine Alfa ones on eBay cheap... And the rear arms, which do wear? New Delphi...
All in that's new;
Springs,
Dampers
ARB bushes
ARB drop links
Traverse arms - front and back
Brake pads
Strut tops
Nuts and Bolts - all of em!!
The trailing arms are new and the discs have done less than 5k.
So it's all new at the back!
davebem said:
Looks amazing, love the colour.
EJH said:
That looks lovely! I shall continue to follow this thread with interest!
Kev_Mk3 said:
fantastic thread. Love the detail and photography keep it coming
(I've managed to bugger up the thread continuity with some edits)Thanks all!
davebem said:
Impressive stuff, Im contemplating b8s and eibachs for my 156. Out of interest are the genuine Alfa rear arms aluminium/alloy but the Delphi are steel?
Genuine alfa are galv steel and the delphi parts are also steel with some kind of black electroplate. I'd go with delphi as they look better. For info, the lower bolt in the hub that the traverse arms attach to is now around £16! The upper bolt is more reasonable at ~£6.Edited by Zombie on Sunday 2nd October 22:41
Edited by Zombie on Saturday 7th April 22:00
Edited by Zombie on Saturday 7th April 22:01
Final leg of what has been a lengthy process this weekend
Front suspension rebuild. Friday - 10am till 7pm
In theory, replacing the dampers and springs should be a simple process...
The problem is that the fork of the shock leg is made from aluminium. So that corrodes and gets a hold of the shock leg and the pinch bolt;
Of course, the pinch bolt was stuck fast, no way that was coming out without many hours of work. Which means that the whole leg has to come out as one unit. In order to facilitate this, EVERYTHING else bar the driveshaft has to come off. (And they have a complex double wishbone setup...)
As you might imagine, this took hours... And some bits became collateral damage. But with it all apart, there was no way it was going back together with old parts, hence;
New upper arms (Birth), new lower Arms - genuine alfa, new drop links, Bilstein B8's, eibachs and refurbed forks that are separate to the dampers, (saving many hours).
As part of a job lot of spares I also acquired a complete set of strut braces. The rear brace fits between the suspension turrets but requires the turrets to be drilled for bolt holes, so I'm not fitting that, leaving the front braces in the pic - they're bolt on items.
The upper brace (repainted body colour) is an easy fit with the suspension unloaded;
But the lower brace was a PITA, as it wasn't designed for GTA's specifically. The problem is that it's fitted using the lower arm bolts, but as the GTA has addition underbody bracing that's held in place using the same bolts, they end up being too short -
Rearmost bolt - the one that is blurred
After a bit of scratching around we eventually found some bolts that were the right size. Took an hour to resolve though.
Getting there...
Lower, but I think the suspension needs to settle.
Front suspension rebuild. Friday - 10am till 7pm
In theory, replacing the dampers and springs should be a simple process...
The problem is that the fork of the shock leg is made from aluminium. So that corrodes and gets a hold of the shock leg and the pinch bolt;
Of course, the pinch bolt was stuck fast, no way that was coming out without many hours of work. Which means that the whole leg has to come out as one unit. In order to facilitate this, EVERYTHING else bar the driveshaft has to come off. (And they have a complex double wishbone setup...)
As you might imagine, this took hours... And some bits became collateral damage. But with it all apart, there was no way it was going back together with old parts, hence;
New upper arms (Birth), new lower Arms - genuine alfa, new drop links, Bilstein B8's, eibachs and refurbed forks that are separate to the dampers, (saving many hours).
As part of a job lot of spares I also acquired a complete set of strut braces. The rear brace fits between the suspension turrets but requires the turrets to be drilled for bolt holes, so I'm not fitting that, leaving the front braces in the pic - they're bolt on items.
The upper brace (repainted body colour) is an easy fit with the suspension unloaded;
But the lower brace was a PITA, as it wasn't designed for GTA's specifically. The problem is that it's fitted using the lower arm bolts, but as the GTA has addition underbody bracing that's held in place using the same bolts, they end up being too short -
Rearmost bolt - the one that is blurred
After a bit of scratching around we eventually found some bolts that were the right size. Took an hour to resolve though.
Getting there...
Lower, but I think the suspension needs to settle.
Edited by Zombie on Saturday 7th April 22:03
Edited by Zombie on Saturday 7th April 22:04
Finished it off Today 
New main beam bulbs... LEDs, which I did have some doubts about. They have a fan in their base to keep them cool. Hmmm... Which is why I decided to use them as main beams - not on long enough to really worry about it.
The have a collar (H7's at least) that you separate from the unit;
And fir in the headlight, locking it down with the conventional latch.
I've not taken anymore pics, but basically we fitted the lights, replacing a ballast back for the bi-xenon dipped units and rectifying an earth issue. Arch liners gingerly fitted, bumper on, under tray fitted, tyres rotated front to back, pressures and levels checked.
All is good. Took it for a run into the city. Dark on the way home.
OMFG!!!!
LED units?!!!
They're awesome!
New main beam bulbs... LEDs, which I did have some doubts about. They have a fan in their base to keep them cool. Hmmm... Which is why I decided to use them as main beams - not on long enough to really worry about it.
The have a collar (H7's at least) that you separate from the unit;
And fir in the headlight, locking it down with the conventional latch.
I've not taken anymore pics, but basically we fitted the lights, replacing a ballast back for the bi-xenon dipped units and rectifying an earth issue. Arch liners gingerly fitted, bumper on, under tray fitted, tyres rotated front to back, pressures and levels checked.
All is good. Took it for a run into the city. Dark on the way home.
OMFG!!!!
LED units?!!!
They're awesome!
Edited by Zombie on Saturday 7th April 22:05
Mayrun said:
How is the led compared to the Xenon? is it also possible to add those to a halogen lamp on the GTA?
The H7 LED's are definitely brighter than the bi-xenon dipped beam units - they have a flap in the reflector that drops out of the way effectively making them main beam.The led's I've fitted just replaced the standard main beam bulb with no other mods.
If you're planning on getting some for your GTA be aware that the 156 (H1) uses a different bulb type to the 147 (H7). Also, the H7's seem to have 3 sides where the H1's are only 2 sided. Not sure how that would affect beam pattern.
I'd also have reservations about using them as a dipped beam to to heat build up - They have a fan in their bases to keep them cool, if that fails I wonder what the result will be - do they have a thermal cut out?
davebem said:
Having rebuilt the front suspension on my 156 I appreciate the hard work youve done there but it is oddly satisfying (at least for me as I love working on Alfas and improving them!).
Im really interested to here your feedback on the braces. The upper front area is already braced by the bulkhead, and supported by the underneath from the subframe, however on hard extreme cornering Im sure it still flexes around the front longtidudal members due to the weight of the engine.
I think the front lower brace will make the most difference, Im after those subframe to floorpan bracing plates to retro fit for my 156.
On the back the 156 saloon is braced by some crossmembers behind the fixed seats and bottom of the rear window, as the 147 doesnt have this I would have thought it would make a big difference placed high up on the strut towers?
It's difficult to offer comment on the braces as I've not got a baseline to compare it with. I did have an upper brace on a different 156 a while ago. Don't think it made that much difference. Nor did the rear brace when I fitted it to the same 156. The 147 is more rigid than the 156 but I think you may be right about the lower brace being the most effective location.Im really interested to here your feedback on the braces. The upper front area is already braced by the bulkhead, and supported by the underneath from the subframe, however on hard extreme cornering Im sure it still flexes around the front longtidudal members due to the weight of the engine.
I think the front lower brace will make the most difference, Im after those subframe to floorpan bracing plates to retro fit for my 156.
On the back the 156 saloon is braced by some crossmembers behind the fixed seats and bottom of the rear window, as the 147 doesnt have this I would have thought it would make a big difference placed high up on the strut towers?
Edited by Zombie on Sunday 25th September 21:21
SonicHedgeHog said:
They don't make em like that any more. Lovely.
melvster said:
Fantastic work what you have done so far and managed to achieve; always had a soft spot for these, fantastically well proportioned car and one of the very best 6 cylinder engines.
Thanks both. It was definitely worth my while polishing it given that it's rained pretty much for the whole time since want it?
Jellyfish said:
Lovely car and an enthralling read. Respect for all the work you've done. I can't think I've ever seen one of these on the road or anywhere else before
Thanks.That's not surprising tbh, outside of the alfa club gatherings (that I don't really bother to attend) I've only ever seen 1 other on the road since I bought it. howmanyleft suggests that there are 263 on the road, compared with 4,414 Golf R32's of the same generation and what appears to be 1,100 Focus RS (Mk1).
So yeah, they're pretty rare. Oddly, I've vever thought to check that as a comparison between it's contemporaries before now, I thought an R32 would be on a par... Obviously not!
Edited by Zombie on Tuesday 27th September 23:15
GrantB5 said:
You have put a lot of work in to it!
Without sounding weird haha, did you get those new calipers and discs from Glyn Hopkin in Romford. I see you mentioned you got them from Romford. It's the company I work for.
Guessing your old man works in parts too?
Thanks Without sounding weird haha, did you get those new calipers and discs from Glyn Hopkin in Romford. I see you mentioned you got them from Romford. It's the company I work for.
Guessing your old man works in parts too?
I think you might be right. The Seller had a Fiat 500 abarth IIRC, nice bloke.
Krikkit said:
Great progress thread, and a beautiful car!
I was wincing as I read the suspension bits, as I'd found exactly the same fundamentally stupid design in the 156 suspension I dismantled last year. Awful, awful design choices.
It's not that bad and better than some. They just need assembling with copper grease or ally paste.I was wincing as I read the suspension bits, as I'd found exactly the same fundamentally stupid design in the 156 suspension I dismantled last year. Awful, awful design choices.
Paul S4 said:
Could I ask what spec these are and where did you get them ?
I have a 2005 156 in which I have HIDs on dip but the main beam are standard H1s which every Alfa owner know are poor to say the least !
Really impressed with all the work that you have done on your 147... very envious of your skills and knowledge !
If I had the facilities and time I would take my 156 JTDM 150 ( remapped) and restore it properly ( ie de-rust the underside, remove/replace/powdercoat all the suspension, re bush everything etc... These cars are so good they deserve to be kept !
I honestly don't know what I would replace mine with... maybe a 156 GTA but I need the diesel mpg for my 70 mile commute !!
http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-gta/1020081-le...
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