Subframe Overhaul problems.... Advise needed!

CatmanV2 said:

Shipping can work both ways

C

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lol.....you know, I know a guy who knows a guy. This guy he knows goes by the name Chris and his shipping company has boomed this previous year. Last I heard he's built like a brick wall from hauling so much, maybe I'll talk to him. On another note I wonder how much they would cost to get shipped over. I imagine they must be heavy.

CraigWaterman11 said:

lol.....you know, I know a guy who knows a guy. This guy he knows goes by the name Chris and his shipping company has boomed this previous year. Last I heard he's built like a brick wall from hauling so much, maybe I'll talk to him. On another note I wonder how much they would cost to get shipped over. I imagine they must be heavy.

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Less than 23kg?

C

Update time:

1st photo: This is the metal support which is an integral part of the front bumper. Nicely protected from corrosion.



2nd photo: This is the new one we had to make as you can only buy the whole bumper new.




Here: https://youtu.be/Agew7qEqWHI you will find a video showing the amount of force required to eventually release that small corroded bush to get the front subframe off! Don't imagine you could ever do this job without a proper lift!

Glad those weren't my fingers!

Update.

Everythings being powder coated. Found a crack in the front ARB so that is for the bin. Found more corrosion on the front subframe once it was blasted so have had to cut out and replace a few bits. These are now zinced and awaiting black powder coat on Monday

Starting to clean the rest of the parts. Decided to completely strip the hubs and get everything "as new" clean. Plating a lot of the bits we took off after media blasting - again to a standard where they will not go rusty a 2nd time.

Conundrum with damper bushes on the Skyhooks. - Seems there are two genuine Maserati parts - one is £8, the other £64. Cheap one supersedes the expensive one!

Here's some pics....

Nice to be able to see there was never any chassis damage when it was pranged. I'm in discussions with DVSA regrading getting the totally unnecessary Cat D status my car has removed.


There is really not alot left attached to the underside of the car. Most of what is not in the pics is away being refurbed or in the bin.


Got myself a blast cabinet and some magical aluminium cleaning fluids to clean up bits like this front upright - before vs after.


Subframes - Zinced and waiting for black powder coat. Wont be going rusty again!

They look great, I'm getting subframe envy!

Wow! That's a serious overhaul, great to see it being done with so much attention to detail. I love the fact that most will never see what you've done, but you have the satisfaction of doing it all properly. Great work!

Well Done and great to see what you are doing down here in New Zealand.

MAF260 said:

Wow! That's a serious overhaul, great to see it being done with so much attention to detail. I love the fact that most will never see what you've done, but you have the satisfaction of doing it all properly. Great work!

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Very Zen!
C

Sad thing is, it really should not be necessary for the age of the car.
20 or 30 years ago maybe, but not something made in the last 10 or 15 years.

I agree Mike. It is shameful for a car of this value. A modern Alfa of the same age would not suffer in this way.

mjheathcote said:

Sad thing is, it really should not be necessary for the age of the car.
20 or 30 years ago maybe, but not something made in the last 10 or 15 years.

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Amazing how you got the front subframe out with removing the engine.
I gave mine thorough application of anti-corrosion paint after stripping back anything that flaked or looked corroded.

The reassembly begins....

First, the front bumper freshly painted and perfectly colour matched..... It even has a new badge. If you want a brand new 4200 nose badge, the nearest is 3000 miles away in the US of A. Mine was purchased and hand carried across the pond by a friend. I have a slightly marked one for sale if anyone is interested as there are none in the UK or Italy.



Then to the rear subframe. Many bits have arrived back from the platers and powder coaters since last weekend so we will be really making progress on Sunday. For those interested, by nylon bush project was a non starter, so the car now has a mixture of recycled flanblocs and new ones. In cutting a couple open it appears that although the rubber bits you can see look perished, the inside sections where the work is done are in perfect condition.




And some nice and shiny bits ready to go back on!




Did I mention the front subframe....

Great work!

started to remove the rear frame on mine....

Exhaust is a mission alone, virtually cutting every fixing as bolts are seized solid or so wasted there is nothing to get a purchase on.

In no rush luckily

Haha. Exhaust took me 20 mins! I'm regretting ever starting to do mine and that is with a lift! Take the whole rear frame out with everything attached and you stand a chance. Removing the transaxle is a very bad idea!

I must be about 6 hrs on the exhaust alone!

Was going to remove the gearbox first so I can get the torque tube out of the way, whole rear bumper heat shields are gone so plenty of room, Craig Waterman can do this on someone's drive so I hope I have a chance!

I could not get the gearbox out when it was on a lift! Good luck with that!

Craig is a strapping lad to be fair.

Hi Arnie, absolutely awesome job - the results are looking great. Fortunately according to my mechanic and what I saw my GS (which is a UK import) only spent its first 4 years in England and appears to have been driven predominately in the summer, avoiding the wet winter salts.
Looking forward to your next update with accompanying photos. Re your spare front bonnet badge, I am interested - how bad are the scuffs and how much are you looking for.
Cheers Ed

I'll take a pic tomorrow Ed.