Clearly visible is the characteristic bent window for 1953,1954 and 1955. Before 1953 the windshields are "split window".Plenty of work ahead. Running 912 engine, superior oil pump over the 356 engine for starters. Solex carbs,12 volt system. very reliable.
After the 3 ohm Bosch blue coil failed for unknown reasons i replaced it w a Pertronix 45,000 watt .6 ohm coil, adding this to the Pertronix electronic ignition, swapped out the original 1955 ignition switch and starter push button for replacement Bosch ignition switch which had a different wiring pattern and a 15 amp push button starter.Hotter spark at the plugs, Now its trouble free starting. The Bosch coil would bench test fine as a working unit , but under a electrical load the primary or secondary winding failed, I would certainly buy another Bosch coil if i needed it, just bad luck it failed, I wouldnt go less than 15 amps on the push button, for some reason they smoke and fail at less than that amperage.I also used a Dremel tool w the mini steel wheel to polish the fuse terminals and fuses, believe it or not it restored the signal lamps.If your going to replace the electrical, best to swap out everything, the old components had some 54 years of service, if they weren't going to fail today they certainly were going to fail under stress at a very inconvenient critical time.
The muscle car Cragar ss rims, tires finnally failed , the front tire started wobbling , like it was gonna catapult off. Originally the 1955 would have ran 16 inch rims , I'm just building a runner so , 15 inchers are fine,, 165 65 r 15s would be original but they are actually not a very common tire so i added, 185 65 r 15s, common size and the same as a 1963 Alfa Romeo uses, The car can fit 195 65 r15s .
The flares gotta go , i have complete qtr panels to swap them out w... Turns out the car was amateur raced in Riverside and Arroyo Seco in the Southland. The fellow ran a Corvair engine which is similiar to a VW or Porsche air cooled engine. The VW trans turns out to be original to the car. Hooking up a 912 engine to a 1955 VW trans was straightforward. the carb linkages had to be made to fit and work. I always hated Solex carbs on 1950s-60s Alfas but on Porsches they are fine units.
The muscle car Cragar ss rims, tires finnally failed , the front tire started wobbling , like it was gonna catapult off. Originally the 1955 would have ran 16 inch rims , I'm just building a runner so , 15 inchers are fine,, 165 65 r 15s would be original but they are actually not a very common tire so i added, 185 65 r 15s, common size and the same as a 1963 Alfa Romeo uses, The car can fit 195 65 r15s .The flares gotta go , i have complete qtr panels to swap them out w... Turns out the car was amateur raced in Riverside and Arroyo Seco in the Southland. The fellow ran a Corvair engine which is similiar to a VW or Porsche air cooled engine. The VW trans turns out to be original to the car. Hooking up a 912 engine to a 1955 VW trans was straightforward. the carb linkages had to be made to fit and work. I always hated Solex carbs on 1950s-60s Alfas but on Porsches they are fine units.
Hi! Man! Awesome car!
ReplyDeleteDid you ended up doing much work on it?
I'm looking for a bent window, feel free to Contact me if you know of another one, or want to sell this one!