Restoring the Door Sill, Part 2 - Alfa Romeo GT from 1972

This Alfa Romeo GT ("Bertone") from 72 belongs to a friend of mine. It had bubbles at the front fender and he took that too easy for too long. I did a restoration of the door sill including some major welding work at A- and B-pillar. I'm using epoxy primer, Brunox and Fluid Film to make sure rust won't return.
#Alfa105 #alfagt #alfagtv #ClassicAlfa #restoration
Here's the link to my partner where I get my spare parts:
www.myalfagroup.com/
Here's the link to the shirt shop:
teespring.com/de/stores/greas...
If you like my content, please consider signing up to my channel and turning the bell on:
kzbin.info...

[@stevewuertz3598]

A genuine masterclass in restoring an Alfa the correct way. Extra points to taking the time to document the materials/supplies used. Those magnets are a treasure. I bought a dozen-very handy. Thanks again. This is up there with your door restoration series. Well done

[@GreasyFingers]

Thank you, Steve.

[@dirkdutzmann9250]

Yeeha, it`s not so easy to close a gape with the migwelder, I know this, but if I had the choice and the money, I would give my car in your hands! Nice job, --- again! Please give us more Alfa Romeo vids, thank you you for your work! Schöne Grüße aus NRW

[@GreasyFingers]

Danke fürs Feedback, Dirk! Alfa videos galore once the Giulia is back on the lift, ie September. There are also “Is It Any Good” projects with Alfa’s.

[@gearhead9828]

Best car restoration channel on KZbin, by far! Full stop. 👍👍👍

[@GreasyFingers]

😊

[@rezaq1]

My favourite channel on KZbin now. I love it. Sir, you are an artist and a gentlemen. God bless.

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, my friend. Please recommend it to your friends.

[@uniqueaustraliandestinatio1352]

I suspect that many hours were devoted to this job, far more than shown here. Curing rust in Alfa is beyond most mortals, great job!

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks! Man, you suspect that right. I invoiced 92 hours.

[@TheStreetBastard]

Unbelieveable with how much patience, love and knowledge a man ca restore his friends car. I'm so excited!

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks! He’s a physiotherapist and he got my knee right, so he has deserved a good sill.

[@TheStreetBastard]

@@GreasyFingers , thats what we know as a win-win-situation..

[@georgeryan603]

Enjoyed this as much as the 911 series..Well done

[@GreasyFingers]

Thank you, George. I’m going to evaluate a 911 buy in some days. Let’s see, maybe that will be next but one project.

[@SuperWestie01]

Reminds me of a surgeon performing a lifesaving operation, thank you for all of the time and effort you have put into this project!

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, David. Very welcome.

[@alexbrown1995]

Beautiful to watch a master at work. I'm amazed you don't have more subscribers - more pink paint, perhaps? Thanks to Jethro for pointing your channel out. I've been travelling around the world tonight. Cheers from Down Under.

[@GreasyFingers]

Yeah, this KZbin algorithm is full of surprises. But one thing is sure: more pink is the solution. Thanks, Jethro!

[@hilbilchillbil]

Great to have you back 👍

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, Paul. This one was as mighty an effort as two of normal length.

[@CH-pv2rz]

Awesome work! And a Great Video to boot. You have some serious skillz…

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, mate!

[@jamesdills6720]

Simply awesome.. Great cinematography and detail of work!

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, James. I have a drone now. 😊

[@peaktraveller]

Nice work as always on a beautiful Alfa.

[@anthonygillesse7242]

So nice to see quality work, the Alfa’s are so well worth it🇨🇦

[@GreasyFingers]

They certainly are!

[@hugogreen4916]

Love the pink. Reminds me of the rsr that I lusted after when I was at university. It was going for gbp 6,500 ( weep) - to put that price into context my first 105 - a 5 year old 1976 1600 GT Junior, acquired less than a year later cost GBP 1,500. Amazingly - given the rust on my bertone at the time, last time I checked, my first alfa was still on the road!

[@GreasyFingers]

Isn’t it astonishing to see this never ending price increase over the years? In the late eighties, the late nineties, right before the financial crisis … I always thought that it’s too late to buy. Truth is: a year or two and two and prices started climbing again.

[@1st_Gen_Life]

Your attention to detail is amazing. And you camera angles and commentary are really good also. Nice work 👍

[@GreasyFingers]

Thank you, Aariyan!

[@EliteRock]

It's sad to know that so many well-loved and seemingly sound 105's are hiding this intrinsic problem at the base of their pillars. That said, the monocoques are extremely stiff largely thanks to the over-engineering of that sill and pillar, but the rust-traps an unfortunate consequence of that over-engineering (all those juxtaposed panels/pressings). Thanks for documenting the work, very much enjoyed it.

[@GreasyFingers]

Hey! You really hit the nail to the head. The pillar bases’ design is very much focussed on strength and totally neglects the corrosion aspect. In hindsight it’s all massively oversized as proofed by thousands of cars out there that are doing fine with only the inner sill supporting the structure and all the rest rusted away. That said, a yearly shower with some high viscosity rust protection will keep it nice and tidy for a long time.

[@EliteRock]

@@GreasyFingers _"In hindsight it’s all massively oversized as proofed by thousands of cars out there that are doing fine with only the inner sill supporting the structure and all the rest rusted away. "_ I shouldn't laugh, but I did. I think that rigidity was also why they made such good racers. I should say - my late dad owned nothing but 105's from 1971 (Miini Coopers and Cooper S's before that) until he died in 2015, starting with a Giulia Super (when he still had to transport kids), GTJ's/GTV's after that. He was shunted while stationary in his _very_ nice '75 GTV-2000 in the late 90's by a woman in a big BMW (flip-flops wedged in the pedals) and she wrote off the GTV and the two cars in front - and here's the thing; as it happens one of the emergency service guys actually remarked on how little the cabin had deformed considering the general mayhem. BTW, although I love those 105's, I never owned one, gravitated to SAAB's (pre-GM of course).

[@GreasyFingers]

Yeah, and you can just remove the roof and it’s still stable enough! QED Spider.

[@seancain7305]

Great job there... your friend is a lucky man :-).

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, Sean. He’s more the drive-it-till-it-falls-apart kind of classic owner, not so much the maintenance and restore guy. 🤨 Education started …

[@seancain7305]

@@GreasyFingers Haha... well we are all on the education curve :-). I had a 105 step nose (1,6 GT Veloce) in my teens after a lot of saving, but a combo of limited spare in those days & lack of skills meant the rust (filler) beat me, oh well. BTW, just back from Italy hols & visited Arese Alfa Museum - fantastic !

[@GreasyFingers]

@@seancain7305 Yeah, the Arese museum is very much worth a visit. I went there a couple of weeks after its opening in 2015.

[@harmdegraaf5579]

What a craftmanship, respect!

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, Harm.

[@heikegerl186]

Great work

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks!

[@krismcleod272]

Great stuff 👍🙂

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, Kris.

[@kingofschlager]

Einfach nur grandios! Danke, Johannes!

[@GreasyFingers]

Gern. 😌

[@RestorationApprentice]

Love the video, sill turned out great!

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks again. I’m quite happy with it too.

[@Abandon7d]

Beautiful work! This confirms me wanting to have a look inside my GT's sills. Thank you.

[@GreasyFingers]

Thank you! Looking behind the covers of the front wheel houses will already tell you much about the work ahead. Hope it’s not too bad!

[@davidevolpe6282]

Ti porterei tranquillamente la mia! Bravissimo

[@GreasyFingers]

Grazie, Davide. Ti aspetto … 😄

[@ncfatcyclist]

Wow 🤩

[@Bruceanddenise]

Fantastic work! Glad to have found your channel! Thanks to @Jethro Bronner.

[@GreasyFingers]

Thank you, Bruce & welcome!

[@rbotha01]

Beautiful car bud!

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, Reinhardt!

[@Mr10usdad]

impressive work!

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks again!

[@hannulahti8605]

Nice video again , details and commentary thanks

[@GreasyFingers]

Thank you, Hannu.

[@raisingjunior6389]

Great job on a really good looking car. I forgot how much work replacing the sill is! One small suggestion is to remove the magnets from the panel when they're not needed, I find a magnetized panel is more difficult to weld

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, Geoffrey. I wasn’t aware about the magnetic effect on welding. I’m much excited to understand this. I have to find out more …

[@raisingjunior6389]

@@GreasyFingers I have 2 big arrow shaped magnets and when I weld close to them there welding seems to have an uneven pulse, give it a try welding with and without them, maybe they are small enough to have a neglible effect

[@patrickforray8958]

Bravo Maestro!!!

[@GreasyFingers]

Thank you, Patrick!

[@freakboy3786]

Awesome work:)) really good camera angels. Keep on grinding

[@GreasyFingers]

I’ll do!

[@armourpiercer]

👍👍

[@bertone83]

Wow, 8 layers of paint including primer... Its crazy how many layers of paint accumulate over the decades. On my Spider I had an incredible average paint thickness of about 1-1.5 mm.

[@GreasyFingers]

Yeah, it was quite a surprise to the owner. Did you remove the paint?

[@bertone83]

@@GreasyFingers Yes, I did since I discovered that many parts of the paint were underrusted, so I just had to. And of course also because I am quite a perfectionist as well ;)

[@GreasyFingers]

That is very good to hear. One more Alfa saved in the hands of a perfectionist!

[@jameshanoomansing1442]

just the best

[@laurentiuprisacariu9905]

these videos will be good send for next year when I will buy my own Giulia GT :):):):)

[@GreasyFingers]

Glad you find them helpful, Laurentiu. Fingers crossed for your project.

[@jimmygrant3212]

I noticed the bigger sill gap on my car when the panels were replaced, not much you can do with a lot more work. But better than than just filling in the seam.

[@GreasyFingers]

Yeah, filling is a no-go. At the beginning I was much upset about the size of the gab, but now that I see the car back on the road, I have to say it looks perfectly okay.

[@Matteo_Licata]

It's kind of soothing to watch you painstakingly weld on classic Alfas :) I must agree with you that the 105-series sill design is quite poor... Even the best engineers get it wrong, sometimes!

[@GreasyFingers]

Yeah, it’s poor, but about as poor as many others of the day. The GT’s design is only second generation of self-supporting bodies and the cross one needs to carry when restoring Porsche’s is about as heavy. I have an idea about zinc plating the GT sill which would much improve the situation but that’s a story for another day (as someone I know likes to express).

[@drblast]

Ich Liebe die farbe Pink

[@GreasyFingers]

😆

[@kellymorgan1715]

Just a little sheet metal welders tip. Sand your nozzle back a bit to reveal your contactor tip.Then lower your amps to comensate. ?& gives you better veiwing? I work with stainless & mild steel sheet. Give it a try?

[@GreasyFingers]

Many thanks, Kelly. Will definitely try …

[@GreasyFingers]

Thinking about what you said … How you mean stainless and mild steel?

[@kellymorgan1715]

@@GreasyFingers on a wire feed macmine if you expose a a bit of the contact tip the machine runs better at low voltage.

[@torwereen7481]

What type of spray gun are you using? Have seen it in a few of your episodes. Realize that when I now are in the phase of closing my sill repair (including also the middle sill, and parts of the floor + A and B pillar....) I will use a 0.8 mm for the first part, then I will go with my normal AirGunsa. Grateful for information here. Tor

[@GreasyFingers]

Hi Tor. For workshop paint jobs I use an Anest Iwata LPH80. I absolute love it, it’s definitely a recommendation.

[@psk5746]

Curious why this was done when there did not appear to be a rust issue in the first place. Were areas of the sill rusty that you did not film? Also you don't need to drill holes in the sill to get wax inside the sill, they have drain openings or you can do what I've done to my car drill holes underneath the stainless door sill trim. But yes drilling holes is what was done when these cars were rust proofed by agents when new

[@GreasyFingers]

I recommend to watch Part 1.

[@psk5746]

@@GreasyFingers will do. Btw forgot to say very nice job!!

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks!

[@douglasmccowen27]

Could you please let me know what is the brand/model of movable hydraulic lift you show in this video?

[@GreasyFingers]

Hi Douglas. That’s a Twin Busch TW125M.

[@pasquatocuttingmachines-sh3239]

Which kind of Brunox did you spray before the 2 layer of Expo you? I’m doing the same job on my Gt junior 1300.

[@GreasyFingers]

Just the normal stuff, the epox primer rust converter.

[@loosepatrick6493]

Moser liesl jawoi 👌🏻👍🏻😜

[@GreasyFingers]

Hawedere. D‘Liesl?

[@loosepatrick6493]

Eier Bier, was ihr getrunken habts 😉

[@lolman77]

Great videos, really well edited. I don't understand why you don't have more subscribers! I am pretty jealous when I see you weld like that, with ease and accuracy. My MIG hates me and we never work well together... Honest question from a learner : Brunox vs Phosphoric acid? I use the later whenever I can. I love that it protects healthy metal and attacks rust while leaving a passive layer on top. But I never tried Brunox. Another question : I personally use Zinc spray (like your Inox spray) to weld through, but also anywhere where there is a sandwich of metal, and even in cavities which can't be reached after. Anything wrong with that in your opinion?

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, mate! Actually I don’t understand it either. 🤓 Regarding your toxic MIG-relationship: I literally spent a weekend with test panels before I first went over to the car and the first project was naked horror. The second and third were kind of okayish, then the fun began. I think you just have to go through that valley before the sun begins to shine. I have zero experience with phosphoric acid. Brunox is okay, if rust is just superficial. But if it’s superficial, it’s very convenient. Zinc evaporates at already 900 degrees, I don’t think it really works as a weld through primer. When welding is not involved I more trust in epoxy primer as it keeps oxygen away very well. I don’t know whether zinc spray does that too.

[@lolman77]

​@@GreasyFingers Clearly, welding is one of those things were experience is the key. Mine is limited to 10h MAX. Combined with trying to weld on super thin metal, it's terrible :( I'll give Brunox a go. Sounds interesting! The zinc spray I am using is purely meant for weld through primer, at a welder store. I don't know if it's a special mixture that would hold better..? Maybe that's why they recommend to put it before and then again on the welds... I'll search for inox spray and will compare. So much stuff to learn in welding, jesus!

[@GreasyFingers]

Ahhh, that’s why this kind of “consulting” over the web is so treacherous. Sorry, if it’s a dedicated weld through primer you are using, I’m sure it has some clever stuff in it to make it work. Brunox is really cool because it converts the rust and at the same time it’s a normal epoxy primer. But like all products it has its limitations and I guess it’s not very good in penetrating thicker layers of rust. When in doubt, apply, sand off, see what rust was left below and apply again.

[@joehounsham8010]

Which Brunox product do you use Johannes?

[@GreasyFingers]

Hey, Joe. I use their standard product: rust converter embedded in epoxy primer.

[@clivematthew-wilson2491]

Water gets trapped in the front sill through places such as the jacking point, so why not simply block these points off?

[@GreasyFingers]

That’s easy to say, but it would mean doing a redesign of the whole area.

[@clivematthew-wilson2491]

@@GreasyFingers Not really. You could just seal all the gaps with seam sealer.

[@GreasyFingers]

@@clivematthew-wilson2491 You’re kidding me, do you? 😉

[@clivematthew-wilson2491]

@@GreasyFingers My classic car used to have trafficators, the indicators that stick out like wings. They're very unreliable and other motorists don't notice them, so they're dangerous. Also, water gets in through the slot for the trafficators and rusts out the sills. So I took the trafficators out and welded up the slot where they lived. It was easy and it's now impossible to see they were ever there. You could do the same with the Alfa. Or, you could just block up the places where water gets in.

[@GreasyFingers]

I see where you’re going, Clive. The Alfa 105 sills are designed as a staple of panels that meet each other under acute angles. These panels are cut open to let the jacking point connect to the A and C pillar. You can see models of this in my video corrosion protection of classic 911’s. Body sealant is a good thing, I’m using it a lot, but it requires sealing surfaces to attach too and in this design there are none. I’ve never seen anyone trying to seal this all up, and I guess if you’d follow up a bit on the topic you’d come to the same conclusion. I think the most promising way to protect the sills would be to galvanise them. I think I’m going to follow this route in my next project.

[@willydaunting1462]

Pink? Pink? No! No! Nein! Nein! The Alfa gods will be angry

[@GreasyFingers]

😆😆 But what, if it’s a goddess? After all it’s LA macchina.

[@richardmcallister4741]

It's kind of difficult for me to understand what motivates people to 👎🏻 these films. If you're one of those who do, please let me know.

[@trroland1248]

🩸 Surgery! 😢

[@GreasyFingers]

Yeah, patient survived!

[@davidzogas5938]

If you would come to Canada and set up shop I would buy buy an old Porsche.

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, David. There’s no other way of saying it: I’m going to come to Canada in less than two weeks.

[@trroland1248]

Too traumatic to watch.

[@GreasyFingers]

I recommend an active approach to deal with traumatic experiences. 😁

[@andygtv]

Great work

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks, mate. I very much like your giallo ocra GTV. I’ve just bought one of the same kind and year myself.

[@andygtv]

@@GreasyFingers Fantastic cars😊👍