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Alfa Romeo Coupe Elegant 1/8


Pouln

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Time for a little update. 


Now that the body is painted it is time to fit the items I have created earlier and do the upholstery.


First the rear window with the "chrome" trim. I glued them using thinned pva.

 

sIMG_11042.jpg

 

Then the rooftop. I have thin black leather that I will use for this. In hindsight I should have taken a different route.
I decided to go with three separate parts, while I now think that it would have been possible to do this in one part. The leather stretches quite nicely.
That would have saved me a ton of work.
Another error I made was installing the rear window before this.
It would have been much easier to open up the leather at the rear window if the latter would not have been there yet.
Anyway here are the results.
Perfect? No certainly not, Adequate? I think so.

I used contact glue as I always do for glueing leather.

 

sIMG_11044.jpg

 

sIMG_11046.jpg

 

That little crease you see is straightened out by streching the leather a bit more.

 

sIMG_11048.jpg

 

sIMG_11050.jpg

 

sIMG_11051.jpg

 

The edges are quite rough. I will use 1mm leather string to create nice smooth edges

 

sIMG_11057.jpg

 

sIMG_11059.jpg

 

The edges around the rear window needed 2 strings, one to close up the chrome trim and one to create a smooth edge around the leather top.

 

sIMG_11061.jpg

 

The 2 seams between the 3 parts needed a cover, which I made from 0.5mm ps strips.

 

sIMG_11062.jpg

 

sIMG_11063.jpg

 

sIMG_11065.jpg

 

sIMG_11066.jpg

 

It still will need some cleanup and the leather will be buffed later on. Otherwise the rooftop is finished. 

That's where I am right now. 

 

Thank you for watching, Comments are welcome.

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2 hours ago, rjfk2002 said:

Excited to see you back at it Poul!

Thanks. Hope you will enjoy it.

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Yes Poul- a learning experience. I was warned by Cox and followed exactly. The chromed rear window trim was about the last piece to go in. I made that about 3 mm deep. I cut the top fabric with scalpel to just wrap around the edge. Then a drop of epoxy at each side and inserted the chrome. Fussy but I got lucky.

I might have suggested thicker diameter leather cord for the trim back there rather than two 1 mm's. It comes in 2 and 3 mm diameters, maybe more.

The texture of black leather always adds to the appearance of these classics.

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 Sound advice, but too late for this build. 😏

Don’t think that thicker leather cord would have worked, unless it would have a square or a rectangular cross section.

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35 minutes ago, Pouln said:

 Sound advice, but too late for this build. 😏

Don’t think that thicker leather cord would have worked, unless it would have a square or a rectangular cross section.

Then I insist you build another Pocher classic with the experience gained. :wicked:

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Hmm, if I look at my stack of kits, I think I might have a few options (10 or so). Guess with the speed I’m building these, I need at least another 50 years  (or they will be high value items in my legacy😉).

 

Anyway, if you insist.....

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Amen to that! And, building a Pocher seems like it takes a lifetime to build. 
You are correct, it is the Simon Moore 3 volume set for the Alfa 2300 series and the only drawings that I could find are on the inside of the front and back of the hardcover flaps. The book is great for information regarding every Alfa 2300 and it’s history but very short on technical information. Technical information being the reason why I purchased the books and I was very disappointed.

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I had the same experience. It is actually very strange that someone takes the effort to write a three volume series, which requires extensive research on every 8C2300 built but completely forgoes the technical side of these cars.

It could have been the definitive 8C2300 dictionary. 

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  • 2 months later...

Time for a little update. 
I have been working on my gantry mill so got quite distracted from this build.
Then we had our son and grandson over for a number of weeks which was good.

 

Status regarding the gantry mill: movement on x-, y- and z-axis is working, but the spindle motor doesn't work.
Currently discussing with the chinese company that supplied the motor and its variable frequency device that is used to control it.

 

Building such a machine is, let's say, interesting.
I can tell you, if you never have done anything like this, it is quite a journey. I will explain a bit about this at another time.

 

Well, waiting for a replacement for the spindle setup I found the time to do some work at the bench.

 

It was time to work on the headlining. I decided to use a yellow/sand headline with a leather surround for the rear windscreen.


sIMG_11652.jpg

 

sIMG_11656.jpg

 

To create a nice connection between the headliner and the body and leather, I glued leather piping in place.

 

sIMG_11661.jpg

 

I'm not really happy with the results, so I'm going to change that. I will make glossy wooden surrounds and put them in place of the leather piping. 

Next I put the bug screens for the vents in place and the fuel filler cap.

 

sIMG_11662.jpg

 

sIMG_11663.jpg

 

The first part of the wooden surrounds in the making. The form is quite complicated so I made it in parts. This first section is quite easy. Varnished 100-times or so to get this thick glossy look like that of the other wooden parts in the interior.

 

sIMG_11667.jpg

 

 

I installed the dashtop, which I created a long time ago.

 

sIMG_11668.jpg

 

The second part of the wood surround needs to follow the line of the door opening. Bit more difficult. I created it in three parts from 0.5 by 8mm wood. Shaped it and taped them together. Then glued them on the tape using superglue.

 

sIMG_11670.jpg


sIMG_11676.jpg

 

Lots of fitting tests needed to get it somewhat right. I als created wooden wedges that go left and right of the windscreen.

 

sIMG_11673.jpg

 

This thin wood would not sit correctly if I didn't allow for the thickness of the headliner. I therefore glued a thin strip of wood along the edge, which will make a nice fit.

 

sIMG_11674.jpg

 

sIMG_11678.jpg

 

All this needed to be varnished many time and the some, to get a nice smooth finish. 

 

sIMG_11679.jpg

 

One done. Perfect? No not exactly but it will do. I promise that the righthand side will be better.

 

sIMG_11683.jpg

 

I then still have to make the frames for the front windscreen and at the back between headliner and leather.

The last one will be quite tricky to make.

 

That is where I am at this moment.
Thanks for whatching and more to follow (I don't dare to say: soon).

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Friends, 

I decided that the wood trim at the top of the left door, isn't going to do it. It looks way too bad. A sore in the eye, actually.

So I'm redoing it. Again 3 pieces of wood and a slim strip to compensate for the thickness of the headliner.

It has been varnished probably about 12 times.

I use AK gloss acrylics, because it dries quickly and I accellerate the drying process by using a hairdryer.

WIth that I am able to lay down 6 or 7 layers in 15 minutes.

After that it needs to dry thoroughly before sanding.

You may wonder why I do so many layers?

Good question. This is what I am after:

 

sIMG_11696.jpg

 

I want to achieve that silky smooth finish. Why? Because if you don't, you will see the wood grain structure and that is really out of scale.

 

Below I have 3 pieces that are varnished 7 layers. You'll see that it cannot stay like that. So after all these layes I sand it as much as possible.

After that it still isn't really smooth. So I put on another 2 or 3 layers and sand again.

That will mostly be enough tp put the final 2 or 3 layers on and achieve the result shown above.

 

Here are the 3 pieces that have 7 layers:

 

sIMG_11698.jpg

 

The smaller ones will go above the windscreen to create a nice wooden frame.

The larger one is the middle section of the part that will be fixed above the rear windscreen.

 

I did finish the part that goes above the right side door. It does look much better than the one shown earlier at the left side.

 

sIMG_11694.jpg

 

OK, that's it for the woodworkings now.

Next post I will show the results I got with the left side and front and rear.pieces. 

 

Thanks for watching.

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And again a little update on the wooden trims for the interior.
Let me know if you are fed up with my ramblings.

 

I finished the wooden parts for the interior.
First the top of the left door that I've redone. If you compare it to the picture of the first version I showed a few days ago, it there is a big improvement. 
I'm quite happy with this one.

 

sIMG_11702.jpg

 

Then the parts that go in the front against the windscreen.
They have gone through the process and are as smooth as a baby bottom.

 

sIMG_11703.jpg 
 
Then the center piece of the rear trim. Also very smooth and in the position I want it to be.

 

sIMG_11704.jpg 

 

Now the most difficult parts are the corner pieces that connect the center piece to the sides next to the doors (in the pictures below you still se the leather piping in place).
These are complicated as there are bends in multiple directions. In fact it looks like a cork screw turn that I need to bring in .5mm thick wood.

 

sIMG_11706.jpg

 

 

sIMG_11708.jpg

 

Here is how I did it. First I've removed th piping in that area. 

Then I made a paper template that I glued on one side of the wooden strips that I am using (sorry no pictures).
I glued tape at the backside to give the wood a little strength.
I then wetted the wood and heated up the soldering iron (low temp, such as 150 degrees C.
I wrapped the wood cork screw wise arond the stem (thicker part) of the iron, which resulted in:

 

sIMG_11712.jpg

 

sIMG_11714.jpg

 

Of course these underwent the smoothing process, varnished a zillion times.

One done, one to go:

 

sIMG_11716.jpg

 

Both finished and in place.

 

sIMG_11717.jpg

 

I'm quite happy with how these came about. I wasn't sure at all if I would be able to fabricate these pieces, but they look good (certainly in real life).

 

That concludes the wood trim inside the body.

I have yet to decide if wooden trims are required on the inside of the door (surrounding the side windows).

Next I will be working on the doors, but that's for another update.

 

Thanks again for watching. If you have questions or remarks (you are awfully quiet) let me know.

 


 

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I hope you all have a fine weekend.

On these Alfas the body wraps around the chassis rails. In order to do so you'll need to spread the body and by doing that you change the alignment of the sides of the body.
So, working on the doors with the body off the chassis, will not bring proper alignment.
I made two bars to spread the body to the correct width and with that alignment should be the same as when the body is mounted on the chassis.

 

sIMG_11721.jpg

 

Next the fitting of the left door.
It binds a tad but it is ok.

 

sIMG_11723.jpg

 

sIMG_11724.jpg

 

 

I couldn't help myself and had to do it. Earlier I said I was thinking about using wood on the top of the doors. The pictures above show that it might improve the overall looks of the interior.
With all that wood on the inside I think it would only be right to do so.


What I did was shortening the window panes such that the only just covered the window openings.
This was to make sure that the windows would not cause any interference with the inside panels (they are already quite thick).
Then I glued a 05x1mm strip of wood against the window panes and after that a strip (0.5x3mm) on top of that and the windows edges moulded on the doors.

 

And ofcourse this gave troubles in other places.
I had to take a little off the side of the dash top as it interfered with the newly positioned wood on the doors.

 

Lots of varnishing led to this result.

 

sIMG_11728.jpg

 

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And mounted on the body:

 

sIMG_11731.jpg

 

One door done. Next to follow and as always, the second will be better than the first 😉

I am contemplating filling the gap to the left of the door. I think it will improve the overall looks a tad.

 

That's it for now.
Hope you enjoyed it an do let me know what you think.

Edited by Pouln
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I did some work at the bench.

 

I added a wooden strip to fill the gap between the wood on the door frame and the door itself.

 

sIMG_11734.jpg

 

I decided that I could improve the left door a bit by adding simulated rubber strips around the windows.
I used fine black leather string that I glued to inside of the wooden frame.

 

sIMG_11739.jpg

 

I call the left side finished. 
It is not perfect but it does look nice.

 

On to the driver side door.
This door received the same treatment, although I decided to paint the inside of the window frames rubber black.
It will have it's window 2/3rd open.
Here's a picture where I am well underway with the wood treatment.

 

sIMG_11748.jpg

 

After that I added the "rubbers".

 

sIMG_11751.jpg

 

The "rubber is sagging a bit, got that and fixed it.

 

I also added very thin strips of wood to the surrounds of the door frame to minimize the gap between door and door frame.
The driver door in situ (inside panel is not fixed in place, I just positioned it for the picture.)

 

sIMG_11753.jpg

 

The only thing left is creating a latching mechanism and permanently glue the inside panel to the door panel. Then this side is finished too.

That's where I am right now.

More to follow.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The results that Nick got with his wire wheels for the Italeri model, led me to start up my CAD tools and design my own knock-off nuts. 

The Pocher supplied nuts aren’t the nicest ones.

 

In many reference pics you can see that the Alfa Romeo script is visible on these nuts (not always).

So that is one thing that I’m going to add.

I also believe that there is a left and right indication on the nuts (in Italian: Sinistro and Destro), but I can’t seem to find the reference pictures that show this clearly

If anybody has a reference picture showing that, I would really be happy to receive that.

 

The AR script took most of the time as that is not a letter type that can be found. The only way to create that was by using a template (I found this picture) and transfer that by drawing splines (I tried by converting the template into a so called dxf file but that didn’t work.

AR%20script.JPG

 

But now I have perfectly usable script.

 

I made 2 versions of the knock-offs. One with indented script and one with the script on top of the nut body.

Be interested to learn which version you think is best to use.

sIMG_14839%20knock-off.jpg

 

sIMG_14841%20knock-off.jpg

 

I’ve modelled the underside of the nuts such that it will take the head of an M4 bolt, which is needed to secure the wheels on the axle.

sIMG_14840%20knock-off%20underside.jpg

 

The only thing to do now is add the left and right script along the edge of the nuts and print them.

Then I need to glue the M4 bolt in and it is ready except having them “chromed” (most probably I will be using Molotow for this).

The knock-offs have a diameter of 13 mm (based on the size of the Pocher supplied ones) so the script should be quite visible after printing. 

 

 

What else to tell you about the build.

I’ve been busy with test fittings of the body on the chassis.

Here are some pics.

sIMG_11794.jpg

 

It is clear that there are some gaps to be filled (between A-pillar and dashboard), although you will only see them when the door is opened. 

Top of the dashboard fits nicely on the lower part of the dashboard.

 

Viewed from the other side:

sIMG_11797.jpg

 

Fit of the two parts of the dashboard is ok, but side panel under the dash sticks to far out. In need of some more work.

As you can see I fitted the steering wheel and added a nicely chromed horn button and advance/retard stalk. The latter one was scratched as the Pocher supplied on was really ugly.

 

OK, one more picture

sIMG_11795.jpg

 

That’s where I am right now.

 

Btw, having the CAD stuff in front of me I decided I needed a litle more practice with the tooling so I also made a drawing of axle stands (in fact 3 versions of which only the latter one was good enough).

Here it is:

sIMG_14818%20axle%20stand.jpg

 

sIMG_14820%20axle%20stand.jpg

 

One part is missing: the handle that operates the most left part (no idea how you would call it in english).

It will be made from metal after printing.

The pin that you see between the stand and the other parts is the safety pin that goes through the second hole in the top part of the stand. A chain will be attached of course, otherwise that pin will get lost soon.

 

Well, that’s it for now.

Thanks for watching and do comment or pose questions if you like. 

 

 

 

 

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Hi Wayne, 

 

Thanks for pointing that out.

I am quite sure, but I must say that I also gave seen knock-offs without any script. 

I haven’t seen any with only the word Alfa on it, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be right. 

Today I found a good picture of the knock-off. 

I also saw one in a jay Leno garage youtube (however that car is a replica) They show nearly the same knockoffs. 

Here it is:

Knock-off%20clear%20picture.JPG

 

Funny thing though is that the script is not exactly as it was used on the radiator. It has a different A for Alfa and -assumably - for space reasons they moved the Romeo part to the left.

 

Anyway. This is the clearest picture I have ever found of the knock-offs. Other pictures I found do show that there is more than Alfa but you can’t actually read what it says. And I also saw pictures where I am quite sure that there is nothing on it.

Anyway, the above picture show that I have a bit more work to do on these nuts (hope they don’t drive me nuts).

 

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I’ve seen the Leno Alfa recreation on YouTube and on Leno’s Garage on TV. I know that, the company that, built it has done others and they are highly regarded. I would probably go with the cap that you have in the picture because it’s probably the more accurate one of the bunch. That car is as accurate as it gets and they get a lot of money for them. They are so accurate that they are hard to tell from the original. The other thing that, we have talked about in the past is that all of those pre-war Alfa’s we’re hand built in a garages that were somewhat primitive by the standards of the day and the tendency was to use whatever was on hand. So, I think that a plain hub cap, one with just the Alfa script or like you have in the picture would all be perfectly accurate depending on the month, year or mood of the mechanic on the day that the wheels were put on the car. 
Keep in mind that this probably applies more to the Monzas and not so much the coupe. The coupe is more upscale and geared to a different client with more bespoke requirements. Having said that, I’m going for the more bespoke script for your wheel caps.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just a short update.

I have finished the drawings of the knock-offs.
I have a new printer that I do not seem to get to work.
Waiting for support from Anycubic.
Pity because I wanted to print the knock-offs and the axle stands as well as a new version of the radiator I drew some time ago.
The earlier drawings of the radiator had horizontal heatpipes which is incorrect, so I removed them.
After this one is printed, one should be able to see through the radiator as the square grid is open front to back.
I will show it after it is printed.

 

Here are the pictures of the knock-offs.
Just like the original above I made sure that the text on the outside (smontare and destro/sinistro) is indented as well as the arrows.


 

 

pIMG_4874.jpg
pIMG_4875.jpg


pIMG_4876.jpg

 

I also did a little bit of work on the side mirror.
The driver side door has 2 holes which I failed to fill before painting. 

 

sIMG_11956.jpg


The mirror does not cover both holes so I added a little plate to the foot of the mirror and soldered 2 guide pins that will fit the 2 holes. With that it should be possible to attach the mirror to the door properly.

 

sIMG_11953.jpg


sIMG_11955.jpg

 

Next up are the door handles, but that's for a later update.

Hope I have my printer up and running soon so that I can show you the printed results.
Thanks for watching.

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