The story of Red Monty

ALFA ROMEO MONTREAL
RESTORATION PROJECT
JUNE 1994 TO DECEMBER 1995

The Montreal restoration commenced in June 1994 and was to take some eighteen months (approximately 1,000 hours) of work. This photograph shows the completed project.

The car was originally orange and was sold here in Adelaide in 1994. It was taken off the road in 1982 to repair minor body damage and for repainting. This work was to be done "tomorrow" and by 1994, the "tomorrow" had not yet happened.

Members of the Alfa Romeo owners club heard about this car which was to be sold and decided that it would make a good item for discussion at one of our monthly technical meetings. It was transported on a car trailer to the May 1994 meeting where it was examined with great interest by the members present. We noted that although the engine was seized and the paintwork was in a sorry state, it would make an interesting project car for one of us to tackle.

I eventually purchased the car and decided to carry out a total restoration.

Pictures of some of the stages of restoration

ENGINE RESTORATION

The first job was the engine. Many people before me had attempted to free the seized pistons and lots of oil etc. had been injected into the cylinders but without success. I finally managed to free the engine by levering on the ring gear and eventually after a lot of effort, the crankshaft moved slightly. A few hours later after much to'ing and fro'ing, the starter motor was connected and the engine started to move freely. Of course, there was no way to determine if damage had been caused to the cylinders at this stage.

After cleaning the twin points in the distributor and replacing all of the perished rubber fuel lines, it was time to try and start the engine. The oil tank supplying oil to the dry sump engine was empty, so I poured in eleven litres of new oil. I was not to know at this stage that the original eleven litres of oil that was in the engine when it was laid up in 1982 had slowly percolated down into the sump.

The engine eventually started and promptly started pumping 22 litres of oil around the small 2.6litre V8. Of course there was not enough space for all of this oil and huge gushes of the stuff started flowing out of the air intake chamber. Yuk!

After cleaning up and pumping excess oil out of the cylinders, the engine was restarted and ran sweetly. A compression check revealed 120, 150, 130, 120, 150, 150, 125 and 115 psi. I ran the engine on three separate occasions for approximately 1/4 hour and a subsequent compression test revealed 175psi on all eight cylinders.

It was time now for the body restoration.

BODY RESTORATION

The old original paint was in very poor condition with cracks, blisters and some rust noticeable. I decided that a full "bare metal" body restoration was appropriate and that all rust patches would be removed and replaced with new metal. The final colour would be either original orange, metallic silver or red and this paint colour decision was to be one of the most difficult and prolonged aspects of the total restoration !.

It took one year to take the car from a bare metal shell to its final red acrylic gloss. Two new panels were hand made to replace the badly rusted panels in front of the rear wheels and other minor rust patches were also replaced.

The seats were rebuilt using good quality English cloth inserts and leather. New carpets throughout and relined door panels completed the interior.

DRIVING IMPRESSIONS AND EXPERIENCES

I've been driving the Montreal now for the last twelve months and have covered about eight thousand miles. 230hp from the 2.6 litre v8 engine coupled with the wonderful slick 5-speed ZF gearbox together with the awesome four wheel ventilated disc brakes all packaged in a beautiful body makes for very pleasant motoring indeed. Many people have never seen one of these cars on the road and I am always getting interested looks, stares and comments.

The Montreal is GREAT fun to drive. On the open road, it is a perfect high speed cruising car with lots of instantly available power and torque for overtaking. Around the city it is extremely docile and well mannered with no signs of overheating. The transmission does have a tendency to "snatch" occasionally at low speeds as the Spica mechanical fuel injection pump shuts off and restarts the fuel supply depending on engine revs. The "Porsche" gated gearbox is a delight to use with incredible acceleration being available in 2^nd and 3^rd gears. In Australia we are limited to a maximum speed of 110 kph on the open highway so it does become a bit frustrating travelling at these relatively low speeds in a car like the Montreal. I was booked by the Victorian police earlier this year as I was driving to the Australian grand prix in Melbourne - and I was travelling at only 123kph!!!! The Victorian speed limit is set to 100kph though and as they had set the radar trap up just over the South Australian/Victorian border, I should have known better.

MECHANICAL PROBLEMS

The only major mechanical problem occurred at Alfesta which was held at Echuca at Easter time. As I was leaving to start the journey home, I heard a rattling sound coming from the top of the engine. All of the Alfisti gathered around to listen and give technical opinions and the general consensus was loose timing chains. These were adjusted on the spot and the rattling noise disappeared. I headed off on the long drive back to South Australia and I soon realised that all was not well! By the time we arrived back in Adelaide some 12 hours later, much of the radiator coolant was in the engine oil and vice versa. The rattling noise had also reappeared with a vengeance !.

A careful diagnosis revealed a collapsed bearing in the internal chain driven water pump - a MAJOR problem as the engine had to come out to fix it! This bearing was probably partially seized as a result of the long period of time when the engine had not been started. My good friend Ian Wall (who also has a Montreal and is an expert on the 8 cylinder version of the Spica mechanical fuel injection pump) provided me with some very special tools which he had hand made for extracting the water pump bearing without taking the engine apart. A week later the pump was repaired and the engine reinstalled in the car. My friendly auto electrician was amazed when I returned for an air conditioner re-gas yet again.

The Montreal restoration project is one of the most satisfying things I have accomplished in my life. I was able to complete most of the restoration myself using the skills developed over many years of working with cars. (Thanks Dad for all of that knowledge you passed on to me).

The entire project took about eighteen months to complete with approximately 1,000 hours of my time and A$11,000.00 of costs (not counting the original purchase price).

Driving this beautiful red Alfa Romeo Montreal is a real thrill and I get a feeling that I am sharing this thrill with others whenever I take it out on the road. The car is for sale if anyone wants to make a good offer but I am not actively seeking to sell it just yet. I'm having too much fun driving it!!!!!

OTHER PROJECTS

I have just completed the Alfa 164 project with Phil Storr and waiting patiently in the shed are a 1959 Jaguar Mark 2, a 1964 Triumph TR4 and a 1955 MGA roadster. I just hope I live long enough to enjoy them all. Phil Storr has recently purchased an Alfa 2600 coupe and this may become a future joint project.

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Bill Jones at EZINET [email protected]

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