The light is fading, a hot dinner awaits, but our man STILL focuses on what most people would consider a pig of a job. This is the kind of heroic dedication that built the British Empire.
This is when having a Volvo with clean underside thanks to Swedish steel hits home. But I absolutely love Alfas and really feel heartened when people persevere with getting them back into great condition again. Such a cool and unique car, top marks for your dedication and hard work Matt! It’s people like you who keep these oddities alive as mobile history amid a sea of cheap nasty modern stuff.
Nitrosilvia has some great welding tutorials he recently posted. If your weld blobs have bubbles in them, it means not enough shielding gas (or too windy) - I learned that from Nitrosilvia :-) If you can, find an old scrap panel or two and practice, practice, practice! It will get easier (and less frustrating once you figure out the magic formula!)
I ended up getting a gasless mig for outside welding because you couldn't keep a gas shroud over it. Tried making tents and shields but the in the wind trap of the drive you just can't. Lol. It will splatter more and takes a bit time to wirebrush the slag away but I found i could get consistently better results than persevering with gas.
Looked a decent job at the end as there were a fair few bits to patch in. I can hear the cries of dispair and sniggering from everybody who's never owned an Italian motor, totally shocked that a 20 year old Alfa needed welding. I bought an X reg 131 Supermirafiori in the summer of 1986 and the floor pans were way worse than your 145 after a mere 5 years. Both sides needed lots of metal letting in and 34 years ago Oxy Aceteline was the way it happened. The apprentice fitter at work did it, with me labouring for him and it took us Sat afternoon and all day Sunday, but what a lovely job. The joys of old Italian stuff, but all worth the effort with that sweet 1600cc Twin Cam under the bonnet. Happy days 👍🇮🇹
I definitely admire your tenacity on this project. Do hope you find the underseal (undercoating?) to prevent rust. And your videos, as well as others similar to yours, are breaking up the monotony and boredom here in the US. Stay safe!
I admire your commitment to a job like that. When I started in the motor trade 50 years ago I spent far too much time welding up rotten cars, as in those days all cars rotted rapidly. (No MIG welders in those days either, just oxy-acetylene). Over the years manufacturers have largely got this problem sorted and many cars will last 25 years or more without surrendering to the tin worm. That car is a perfect illustration of the view I've held for half a century - Italian cars are all invariably a total heap of cr*p! These days you can buy non-rotten cars so cheap that it's not worth all that effort to weld up rot-boxes which will just rot somewhere else. My preferred option would be a good crusher!
Well that was 20 mins 17 secs of this lockdown malarkey I REALLY ENJOYED!!!! Great work. Fantastic content. Look forward to the video on the passenger side.....YES, YOUVE GOT TO VIDEO IT......Please. They'll b different shaped holes over there, so the content WONT be the same......😉😉😉😉😉😉😉 Hope you & yours are well. Stay safe. Alan
You really look like you love the 145 a lot. Last year I replaced my 1.4 boxer engine with a 90.000km one and this year I've been trying to make everything feel perfect, new brake pads and many other parts that I really can't recall their names in English, but I'd never think of welding the monster! You're a man of patience and I love your content so far. It makes me so happy seeing that there's people loving this piece of art as much as I do.
Great to see this; recently I had to crawl under my car to battle what old cars gather and grow over the years and at such times I'm always remembering how you tackle much worse with determination and love for your cars. The more I watch your videos, the more I tackle myself and as a result, the more I am bonding with my car.
Never ceases to amaze me how cars in Britain can get so rotten while still looking like new from the top. I remember it from when I lived there - when my four year old Austin collapsed down over the jack while I was changing a wheel. Three years later, Mr. MOT took it off me because the rear sub-frame had 'fallen' into the car and pushed the back seat out of its mounts.
This sadly reminds me of my old 156. I think it may have been even worse, but it certainly rusted from the exact same point. One of my chassis legs in the front wheelwell was also pretty busted, so I'd check that too if you already haven't. Even if 145 and 156 probably don't have that much in common. Glad to see you fixing this one up, I still miss driving my 156.
Nice work and to weld the rear of the sills on my carlton as they had been done badly by a local garage the person i bought the car from used to use ,and they had done a right bodge job .
Buy one - there’s a couple of 146s and a 145 on Fleabay right now! I loved mine - thankfully it never rotted on me, but then it was only 8 years old when I sold it
well, because of your channel, and soup motors both of you fixing the old w123 mercedes, y just bought a welder, so I can learn hou to patch som rust damage, so then I can transplant all the running gear and interiors from a wreck and very poorly repair 230E to the straigt but a little rusty 250 chasis. Love the channel and the repair series, keep it on
Good luck, its all practice. I wish I could weld as well as Soup, in fact every time I weld something it starts bad and improves while Im working, but a solid W123 is a great objective!
@@furiousdriving Yes, hopfully your videos and your good mood helps me to mantain moral, a previous owner caked the iner wells with an inch thik bodypanel adeesive to "prevent rust" where the wing meets the chasis, now a job that had taken 10 minuts per wing has taken me a month, and no succes...im thinking cuting the wing out with the grinder, a shame, because it wasnt that bad, it could be saved. I think the right side its the same, so I will just pivot the wing up to chek rust and repair, but not bother to tring to remove it. Cheers, and keep the good work!
Id have had a little cry when I saw that sill. You really need a couple of railway sleepers cut into 300mm blocks to get that car right up off the floor. Well done on that repair.
Matt, nothing worse than welding on your back upside down. I did a repair like this recently on the heater channels of a 1954 Volkswagen cabrio beetle. It wasn't much fun but the car got back on the road, before it was sold and shipped from Sydney Australia to England (to get rusty again ;). Nice to see some love for the Alfa.
I personally love that 145, the colour is beautiful (only yellow may be better) and the leather interior is so rare... Great work as usual, i would like to see more of those car on roads (here in Italy, may sound strange but 145 and 146 are vanished)
A very honest video. You let me know I am not the only one who has "issues" when working on my cars! You do handle frustration better than I! BTW, all my cars are British! I live in the US! Love my Jags and Rolls Royces!
Mig welders don't like welding upside down matt. I can't remember if it's the gas but that's why you got a better weld inside. It's better if you can get the car at a bigger angle as you can and hold the torch at an angle. You can't beat the old hot metal spark buzzing arround in your ear while on your back under a car. 😉
Not an envious way to be welding, upside down ona driveway, doesnt make a tough job any easier. Sounded like the wire speed may not have been set right also, bit too low. I'm not going to be too harsh tho, I havent welded for years so we will find out how good I am in a week or two 😂
I know, they plug up with their own dirt, but you dont have full access from inside because of the inner structure, I did do some extra strength welds from the inside as well to give it some extra. I need a lift next!
Good work there matt that floor was bad can't understand the logic putting filler in a structural part of a car looking good now keep them coming all the best stay safe kev 👍
It looks like the wind is blowing the gas away from the weld try making a wind braker make sure you metel is as clean and shiney as you can get it but cracking job love you passion for it 🖒
Matt - the main front jacking point is that little round half-turret just next to where you put the axle stand 😉 I've got to do the same job to my 146 soon although I suspect it's going to involve more drastic reconstruction because mine is really crispy
@@furiousdriving Ah no worries, thought you lifted it on the sill! Yes mine has had similar damage to the seams - Alfa's jacking points aren't very intuitive it seems, just ask any GT owner!
Even though that was such a lot of work, it was less rust than I was expecting. I thought the sills would crumble to red dust but no! I hope there is not too much more lurking under filler. Rust is good at lurking :D Cheers.
I feel your pain - what I thoug was rusty metal in the sill of my Rover 75 was, of course, a mixture of filler, cardboard and scotchbrite pad - marginally less structural then metal...
Floors and sills on my 145 were ok, but that was two years ago........ Still looks good on top but we'll see when I eventually get underneath it hopefully later this year.
The older I get, the less crawling under a car agrees with me, and I've got some sill work to do soon... I hope your camera has PPE too! Good work, and take care. Gordon :-)
Great that you have the desire and determination to tackle such rust repairs. You should really spend a few hours to a day working on improving your welding skills, especially upside down.
You should see it in a positive light, all that rust has made your car lighter so you gained some more speed. I had a Swift Saloon 1.6 GLX in 6 months time even after getting rust away it started to rust like made.Luckily I was able to sell it quick.
Have you seen Mustie1's latest, fabricating repair panels for his Econoline pickup? Fascinating stuff. Mind you he now has a workshop which seems to be kitted out with absolutely everything!
Love your passion for fixing these cars, you partly inspired my to start welding my Volvo 740 (it's much worse than yours). Been lying underneath for a few days now banging my head, getting welding burns and swearing a lot. Lovely. Ps I reckon you could benefit from a better welder, your welds don't look very penetrated, but I'm sure it will pass mot.
@@furiousdriving I seem to remember winters were much worse then ? I've had my audi 4x4 over three years and not seen a single snowflake here in saarf lunden lol.
Filler in the floor blimey lol reminds me of a fiat regata brought way back in 1998 looked and handled fantastic what a buy for £250 and then the rain a wet carpet let's take a look the floors both sides weren't actually joined to the sills bugger that sold it for a BMW E30 granted it was £500 but what a car well apart from when it rained
Got to be one of the worst parts to weld on a car. It wasn't to rusty but at least it's still strong in those sills. Nice job and damn those welders. Good save on the battery always a nice win saving cash.
Thanks for creating another great video. Keeping me sane 😉 just a quick question. Your service on your Mercedes ..is it really expensive to go to a specialist apposed to your local garage? Is it expensive? My wife wants to buy a Mercedes but the cost of ownership puts me off. Am I wrong?
Its maybe a little more than a local garage, but about half the price of the main dealer. The actual price depends on a whole range of things but maybe if you know what car you want call a local indy specialist and ask what an A and B service and timing belt costs.
Something very satisfying about watching rotten metal getting cut out, you know it makes the car safer and extends the life. I'd be mad too at the filler in the floor, pure cowboy job, the bloke who done that should feel embarrassed and ashamed. As long as the engine is strong looks like you have plenty of life in the old Alfa yet!🤞
Good grief, I thought that kind of rust on a Italian car was a thing of the past. Glad to see the carpet looks like that strange carpet that we have in the 75 Classic, i.e. felt based. And I thought the bottom of my n/s front wing and sill on my Super Snipe was bad… It's not even trying! Now wash your hands…
Quite a few people that do a lot of welding say that you don't need a professional welder set-up, just invest a bit of money in a better quality welding torch...
There's always more rust than anticipated. I prefer to use a knotted wire wheel to grind away the paint and underseal to find the good (shiny) metal. After that I'd cut out all of the dull rusty areas. We've been doing a lot of welding on a vauxhall chevette recently which is very rusty. th-cam.com/video/Wv1QX7vbQZo/w-d-xo.html
Hi Scott, yes we've been talking on Facebook! This was a wire wheel, it destroyed that underseal and filler, its a great revealer of horrible truths...
@@furiousdriving I'm surprised at the amount of rust on the alfa for such a relatively modern car. I had similar rust to deal with on my w123 on the floors and jacking points. If doing a lot of welding it might be an idea to invest in some bigger cylinders of co2, I say invest but I got mine for free from my local recycling centre and go to a pub wholesale company and get them refilled for £20 a go. They last a lot longer than the disposable cylinders.
You didn`t need or want all the extras you have had to do but you have persevered and completed the jobs Well Done young man. Why did you buy an Alpha you must know their reputation for corrosion? Was it the style you liked or do have just ha!!!ve a fetish for Italian motors? Don`t answer if I am being too nosey!!! I enjoyed the video but you really work too hard but what you gonna do? You can`t go anywhere , looking forward to your next video.
It's always been a great mystery to me; That an interior designed to fit in the small confines of a mid size hatchback suddenly needs the space of a medium-sized warehouse once removed from the car. How the heck does that one work?
I own a 1994 Alfa Romeo 145. The "mk1" with the boxer engine. Rust was and is never an issue, no matter what "the experts" claim, Alfa Romeo did take anti-rust protection seriously this time, and what i see here is the effect of the by far more humid weather conditions in the North. You should consider rust proofing the car the way HubNut did with his Skoda Favorit a year ago.
This will be the road salt we suffer from, it kills cars. I had a series 1 146 Ti 20 years ago and it was perfect, as was the Series 2 33 I had before that, but add a couple of decades of winters and they go. I think this needs all the floor wire brushing to get the old underseal off and redoing
Κωστας Κανδηλιωτης i tried out a boxer engined 146 before I bought my 145 T Spark - lovely warbly engine note! But I really wanted a 145 so passed on it
I hope I can get through this video! I still havn't recovered from seeing that Alfa die in the episode of 'Flipping Bangers' on Motor Trends, that may have caused more grown adults to blub than they would after watching 'Car SOS'!
Another job ticked off the list , i find always best to have hose pipe ready for action within grabbin distance in case that factory underseal flares up from welding torch heat , it sure burns well and stinks !
The light is fading, a hot dinner awaits, but our man STILL focuses on what most people would consider a pig of a job. This is the kind of heroic dedication that built the British Empire.
And rebuilt countless rusty Alfas...
The same British Empire that worships a ethnically German Royal family ....
This is when having a Volvo with clean underside thanks to Swedish steel hits home. But I absolutely love Alfas and really feel heartened when people persevere with getting them back into great condition again. Such a cool and unique car, top marks for your dedication and hard work Matt! It’s people like you who keep these oddities alive as mobile history amid a sea of cheap nasty modern stuff.
Nitrosilvia has some great welding tutorials he recently posted. If your weld blobs have bubbles in them, it means not enough shielding gas (or too windy) - I learned that from Nitrosilvia :-) If you can, find an old scrap panel or two and practice, practice, practice! It will get easier (and less frustrating once you figure out the magic formula!)
I reckon wind, the gas was on full but I live in a wind tunnel
@@furiousdriving Could well be, Nitrosilvia even has to close the garage door sometimes and work in the dark on a sunny day!
I ended up getting a gasless mig for outside welding because you couldn't keep a gas shroud over it. Tried making tents and shields but the in the wind trap of the drive you just can't. Lol. It will splatter more and takes a bit time to wirebrush the slag away but I found i could get consistently better results than persevering with gas.
"A grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain't"
I should have that on the garage wall
Looked a decent job at the end as there were a fair few bits to patch in.
I can hear the cries of dispair and sniggering from everybody who's never owned an Italian motor, totally shocked that a 20 year old Alfa needed welding.
I bought an X reg 131 Supermirafiori in the summer of 1986 and the floor pans were way worse than your 145 after a mere 5 years.
Both sides needed lots of metal letting in and 34 years ago Oxy Aceteline was the way it happened.
The apprentice fitter at work did it, with me labouring for him and it took us Sat afternoon and all day Sunday, but what a lovely job.
The joys of old Italian stuff, but all worth the effort with that sweet 1600cc Twin Cam under the bonnet.
Happy days 👍🇮🇹
I definitely admire your tenacity on this project. Do hope you find the underseal (undercoating?) to prevent rust.
And your videos, as well as others similar to yours, are breaking up the monotony and boredom here in the US.
Stay safe!
I admire your commitment to a job like that. When I started in the motor trade 50 years ago I spent far too much time welding up rotten cars, as in those days all cars rotted rapidly. (No MIG welders in those days either, just oxy-acetylene). Over the years manufacturers have largely got this problem sorted and many cars will last 25 years or more without surrendering to the tin worm. That car is a perfect illustration of the view I've held for half a century - Italian cars are all invariably a total heap of cr*p! These days you can buy non-rotten cars so cheap that it's not worth all that effort to weld up rot-boxes which will just rot somewhere else. My preferred option would be a good crusher!
You’ve the patience of a saint ,always battling on and preserving. Well done that man.
Well that was 20 mins 17 secs of this lockdown malarkey I REALLY ENJOYED!!!!
Great work. Fantastic content.
Look forward to the video on the passenger side.....YES, YOUVE GOT TO VIDEO IT......Please. They'll b different shaped holes over there, so the content WONT be the same......😉😉😉😉😉😉😉
Hope you & yours are well.
Stay safe.
Alan
You really look like you love the 145 a lot. Last year I replaced my 1.4 boxer engine with a 90.000km one and this year I've been trying to make everything feel perfect, new brake pads and many other parts that I really can't recall their names in English, but I'd never think of welding the monster! You're a man of patience and I love your content so far. It makes me so happy seeing that there's people loving this piece of art as much as I do.
Its a stunning design, so different and very cool. Love the boxer as well, so fast revving!
Great video showing all the pitfalls. Rust removal is the most satisfying job on an old car to get sorted.
Agreed. Deeply satisfying.
I salute your perseverance and stamina Matt! Your love for the Alfa must be truly great 😍😂
Great to see this; recently I had to crawl under my car to battle what old cars gather and grow over the years and at such times I'm always remembering how you tackle much worse with determination and love for your cars. The more I watch your videos, the more I tackle myself and as a result, the more I am bonding with my car.
Never ceases to amaze me how cars in Britain can get so rotten while still looking like new from the top. I remember it from when I lived there - when my four year old Austin collapsed down over the jack while I was changing a wheel. Three years later, Mr. MOT took it off me because the rear sub-frame had 'fallen' into the car and pushed the back seat out of its mounts.
The road salt is total killer, a few rock chips and the protection is gone
This sadly reminds me of my old 156. I think it may have been even worse, but it certainly rusted from the exact same point. One of my chassis legs in the front wheelwell was also pretty busted, so I'd check that too if you already haven't. Even if 145 and 156 probably don't have that much in common. Glad to see you fixing this one up, I still miss driving my 156.
Great video. Had rust issues with my own 145. Not only were the floors gone but also the subframe. Had to take a subfloor out of my donor 146!
Yeah! Cup of coffee and tinkering! Good work!
What a way to start a Monday! Furious Driving and a coffee.
Me too...
A treat on a Monday morning, good perseverance paid off in the end
Just what I needed this morning, a cuppa and a new Furious Driving video. 👍🏻
Nice work and to weld the rear of the sills on my carlton as they had been done badly by a local garage the person i bought the car from used to use ,and they had done a right bodge job .
Hmm this has made me want an Alfa 145 and also never want an Alfa in equal measure!
Edit, on reflection I want one...
The interior always does it for me with this 145.
Buy one - there’s a couple of 146s and a 145 on Fleabay right now! I loved mine - thankfully it never rotted on me, but then it was only 8 years old when I sold it
The Shroedinger's Cat of the automotive world.
Another Fantastic Video Matt, not a job I would consider doing but take my hat off to you and thank you for the lockdown content.
Hi Matt, great video,it is alot better now with the welding done,with this lockdown you can't do nothing but one side of the car is done.
well, because of your channel, and soup motors both of you fixing the old w123 mercedes, y just bought a welder, so I can learn hou to patch som rust damage, so then I can transplant all the running gear and interiors from a wreck and very poorly repair 230E to the straigt but a little rusty 250 chasis. Love the channel and the repair series, keep it on
Good luck, its all practice. I wish I could weld as well as Soup, in fact every time I weld something it starts bad and improves while Im working, but a solid W123 is a great objective!
@@furiousdriving Yes, hopfully your videos and your good mood helps me to mantain moral, a previous owner caked the iner wells with an inch thik bodypanel adeesive to "prevent rust" where the wing meets the chasis, now a job that had taken 10 minuts per wing has taken me a month, and no succes...im thinking cuting the wing out with the grinder, a shame, because it wasnt that bad, it could be saved. I think the right side its the same, so I will just pivot the wing up to chek rust and repair, but not bother to tring to remove it.
Cheers, and keep the good work!
Really enjoyed this video, thank you.
I can't weld at all, it's a skill I wish I had learned, so fair play to you.
Id have had a little cry when I saw that sill. You really need a couple of railway sleepers cut into 300mm blocks to get that car right up off the floor. Well done on that repair.
Wonderful to watch a craftsman at work. Inspiring and never gives up, a bit like Rick Astley really.
Lovely Jubbly, love your dedication to all your car's matey.
Good progress and a tidy job, finding that battery by tripping over it was a nice little bonus in typical style !
That was a lucky break
You’re a patient man. 😇 The problems with the welder would have got me thrown off TH-cam for sure! 🤬
Same here. Stuff like that drives me insane.
Matt, nothing worse than welding on your back upside down. I did a repair like this recently on the heater channels of a 1954 Volkswagen cabrio beetle. It wasn't much fun but the car got back on the road, before it was sold and shipped from Sydney Australia to England (to get rusty again ;). Nice to see some love for the Alfa.
Its the worst! 4 post lift on my Christmas list
I personally love that 145, the colour is beautiful (only yellow may be better) and the leather interior is so rare... Great work as usual, i would like to see more of those car on roads (here in Italy, may sound strange but 145 and 146 are vanished)
Matt I am constantly in awe of you. You have the patience of a saint. Cheers,
Some bad words were said off camera..
I think that little clover leaf is getting better looking by the day
A very honest video. You let me know I am not the only one who has "issues" when working on my cars! You do handle frustration better than I! BTW, all my cars are British! I live in the US! Love my Jags and Rolls Royces!
Excellent taste!
Who would thought that welding would be entertaining but strangely it is cheers
Nice work. I am just about to start welding the sills on my GT 3.2 V6. This is just the video to motivate me and get rid of my fear of the welder.
Mig welders don't like welding upside down matt. I can't remember if it's the gas but that's why you got a better weld inside. It's better if you can get the car at a bigger angle as you can and hold the torch at an angle. You can't beat the old hot metal spark buzzing arround in your ear while on your back under a car. 😉
Not an envious way to be welding, upside down ona driveway, doesnt make a tough job any easier. Sounded like the wire speed may not have been set right also, bit too low. I'm not going to be too harsh tho, I havent welded for years so we will find out how good I am in a week or two 😂
I know, they plug up with their own dirt, but you dont have full access from inside because of the inner structure, I did do some extra strength welds from the inside as well to give it some extra. I need a lift next!
@@furiousdriving lol you need a rotisserie
well done on that pig of a job Matt. What thickness was the steel you used?
More videos like this please...really enjoy them.
Im not sure on the gauge, its like card thickness and about the same as the car's sheet metal
Good work there matt that floor was bad can't understand the logic putting filler in a structural part of a car looking good now keep them coming all the best stay safe kev 👍
A good dollop of the great British spirit Matt. "Don't let things grind you down"
Only the welds get ground down!
True dedication.
Still the want for a Alfa Romeo 145.
It looks like the wind is blowing the gas away from the weld try making a wind braker make sure you metel is as clean and shiney as you can get it but cracking job love you passion for it 🖒
It was windy. Its always windy
Matt - the main front jacking point is that little round half-turret just next to where you put the axle stand 😉
I've got to do the same job to my 146 soon although I suspect it's going to involve more drastic reconstruction because mine is really crispy
Thats what I lifted it on, I was a bit worried as its so close to the hole, but its clearly been lifted on the seam a few times as its flattened!
@@furiousdriving Ah no worries, thought you lifted it on the sill! Yes mine has had similar damage to the seams - Alfa's jacking points aren't very intuitive it seems, just ask any GT owner!
Good job Matey! I love your videos! 👍
More problems sorted.Nice use of the new impact driver as well.
Its amazing how quick bolts vanish into the car! Much easier
Murphy gets you every time.
Even though that was such a lot of work, it was less rust than I was expecting. I thought the sills would crumble to red dust but no! I hope there is not too much more lurking under filler. Rust is good at lurking :D Cheers.
Always chant our Alfisti mantra - 'It'll be worth it.' And it's a very pretty bread-van; I'm actually jealous!
I love this car, just hope it will stop rotting at me now!
Well done there. Nice work.
We all know the feeling only too well Matt. A little job turns into a mamoth task! But well done with the Alfa, it will all be worth it.
I feel your pain - what I thoug was rusty metal in the sill of my Rover 75 was, of course, a mixture of filler, cardboard and scotchbrite pad - marginally less structural then metal...
Thanks previous bodger!
You mean they didn't even use the chicken wire... that's scandalous
Haha
Top video very much enjoyed. cheers for sharing 👍
Floors and sills on my 145 were ok, but that was two years ago........
Still looks good on top but we'll see when I eventually get underneath it hopefully later this year.
The older I get, the less crawling under a car agrees with me, and I've got some sill work to do soon... I hope your camera has PPE too! Good work, and take care. Gordon :-)
The GoPro didnt, the lens protector picked up some collateral damage!
Great that you have the desire and determination to tackle such rust repairs. You should really spend a few hours to a day working on improving your welding skills, especially upside down.
I need a better welder, this only has 2 levels - not enough or too much
Persistence is rewarded!
Allways makes me wince when I see someone using a grinder with NO leather GLOVES ON!!!!
Can't do it either. Gloves or nothing.
Another Awesome video my man 🤚🏻🤟🏻
You should see it in a positive light, all that rust has made your car lighter so you gained some more speed. I had a Swift Saloon 1.6 GLX in 6 months time even after getting rust away it started to rust like made.Luckily I was able to sell it quick.
Keep em coming. 👍
Have you seen Mustie1's latest, fabricating repair panels for his Econoline pickup? Fascinating stuff. Mind you he now has a workshop which seems to be kitted out with absolutely everything!
not yet, Ill have to take a look
It's gone from an Alfa 144.8 to an Alfa 144.9. Passenger sill will make it a 145 again! Yay!
It amazes me as to why all cars aren't galvanised nowadays. Good job.
This was!
Oh, Mr Richardson, your floor is full of filler,
But bravely must you weld it up,
To stop it being a killer...
Thank you for using metric!
I can only use metric, imperial confuses me!
Love your passion for fixing these cars, you partly inspired my to start welding my Volvo 740 (it's much worse than yours). Been lying underneath for a few days now banging my head, getting welding burns and swearing a lot. Lovely. Ps I reckon you could benefit from a better welder, your welds don't look very penetrated, but I'm sure it will pass mot.
My dads neighbor bought a brand new Alfa Sud, it certainly did go Sud as it failed it's first MOT on rust !
So bad it was scrapped !
70s cars were a dark time for rust
@@furiousdriving
I seem to remember winters were much worse then ?
I've had my audi 4x4 over three years and not seen a single snowflake here in saarf lunden lol.
Filler in the floor blimey lol reminds me of a fiat regata brought way back in 1998 looked and handled fantastic what a buy for £250 and then the rain a wet carpet let's take a look the floors both sides weren't actually joined to the sills bugger that sold it for a BMW E30 granted it was £500 but what a car well apart from when it rained
Crikey, a Fiat Regatta. I called mine the Fiat Regretta. Love Fiats, but God, they made a hames of that one.
Got to be one of the worst parts to weld on a car. It wasn't to rusty but at least it's still strong in those sills. Nice job and damn those welders. Good save on the battery always a nice win saving cash.
After watching this I'm about to service my old welder ready for building a chassis, I've not used it in years and lots of welding to do.
Good luck!
I think this is my favourite of your cars.
They've been a favourite of mine for years, took ages to find (what I thought was) a really good one!
Thanks for creating another great video. Keeping me sane 😉 just a quick question. Your service on your Mercedes ..is it really expensive to go to a specialist apposed to your local garage? Is it expensive? My wife wants to buy a Mercedes but the cost of ownership puts me off. Am I wrong?
Its maybe a little more than a local garage, but about half the price of the main dealer. The actual price depends on a whole range of things but maybe if you know what car you want call a local indy specialist and ask what an A and B service and timing belt costs.
I will look for an alfa for sale, but it better be yours!!!!!great. JOB matt 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀☕☕☕☕☕🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧KEEP SAFE🏡🏡🏡🏡
May the Weld be with you great job more patience than I have! Alfa's still seem to rust badly but I suppose it's getting old
Anything 20+ years old in the UK is likely to have some in it, this was worse than Id hoped for
Rust. The scourge of the UK. Well done Matt, mind your thumb, don't cut yoursel! Too late, ouch.
Again. In the same place twice in both times!
You might need to get a new brass swan neck, I've replaced the swan neck on my Clark several times.
Thats what I replaced only £15 new on eBay
cheers for the vid..many thanks
Something very satisfying about watching rotten metal getting cut out, you know it makes the car safer and extends the life. I'd be mad too at the filler in the floor, pure cowboy job, the bloke who done that should feel embarrassed and ashamed.
As long as the engine is strong looks like you have plenty of life in the old Alfa yet!🤞
Check out my channel for lots of welding videos.
Good grief, I thought that kind of rust on a Italian car was a thing of the past. Glad to see the carpet looks like that strange carpet that we have in the 75 Classic, i.e. felt based. And I thought the bottom of my n/s front wing and sill on my Super Snipe was bad… It's not even trying! Now wash your hands…
You need to tighten those tips up rather than hand tight .Reason why the end of the gun is burned .Get a better weld as well
Thanks, didnt know that. I thought it was because Id been holding the tip too close to the workpiece
I think he does not need a better welder,this one does the job
Quite a few people that do a lot of welding say that you don't need a professional welder set-up, just invest a bit of money in a better quality welding torch...
The torch isn't upgradable on this level of welder, just replacements
👍🏻
There's always more rust than anticipated. I prefer to use a knotted wire wheel to grind away the paint and underseal to find the good (shiny) metal. After that I'd cut out all of the dull rusty areas.
We've been doing a lot of welding on a vauxhall chevette recently which is very rusty.
th-cam.com/video/Wv1QX7vbQZo/w-d-xo.html
Hi Scott, yes we've been talking on Facebook! This was a wire wheel, it destroyed that underseal and filler, its a great revealer of horrible truths...
@@furiousdriving I'm surprised at the amount of rust on the alfa for such a relatively modern car. I had similar rust to deal with on my w123 on the floors and jacking points. If doing a lot of welding it might be an idea to invest in some bigger cylinders of co2, I say invest but I got mine for free from my local recycling centre and go to a pub wholesale company and get them refilled for £20 a go. They last a lot longer than the disposable cylinders.
You didn`t need or want all the extras you have had to do but you have persevered and completed the jobs Well Done young man. Why did you buy an Alpha you must know their reputation for corrosion? Was it the style you liked or do have just ha!!!ve a fetish for Italian motors? Don`t answer if I am being too nosey!!! I enjoyed the video but you really work too hard but what you gonna do? You can`t go anywhere , looking forward to your next video.
I just love Italian cars, and this was supposed to have been welded before I got it
Top job
It's always been a great mystery to me; That an interior designed to fit in the small confines of a mid size hatchback suddenly needs the space of a medium-sized warehouse once removed from the car. How the heck does that one work?
Its like a reverse Tardis!
I own a 1994 Alfa Romeo 145. The "mk1" with the boxer engine. Rust was and is never an issue, no matter what "the experts" claim, Alfa Romeo did take anti-rust protection seriously this time, and what i see here is the effect of the by far more humid weather conditions in the North. You should consider rust proofing the car the way HubNut did with his Skoda Favorit a year ago.
This will be the road salt we suffer from, it kills cars. I had a series 1 146 Ti 20 years ago and it was perfect, as was the Series 2 33 I had before that, but add a couple of decades of winters and they go.
I think this needs all the floor wire brushing to get the old underseal off and redoing
@@furiousdriving When this nightmare ends, yes please. Keep up the great work!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Κωστας Κανδηλιωτης i tried out a boxer engined 146 before I bought my 145 T Spark - lovely warbly engine note! But I really wanted a 145 so passed on it
Great video
Will something for the weekend fit in this wallet?
If thats a tenner then yes!
You started on the wrong side, the nearside is always the most rotten so start on the hardest side first, makes the job seem easier.
Im sure Ill be wrong bu this one lost worse, no idea why
@@furiousdriving If I am wrong it means that this car spent it's life in the overtaking lane of a Motorway.
Modern cars don’t rus.... fools ! . Nice work as usual
Never weld without a hose pipe on hand or fire extinguisher 👍
There was one in arms reach
Was your welder made by alfa as well? Haha
Yet more proof that the only part of a Alfa Romeo that doesn't rust is the windscreen.
That looked a pain to do mate
Its always horrible lying under the car welding, makes it 10 times worse
@@furiousdriving it will be worth it tho there is nothing else to do take your time plenty of coffee brakes lol
I hope I can get through this video! I still havn't recovered from seeing that Alfa die in the episode of 'Flipping Bangers' on Motor Trends, that may have caused more grown adults to blub than they would after watching 'Car SOS'!
Fortunately Ive not seen that one, not sure I want to!
They were unable to keep up with the welding an an Alfa Romeo 155 and (sniff) they had to end up scrapping it!
Another job ticked off the list , i find always best to have hose pipe ready for action within grabbin distance in case that factory underseal flares up from welding torch heat , it sure burns well and stinks !
Fire extinguisher was in arms reach, Ive had that go as well
High energy levels, with added resilience and persistence. What do you eat for breakfast?
Lots of tea, Golden Grahams, toast and cocaine
furiousdriving that’s where I’ve been going wrong then. I opt for Cheerios.
ukedc yeah Cheerios are rubbish for all day energy