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Alpina update: interior & exterior fitting

Terry has been fitting up the original interior and external body parts to the Alpina. There are some fascinating historical details which have been uncovered. All of the doors internal parts have orange overspray on them from when the car received it’s original orange and black Alpina livery, however, the doors themselves don’t which is because they are aluminium skinned CSL items which were fitted in 1974 after the car left Alpina. The door cards are also interesting. These items were originally brown vinyl but have been painted black. The brown is correct for a 1969 2800CS in Tundra Green which is what this car started life as. From period photographs we know that the interior change colour to black when it was at Alpina. We believe these to be the original interior items.

Alpina CSL front end fitting Alpina CSL badge Alpina CSL door fitting Alpina CSL interior

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Austin-Healey 3000 shell in paint

Our Healey 3000 Mk1 shell has been on hold for a short while. Once the welding was finished we coated the shell in zinc-phosphate epoxy. We rubbed down the epoxy before applying 2k primer, 2k base coat and clear in Ice Blue Metallic. Next step will be to prep the panel work.

Healey 3000 shell primer Healey 3000 shell ice blue Healey 3000 shell ice blue 3 Healey 3000 shell ice blue 2

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1964 Bill Thomas Cheetah Restoration/Race Car Preparation

When it comes to historic race car preparation and restoration the Bill Thomas Cheetah is one of the most exciting projects we’ve ever taken on. In 1963 Bill Thomas set out to build a sports car to take on the mighty Shelby Cobra. They designed a tubular chassis, two seater racing car and utilised much of the running gear from the brand new Corvette Stingray. This included the independent rear suspension and the 327ci V8 engine. Sadly a fire destroyed much of the Bill Thomas factory and Chevrolet pulled the funding. Approximately only 16 chassis’ and maybe 10 or 11 complete cars were made. A handful of these original Cheetahs went on the be raced across the USA with good success.

Earlier this year our client, Ian Burford, brought over a Bill Thomas Cheetah chassis from the USA. The chassis came with a handful of suspension components and the fibreglass bodywork. After assessing the chassis we decided to have it media blasted and, due to the quality of the joints, re-weld all of the tubes. We then had to source some original Corvette Stingray running gear in order to begin the dry build process. It is a bit like building a puzzle without the picture and without any of the pieces.

Bill Thomas Cheetah Riverside 1964 Bill Thomas Cheetah Bill Thomas Cheetah Bill Thomas Cheetah. Times GP at Riverside

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Alpina update: subframes etc

Some good progress has been made on the Alpina CSL. Both the front and the rear subframes had stress fractures in them. We blasted them, welded the cracks, reinforced the areas and painted them in there original colours. The original shock absorbers have been off to Bilstein to be rebuilt. We specifically asked them not repaint the bodies as we want this car to retain as much of its originality as possible. If something doesn’t need painting it will simply be cleaned and put back on the car. The fuel, coolant and oil lines have been reinstated as well.

Alpina BMW CSL subframe repair Alpina BMW CSL subframes Alpina BMW CSL Bilstein front suspension Alpina BMW CSL interior fuel, coolant, oil lines