Restoration previous owner during nineties

  
     

3 previous owners of my current Giardinetta belong to 1 family. First mr. Frijsinger used it as a service vehicle for his garage. During the usage as a service vehicle The original 1.2 engine was replaced by a 1.5 105BHP engine from an Alfa 33. The vehicle was repainted in yellow colour to suit the company colours. The chrome bumpers were painted black, the dashboard was replaced by a second series Sud TI one, the rear licence plate light in the bumper was replaced by and Alfasud Sprint light unit on the trunk, the chrome rearview mirrors were replace with black plastic ones etcetera. After years of hard work as a service vehicle the vehicle was extensively restored as the pictures below show. Since it would be the first vehicle of the son of mr. Frijsinger the vehicle also had to be tuned to suit a young driver. The Volkswagen colour "Dusty Mauve" purple was one of those aspects. As shown in the pictures below the restoration was a major task because the car was severely affected by rust.

Frijsinger service vehicle in pretty Dutch winter landscape. Please note the Alfasud Sprint & Berlina on the LH side.

 

Frijsinger service vehicle in company colours.

 

Frijsinger service vehicle with Alfasud Sprint rear light unit for licence plate and back-up lights.

 

Frijsinger service vehicle in company colours.

 

Frijsinger service vehicle with second series Alfasud TI dashboard.

 

Frijsinger service vehicle with Alfa 33 105BHP engine.

 

RH rear wheel arch very crispy due to rust damage.

 

RH rear wheel arch, rust affected material cut away.

 

RH rear section insert welded in wheel arch.

 

RH rear section welded & treated with primer.

 

H rear wheel arch, rust affected material cut away.

 

H rear wheel arch, rust affected material cut away.

 

LH rear section insert welded in wheel arch.

 

LH rear section welded & treated with primer.

 

Boot restored in put in primer to await a paint job.

 

Anti-rust coating applied to LH rear wheel arch.

 

Floor near sill severely affected by rust damage.

 

Floor near sill severely affected by rust damage.

 

Floor, rust affected material cut away.

 

Another rust hole in the floor.

 

RH A-pillar and inner wing very rusty.

 

LH inner win and A-pillar in poor state.

 

Engine removed.

 

Engine bay and service area almost completely empty.

 

RH front end seen from the vehicle inside. Rust holes everywhere.

 

Front end partially rremoved and RH inner wing deleted.

 

Front end partially rremoved and RH inner wing deleted.

 

Hand welded jig made to support vehicle and define original geometry/dimensions.

 

Front end removed seen from vehicle inside, is this drastic or not?

 

Front end removed. Service area partially remaining.

 

Service area also completely removed, only the front section remaining welded to jig to keep original position.

 

New front end.

 

Front end had to be modified slightly on RH side.

 

RH front end modification.

 

Ready for attachment of a complete new front end.

 

Front end welded in position and new inner wings for LH + RH-side attached.

 

Completely new front section in position.

 

What an amount of work!

 

LH outer sill completely removed.

 

Front suspension treated for painting.

 

Refurbished front suspension.

 

RH outer sill completely removed.

 

New RH outer sill held in position by pliers for welding.

 

Grinding away excessive weld seam to create an even surface.

 

New LH outer sill welded in position.

 

Rectangular holes made in sill to attach an Alfa 33 side skirt.

 

Anti-rust coating applied to LH + RH front inner wing.

 

Trial assembly of body parts to see if it all fits.

 

Engine bay treated with kit to prepare for painting.

 

Engine bay painted in shocking Volkswagen purple colour.

 

Engine bay painted in shocking Volkswagen purple colour.

 

Alfa 33 1.5 105BHP engine refurbished and Frijsinger signature added to air filter box.

 

Rear suspension refurbished.

 

Primer applied to the majority of the vehicle.

 

Vehicle interior painted in Volkswagen purple.

 

Refurbished engine in place in repainted engine bay. Please note the Alfa 33 16v yellow coloured stiffener rods.

 

Repainted vehicle without windows.

 

Finished vehicle together with Alfasud Berlina family member.

 

Finished vehicle after a whole lot of work.

 

Finished vehicle together with another Dutch Giardinetta (both vehicles still exist today (status Nov.'11)).

 

Finished vehicle together with another Dutch Giardinetta (both vehicles still exist today (status Nov.'11)).

  

As the pictures above show the restoration was very extensive. Many many hours, blood sweet & tears were put in the project to the car back on the road. Due to the fact that this restoration took place the vehicle still exists today. Even though I am not a fan of "tuning/modifying" such a rare and interesting vehicle I'm happy all this work was done otherwise the vehicle would have ended up on a scrap yard. All pictures above are the property of Garage Frijsinger in Sittard!

http://www.frijsinger.nl