Project 3P, Part 7: Eating an Elephant (Fiat 128 3P Restoration)

Don't get me wrong;  P3P is, in restoration terms, a mere doddle.  It's very almost complete and what few parts I've needed - the front seatbelts, for example - haven't been too hard to source, thanks to the efforts of my mechanic, Steve.  Even the nice-to-haves - the Alfa "wineglass" wheels, spring-loaded bonnet prop and replacement front bumper - have almost fallen into my lap as either mates' rates bargains or other reasonably-priced local purchases.

  

Even so, it does occur to me now, several months into a resto that only requires professional assistance for the mechanical and metalwork side of things, that bringing an old car back to life is a bit like eating an elephant.  How am I approaching this mammoth task?  One bite at a time!

The front seatbelts certainly weren’t the first chomp of the resto, as regular readers will realise, but they were badly sun-damaged, with faded webbing and stitching that was coming apart, as well as some light surface rust on the buckles.  The rears were no better; they had succumbed to moisture that had invaded the cabin and rear passenger footwells, leaving the lower bolts and shackles badly rusted, even though the surrounding bodywork was unaffected by rot.  (Another nail in the coffin of the Great Russian Steel Fallacy!)

Steve managed to find an Aussie-based company that was able to rebuild the front seatbelts with their one roof line, one window sill attachment points, using the original hardware.  It ended up that they did replace the inertia spools - having initially indicated that they would reuse them - but the savings in labour actually made this a cheaper option, anyway.  

I'm yet to receive the invoice for this work.  However, if anyone's interested in using the same service, I'll update this post when I know what it all cost and I'll add the company's details then, too.  

Mmm.  Shiny and New!

The rear belts were a freebie from my mate the Alfa Male (he has Fiats, too).  They were in great nick; there was minimal fading, the stitching was sound and there wasn't any rust on any of the hardware.  

Eagle-eyed readers might spot that P3P is once again sporting a front bumper - the one I found at The Cache - and that there has been a set of air horns fitted.  Both are temporary; they'll stay on for the rego inspection but will come off again, hopefully only briefly, while I give the area behind the grille a tart-up with some fish oil and black paint, as well as polishing the bumper and replacing the horizontal rubber over-rider.  More on that later on ... .

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(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

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