1978 Chrysler Alpine has some love and attention after 20 years

[Richieg]

Hi Guys , 

I just thought a few of you might be interested in some updates on my Chrysler Alpine .

I bought this car quite a few years ago and it hadn't been on the road since 1994 ,where it was laid up in a garage in the west country somewhere . 

Well i managed to buy it and then put it in the garage until i had the money and time to fix her up .

 

Well i got a kick up the arse to do something about her because in July the Simca international meet will for the first time be held in England and at Beaulieu and a journalist wants to do a feature on my car .

There is only one other Chrysler Alpine on the road as far as i am aware but they are not a member and we can't seem to locate the owner yet to find out ... rumour has it that it is residing in the Brighton and Hove area but isn't what you might call a show car ( without being disrespectful ).

 

So i have two months to nurse my Alpine in to a drivable state ,i am not able to have it fully restored at the moment due to financial and time reasons but i have been getting it mechanically reliable and making the outside presentable for now so that i can enjoy her for what she is and once a few cars have been sold on and i have a few pennies in my pocket ,i will then lavish her with some rust free doors and new rear wings and a total respray.

 

In the meantime i am very very lucky to have an excellent friend who knows these cars inside out and is willing to take time from his very busy schedule with his own restorations to put my car right and tidy it up so that i can participate in the shows and the international meet ...

[Richieg]

The main things i needed to contend with the exhaust was rotten as hell ,once examining it with lots of plates and welding we could make it good enough to last a little longer until more funds were available ,once exhaust was refitted ,i needed to change the oil and filter ,spark plugs ,pinch the battery and battery clamp off of my Talbot Alpine Rapier (temporarily) ,refit the headlight lens (reseal it in ) and attend to anything which it could do myself .

I then booked her in for MOT  to see exactly what i needed to do to make her roadworthy and to see if she was a viable car for some fixing up and getting back on the road or whether it was really a restoration job and would have to wait for some money to be spent on her .

[Wilko220]

Two months?

 

This thread is going to be like an episode of 

 

 

Looking forward to progress updates! 

[ProgRocker]

Tappetty-tastic! Looks like it has the orange square/check seat trim (same pattern as the folks' Horizon except that was grey)

 

I'd feel like one of life's winners driving around in the Alpine. I spy a white Polonez too.

[Richieg]

Here she is in the MOT  station .

I received a text from my best mate saying she failed which we knew and there was five pages of failures .... buggar !!

 

But on the plus side 3 of the pages were all the same thing and that was brakes which were inefficient handbrake and brakes all round ,a steering rack gaiter , a little bit of welding on the rear floor ans sill and a few lights problems , so all in all these were actually not that bad !! ... hurrah !!

[Richieg]

Well once i had calmed down and read and understood the failures i then got on to the phone to my friend " The Alpine guru" and heard the magic words " yeah i can do that" , get her over and we will work out a plan of action !!

By now i was buzzing because i have so many other cars that need fixing and sold on that this Alpine was probably the last car i would fix up mainly as she is a keeper and not going to be sold on .

 

The first pictures are my friend and i's unit which is where we store our cars and work on them , in the background you will see a 1984 Mr83 Polonez lhd which is in for some work for one of our good mates , the blue Fso Caro is one of ours too with only 18,000 miles and is rhd ! ( beautiful car btw)

 

Well back to the story ....

 

We my bestie and i Aframes the Alpine over to a secret location in Kent for the " Alpine Guru" to cast his eye over my car and work out a plan ...

First thing he noticed was the sills looked quite bulgey in places where there was probably plates and filler put in over the years and the other thing which i knew about was at some point in its life it had some rear wheel arch repair sections which were not very well put on and rust was starting in other places .

I knew this would bug the "Alpine guru" and i let that thought irritate him lol

 

With 3 days of the Alpine being there i got updates every day ,it has been so exciting , by the first day i had a message telling me all the brakes and stering rack gaiter had been replaces and overhauled !! result it thought !!

 

And he had got stuck in on the filler and this is what he found !

[Wilko220]

By the way, the wheels on these are amongst the best wheels of all time ever.

[Richieg]

The reason the rear end of the sill and wheel arch had rotten out was because when in the factory we thing when the rear c pillar window was fitted they scratched the paintwork which of course rusted out and water had run in and rusted everything out !!

[Richieg]

The nearside was easier to repair i was told but the off side was much worse and needed some considerable repairs , luckily had had a rear wing which had been butchered but yelded lots of good sections ...

[Cavcraft]

Bloody hell this is great. Keep 'em coming, please.

 

 

Ps: doesn't someone on here also own one?

[Richieg]

After the weldathon ,some filling was needed to smooth in the sections put in ...

[Angrydicky]

Been following your updates on facebook Richie, it looks amazing. Veteran Motorist badge on the grille too, a sure sign of 70's giffer ownership!

 

I think the other Chrysler Alpine is in the Folkestone area, if it's a handpainted blue one. I've seen photos of it, but sadly did not come across it when in Folkestone recently.

[Richieg]

Now the filling has been done ,we needed some primer and a guide coat to get it to look right .

I say we but it is the royal we ! , this is all my friends handy work ,he is fantastic at restoring cars and i am incredibly grateful ! 

I don't know if there was anyone on here that owns a Chrysler Alpine ,i have this one and an earlier R reg one in maroon on an R plate,needs restoration though ..

[Richard]

Veteran Motorist badge on the grille too, a sure sign of 70's giffer ownership!

 

 

 

Not on the grille, on a badge bar!

[Richieg]

That is the one AngryDicky 1 , it resides between Hove actually and Folkstone , it is on an R plate and i can't remember whether mine is the oldest survivor or his ? , mine is probably more original as his seats are out of a later car and as you say hand painted like a Pageant blue colour . 

Still it is on the road and that is great !

[Paul Dupart]

What a fantastic thread!

 

My dad had an S reg one of these as a company car. It seemed so modern after the Maxi he'd had previously - electric washers, stereo cassette, cloth seats and illuminated switches!.  I learnt to drive in it.

 

I had an A reg series 2 myself in the late 80's, one of the most trouble free cars I've ever had.  And my dad replaced his with a brand new (company) X reg Solara.  The earlier ones did attract the tin worm and they rattled a bit, but a much under rated car in their day.

 

I grew up just a couple of miles down the road from the Ryton Plant, every other car was one of these or a Horizon!

 

Happy times and hats off to you, Sir!

[Guest Breadvan72]

Thread of joy.  Those wheels are making me want to do spanky on my chappy.

[Richieg]

Oh Buggar i think the blue one has gone to Alpine heaven!! , i have just put the reg in to DVLA and it not coming up anymore !! so i think i can say my maroon Alpine is the oldest now !

[Richieg]

There she is all flatted back and being prepared for a nice coat of sweetcorn paint (original name for the colour i might add)

Here is is all painted !! , how cool does she look !!!

[Richieg]

I am going down tomorrow (sunday) to help start to clean her up and get her ready for the retest next week ! , to say i am thrilled to bits would be an understatement !!

 

The moldings have now been refitted and new corner pieces found to make her look amazing ! , it is all about the attention to detail for me !!

 

The last two pictures are exactly how i feel right now !! pmsl !!

[Richieg]

This is my Talbot Alpine Rapier ,taken a couple of years back ,unfortunately it got some Bas*ard do a bonnet run and stove the bonnet in and roof ! , i have finally found someone good enough to do the repairs which i can barely wait to get done , i just need some money put aside and get it mended !!

[Joey spud]

I worked for Rochester Motor Co back in the mid 80's and allways thought a 1600cc / 5speed Alpine was a cool car.
A mate back then had the use of his dads burgundy R plated alpine and one night we were in safeways sloping car park with the engine off mucking about rolling forward then braking.
All was going well for the first three stops but on the fourth stop the servo had now ran out ot vac assistance and he knocked down a low brick wall at the car park entrance but the car was fine those white early bumpers were tough buggers

[mercrocker]

Spiffing resto work and thoroughly worth while.   I really have forgotten how sharp these looked.   Simca rally at Beaulieu you say?   Went to one there years ago and foamed visibly at all the chod there - it was like a 1960s Observers book of Automobiles coming to life.   Must see if I can make this one....

[dollywobbler]

This is just awesome stuff. Though I'm starting to think you and Cyanide Steve are the same person as only one of you appears on here at one time!

[Negative Creep]

I worked for rochester motor co back in the mid 80's and allways thought a 1600cc / 5speed alpine was a cool car.

A mate back then had the use of his dads burgundy r plated alpine and one night he was in safeways sloping car park with the engine off mucking about rolling forward then braking

all was going well for the first three stops but on the fourth stop the servo had now ran out ot vac assistance and he knocked down a low brick wall at the car park entrance but the car was fine those white early bumpers were tough buggers

 

 

Was that the Peugeot dealer just by the station?

[Skizzer]

I've gone all misty eyed. Great thread and work.

 

I can't believe how rare these have become. I remember when they were launched, and wishing we had one. They moved the game on, and it's great to see that someone cares. Superb.

[Bucketeer]

Brilliant.

Also, I thought I had spotted every single item of chodliness in and around Crawley, and now you spring multiple FSO's and suchlike on me. I R BIG DISAPPOINT. Must be well hidden.

[sierraman]

My dad had one of these when I was a child. It was a 1979 Alpine in metallic brown with a cream interior. Lovely stuff!

[Joey spud]

Was that the Peugeot dealer just by the station?

Yep that's the one,still going.

 

Had a good time working there in the 80's

[chaseracer]

That yellow Alpine is a thing of surpassing beauty...