30 Mar Spanner Works: JP du Plessis

A regular feature, outlining the activities of FMM’s workshop personnel who are responsible for repairing, renovating, refurbishing and restoring the museum’s large and varied collection of vehicles. This month, technician JP du Plessis reports on a Touring Alfa that was not running so good…

The 102-series Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider is an exquisite classic, designed by the Italian coachbuilders Carrozzeria Touring of Milan. The museum’s example is from 1960 and is finished in blue. After a recent drive, it was found that the car was not running 100% and needed some attention. JP du Plessis was tasked with getting the car back to good health.

Work started out with finding the source of a water leak: a blanked-off hose had burst from age. A new hose was cut and clamped to the port and the coolant was topped up. The brakes were then attended to, checking the wear on the pads and the function of the brake cylinders to check why the brakes were dragging. Fortunately, a slight adjustment was all that was required. Next, the engine was started and checked for any remaining leaks. None were found, so it was on to cleaning and adjusting the engine’s two Weber carburettors. Once they were cleaned and adjusted to provide a nice clean idle and revving up and down smoothly, it was time to test drive. The car ran beautifully on the test run and was tucked away to rest for future displays and drives.