Another cracking job, hopefully the customer really going to enjoy it and appreciates all the work you put into it. Another one saved and kept on the UK roads!
Did my first rust repair a couple months back. Sill front half on the right side of my 147. Fabricated all parts myself and took me about a week of working on it 3-4 hours a day. Didnt turn out as nice as this but im happy considering it was my first time fabricating and welding sheet metal and it cost me about 200£ in parts/tools. Wish I had this video before though :D Love the channel
Fantastic! I had my 147's rear sills done a few years back. Cost a bit but I'd rather someone else do it! I cannot see where the join is or paint blend it was a superb job! Next is getting the rest of the bodywork sorted!
Well done mate. I’ve looked after my GTA for the last 10 years making every effort to slow down rust and corrosion especially underneath. I know now there could be rust issues behind the sideskirts. One thing I’d like to learn is the art of welding. If I could master that, then I could have a crack at repairing or replacing the sills.
Takes a lot of skill and patience to do this kind of work. I'm guessing there are many alfas in this category that could be saved if Joe Bloggs had the skills, but would be uneconomical to bring to a garage. Kudos Neil, I enjoyed it.
Fantastic job! I never thought it would be economicaly viable to pay a professional mechanic to do that to and old 156. But then again, old Alfa’s are usually not about sound economics are they 😄?
Great job, really enjoyed watching another Alfa 156 saved. I hope it inspires more owners to look beyond the market value and take the view that keeping a basically sound car going rather rather replacing it is both sustainable and rewarding.
Such great work! Pleasure to watch. For sure that directly translates into increased resale value. What I never got is why so many 156 were specced with extra sill covers (I do get it on this one with the big sport pack 2 spoiler). IMO the curve of the base sill is pretty unique and looks very elegant.
Great vid neil that sort of job seems to lend it self well for content for youtube . sounds like it was a good result for all nice looking car still after all these years .
So sad to see that Alfa's new owners Stellantis (PSA) are dropping the Guilia platform......no new GTV, no new 8C in fact it's all going to be on a PSA Citreon platforms. No good for Alfa heads like us.
Neil is the hero these poor UK Alfas need! Seeing rocker welding makes me think about what I know needs to be done with my '79 Spider, but that's a project for another time (year, decade maybe?).
Many thanks for another interesting video Neil. Its always good to see how a professional mechanic deals with bodywork repairs like this. Due to the amount of rust on the inner sill, I think this took longer than you had originally anticipated, but t gave us a good insight into the amount of time and effort involved. Mind you, can't help but feel that with electric cars just 'round the corner', this age of car will no longer be viable to repair soon.
I'm intrigued that you can get pattern sills, but not other panels for the 156. Great job, though it looks like the proverbial pain in the backside to do.
Awesome work, another 156 saved :) would not have painted the car inside my shop without a booth or some sort of protection. The paint spray get everywhere. But in any case nice job 👍
I'm a mechanic that moved into offshore fabrication and manufacturing, and I can tell you car sills are the worst welding situation you can tackle. Mig welding against gravity is an industry taboo, the smallest rust/paint contaminant ruins your weld at the best of times and car bodies have other alloys in them that all conspires against you. The triple skin Alfa sill design makes things even harder. A timed spot welder would make a great job, far better than MIG, but it only works on pristine metal with a weld through spray applied. Mechanics and vehicle repairers are underpaid and undervalued in my opinion. If you gave this repair to an offshore welder he'd quit or insist on the job being mounted on a spit!
Really nice job. When you think about it where else could you get such a good looking 4 door saloon for the cost of the repair? If you could find another one maybe replace it but you wouldn't know the new one's problems and the same thing might just be waiting to appear.
I used to own a 03 JTS 156 Sportwagon in this colour. It was such an enjoyable car and i must say i do miss it. Sadly it was written off as a result of an accident by its next owner. 156s are really starting to become pretty thin on the ground here in Oz now, which is more the pity.
Nice work on the whole. Sometimes you want to save something even thought it costs. I was little worried about interior while welding and grinding, but then you added some cover. Stone chip would have been good for those outer exposed surfaces. About other side..Hope its done before or at least much better.
Hi. I have a 156 v6 1999 year. Could you please advise price it would take to weld front seat belt anchorage to floor to size of a 50p piece. Thank you fir any advice. Best regards from James in Scotland.
Thats turned out really nice. Lots of labour but good job. Meant to ask after the 1st episode, is the colour Gabiano Azzuro by any chance? Looks very similar to mine
Congratulations neil. Excellent work. Please allow a question. I have the same car bought used 11 years sgo here in greece.when i open both back doors i see little bubbles on the wings. The body shops say the need scratching from above and repaint. Do you think this is the proper job or not. I would appreciate your expert opinion.cherrs.
Where can you source parts for them now? I've saw a couple of sills online but I take it floor panels are unavailable and need to be fabricated. I lost my 156 10 years ago to tin worm in the floor pan as I just didn't have the time to work on it
Just watched part 1, & part 2 immediately afterward for the satisfying conclusion. My only concern are the 215/45/17 Davanti (who?) tyres on the Alfa, hopefully the benevolent owner will upgrade to premium tyres in the near future 🙂 Pirelli perhaps? 🤔
@@ItaliaAutos no way will waxoyl or cavity wax get everywhere it needs to be and corrosion will start from day one. Should have used weld-through primer?
its alot of work man, why did you sand by hand ? you could use some small tool 19:15 i can see the gap in middle of two doors , front one is more pushed "outside"
Not a very detailed job.... You oversprayed the wheel arch protection, the fender has rust at the bottom that should have been fixed, in the back where the sill with the fender meet looks so wrong. Also, the new holes in the sill are rust protected? From there it will start to rust again. No stone chip protection at least where the wheel throws dirt. The car has some strange things on it: wheel bolts and no key hole for the passenger side. If I were your customer I would not be pleased, but if he is, well done ! :)
Annnnd?? what about the other side. Of course you applied a weld through zinc anti rust coating to the inner /hidden surfaces of ALL the metals you worked on ??
@@ItaliaAutos to be fair mate the job is spot on. It’s a huge job that and the hard part was the metal work which you knocked out the park!! Top work Neil. Really impressive fabrication.
Tell the owner to dinitrol cavity wax/Lanoguard/ waxoyl the shite out of the thing.. Good job..The only way to blend the difference in colour is to blend into the quarter panel and wing..not really worth it...
The owner is a saint for saving this car. Well done Neil, cracking job.
Another cracking job, hopefully the customer really going to enjoy it and appreciates all the work you put into it. Another one saved and kept on the UK roads!
Did my first rust repair a couple months back. Sill front half on the right side of my 147. Fabricated all parts myself and took me about a week of working on it 3-4 hours a day. Didnt turn out as nice as this but im happy considering it was my first time fabricating and welding sheet metal and it cost me about 200£ in parts/tools. Wish I had this video before though :D Love the channel
Fantastic! I had my 147's rear sills done a few years back.
Cost a bit but I'd rather someone else do it!
I cannot see where the join is or paint blend it was a superb job!
Next is getting the rest of the bodywork sorted!
Well done mate. I’ve looked after my GTA for the last 10 years making every effort to slow down rust and corrosion especially underneath. I know now there could be rust issues behind the sideskirts. One thing I’d like to learn is the art of welding. If I could master that, then I could have a crack at repairing or replacing the sills.
Takes a lot of skill and patience to do this kind of work. I'm guessing there are many alfas in this category that could be saved if Joe Bloggs had the skills, but would be uneconomical to bring to a garage. Kudos Neil, I enjoyed it.
@Scott Taylor Frequent washing to get the salt and muck off Alfa’s would be a good start.
Fantastic job! I never thought it would be economicaly viable to pay a professional mechanic to do that to and old 156. But then again, old Alfa’s are usually not about sound economics are they 😄?
Great job, really enjoyed watching another Alfa 156 saved. I hope it inspires more owners to look beyond the market value and take the view that keeping a basically sound car going rather rather replacing it is both sustainable and rewarding.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Brilliant job Neil the 156s need keeping on the roads they still look great today and a proper drivers car
Such great work! Pleasure to watch.
For sure that directly translates into increased resale value. What I never got is why so many 156 were specced with extra sill covers (I do get it on this one with the big sport pack 2 spoiler). IMO the curve of the base sill is pretty unique and looks very elegant.
I have just done the same thing to my 156 2.5 v6, second one I've owned, great classic fun car.
Superb job. People who think you are ripping them off when you price work like that should be made to watch this video.
fantastic result !! i miss my 156 wish i still had it
Great job Neil however, protect that leather seat from weld sparks!
That's what I was thinking and the carpet
Amazing job - really enjoyed this 2 part video. - thanks for your hard work in producing these.
Thanks for watching
Cor, I wish my car was that easy to do! Definitely worth saving the 156s. Good on the owner for getting it done. A great result.
Great work Neil…… just the other side to do now 🔨 🤣
You're getting into the realms of PeteC at Cortina City with this 156!
All credit for this job. Painstaking work. Masterful result.
Great vid neil that sort of job seems to lend it self well for content for youtube . sounds like it was a good result for all nice looking car still after all these years .
Top job Neil. Looks really good mate and kudos to the customer for insisting on the repair. 👍
The customer must really love that car. Good stuff Neil.
So sad to see that Alfa's new owners Stellantis (PSA) are dropping the Guilia platform......no new GTV, no new 8C in fact it's all going to be on a PSA Citreon platforms. No good for Alfa heads like us.
Ugh, dark days ahead me thinks. All the more reason to support the guys and girls keeping the classics on the road! 😊
@@markhoskins Spot on Mark.
cracking job Sir, need this on my GTA
Great job and great content, never seen anyone tackling a rust job on the sills!! 💪💪
Looks great Neil
Insane quality work!! I wish I could bring my 156 from Germany to GB just to have you work on it. But that seems hardly feasible.
Well done Neil wow
Cheers
Well done for filming this lengthy process so well. Must've made a tough job even harder.
Yeah it did add a few hours to the job.
Neil is the hero these poor UK Alfas need! Seeing rocker welding makes me think about what I know needs to be done with my '79 Spider, but that's a project for another time (year, decade maybe?).
Excellent work! And hard work!
Thanks.
Brilliant job, you make it all look so easy!
Thank you! Cheers!
Very nice to see it saved, love the interior, not so keen on the wheels myself !
Enjoyed that Nelly..I bet the tapestry of metalwork you had to fabricate on the inner sill was fun! Another Alfa saved.
Propper taxing
A lot of job, I did it couple months ago on my 156 2.5 FL :) I used epoxy primer (a lot of) before putty and I think it was good idea
Good professional job Neil....well done mate 👍
Many thanks for another interesting video Neil. Its always good to see how a professional mechanic deals with bodywork repairs like this. Due to the amount of rust on the inner sill, I think this took longer than you had originally anticipated, but t gave us a good insight into the amount of time and effort involved. Mind you, can't help but feel that with electric cars just 'round the corner', this age of car will no longer be viable to repair soon.
Glad you enjoyed it
Really thought that car was past saving. Good work.
I'm intrigued that you can get pattern sills, but not other panels for the 156. Great job, though it looks like the proverbial pain in the backside to do.
Yep that's the joys of alfa ownership.
Never had any rust problems on my 156......well not after the wife crashed it and wrote it off....
great vid neil customer must love car
Absolutely superb.
Nice work! Another beautiful italian car saved!
Great job, Neil!
That looks tremendous! Brilliant job.
we do it because we love them
Massive job,great work Neil.
Awesome work, another 156 saved :) would not have painted the car inside my shop without a booth or some sort of protection. The paint spray get everywhere.
But in any case nice job 👍
It's easier to paint it there. Less dust. Plus anything in the workshop gets covered.
Complimenti!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent very hard work but worth it. Lovely classic back on British roads ..😎
I'm a mechanic that moved into offshore fabrication and manufacturing, and I can tell you car sills are the worst welding situation you can tackle. Mig welding against gravity is an industry taboo, the smallest rust/paint contaminant ruins your weld at the best of times and car bodies have other alloys in them that all conspires against you. The triple skin Alfa sill design makes things even harder. A timed spot welder would make a great job, far better than MIG, but it only works on pristine metal with a weld through spray applied. Mechanics and vehicle repairers are underpaid and undervalued in my opinion. If you gave this repair to an offshore welder he'd quit or insist on the job being mounted on a spit!
Yeah its not fun welding in some of those positions.
That look nice now 💪💪
Excellent work. Nice colour Alfa 👍
Really nice job. When you think about it where else could you get such a good looking 4 door saloon for the cost of the repair? If you could find another one maybe replace it but you wouldn't know the new one's problems and the same thing might just be waiting to appear.
I used to own a 03 JTS 156 Sportwagon in this colour. It was such an enjoyable car and i must say i do miss it. Sadly it was written off as a result of an accident by its next owner. 156s are really starting to become pretty thin on the ground here in Oz now, which is more the pity.
Excellent job 👏
One of the best videos you’ve ever done Neil. Top job!! BTW what’s the latest with the 155?
Nice video but must have missed out the repairs to the sill centre plate the bit that adds the strength
Excellent work 👍
Worth it! Always good to save an alfa, like those facelift 156 fronts they look nice
Nice work on the whole. Sometimes you want to save something even thought it costs. I was little worried about interior while welding and grinding, but then you added some cover. Stone chip would have been good for those outer exposed surfaces. About other side..Hope its done before or at least much better.
Another great job, almost a miracle. If the Vatican could make people in your profession a Saint, then you would be a wonderful candidate.
Great video as always! 👍
Hi. I have a 156 v6 1999 year. Could you please advise price it would take to weld front seat belt anchorage to floor to size of a 50p piece. Thank you fir any advice. Best regards from James in Scotland.
Great work Neil i would hate to receive the labour bill for this
You are doing gods work, my man...fantastic
Wonderful result. Curious if you would recommend wax coating or otherwise the insides once complete?
Thats turned out really nice. Lots of labour but good job. Meant to ask after the 1st episode, is the colour Gabiano Azzuro by any chance? Looks very similar to mine
Thanks and yes it is.
Congratulations neil. Excellent work. Please allow a question. I have the same car bought used 11 years sgo here in greece.when i open both back doors i see little bubbles on the wings. The body shops say the need scratching from above and repaint. Do you think this is the proper job or not. I would appreciate your expert opinion.cherrs.
15:01 what kind of adhesive tape did you use? I need to put back my 156 side skirts too but I don't know what adhesive or tape to use.
Amazing mate!
Better then new!
Lovely job....very interesting thank you 👍
I looked up the mot history on this car.
No mention of rust at the late October 2018 mot , no subsequent mots until recently.
Great job! How to protect those welds from rusting again?
Acid primer, primer and paint.
Where can you source parts for them now? I've saw a couple of sills online but I take it floor panels are unavailable and need to be fabricated. I lost my 156 10 years ago to tin worm in the floor pan as I just didn't have the time to work on it
A true car wizzard !
Just watched part 1, & part 2 immediately afterward for the satisfying conclusion. My only concern are the 215/45/17 Davanti (who?) tyres on the Alfa, hopefully the benevolent owner will upgrade to premium tyres in the near future 🙂 Pirelli perhaps? 🤔
Neil, I didn't see you apply any treatment to the inner sill after you put it together.
Did you choose to edit that part out?
Wax oil once all finishe
@@ItaliaAutos no way will waxoyl or cavity wax get everywhere it needs to be and corrosion will start from day one. Should have used weld-through primer?
Curious why it was only that side of the car that had the rotted sill?
Normally that side was parked against a wall or bush where it got no sunlight to dry it out.
Hi, what is the name of that black anti rust threatment please?
Omnicote
@@ItaliaAutos Thank you
Why not a cavity seal with wax to protect the sills???
i did just not on camera.
Neil, can you tell me approximately how many hours this has taken to do?
6 days at 5-8 hours a day
its alot of work man, why did you sand by hand ? you could use some small tool
19:15 i can see the gap in middle of two doors , front one is more pushed "outside"
yes thats the door not the sill.
Not a very detailed job.... You oversprayed the wheel arch protection, the fender has rust at the bottom that should have been fixed, in the back where the sill with the fender meet looks so wrong. Also, the new holes in the sill are rust protected? From there it will start to rust again. No stone chip protection at least where the wheel throws dirt. The car has some strange things on it: wheel bolts and no key hole for the passenger side. If I were your customer I would not be pleased, but if he is, well done ! :)
Genius!
Some say there are AR156 immune to rust, and some rot in no time, could this be truth?
depends on many factors.
@@ItaliaAutos no, its supposed to be like series made with good anticorosion and series without
Niel would you be interested in a 155
In what way.
He will be back next week for the other side 😂
Annnnd?? what about the other side.
Of course you applied a weld through zinc anti rust coating to the inner /hidden surfaces of ALL the metals you worked on ??
other side was done at the same time
Nice work. But the colour match on the lower arch isn’t the best is it...
Nope it's not very good but car needs more paint soon so I'll prob end up repainting the arch.
@@ItaliaAutos to be fair mate the job is spot on. It’s a huge job that and the hard part was the metal work which you knocked out the park!! Top work Neil. Really impressive fabrication.
@@rezaq1 cheers
after seeing this vid i got welding eyes
Was it more than 1000£?
Yep
Tell the owner to dinitrol cavity wax/Lanoguard/ waxoyl the shite out of the thing.. Good job..The only way to blend the difference in colour is to blend into the quarter panel and wing..not really worth it...
😁
Sieht sehr nach Pfusch aus...
Lovely job....very interesting thank you 👍