Poly bushes supplier - Alfa Giulia Super 1.3 rolling (amateur) restoration

[kevin4x4]

Hi everyone,

A few months ago I managed to buy an 1971 Alfa 105 (Giulia Super 1.3) that has not had a jol for +-20 years. Having only self-taught (ala Youtube) experience on old British cars, it has been very interesting going through the car seeing how the Italians did things differently (having worked on two British cars from +- the same era).

I have managed to get it going again and now slowly going through things to get it running as best I can. The reason for the post, is I am now on the front suspension and need poly bushes (passenger side caster arm bush is properly kaput). I can source the bushes from the UK (at great expense, I think, due to shipping from the UK) and wanted to see if the forum knows of local importers ('Superflex UK bushes') or suppliers I could try?

Out of interest, here is the engine bay on the day I first inspected the car and then after some cleanup:






TIA

[Peter Connan]

Love the looks of the twin-cam engines from that era!

Failing all else, poly is actually fairly easy material to work with, why not make up your own?

[Henris]

There are some tricks to making/casting poly bushes and don't let people convince you that it is a bad thing. The common belief is that the poly is to hard. You can blend the poly in any shore hardness you like.

I had an old Giulia and I cast all my own bushes.

[sparewheel]

I matric my dream car was a GT Junior, never did get one, my first car turned out to be a faded red 4door Datsun 1200 deluxe

[Lupus Lunae]

You can try PSB Bushings - they are a local manufacturer that export as well. Based in KZN. Got a full set poly bushes from them for the Jetta v - in for a year now and no issues. Whether they will have it for your car - not sure - but they might be able to help you https://psbushings.co.za/

[SteveW155]

Congrats on the Giulia, kudos for saving an old Alfa. Don’t waste your time with local poly and Alfas, they don’t go well together, trust me.

Phone Giorgio @ Auto Azzurri in Cape Town, he imports 105 and other Alfa bits for use in his own shop and for sale. Cheaper to buy from him than to bring in for yourself from Classic Alfa, EB Spares, Alfaholics etc. I don’t know how he does it. Tell him Stephen said to call, he’ll probably be a bit more friendly if he’s having a bad day ... he’s 100% Italian

Auto Azzurri : 021 911 2075

He’s supplied all my bits to get mine to here and beyond:

[Tom13]

Its a beaut.

Congrats on the Giulia, kudos for saving an old Alfa. Don’t waste your time with local poly and Alfas, they don’t go well together, trust me.

Phone Giorgio @ Auto Azzurri in Cape Town, he imports 105 and other Alfa bits for use in his own shop and for sale. Cheaper to buy from him than to bring in for yourself from Classic Alfa, EB Spares, Alfaholics etc. I don’t know how he does it. Tell him Stephen said to call, he’ll probably be a bit more friendly if he’s having a bad day ... he’s 100% Italian

He’s supplied all my bits to get mine to here and beyond:

[SteveW155]

Its a beaut.

Thanks Tom

[kevin4x4]

Love the looks of the twin-cam engines from that era!

Failing all else, poly is actually fairly easy material to work with, why not make up your own?

Yeah, I also think it is a beautiful looking (and sounding) engine!

I believe the issue is if you get it wrong and the bushes are too hard, it will rip off the respective mounting points (I 100% believe this based on the rust this Jhb only car has v.s. the British cars I have worked on - the Italians used very thin metal IMHO)

Will try it as a last option

[kevin4x4]

There are some tricks to making/casting poly bushes and don't let people convince you that it is a bad thing. The common belief is that the poly is to hard. You can blend the poly in any shore hardness you like.

I had an old Giulia and I cast all my own bushes.

Ah I thought you would buy "billet" plastic and machine it down but I guess it makes sense you could cast it! I am going to research this (mostly out of interest, I am too chicken to try this on the Alfa but I may try for my old S2 Landy!

[kevin4x4]

I matric my dream car was a GT Junior, never did get one, my first car turned out to be a faded red 4door Datsun 1200 deluxe

Yeah, the Juniors are an awesome shape! My dad had a 2 door Datsun 1200 as his first car in the 70's - he has told me 100 times about "upgrading" it by installing a rear wind screen wiper

[kevin4x4]

You can try PSB Bushings - they are a local manufacturer that export as well. Based in KZN. Got a full set poly bushes from them for the Jetta v - in for a year now and no issues. Whether they will have it for your car - not sure - but they might be able to help you https://psbushings.co.za/

Thanks - I checked out their website and it doesnt look like they do Alfa's. Will give them a shout if I don't come right with other suggestions, thanks again

[kevin4x4]

Congrats on the Giulia, kudos for saving an old Alfa. Don’t waste your time with local poly and Alfas, they don’t go well together, trust me.

Phone Giorgio @ Auto Azzurri in Cape Town, he imports 105 and other Alfa bits for use in his own shop and for sale. Cheaper to buy from him than to bring in for yourself from Classic Alfa, EB Spares, Alfaholics etc. I don’t know how he does it. Tell him Stephen said to call, he’ll probably be a bit more friendly if he’s having a bad day ... he’s 100% Italian

Auto Azzurri : 021 911 2075

He’s supplied all my bits to get mine to here and beyond:

Thanks a million for the info Stephen! I am trying my best - all the different models and possible parts (dual vs single brake MC etc), LHD vs RHD things make internet research extra interesting but getting there slowly (I got a second hand Autobook for the Giulia for Xmas which is helping alot)
I will give him a shout, lol, I find the best (real) mechanic's are the grumpiest!

Your Alfa looks superb!

Here is mine before it got new rubber and the rims re-sprayed:

[SteveW155]

Thanks Kevin, still lots of work needed on her, she’s far from perfect, but has come a long way. Your Super looks great, and the 1300 Super is a rare beast

Giorgio can help with basically everything, he’s just not very chatty until he gets to know you and you get him on a good day. He rebuilds the boosters, right down to replating them to your preference, polishing the aluminium was my very own dumb idea though!

. These are for the 1750 GTV project

You’re welcome to make contact with me if you need any info. I have a factory workshop manual and 30 years of Alfa lessons learned the hard way ... and I’m happy to share what I know

[Henris]

That would be way to hard. Yes, it will wreck things.

Try and talk to AMT. Yes they are more pricey, but the end result is totally predictable.

Ah I thought you would buy "billet" plastic and machine it down but I guess it makes sense you could cast it! I am going to research this (mostly out of interest, I am too chicken to try this on the Alfa but I may try for my old S2 Landy!

[duncang]

Great memories as a schoolboy mechanic working for pocket money...
Seeing those shims for the first time ever and having no Google

[Peter Connan]

Yeah, I also think it is a beautiful looking (and sounding) engine!

I believe the issue is if you get it wrong and the bushes are too hard, it will rip off the respective mounting points (I 100% believe this based on the rust this Jhb only car has v.s. the British cars I have worked on - the Italians used very thin metal IMHO)

Will try it as a last option

Poly can be cast down to 30 Shore or even less, which is way softer than most natursl rubbers and certainly too soft for suspension bushes if you want any kind of precision whatsoever.

Also, the hardness is mostly determined by the ingredients you use and not so much by the mixing ratio or process variables. In other words, it's not something you "get wrong".

[ghouwens]

I made all my own bushes for my Triumph GT6 MK3 I rebuilt a few years ago. Way cheaper than bringing them in from over the pond.

[JohnnoK]

Congrats on the Giulia, kudos for saving an old Alfa. Don’t waste your time with local poly and Alfas, they don’t go well together, trust me.

Phone Giorgio @ Auto Azzurri in Cape Town, he imports 105 and other Alfa bits for use in his own shop and for sale. Cheaper to buy from him than to bring in for yourself from Classic Alfa, EB Spares, Alfaholics etc. I don’t know how he does it. Tell him Stephen said to call, he’ll probably be a bit more friendly if he’s having a bad day ... he’s 100% Italian

Auto Azzurri : 021 911 2075

He’s supplied all my bits to get mine to here and beyond:

Beautiful car!
Is that the same Giorgio that used to have the place in town off Buitengracht Street with his brother Tony?
Italsud, I think it was called.

[Rainier Vermaak]

Congrats on the Giulia, kudos for saving an old Alfa. Don’t waste your time with local poly and Alfas, they don’t go well together, trust me.

Phone Giorgio @ Auto Azzurri in Cape Town, he imports 105 and other Alfa bits for use in his own shop and for sale. Cheaper to buy from him than to bring in for yourself from Classic Alfa, EB Spares, Alfaholics etc. I don’t know how he does it. Tell him Stephen said to call, he’ll probably be a bit more friendly if he’s having a bad day ... he’s 100% Italian

Auto Azzurri : 021 911 2075

He’s supplied all my bits to get mine to here and beyond:

Thats a 166 Ti standing behind your baby. One of my biggest regrets is not buying a demo at a ridiculous low price many years ago.