Restorations

Duetto 1600

This original RHD Duetto started life in South Africa, where Alfa Romeo had a ‘knock-down-kit’ production facility. Imported into the UK in the early 2000s we had looked after it for several years for its then owner, until he sold it to us. We decided to carry out a sympathetic restoration (it was in pretty solid shape structurally but a series of small imperfections around the body necessitated a strip-down & complete respray. The original engine had been substituted for a  1750 but the new owner was more of a stickler for originality & so we sourced a year-correct early 1600 engine with correct 00536 prefix, though he opted for a tubular manifold & sports exhaust system in stainless steel. The hood frame was stripped, repaired & rebuilt using new bushes fabricated in-house before being repainted. A new soft top was fitted along with re-trimmed seats & new door cards. As usual, the braking system and suspension was overhauled, along with the transmission and the correct 15″ rims were blasted, powder-coated & shod with 155 x 15″ tyres, giving the car its lovely delicacy of feel & feedback on the road. New or polished original brightwork, completes the beautiful finish of the car, while the fastidious owner has been busy tracking down those hard-to-find missing items such as the (often missing) reversing light, original ashtray & Brico lighter.

This is now one of the tightest, sharpest-responding Duettos we have driven!