Tom Displays Refurbished Alfa At Car Festival
Newest member of the JMDA team, CAD Engineer Tom Warrender recently displayed his classic Alfa Romeo at the 11th annual Worcester Motor Festival after a challenging year of restoration.
The Alfa Romeo 105 series was one of Giorgetto Giugiaro earliest designs and when Tom first laid eyes on it, almost seven years ago at a local motorsport event, he became besotted. He went on to buy a 1968 Alfa Romeo GT Junior which was imported from a small town outside Venice, Italy in June 2015.
Tom’s first car MOT highlighted some major mechanical issues which needed addressing, primarily the suspension which was very old and tired. Being a keen car enthusiast and having an engineering background, Tom took it upon himself to carry out the refurbishment single-handed, stripping various parts from the car and overhauling the suspension way beyond what was required to satisfy the MOT!
Explaining all about the refurbishment he lovingly conducted, Tom explains ‘Refurbishing the Alfa was a fantastic challenge, one which I thoroughly enjoyed! Not only did I replace the track rod ends and ball joints but the shock absorbers were replaced with modern Bilstein equivalents too. I uprated and lowered the sports springs which was tough, as was refurbishing the brake callipers.’ He adds, ‘As well as all of this I also swapped the deteriorated metaplastic bushes with polyurethane equivalents and zinc primer powder coated all the steel parts before refitting them back into the car. The additional work was certainly above and beyond what was required to satisfy the MOT, but the extra effort has resulted in a car which feels planted, poised and well balanced! I’m extremely proud of myself!’
All of the work was completed just in time for the annual Worcester Motor Festival, which was held in Worcester Town centre on Saturday 20th May. Featuring a great mix of exciting new and well-loved established feature displays and activities, there was plenty to do for all the car enthusiasts of all ages. Despite a particularly wet and windy day, Tom proudly displayed his Alfa Romeo as part of a wonderful array of rare and historic vehicles and received many compliments from passers-by on his beautiful classic car.