New Alfa seat covers

Got some new seat covers from International Auto Parts. Not bad and they'll do for now...

Mod Swap swag...

Picked up this kookie guy at the San Diego Mod Swap last Sunday. Kind of looks the way I've been feeling lately. Story goes this African mask was painted by this guy who did cataloguing of artifacts at the Smithsonian [has an image taken from a catalog of the same mask taped to the back so it's GOT to be true!]. Anyway, for $20 I'm digging his sad, vacant and mildly shocked stare. All too common on my face:

Got a few other pieces as well and will post later.

Mod Swap!

Before and After shots

Picked up the Alfa after having some body work done. I desperately needed to get the trunk repaired as it was completely rusted thru. While I was having that done I had the fender repaired as well as some small rust bubbles on the rocker panels. Also tracked down the missing 'grill' and had that installed as well. I think it came out quite nice.

New rug

A boring off-white area rug...apparently a very big deal around here.

New wheels

Another craigslist find - set of 5 wheels for the Spider. $220 for a set of 5. Guy flaked on me. Thanks again craigslist douche...

Persuasive Percussion Vol. 1

Amazing - on the hunt for Vols 2-4 as well as 'Provocative Percussion' Vols 1-4. All featuring cover art by Josef Albers. Picked it up for .99 cents at The Cow - cool vintage vinyl shop in Ocean Beach.

Updated Alfa Romeo Spider bumper

Anyone who has a Spider knows how crazy expensive a used bumper in decent shape can be. Mine is in fairly good shape so I wanted to make the best of it. The trim had pretty much disintengrated so I ripped it all off. Of course this revealed some inner rust beneath the rubber. Along with the small amount of rust was some 'swelling' - when the the rubber of the bumper expands due to the rusted steel. Not a lot, but enough to make the recessed gap wider at the center of the bumper than at either end. So, I removed as much surface rust as I could. I purchased adhesive chrome trim from Autozone for $18. I bought the widest they had [1.5"] so it would fill the widest part of the groove. After a small amount of trimming to get it in the groove, it came out pretty good. Not exactly stock looking but certainly way better than it was:

Wall unit

Well my patience finally paid off. Purchased this wall unit over the weekend for a very good 'as is' price. Knowing it had very good bones I jumped at it. After a good 3 hours of removing 50 years of funk and adding 3 coats of oil, I've got to say it looks amazing:

It is incredibly well made and does not show it's age. It is completely finished on the back so I'm guessing it was also made to function as a room divider.

Benvenuta!

My little money pit is home. Got her back on Tuesday. Repairs were a bit pricey but not too crazy. She'll be getting a full detail tomorrow...

[sorry for the blurry phone pic...]

Miss you already...

I've had the Alfa less than 2 weeks and already being towed... well, kinda my fault - I busted a clip that holds the throttle cable/rod. It was off for servicing anyway so no big. I paid next to nothing for her so I'm expecting to drop some bank. As of today, my mechanic at Ital Automotive has me at about 6 bills for all the work I need [ironically no charge for my throttle clip fuck up]. I'm sure that will double at least but that's cool. Money pit? Perhaps, but peace of mind is worth it...

Selig Lounge

I got the inserts back from the upholstorer on Saturday [1 week turnaround and amazing job from Hillcrest Upoholstorers!]. I had sanded and oiled the wood panels a few weeks ago as well as cleaned all the hardware. It took a good 2 hours or so to put it back together but I am very happy with the result. This is what it looked like:

New old stuff

Got this from ebay the other day - love!

Got my 60's chair back from the upholsterors...not so in love. Not quite sure why - fabric is great and fits the era. They did an amazing job as well. I think the seat cushion proportion/firmness is off. Is it the color?

1982 Alfa Romeo Spider

Not posted in awhile - things have been a bit hectic. But not enough to keep me from buying a new money pit! Needs a little tlc here and there but overall it's in fantastic shape and a blast to drive. Although this blog is for ramdom modern and midcentury posts, I will be posting pics regarding the Alfa and my experiances with it. Besides, the original Duetto hit the market in 1966 so mine certainly has it's roots in mid century design:

Vintage stereo consoles - my current obsession

GW Lamp

Did a quick Goodwill drive-by after work today and picked up this lamp. Really just wanted the vintage-y shade that is on it. The base is a teal acrylic - wtf? Who made those?? Anyway, the shade looks/feels way older but is in great shape. Will keep paired for now, but seriously - teal?? Hmmm...kinda growing on me. Perhaps teal will be the next 'it' color again and I will be ahead of the curve? So 1998...

Tension pole lamp

Hi-Fi update

Well, I couldn't get the turntable to function properly so I removed it and am taking it in for repairs. Fred at Classic Audio Repair in San Diego patiently walked me through removing the unit [over the phone!] so I could bring it in. I had no clue as to how to remove it but he was spot on with how to get it out properly. So, it's off to him tomorrow and hopefully won't cost too much more than I paid for it.

And now I know why the FM Stereo wasn't working - no multipex adapter! [but there is a dead spider]

Apparently back then, since FM stereo was not widely broadcast, stereo consoles were manufactured without the multiplex adaptor included and you could add the unit at a later date or at date of purchase I suppose. I believe my chances are pretty slim on finding one, but I'll try.

Hi-fi fabuous!

Got this swank little vintage Bradford stereo console off of craigslist this weekend from the sweetest couple:

It belonged to one of the girls' grandmothers who bought it new in 1963. It was purchased from a W.T. Grants store which was a discount department store back in the day - I remember there was one in my hometown back east. The brand name is 'Bradford' which was the company name for their electronics. It's a great size, only 43x28x12, so it's fairly compact but still considered a console. I spent about 2 hours detailing it and it looks great. All tubes in this console so it has a cool, mellow sound. And I love how it takes a good 30 seconds to 'warm up' - man does that bring back memories! It is complete and fully functional [turntable is being a little fussy, tho]- more than I can say about the high-end consoles I had been looking at for $100s more. I purchased this one for $60. It obviously was well taken care of. It may have been from the low end of the retail spectrum but it's still plugging along...

Now, have a listen below and on YouTube:

One more try...

Love it, but not in love with it like the others...winning bid for now. We'll see...

[7/20/10 fyi didn't win - guess I'm not meant to have one]