I was contacted by a “long time viewer, first time caller” from the internet asking for some help. He had purchased an 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint from a local dealer near me and wanted to ship it to his home in Australia. I normally work exclusively on Ferraris, and usually only the carburetor V-12 cars, with the exception on Dinos, but I guess I’ll make one more.

I like working on what I know and don’t like asking the customer to pay for me to learn. I try to work on Vintage Ferraris because I enjoy it, is efficient, and cost effective, but the work on this Alfa seemed pretty easy, and this owner really needed someone in the States that could help out.

Australia has some strict rules for importing cars into their country, and asbestos is a priority. They will not let any car into the country with any piece asbestos still attached. Anything from heat shields, to brake pads needs to removed or replaced with non-asbestos materials.

This car has drum brakes, and it looks like the fronts have been changed once before. I like the alloy brake shoe frames.

The rear shoes looked like asbestos, so I guess it was a good thing we’re removing them. I’m sending these shoes out for relining. BTW, the lug nuts on this Alfa are “handed” meaning one side of the car has left handed wheel bolts. It’s a good thing I checked when the nuts didn’t immediately loosen!