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Al was like an uncle to me.....
I may have one of the last GTVs Al restored. It was a special project car 2 years in the making before the first bit of sand hit the old paint. Narrowed Al out of a pool of a half dozen Alfa restorers back in 2003-2005 from the US and Canada. Flew up to see him race in 2005 at Watkins Glen. From there forward Al was not just the guy fixing up an Alfa for me, but rather a friend I would speak with almost on a weekly basis on all things Alfa and more.
My wife and I made two trips to Boulder Creek over the years to see Al and his wife Myr over the course of the restoration project that actually ended just a week before Al passed. They would always put us up at their vacation lodge when we visited. In 2006 they put the finishing touches on a cottage right over the garage where he kept his race cars.
On our second trip in September 2006 Sharon and I got married in their back yard under three large Redwoods. Al and Myr were our witnesses. And we spent our first night as a married couple in their cottage. Al who was an Alfa purist and was so focused on racing, car restorations, etc. on one occasion got a big kick out of something different. We took Al and Myr around town GeoCaching and Al actually go into it like a little kid discovering a new toy.
My project was a one-off GTV to GTAm conversion with a European Twin Spark motor. I am to take delivery in a week as it is being prepped to ship to the East Coast. I know of one other fellow from Canada who is having an almost identical transformation of a '73 GTV done, but his project was lagging behind. So my car may be one of the last Alfas Al restored completely. Will be an honor driving that car.
For more on the project visit: Alfa Romeo 1971 GTAm
RIP Al, you will be missed,
JP & Sharon Saleeby
Bennettsville, SC
Current inventory:
'71 GTV/GTAm
'02 Maserati GT Coupe
'57 Chevy 210 (under restoration)
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD running BioFuel
Past sport cars:
'57 Porsche 356
'93 BMW 318iS
'73 BMW 2002tii
'94 Mazda Rx-7 (3rd gen)
'94 Jaguar XJ-6 Vaden Plas
'00 Acura 3.2 TL
'04 Mini Cooper-S
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