Talledega TI Super

[PAUGNUT1275]

Hi
Has anyone ever started a history thread on the Talledega TI Super? It was here in CT for many years, but has been parted out and scrapped many years ago. Any pictures or original stories about it??? Please don't tell me that the car Tom Zat owns is the Talledega, because it isn't. I owned the Tom Zat car and know where it came from before me. The Talledega was owned in Southern Ct at the same time and was scrapped by an uncaring owner, after stripping all the racing parts off it. I have a few of the pieces that were sold off before it went the the last owner. My knowledge of the original story is vague, so would like to hear a more accurate history if it's out there.
Keith Goring

[geh458]

Try using the search feature on the green menu bar at the top of the AlfaBB screen. Type in "Talledega", and you will find 8 threads, including this one, that mention, or are dedicated to this topic.

[emr5503]

I believe I have the deep sump pan, oil pump,pick up,distributor, front cover and head from the engine.
Don't know if Richard Senft is a bb member, but he could shed more light on the subject.
Ed

[turbolarespider]

Keith,
You should post more information- I've talked to Jim Weber about the car, and got pretty much the same info you did- especially about how the car was wrecked a few times. He very, very much doubted the claims that Tom made, and if you go to Tom's site, he even says that the engine is an 1800, not a 1779, or, more importantly, the 1700 that the IMSA rules stipulated.

I've always been fascinated by this car, hearing it's legend many times over form some of the older members of AROC Detroit. If you have more info, please, please, post it.

Eric Storhok

[PAUGNUT1275]

Hi
I just spent 20 minute writing out the history, as I know it, and the BB said I needed to refresh and sign in before posting. I did all that and my post was gone!! I'm now starting over.
I first saw the Talledega in about 1975 in the back garages at Kinsella Alfa Romeo in New Milford, Ct. It was dusty and unused, but very cool. Frank Kinsella had purchased it from Alfa and one of his mechanics, Bill Bartlett eventually bought it from him. We were told that it had come from Autodelta to the US, for Gaston Andrey to race in the new IMSA series, called BABY Grand or something similar. Gus and the car ran away with the race and IMSA declared it illegal and banned it, I think. Bill Bartlett, Rick Abbate and Bob Kilpatrick eventually took it to Lime Rock and drove it on test days and a few SCCA races. The motor had never been apart, so it eventually blew up. Some attempt was made to fix it, but I don't think that it ever went back to it's original engine.
Pat Fioretti, an Alfa mechanic in Bridgeport, Ct bought it and ran it a few times, with rick Abbate, I think. He eventually took it apart and junked the body. My friends Mike Ryan and Bob Correll bought some of the trick parts. I had some of the stuff, But have sold off some also. I had the radiator, which was a GTA style rad with the oil cooler actually soldered into the same frame. I may have the airbox, carbs and trans case. The trans case had red paint marks on it from Autodelta.{photos to follow} Deno Gualtieri had the rest of the mechanical parts, and wheels I believe. He told me that Pat Fioretti had scrapped the body.
The Tom Zat car, came from me in the 1980's. I bought it from Jon Mirachi in NJ. It came with a Colorado title and original owners manual. It had come from a woman in Col. in street trim with a single hoop roll bar in the back seat.It may have been one of the cars that Alfa brought in for sedan racing. Jon race prepped it and ran it in SCCA. It was crashed at Watkins Glen and he swapped the parts over to a spider, I think. Jon lives in Fl now, so he will verify this end of the story. I bought the empty shell from him and carried it home in my pickup truck. We never had time to do anything with it, so Tom Zat badgered it out of me in the late 80's for $800. I kept the seats for my Giulietta Sprint race car. Tom took it home and restored the front end damage. Somewhere along the way, he acquired the history of the Talledega for the car. It is simply not true!!! It is a nice car in it's own right, but NOT the Talledega. If you look at the photos, the rear flairs are completely wrong. I suspect that the Mirachi's built the flairs for the car, when they race prepped the car.
Keith G.

[1150ss]

Hi All-

I never saw the car when it was at Kinsella's, but I did see it parked out front of Wilton European Motors early one morning on the way to school. As any self respecting Alfisti would do, we stopped and asked about it. We were told it belonged to a fellow in Bridgeport but no other info. It was gone later that day and I never saw it again. Always wondered what happened to it..........

[Subtle]

Interesting story + + +

[PAUGNUT1275]

Hi
I'll try to dig up my photos from the Mirachi car. I don't think that I have any of the Talledega when it was at Kinsellas. Maybe Peter Hurlbut, Debbie Kinsella, or Bill Finsilver can find some pictures.
Keith

[turbolarespider]

Keith
Thanks for the information! That was very interesting, and fills in a lot of the gaps that Jim told me about- he just knew the car went to your area, got crashed, and basically taken apart. I think he mentioned a few names, but I have a horrible memory for names.

Thanks, again, and too bad that such a legendary Alfa got lost to the "old racecar" syndrome. Oh, well.

Eric