Why a Alfa? Share your story

[Takis]

At the tender age of 13 when one begins to understand and discover the world , i focused my interest in cars , particularly to 5 or 6 105 coupes that were driven around in my hometown at the beginnings of the `80s. I watched them doing all the crazy things even having accidents , but since then I had promised myself that one day I would be able to have and drive my own 105 coupe.
This happened in 1996 when i purchased my 1750 GT Veloce 1a serie , after 1 an a half year of complete restoration , I managed to brink her back to as new condition , that was my first childhood dream and I feel a very lucky person to having made it reality.
Of course there is another automotive dream , which it actually is italian but not Alfa Romeo but that is another story !!!!!

[gotglasses]

After a misspent youth with muscle cars and of drag racing anything that moved, I became interested in sports cars during the gas crisis in the early seventies. Imported cars were then dirt cheap and I was able to buy, fix up , drive a while and sell at a small profit a series of interesting cars. An MGB, a TR4, a Rover, an Austin Healey ( I still own) , and a P1800s that led to a 73 Alfa GTV! The GTV was a revelation - fairly quick, sure footed and the transmission challenged me with it's weak synchros that finally taught me how to properly double clutch and shift. The GTV had lightning like steering response that allowed it to be thrown around a turn like a racecar. It had a nervous quality that satisfied my boy racer inclinations - If I was'nt going that fast I still felt like I was a winner after running through the gears a few times and catching a bit of throttle induced oversteer! Unfortunately, I dropped a valve and soon the rust bug took the shine off my affection. The car was very nose heavy , yet I would not characterize it as an understeerer - it's handling really could be defined by throttle position and a skilled driver could have a lot of fun with it.

We take wierd vacations - mostly drive to odd places. In 1985 we took a motoring trip to Europe to drive as many mountain pass roads as we could find . In Italy we re-created and drove the Mille Miglia course from old Autocar magazine articles, as well as Tarruffi's book. It was wonderful to drive south out of Venice along the Adriatric - nobody goes that way but it sure is fun! You pull into Brescia, roar through Verona, take the old road to Maranello , maybe stop in Mantua to pay Nuvolari some respects - it's a great trip for an enthusiast. The Italian customs agents loved my Alfa Romeo belt buckle and immediately adopted me after a barrage of questions about the comparative virtues of Alfa and Cadillac! It was something to see the Carabinieri racing around Pallazzo Venezia and catching rubber going into third gear in their Alfetta squad cars.

This was soon followed by a 79 Alfetta - which had more refined handling but lacked the quickness and instant gratification of the early GTV. It was and felt heavier, but was better balanced than the 73 and had wonderfully neutral handling characteristics that did not get you in trouble - and gave great traction in the snow. It became a ski car during the winter when the snow was not too deep - and yes - the rust bug hit it too.

After a couple of months the Alfa bug hit again and I bought an 84 GTV6 - This car was perfect! Solid, same balanced Alfetta chassis but with a great engine with enough power to restore the boy racer fun of the early GTV ! I religously replaced the timing belt and it broke right on schedule at 29,000 miles! After another expensive overhaul it was fine until some idiot rear ended me!

After another couple of years the Alfa Desire again hit me - I had never driven a Spider !! How could that be?? I decided I would buy a RUST FREE Car from California - HA! Found one on Ebay that claimed to be from San Diego - but strangely turned out to be a consignment shipped out of OHIO! Later with that. Back on Long Island and my good friends at Alfa IMport Center in BAldwin I test drove a decent 86 Quad, with wonder of wonder - working A/C and a marvelous transmission with great synchros ( or is it that my shifts have just slowed down with age?) . Once around the block and I had to buy it ! It was not really rusty but does need front jack point work and will probably see new floorboards by spring. The smoothness of the injected engine is remarkable , it has lots of spare fuses ( HMMM.) and I can get specialty car insurance on it to make the costs attractive!

MY wife is slowly warming to the car and we are both looking forward to a trip to Cape Cod with it this summer!! I always wanted to do this with an air conditioned convertible, and this Quad really fits the bill!!

THe Alfa experience is unique and I recommend it to all.

[164QV]

Gotglasses, what a great story! I envy you that trip to Italy. It is my dream some day for me and my wife to take the Junior on vacation to Italy, see the Alfa museum, Brescia, Milan etc - some day Realistically, I will take the 164 along with the whole family to Lake Garda next year.

[alfa_corse]

The first car I ever drove was a '68 Giulia 1300-TI. (yes a '68 that was driven from Panama to California when my uncle was discharged from the Air Force). The TI is with it's rightful owner (my uncle) awaiting restoration (soon I think). It was my 'high-school ride' and my parents bought a '86 spider; which I maintained (that was my friday-night ride ). Restored the '86 Spider in '99 and then rolled it before I got it fully re-assembled (damn).

Nonetheless; it's been an Alfa love-affair ever since I learned to drive...

-Russ

[gotglasses]

That's quite a collection you have ! You are so fortunate to be on the continent and able to take in Italy in your own vehicles. Admittedly, it is a long trip for you - but well worth it. We did the trip in a rented BMW 316 , which was a pretty good car for the mountains. An ALFA would have been so much nicer!

If you can get a week in early December - the Amalfi Coast loop out of Naples is amazing . The road is pretty much deserted then and quite a contrast to the summer tourist season when congestion destroys the experience. I'm a photographer and find the light in Italy very unique - just the right blend of weather and pollution to make it interesting. In the North out of Lake Cuomo , I believe it is route 25 , you cross the Swiss border two or three times in a few miles and the contrast of spotless Swiss countryside with crowded, not so spotless Italian villages is memorable in a different way!

We live in the States and our children are grown, so we can plan those trips for two in a Spider! American driving is not bad, once you learn to slow down from the European pace. Drivers here seem to compensate for the lack of speed by following too closely and an Alfa's brakes can be too much for the SUV behind you!

[ktubman]

Why an Alfa? Because a good friend talked me out of a TR6. After our 3rd child was born my wife agreed I could get a sports car. (A friend said, "but you can't fit the kids in that!" Exactly!!)

I always wanted a TR6 but a friend showed me the error of my thinking by pointing out the 4 wheel disk brakes, better suspension and a nice automotive engine rather than a tractor engine.

I looked for a long time. I looked so long I actually looked at a car that being resold by the person who bought it! I had found a decent car that I was going to buy until I learned the owner had no title. I didn't need that problem. Finally, I saw an ad that just said "77 spider, 14,000 miles, $3500, yellow". (This was in 1986.) After so many false claims of "no rust" and "runs great" I was really excited. I went to look at the car and it was just as claimed. It was in the guy's garage, covered. He didn't drive it anymore and he was the second owner. The first owner was a friend of his who sold it when he bought a Ferrari and no longer had room in the garage. The odometer read less than 14,000. Judging from the condition of the car I think it was accurate. The car started right up and after a short ride I had it. The main thing it needed was bushings and gaskets since it had been sitting a lot. I still have it, and have added a Verde. I still like TR6's but I can beat them handily in the corners.

[67GTV]

Russ,

Did you have a roll bar in the '86 Spider? Or were you fortunate enough to have been able to duck into the passenger seat area? Is this the same Spider that's mentioned in your tagline? I rolled a Honda years ago and drove the mangled thing for another 8 months. I received looks of shock and horror from everyone except guys in 4x4's. They gave me the thumbs up.

Ken,

Welcome to AlfaBB! My first Spider was the same pale yellow. Great color. I want to know about the smoke in your avatar picture. Did you lock up the brakes or was there a fog machine on the track? Surely you weren't 'peeling out'.

[alfa_corse]

Quote:

Originally posted by 67GTV Russ, Did you have a roll bar in the '86 Spider? Or were you fortunate enough to have been able to duck into the passenger seat area? Is this the same Spider that's mentioned in your tagline?

[ktubman]

Quote:

Originally posted by 67GTV Ken, Welcome to AlfaBB! My first Spider was the same pale yellow. Great color. I want to know about the smoke in your avatar picture. Did you lock up the brakes or was there a fog machine on the track? Surely you weren't 'peeling out'.

[John M]

All great stories here.

Alfa for me goes back to childhood. Going to HS football games as a preteen. I guess I got enamored first with MGs and Triumphs. But one day down the road, I spotted an Alfa Spider and knew it was a step above all the rest. And when you like something that much you find them on trips, around town, seemingly everywhere calling to you....buy me!

I have always been a car nut. I have dreamed many a night of a 308 or a Testarossa in the garage. I had posters hanging in my bedroom as a teenager. I went through the V8 Pontiac GTA stage, the 300zx stage x 3 (one of each series), and the MX6LS with V6s x 2.

I had just finished restoring my 89 Honda CBR 600. The bike was at the body shop and I was talking about trying to find my first Alfa or maybe even a Ferrari to restore. The owner of the body shop said, "Well I have an Alfa over in the storage building. Its been sitting for 5 years. It's been in our family for its entire life and has 50,000 miles." Can we say.....holy sh*t! She was in pieces and was prepped for repaint. But alas, he wouldn't sell it!

A month or two later, I was calling on a cardiologist who was a crotch rocket nut and telling him that the 89 was restored. I mentioned I was looking to do an Alfa next. He said he had a Spider for sale....a Fiat Spider....$1000. Well I took him up on it. It was a nice car, but not the same. The Fiat Spider 2000 did have a nice design in its own right, but just not what I wanted. So I spent time getting it mechanically sound and had scheduled it for a trip to the body shop.

About a year later, I got the call. The shop owner who did the bike said $2000 and its yours. He was buying a house. They reassembled it...still needing its own body paint still, and I drove it home! Needless to say, the Fiat got sold not long after....for $3200....still needing its body work, and I got to work on the Alfa making it what it is today.



I went down to that body shop this summer to show him how good his old car looked and to inquire about them doing the 92. Sadly, he had passed away this last year, being only in his mid 50s. There is one person I would sell the 78 to if asked....his college aged son. Otherwise, she is staying with me for my son.

There is no doubt we all enjoy the uniqueness and heritage and individual history of our cars. This summer I had a choice of going and getting that Ferrari 308 of my past dreams. I had the money on hand. Somehow....call me crazy....I ended up with the 92 Alfa Spider.

Best Regards,
John M

[montelatici]

I purchased a 1982 new GTV-6 prior to being assigned to a position that required that I move the family (just a wife) to Sicily for a two year assignment. The purchase of the car was considered fool-hardy as normal people in those days did not buy automobiles of more than 2.000 cc petrol or 2.500 cc diesel because of our road tax laws. Being from Tuscany I would drive to Sicily and back at least once every two months, about 1.500 km. one way. It was a great car, I remember racing a Dino on the autostrada (A1)between Rome and Naples, with traffic occasionally slowing him down, I could keep up and he was surprised thinking it was a regular GTV. Point of the story is eventually the head gasket went. My mechanic, an old Alfa mechanic told me the head gasket design was flawed and that I should write Alfa a letter to ask that it be repaired gratis with a modification that would cause it to last longer. Alfa refused (in Italy customer service was terrible in those days) and I swore I would never own an Alfa again.

For this to make sense I have to state that I was born in Italy but one of my parents is US and I hold two passports and currently live in both places (at different times!) and have cars and homes in both places.

FLASHBACK

I had always liked Alfas. In Italy in the 60s Alfas were the cars most kids aspired to own, unless you were a Lancia fan. Our parents mostly owned Fiats. I also liked the Fulvia Coupe especially the 1600 HF which won a lot of rallies, but it had front wheel drive, which made it less than a real automobile, in those days front wheel drive was for the French, Audi and some Fiats. I had the opportunity to use a friends Sprint Speciale (a 1300 cc Zagato bodied GT) on a trip to Germany with a friend and my girlfriend. It was great racing the smaller BMWs on the autobahn. I also drove a friend's Giulia Super to Munich once. The Alfas had a certain way of making you feel secure at 160 kph that on fast autostrada turns that other automobiles did not have. After owning a few Fiat 500s and a Fiat 1300L (Fiat 1500 body with a smaller, for tax purposes, engine) I bought a Giulietta 1300 Spider in the spring of 1971 but traded it for a Triumph 650 Bonneville (motorcycle) in the Spring of 1972 and my next automobiles were Mercedes, Fiat, BMW, Mazda, even a Pontiac and a 1961 Corvette which I restored and sold a few years ago. I wasn't considering restoring any cars, in fact, I had a garage full of vintage racing motorcycles.

To cut this story short, as it is getting complicated. A few weeks ago my college age daughter, who has recently acquired my motorsports genes (I also race Vintage motorcycles), complained that her leased Honda Civic (which I pay for while she attends college in a different city) was no fun and wanted an automobile to "work on". She was ready to go personally in debt to purchase an RX-7 (10,000 dollars) when I told her I would not co-sign the loan which caused a family fight. The next day she asked me to go see a few cheap Mustangs she had seen in the local paper. They were all 2000-3000 dollar junkers. I remembered that a friend had an Alfa he had acquired for 500 dollars and that he had too many projects (and was divorcing) and wanted to sell it for what he paid for it. It was a 74 Spider that ran pretty well but had a been sitting in the rain for at least a year since he bought it. She loved the Spider and asked if I would buy it for her as a Christams present. I did. So, while at home during Christmas she and I are getting the Spider roadworthy.

So I have not bought another Alfa for myself so my promise is not broken, yet. However, I have noticed that I have been looking at ads for Alfas recently. Those SSs are sure expensive these days!

[smestas]

Thought I'd give this thread a BUMP as well since its one of my favorites.

[luvmy115]

First of all I would like to say great stories guys, Kevin, Alfa Tomato(that's just too cute) What a classy bunch of individuals you are.

My story is not as entertaining as you guy's but here goes.
I don't remember exactly when I saw my first Alfa, but I do remember when I first noticed(and heard one). It was winter 2000 and I was working as a bellman at a Hilton, and I was in the front drive of the hotel and saw(heard, and what a sweet sound) this 3 series Spider pull up. I then notice the peculiar place the shifter knob was in(I guess in Europe they call it a rally shifter) right then and there I was intrigued to say the least. I started noiticing myself looking for other spiders and then one day in March of 2002 I was online and saw this great looking series 4 for sale at a local dealer, they wanted $8500 for the car and It had 137,000+ miles and I knew it would need some $$ to possibly be it's old Alfa self, so I offered $5500 they wouldn't budge, finally we agreed on $6400 out the door and I was the proud owner of spider convertable. Well proud that is for about a month............ One day the car started to spudder, looked in the coolant tank and grey mud.... I'm not a mechanic so I took it to a non Alfa shop in Marina Del Rey(that a friend reffered) and the guy said I just needed a tune up(I even told the man I thought it might be a head gasket). But who was I (first alfa), $900 dollars later and about a month down the road one of my $300 dollar radiator hoses bursts..... At this point my 18 year old nephew opens the radiator cap and said you have a blown head gasket.... We took over and a head gasket turned into a head which turned into a complete motor,trans,chassis, and driveline rebuild All the performance goodies included of course, then about 500 miles into the breakin I have a puddle of coolant in the spark plug holes Oh no cracked head, through the water galley. The car has been down for a year and I finnally got her running about a month ago.........Crack still intacked but new head gasket........al