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Fantastic virgin Giulietta Spider!

14K views 64 replies 25 participants last post by  jkbartusek 
#1 ·
By chance I came across this fantastic car. 1961 Giulietta Spider. I already have a Giulia Spider so i don't necessarily need another one, but this one was too good to pass. It has been off the road and garaged in the same place since 1966! Obviously it was a good environment, and the condition beggars belief. Here is the story: The owner bought it in -63 and for some reason it was taken off the road in -66 and has been in the same spot since. Since the engine and gearbox is out of the car, some sort of problem obviously occured. It shows 39000km on the clock. It has what appears to be original tires. It has the original Pinifarina hardtop and also the original tonneau. The steering wheel is not original, but according to the previous owner it was on the car when they bought it in -63. The most amazing thing is the condition of it all. The convertible top is in better condition than on my Giulia and that one was changed in the late 80's. The body is without any trace of rust. With a good clean and polish it will look fantastic. The interior looks completely unworn. The owners were what you would say "eccentric". They drove the car once to Italy from Sweden. When they were there they bought some spares just in case. So with the car came a complete NOS head in the original box that had not been opened in 50 years. If I don't need the head when the engine is put back together,it will be for sale to someone who needs it.
How many cars untouched cars like this is likely to exist? I felt almost like an archeologist when I saw it the first time. I opened the trunk for the first time in 50 years and found some newspaper pages from -66. All engine parts were stored wrapped in newspaper from that year. Since then for some reason it was left alone. Someone thought it was a great ide to paint the inside of the hood in black and white. There is also a stick on the right side of the steering wheel with unknown function. The plan is to put the car together with an absolute minimum of new parts. Any advice how to proceed with this treasure?
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Very nice... understated....

The stick is probably a high beam switch that was more acceptable than the floor mounted one on your continent. The Euro Spider did not come with the separate column mounted switch like the Sprint, Berlina and Ti so it was probably mounted by a dealer there and was used in other Italian and maybe French or even German cars.

Now the true Indiana Jones in you will have to come out to determine why the engine is broken with such low miles. Congratulations. Glad you saw through the fog even though you own another. The steering wheel might be worth more than you think so leave it alone is my advice.
 
#5 ·
Very nice... understated....
[snip]
The steering wheel might be worth more than you think so leave it alone is my advice.
+1 !!!

My advice: Wash it, fix/replace the brake hydraulics as needed, install any engine to get the car running and have fun with it, then go hunting for the original or a correct engine.
 
#7 ·
Love the steering wheel. I'd keep it.

Underside of hood looks interesting.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for a good response! I have the original engine, it is just in pieces. I tried to e-mail Alfa Romeo about some information about the car, but apparantly this service is closed.
How much is the complete new head worth? I have the original one and will probably not have any use of it
 

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#11 ·
Wow! I love to see original cars. I hope that you will post more photos. High quality photos of details on cars like yours are invaluable for this community of enthusiasts. Congratulations on a lucky find and good luck with getting her back on the road.
 
#17 ·
Let me know what you want a picture of. I can use a proper camera instead of iphone, no problem. It will be another week before the car is in the garage. I will use professional help to put the engine together.
 
#12 ·
If you have the bumpers, I would only clean them. I have discussed this point before about mixing patina with "new"... It's either nearly all or nothing in a perfect setting.. Preserving is much more desirable than converting to new with the exception of wear items... like batteries, exhaust , etc. Even the tires .. I might be tempted to install another set of proper wheels with new safe rubber and keep this set as mounted for posterity and even display if that is in your future. Any mods from stock will be like putting Formica on a piece of historically accurate furniture.
 
#13 · (Edited)
agree with all said here, please don't restore this, carefully remove bits from the engine bay, clean them and the engine bay and carefully replace them. conserve would be the best description.
have to say the engine bay looks very greasy and grimy for 39000 kms

lucky find.

cheers ian
 
#14 ·
Freddie,
Congratulations! That Giulietta is quite a rare find. I would suggest that you keep the car the way it is with the steering wheel, funky checkered flag, light switch, spare head, etc. After 50+ years all those pieces are part of the cars lineage. Just get everything cleaned up and back together running well. Thanks for sharing!

Mark
 
#15 ·
Virgin ???

Fast Freddie
I will politely disagree with the title of your post and perhaps, the majority of the BB members.
The 1960 Spider that you display is anything but a "virgin".
Using that term for this chassis is akin to applying it to a personality such as: Madonna.

It is simply another Alfa Spider that saw 39000 km of recorded use and owner modifications before being parked for need of service. I will mention here that odometers are not accurate references in determining mileage of vintage automobiles.
It is exceptional in that it was stored indoors for so many years and did not fall prey to the "buried barn-find" syndrome that many old cars experience.

The "spare" cylinder head you pictured was most likely bought as a replacement for the original which was overheated / damaged / leaking at the head gasket (pick a reason .. inspection of the original head and engine should confirm one).
Many less fortunate Alfas were scrapped or permanently idled for similar reasons.

The dash pics you provide show owner modifications such as pins for a tonneau ****pit cover, radio antenna yet no radio installed in dash, multiple items fitted in dash as well as the wood rimmed steering wheel. These point away from virginity and toward enjoying driving time "back in the saddle".
The PF hard-top, the engine bonnet with its Harlequin paint and added ground strap lend support to this theory.

Your 1960 Spider is a survivor .. not a virgin.
 
#18 ·
Fast Freddie
I will politely disagree with the title of your post and perhaps, the majority of the BB members.
The 1960 Spider that you display is anything but a "virgin".
Using that term for this chassis is akin to applying it to a personality such as: Madonna.

It is simply another Alfa Spider that saw 39000 km of recorded use and owner modifications before being parked for need of service. I will mention here that odometers are not accurate references in determining mileage of vintage automobiles.
It is exceptional in that it was stored indoors for so many years and did not fall prey to the "buried barn-find" syndrome that many old cars experience.

The "spare" cylinder head you pictured was most likely bought as a replacement for the original which was overheated / damaged / leaking at the head gasket (pick a reason .. inspection of the original head and engine should confirm one).
Many less fortunate Alfas were scrapped or permanently idled for similar reasons.

The dash pics you provide show owner modifications such as pins for a tonneau ****pit cover, radio antenna yet no radio installed in dash, multiple items fitted in dash as well as the wood rimmed steering wheel. These point away from virginity and toward enjoying driving time "back in the saddle".
The PF hard-top, the engine bonnet with its Harlequin paint and added ground strap lend support to this theory.

Your 1960 Spider is a survivor .. not a virgin.
Even though English is not my mother tongue I do know the meaning of the word virgin. To apply that word to a car with your definition should mean that it can not be driven at all. As soon as a car leaves the dealership it is no longer a virgin? A 55 year old car with original paint, original interior, original engine, original tires! is what I would call a virgin even if someone put a non original steering wheel on the car 53 years ago.
The spare head was bought during the trip to Italy with this car "just in case" So what really put the car in the garage in 66' is yet to be determined.
 
#16 ·
Nice find. I think this is a few steps above "simply another Alfa Spider that saw 39000 km of recorded use and owner modifications before being parked for need of service.", but I also wouldn't call it a virgin. It does look though, like a well saved Giulietta, although it was obviously parked with problems. I would go through all the mechanical's (sp?), rebuild the engine, refresh and detail everything up as well as I could without over restoring, i.e. bumpers etc. and drive it.

Have fun,
 
#20 ·
I agree Uncle. Sometimes we get caught up in wording instead of why we are all on the BB. Great find FF and thank you for sharing your little treasure with us.
 
#22 ·
FastFreddie,

Fabulous find!

In post #8, the 4th photo shows a PF plate attached to the body of the Spider; where is it located?

I don't remember ever seeing another PF numbered plate like this on any other car. Is anyone familiar with this?

Thanks

Ray
 
#25 ·
FastFreddie,

Fabulous find!

In post #8, the 4th photo shows a PF plate attached to the body of the Spider; where is it located?

I don't remember ever seeing another PF numbered plate like this on any other car. Is anyone familiar with this?


The Pinifarina plate is on the hardtop just below the window on the inside
 
#26 ·
Hi Dennis, it looks like the same steering wheel. Once I get the car home I will have a closer look to see if there is some kind of branding or name on the wheel.
 
#27 ·
FastFreddie,

Thanks for the info. I've not seen a hardtop; were these matched to the car's PF number in the trunk/boot or just a random PF numbering system?

Ray
 
#28 ·
Finally the car is home

For many reasons it took some time to get the car to my garage. But finally it arrived today. After 50 years in the same spot, the rear wheels did not feel they wanted to turn, so we had some work to do just to get the car on and off the truck.
As previously told in this thread, the car was parked in 1966 and the engine is out of the car and in pieces. With the car came a lot of spares. I feel like an archeologist looking through these old spare part boxes!
 

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#29 ·
Congrats to you!

Enjoy the journey to getting it back on the road.

Keep us posted.

Ray
 
#30 ·
I'm not 100%, sure, but that could be a Nardi wheel. Its slightly different from mine, but could be worth big $$$. Look closely at it, you might find a signature somewhere.



I'd be less excited to replace the wheel, and more excited to get it restored. Its a beautiful wheel.

Will
 
#31 ·
Steering wheel

I am a bit curious about the steering wheel. It looks like the same as in Dennis picture. Today I had a closer look and took some pictures. Does anyone recognize this logo? It is in very good condition and is in no need of restoration. Just a good clean, like the rest of the car!
 

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#32 · (Edited)
Hi Fredric. I just realised that I recognized the logo! It's a Les Leston wheel. It's a UK company that was based in London. I've never seen the engine turned finish on one, but if you google the maker you will see others. It's a very desirable wheel, fitted for instance to Porsche 550 Spyders! You will see the 'LL' logo on the brochure. See link below....

http://mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk/steering_wheel_archive.htm

p.s. great period accessory..... don't sell it!!
 
#33 · (Edited)
That is very cool.... It was probably about a 59 Sterling dealer option at the time but much more today as is... like as much as $4000 on E-bay...les leston steering wheel | eBay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Leston

Try not to polish the machine turning off.

I would just clean it and wipe it down with some teak oil leaving the original finish no matter how patchy it might be. Treat it like old furniture ..retaining as much of the patina as possible.. Teak oil or rose wood oil not finishing systems in a can . be careful of the labels. Scandanavian furniture stores have it .. be leery of the stuff in a hardware store,, I guess you know that being from there.
 
#34 ·
As Uncle says, treat it like a museum piece... I'm pretty sure those wheels were varnished, so just clean with soapy water and then wax with some Renaissance Wax... fantastic stuff, every classic car garage should have some, it's what museums use. Renaissance wax is completely inert, so won't attack the finish. The aluminium parts can be cleaned with 0000 steel wool and then waxed. That grade of wool is very gentle and won't touch the lovely machine turning.
 
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