Giulia TI finds new home

[Andrew]

I wasn't actively looking for another Alfa, but one found me. I bought this 1965 Giulia TI today.

VIN AR*454889*, Tipo 105.08 (floor shift), run of the mill US-spec TI, white with tan interior. Current reg with its original Calif black plates, NIZ 038. Should have a 00514 single-carb 1600, but in fact has a 00530 1970s 1300 Jr. engine with a dual-throat Solex. This is a real-world car that wears its years with dignity, but is neither a rustbucket nor a concours candidate. A few dings here and there, and the front seats and carpets are showing their age, but zero rust anywhere on the car, and it's totally complete. Dunlop disk brakes and Burman steering box. Front suspension feels very bound up, nearly frozen from non-use. One Giulietta Borrani wheel and three early 105 wheels.

The car came with two extra 00514 blocks and an 00526 (Super) block, plus a used head, a rebuilt 1600 head, new pistons and liners, new clutch, a few other odds and ends. Plus 30+ years of receipts from the past two owners.

I have known of this car for almost 25 years, since it used to live in North Berkeley near me, and in fact have pics of it with my then almost identical white TI from about 1990. At some point the owner moved out of North Berkeley and I lost track of the car. Turned out he'd moved to Alameda and stopped driving the TI in the early 90s when an engine noise (presumably a rod knock) convinced him it was time to rebuild it. He started amassing engines and parts (see above) in prep to do that but other things, including a consuming interest in restoring vintage radios, got in the way. He also has a 750D Spider in the garage, similarly off the road for 20+ years, which I remember seeing at the time, which he's decided to fix. So he sold the TI to make $$ and room in the garage to concentrate on the Spider.

The owner contacted a South Bay Alfa guru, who asked me if I knew anyone interested, and yes, I did. I looked at the car last week, made a deal, and flatbedded it home today.

I'm more than drowning in projects, so I'm not going to do anything with it yet. I will do some diagnosis on the engine to see what might be the problem. Probably I'll rebuild one of the 00514 TI blocks with one of two rebuilt 1600 heads I now have, to get it mobile. Brakes need going through, and who knows what else. But it's gonna have to wait for a couple small GTV projects (rear muffler fell off on the freeway today) and some more work on the Giulietta Berlina. I need more garage space!

As I say, I wasn't looking for it, but once I saw it, how could I pass it up? Check out the last, head-on picture. This is much like Road & Track showed one in Henry Manney's first drive of one (he loved it, especially compared to his Giulietta TI) in 1963ish. A face only a mother could love? Who can resist?

Andrew

[101/105guy]

Fantastic !!
Good that she will get some attention and be back on the road.
Randy

[Il Vecchio]

Nice! Keep us updated if you can with it's progress.

[Andrew]

Thanks all. Already gotten two "for sale?" inquiries. Not at this time. I like getting cars back on the road, and am in no hurry, so I'll plan to sort the engine and brakes and see how it runs. Fuel system may need some attention too, as the car was just parked when the engine seemed to be dying, and not properly "laid up."

This is my third white TI. I had another periwinkle TI that started out white, and a silver, then red, Super that was white when it left Portello. Big-time deja vu with this car. My first white TI also had a 1300 in place of its correct 1600, though it was a 101 1300 with a 105 pan bolted on, not a 105 1300 as on this car. And it was a 105.14 column-shift car.

These hubcaps look like 101 style. They are the spring-clip type to fit the early 105 wheels, but appear to me to have the 101 emblem, not the 105 ring emblem. Not certain, but I think so. I kinda like the clean look this way, but I gotta do something about the non-matching Borrani wheel. The spare is the right wheel, but it needs painting, and has a Dunhill tire on it, which is a make I've never heard of.

Andrew

[racerx9146]

Nice find Andrew. Better than the blue one I think!

Daron

[101/105guy]

The hubcaps are definitly 101.
Thr correct ones with the 105 'ring' trim are findable, usually in europe.

[velocedoc]

Even has a decent grille! Great deal. I wish some one would drop a deal like that at my feet. Then I would have to choose which car to sell to make room for it.

[jerry Quinlisk]

Nice score Andrew. Question: is that the grill that my 67 1300 ti would have come with originally?? I would just like to know, not trying to scarf your grill.

congrats,

JQ

[Andrew]

Yep, kind of amazing the condition of this car, overall. That's what 20 years sitting in a garage will do for you. TI center grilles (stamped) are much hardier than Super grilles (cast).

I went through the paperwork that came with the car, and it was advertised in the East Bay Classified Flea Market and Overheard Cams in mid-1984 for $1200. I presume that's when the guy I got it from bought it; at the time I was living in Berkeley and driving my red Super, bought in Oceanside, CA in 1978. It got totaled while parked in SF about six months afterwards.

I should be choosing which car to sell to make room, but for now I'll try to hold it all together. I am selling my Mk II Cortina (a somewhat rash purchase last summer), but the seller's market is not a great one right now. Anyone interested in the nicest 68 Cortina on the West Coast, if not the US? Around $3000.

Andrew

[wc76]

Congrats Andrew, great car. I think an unsolicited jewel like this is well deserved for all your efforts with the Berlina Register and the alfa community in general.

Sash

[Andrew]

A 1300 TI has a two-headlight grille, not four-headlight.

I'll attach two Giulia differences spec sheets here. See "superdiff2", left column, row 2 for a 67 1300 TI. Bewildering array of variations. In the US, we got only the pictured TI grille, and the similar Super grille (same base piece, different center grille).

Andrew

[Andrew]

It was never my intent in starting the Berlina Register, and eventually adding the US Giulia Register and Giulietta Sedan Register, but "putting yourself out there" does result in people contacting you. So I do tend to hear about things, and stuff like this happens. The Chronicle article had the same effect. I'm on the possible trail of a garaged Giulietta Sprint, whose owner contacted me from seeing the Chron piece. I've gotten many emails and phone calls.

Andrew

[acurtiss]

Andrew! Green Super? White TI? I'm flattered!

Very nice car, I can't wait to see it in person. Couple of questions.
- is that really where the jack is supposed to go? really??
- did the PO redo the gauge cluster? rather, it looks like someone redid the gauge cluster. the lettering is both non-stock and 100% readable (redundant, I know)

Very NIZ car.

[Andrew]

Yes, that's the stock jack location on a 105.08, 105.14 1600 TI.

I wonder about the speedo too. If someone did change it, it was a lot of work. There is a wavy surface underneath the glass covering the instruments, so maybe someone printed out new letters on plastic and inserted them? It certainly wasn't the immediately past owner, and I have trouble imagining what technology would have existed to do that 20+ years ago. But maybe.

I have another dash out of the TI I got in 1985 to replace my wrecked Super (I moved the Super's entire interior and drivetrain in the TI shell) and will compare, although it was a Euro car, so has KPH and Italian gauges.

Andrew

[sono veL.O.ce]

YEAH! nice score man!
Welcome to the "ratty ti club" although yours looks to be in great shape.