Belgium to Tacoma...

[Gary73Super]

...Arriving in October, a '73 Giulia Super 1.3 with transplanted 2.0. With a great debt of gratitude to Roland (aka "Giulia Bianca") for his continued efforts beyond all expectations searching out and finding a top condition Giulia sedan in northern Europe on my behalf, I give you these pictures of what will be my very Prugna (Plum) Alfa. Over the coming weekends Roland will be upgrading the suspension and brakes before it ships out from the Netherlands in mid-September. Mid-October it will arrive at the Port of Tacoma, Washington where I will be anxiously waiting to complete the final leg of the journey by road to southeastern Washington. Stay tuned for updates in the coming weeks...

Gary

[Gary73Super]

A few more pictures...

Gary

[SeekGTV]

Good gosh that's gorgeous!

[101/105guy]

Congradulations !!!
I haven't driven a Super with a 2.0, but that will be one cool ride ! Very nice condition. I think that the color looks great. It really pops!
Randy

[Damo105]

Wow, that's a fantastic giulia, well done

[Peter]

Stunning, congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!

[billy72junior]

Great find and what a color.Enjoy it.

[rloewy]

Great looking car. Congrats. Maybe you can swing one day through Portland and let me drool over it

[Gary73Super]

Thanks for the comments all. It's likely fellow board member RogerD from Portland will be meeting me at the dock in Tacoma for a welcome (and wash) party.

Does anyone have a recommended customs broker preferably in the Seattle/Tacoma area, but Portland might work as well? I've already got a good recommendation for one in the L.A. area, but was hoping to find someone who has worked with items (especially vintage cars) coming into the Port of Tacoma. Or, does that matter at all whether the broker is physically close to the port and is familiar with the operation?

Gary

[adenzeno]

BEAUTIFUL!!! Congratulations.

[sptsdn]

Wow Gary, that is outstanding!

I'm very interested in hearing about your entire experience on importing this car to the States. Would you please keep up up to date as to its progress (for example finding a shipping company, customs broker, etc.)?

Now I have a great excuse to take the Sport Sedan for a road trip down to Tri-Cities!

[Gary73Super]

Hi Craig,

Hopefully I'll have 2 or 3 weeks to enjoy the Alfa when it arrives in October before it is time for winter hibernation. Now through the end of October is the perfect time of year to be driving a non-A/C car over here in the desert.

Roland (Giulia Bianca) has shipped several cars to the U.S. ports so he has that part of it down cold and I just have to figure out what to do once it hits the port in Tacoma. I can send you more information on what shipper he uses if you wish. At the end of this adventure I'll sum up all the costs for everyone too and post them to the board.

My working hypothesis through all of this has been that the extra costs of shipping, import duty, etc. are offset by the fact that there is a much higher supply of Giulia sedans in Europe and therefore asking prices are more reasonable. So, I wouldn't say it's cheaper to bring one over from Europe, but at least you can find them where they are essentially non-existent on the market in the U.S. for the more desirable examples (meaning better condition, better engine than 1.3 or 1.6 single carb).

Gary

[101/105guy]

Gary, I agree completely!
Great cars are never cheap, but at least there is a good selection of great cars in Europe. Over the long haul, it's always better to buy the best condion you can afford. Enjoy her instead of trying to bring one back from the dead.

I would dare to say that your car is even nicer than the two Giulias that I brought from Germany ( with Roland's great help!!). But I was looking for low milage originals that were impossible to find in the states.

When was the last time you saw an unrestored, original, 33,k mile 1600 S ?
Or a beautiful '68 Super that needs nothing?

Oh, the reason that I have two is that I couldn't make up my mind on which one to buy and my wife said "why not get them both" !
I'll have to keep her around ;^)

Great fun!!

[Gary73Super]

Hi Randy,

Your green 1600S is an exceptional all-original Giulia. Roland said that even with a minor ding or scratch here and there, it was an amazing find. In fact, he commented that had you not bought it, he would have himself! That's saying a lot given the condition of the Giulias that he already owns. So, I'd put your 1600S as a grade above mine as far as condition.

It's almost apples vs. oranges though with the transplanted engine in mine. Your priority was low mileage original (which you got in spades actually with both cars), while mine was the combination of the best setup driver (original or not) in combination with the overall condition, especially lack of rust. My only restrictions were that it couldn't be bright red (oddly I really like "off" shades of red though and I definitely found one of those) and it couldn't be a Nuova model.

When I started drooling over Roland's own Pino green 1.3 Super with 2.0 transplant "driver" in preference to his gorgeous Bianca white first series 1.6 Super show condition example, I think he probably knew I'd jump on this one when it came on the market. Up until a couple of years ago the Prugna car spent its life in Firenze, Italy (Florence) before coming to Belgium. Several of the brake and suspension upgrades Roland did on his Pino car he is also doing to my Prugna car (stainless steel brake lines, upgraded rotors/calipers, sway bar, upgraded springs and shocks, rear trailer arms, etc.) because the parts had already been purchased for the car, just not installed.

Attached is a picture of Prugna in Roland's car port along with his Pino and Bianca Giulias. Pino and Prugna look like nice complementary colors to me. In fact, I just noticed that if you tone down the brightness of Pino and Prugna you get your two Giulias

Gary

[be_raym]

Absolutely Beautiful! I wish you much luck and enjoyment.

-Raym