Market #50: Al Leake’s 57 Monoposto Spider race car

Update 2/11/09: This car just showed up on Anamera advertising that it will be auctioned by RM.  They are looking for $125,000.

How much mark up does a detailing add?  Someone is going to find out!

This is one sweet ride.  Knowing me, if it were mine I’d commute in it.

Ex-Al Leake 1957 Giulietta Spider ‘Monoposto’ 1495*02646, Engine 00106*00512. This is a pretty serious purpose-built race car and it is available right now from Fantasy Junction. Click on the link if for no other reason than to look at the 50 or so pictures provided. No price is stated but Sophia, his most often raced Giulietta Spider made about $75,000 on eBay last winter so you can bet that this car will be at least that much.

Al Leake along with some other guys including H.B. Luginbuhl had an SCCA race team that started in the late 60’s/early 70’s called Rubber Chicken racing. Al continued to race and build Alfa’s for many years until he lost a battle with cancer earlier this year. A little of his history and cars can be read here on the Alfa BB. I saw Al race a few times at Sears Point and Laguna Seca and I can personally attest that he was very very fast and that this car is capable of winning against seemingly faster and more nimble cars if well driven.

It’s refreshing to see a modern era vintage race car that is both fiercely competitive and tastefully presented. I like the contrasting white wheels and cut down windscreen. A lot of Giulietta Spider race cars lose the under door trims, eyebrow trims and even grill heart. If you are fast this eight pounds of jewelry isn’t going to keep you from winning.

I wonder if Al ever quantified the aerodynamic benefits of the hump behind the drivers head. These were popular in the 50’s when competition was tight. I like the side exit exhaust and cleaned up rear with just tail lights and trunk latch.

Incredible workmanship on the aluminum Tonneau panel with windscreen extension and Dzeus fasteners. Notice how it fits the curve of the body perfectly.

No nonsense under the hood, just engine, intake, cooling and ignition and all clean and well placed. Notice fender inners and firewall are aluminum.

101 Veloce 1300 block put to the use it was made for. One can only speculate on what went into the engine. High-dome pistons with Teflon coated skirts and Ceramic coated domes? Probably. Radical cams? Absolutely! Porting and polishing… you get the idea.

Just as clean under here. That’s an Alfetta oil pan if I’n not mistaken. Easy way to get lots of oil pressure. Amazing an oil pan fron 1977 will bolt on a block from 1960 and the oil pump will bolt into place without modification. I want my cars to look this good when someone peeks under their skirt!

Custom rebound strap, sway bar, Koni adjustible shocks. Brakes are probably 2LS type. Again, clean and tidy under here.

Even more radical back here with lots of extra stiffening. All this custom suspension modification is the result of years of fine tuning and experimentation.

This car is about as capable a turn-key Alfa race car as you are likely to find. I don’t expect it will be at FJ for long.