[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGhQjqye094]
Click here to go on to post 17 in the series.
Or here to go back to post 15.
1495*00002 Bertone Spider prototype
This friendly looking chap is Spider 1495*00002, the first of two Giulietta Spider prototypes designed by Scaglione and built by Bertone. The top two pictures of it are from the mid 1970’s when it was in the Bobcor showroom that I found on google images, not sure who’s they are but would love to hear from the photographer.
It is said that Alfa deemed the design a little too futuristic for their clientele and Bertone went back to the drawing board and 1495*00004 emerged. Can you imagine if this car made regular production? I would have called it the Spider Speciale and fitted it with a Veloce kit. Alas what could have been…
Strong personality of Scaglione shows through and ques from cousins the BAT cars, Sportiva and SS can be seen. Also evident is front trim and headlight treatments destined for a home on the Duetto.
Giulietta Promiscua or Weekendia Wagon wanted
I’m just throwing this out there. I want to buy a Giulietta Promiscua or Weekendia station wagon. I realize not many of these were made and I realize if do find one it will be in outer Mongolia, but I want one none-the-less.   I would be willing to trade my SS up or down for one.
I found this picture somewhere on someones blog. If I saw this on a trailer headed some where when I was on the way to my best friends wedding I’d be late for the wedding. This I believe is the Colli version, the Promiscua.
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Neglected Alfa’s around the world
There are more scruffy project cars than usual on Italian eBay right now so I thought I should share some of my favorites. It’s odd to think that most of these cars would get an eager response from would be buyers if they turned up for sale on San Francisco Craigslist, but in Italy they are just old cars and better specimens can be found for not much money.
Looks a lot like the car Andrew has been restoring color and condition-wise. Nice setting by the way.
Interview with Berlina Register Keeper Andrew Watry
This morning when I checked my email I found that Andrew had sent me his latest Berlina/Giulia/Giulietta Register Newsletter No. 27 (November 2008). As I was reading it I realized that Andrew has been a fixture in the Alfa world for a while and I didn’t know much about his history with Alfa’s, so I emailed him a few questions.  The result is the first in what will probably turn into a series of interviews with notable characters in the Alfa world.Â
What made you decide to do the Berlina website and Register?
“I started the Berlina Register began in 1997. There were other Alfa Registers (particularly the Giulia Sedan Register) to serve as models; I had loved Giulias for years and had just bought a Berlina, so I thought it would be fun and useful to become the clearinghouse on Berlinas and gather other interested folks. Not many people cared about them at the time except me, it seemed. I took over the North American Giulia Register five-ish years ago when Dave Mericle stopped handling it, and added the Giulietta Sedan Register in 2007 when I bought one of those.”
 
Andrew in his Cortina (that is currently for sale) leading the Berlina Register tour.
Continue reading “Interview with Berlina Register Keeper Andrew Watry”
Alfa SS Project
This Giulietta or Giulia ‘Alfa SS Project’ was forwarded to me by Elmar who has seemingly volunteered to hunt down Vin numbers of SS’s for me in Europe (Thanks Elmar!!!) and I added several new SS’s to the register with his help. The company that has this Frankenstein on their website also makes Alfa repair panels for SZ, GTA etc. I suppose if all you have is the body, without any other parts, this sort of thing makes sense, and everyone would approach it differently so I can’t really criticize too much, but from the pictures it’s going to look like an SS body with a Spider nose and Milano wheels rather than some cool ‘ooh, what’s that’ special.Â
I have long thought that a GTV or Giulietta roof on a Duetto would make for a neat special, but a Spider nose on an SS… not so much.
Giulietta SS in the mountains
Norm sent me a link to this footage of a Giulietta SS at speed going through the mountains. The exhaust note is familiar to driver of most Alfa’s from this period as is the tire scrub. Driver has 4 Alias names and ‘Born to be WIld’ makes yet another appearance as the seeming ubiquitous soundtrack to a driving film. At least ‘Shaft’ gets a little air time near the end. It is shaft isn’t it? Sorry, it’s early. Enjoy.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN6pvAYtWpg]
giuliettas dot com turns 100!
147 days ago I started this Giuliettas.com blog. Why? I guess there was no real central location for auction news (with selling price and pictures), historical musings and small personal mechanical struggles with Giuliettas. No one-stop-shop if you will. Now that I have been at it a while I have to ask myself: What have I done? I’ve created a small, usually quiet readership who send me a nudge whenever a few days goes by and I haven’t put up a new post. I appreciate the comments, no matter how brief or off topic and market alert emails (Paul and Ian come first to mind) they keep me going when I wonder what the point is and help a lot when I don’t have the time to search on my own for cars. I thought this blog would just be a lunchtime meditiation to help me avoid all of the horrible Silicon Valley California fast food lunch invites and fill gaps between work projects.  It has done these and much more, I’ve even made some friends along the way.Â
SS going fast in the dirt back when the world was a simpler place to live.
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.
Continue reading “Market #50: Al Leake’s 57 Monoposto Spider race car”
Other 1315 series Giulietta engine numbers.
In 1955, with introduction of the Giulietta Berlina and Spider, an engine number series was started for each. For the Spider, engine numbers run from AR 1315*40001* through *45854* and for the Berlina AR 1315*50001* through *74950*. In 1956 The Sprint and Spider Veloce’s were introduced sharing the engine number series starting with AR 1315*30001* and running to *32738*. For 1957 an increased power version of the Berlina was introduced, the TI for ‘Turismo Internationale’ with an engine number range starting with AR 1315*80001* and running to *97834*. Oddly the series number for the TI is 753 rather than 750. I have read that the Romeo 2 van was being produced at this point with a Giulietta 1300 engine as an option and if so, it may have an engine number that is a variation on one of the above.
Andrew Watry owns Giulietta Berlina 750C 1488 01774, engine number 1315*51850. Note the depth of the stamping effort in the vin plate. The early cars seem to have been more aggressively stamped or perhaps the earlier were done by hand and the later had some sort of jig.
Continue reading “Other 1315 series Giulietta engine numbers.”