Harry's Thoughts
THE ESSENTIALS
We are very excited to have found this rust-free, Southern California since new, “black plate” Alfa that has been off the road since at least 1996. Now fully recommissioned, it is a terrific car to rally and enjoy, take to local car shows and events or improve as desired.
It is in its original Alfa Red livery and has black vinyl interior with red carpeting. The Alfa Red has had one lesser quality repaint performed decades ago and most of the badging has been removed for a rally car look.
According to the Automobilismo Storico Centro Documentazione, the Alfa was manufactured on November 11th 1959 and sold to Hoffman Motor Car Co. on December 1st 1959.
The glass is in excellent condition. It comes complete with the original California “black plate”.
We have recommissioned the car with all new brakes, complete tune-up with all new authentic parts, new complete and correct exhaust system, new belts and hoses, new thermostat, new rear main seal, front-end and transmission service, full servicing, etc. We dropped the oilpan and pulled the transmission to complete a full inspection and replaced all major gaskets to make this a nearly leak free Alfa! It already has a “new” set of radials that have no wear.
We have driven the Alfa many times in 100 degree F weather and it stays at 160 to 170 degrees F. The oil pressure remains strong and there has never been any smoking or odd noises from the engine or drivetrain. The clutch and five speed transmission are very nice however it can pop out of reverse gear under higher load. The speedometer is presently non-operational and all other items operate well.
This Sprint Normale has a build date of 1959 and was bought new in California in late 1960 and is titled as a 1961. It still bears the California “black plates” DNW604.
Mr. Patrick Lonergan owned the Alfa in Redlands, CA for many years as it was stored since the 1980’s. It was then bought in 1996 by Will Kalbermatter and driven from Redlands to its home for the next 15 years, a vintage hangar at the Santa Paula Airport. Will had used it a handful of times over the 15 years, accumulating perhaps 200 total miles.
The car is in terrific shape and is an exceptionally solid example. It is fun to drive with the spirited and free reving 1300 dual overhead cam engine and five-speed transmission. We love the sleek Bertone design. This has a complete Bosch distributor and Lucas ignition coil.
The engine number is: AR00112-08048 and the chassis tag has the engine number as: 1315-011345. The odometer reads 15,000 miles so we interpret this to mean it has about 115,000 total miles on the chassis. The undercarriage is in excellent condition.
We removed the bumpers on the front to give it a rally look. It comes complete with the front bumper and the rear bumper but is missing the rear bumper brackets.
The Giulietta is the car that took Alfa Romeo from being a relatively small production company to being an economically viable and successful firm. Prior to that, they had produced large and expensive cars, and never in very large numbers. With the Giulietta, however, Alfa Romeo produced significant numbers of these charming and capable cars.
Its success was due in part to its unique placement in the market. It was neither a large hugely expensive car, nor was it very small utility car (such as the Fiat 500). Instead, the Giulietta was affordable enough so that many could buy it, yet permitted a more glamorous and useful approach to motoring that really struck a chord with buyers on both sides of the Atlantic.
The NADA values range up to $29,300, Keith Martin publishes $31,700 and an older restored example will now cost you $50,000 (go to Fantasy Junction)!! Please feel free to call Harry at +1.602.245.7200 or email us at harry@classicpromenade.com.
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