Giulia's story
Above is a drawing of my GTV and me, used in Classic & Sports Car Magazine in 2007. I'd like to think I look a little better than this, but these pages are about the car anyway, so it doesn't matter if I can't accept the truth or Guy Allen had some fun with his artwork.
This car's story began in 1967. Brian Lamb and his wife, the first owners,
purchased
it from a California dealer, arranging for delivery in Milan. When it was ready,
they
flew from California to Italy, picked it up at the factory, then toured Europe before
shipping it home. The Alfa came in appliance white (In Italian that's "Bianco Spino"),
with 15" steel wheels, skinny 155x15 tires, and a 1600cc motor.
The only
modification
by the Lambs was
reupholstering
the
front seats in a grey
tweed
fabric found in
Chevys.
When I responded to a newspaper ad in 1984, I could see that the GTV was a find.
The body and
interior were in good condition; it had no rust; and its original
mechanicals were in
good, though worn, condition. We struck a quick deal and as
I drove it away I looked
back
to see the Lambs teary-eyed and waving goodbye from
their front walk.
The short drive home verified that normal wear and tear was beginning
to show all
over the car,
most noticeably in the motor, which could lay a cloud of
smoke like a
Navy destroyer.
That wasn't surprising; with nearly 100,000 miles on it, the only
engine work it had
ever required was a valve job.
I was beginning the restoration of a 1966 GTC at the time and the GTV was going to
supply the missing pieces, something I neglected to mention to the Lambs. Shortly after arriving home, however, I decided that restoring the GTV would be a whole lot easier and less expensive than the GTC. Besides, after the emotional goodbye from the Lambs, there was no way I could turn their baby into a parts car.
Giulia's grey phase
I kept the motor mostly stock, adding only Shankle 8L cams, used with the original 40DCOE 27 Webers; a Magneti Marelli Plex 201 electronic ignition, and low restriction air intake and filters. The wheels were taken off a new '84 Spider, whose owner wanted something different.
Sixteen years after painting the car Baltic Blue, it came time for another
respray and new upholstery. While the Alfa had no serious prior damage and only two small spots of rot on the front fenders, it left for the body shop in January of 2000, and I didn't get to drive it again for two full years!
How it all turned out is chronicled on the page listed along the left side of this page. You'll also see that Scuderia Non Originale (SNO) is a prominent part of this website. The idea for SNO was born while several friends and I were sitting beside my GTV and its red twin at Concorso Italiano, in Monterey, California. So, while my car isn't "originale," and hasn't been for years, if it weren't for this GTV and the friends who helped me build it, Scuderia Originale wouldn't exist. And that would be a loss to the Alfa world ... though I have no idea why.
