Which then cost me another $117,999 At its height, the SCM Alfa Romeo collection contained seven cars. They were a 1958 Sprint Veloce Confortevole, a 1962 Giulietta Sprint Speciale, a 1965 Giulia Spider Veloce, the Greatest Hits of 1967 Trio (a Duetto, GTV and Super) and a 1971 Junior Zagato. How each car came to us is a story in itself, but the Sprint’s tale is maybe the best of the bunch. Raising eyebrows I was the emcee of Concorso Italiano. A gray “eyebrow” Sprint Veloce had won an award. I interviewed the owner, and he mentioned he had driven the […]
Which then cost me another $117,999
At its height, the SCM Alfa Romeo collection contained seven cars. They were a 1958 Sprint Veloce Confortevole, a 1962 Giulietta Sprint Speciale, a 1965 Giulia Spider Veloce, the Greatest Hits of 1967 Trio (a Duetto, GTV and Super) and a 1971 Junior Zagato.
How each car came to us is a story in itself, but the Sprint’s tale is maybe the best of the bunch.
Raising eyebrows
I was the emcee of Concorso Italiano. A gray “eyebrow” Sprint Veloce had won an award. I interviewed the owner, and he mentioned he had driven the car from Los Angeles. At that time, I had been looking for one of these cars for well over a decade.
It was only later that I learned that Alfa first made 750-series lightweight Sprints with eyebrows, then eyebrow Confortevoles (essentially a lightweight with regular body panels, windows and bumpers). And after that came the “egg-crate” grilles of the late 750- and then 101-series cars.
Anyway, as I was walking out of Concorso, I passed by the gray Sprint. Its hood was open, so I stopped to look. I noticed the engine number matched that of the plate under the hood, a correct 1315.31015 Veloce. It also had the early Weber DC03 carbs. Inside, I could tell from the shifter it had a correct tunnel-case transmission. The wheels were oval-hole Borranis.
The owner of the car walked up. I said to him, “I’m not trying to buy your car, but if you are ever interested in selling it, I’d be very interested.”
He replied, “I actually brought it here to sell it.”
Concorso had very strict rules about advertising a car for sale. The owner pointed out his business card tucked against the windshield. In small letters, he had written, “For sale, $35,000.”
He told me he had been offered $30,000 earlier that day but thought the car was worth more. I asked him if he would take $32,000. He thought for a moment and said, “Yes.”
I wanted to draw something up before he could change his mind. For a contract to be binding, you need an agreement in writing, plus an exchange of money. I had only a one-dollar bill in my pocket.
So I found a napkin and wrote out a sales agreement: “For the sum of $32,000, I hereby sell 1958 Alfa Sprint, S/N 1493.06524 to Keith Martin. Car is sold as-is, where-is, with no representations or guarantees.”
We both signed the napkin, and he took the dollar. The Sprint Veloce was mine.
Off to Oregon
I had it shipped to Jefferson, OR, 62 miles south of Portland for our resident Giulietta guru, Bill Gillham, to give it a look-over.
As it has been driven to Monterey from Los Angeles, and had gorgeous gray paint and a stunning red interior, I was sure it needed nothing. I had scored the deal of lifetime. A running, driving, correct eyebrow Sprint Veloce for $32,000.
Little did I know that the purchase price was actually just my down payment.
Gillham’s initial report was a harbinger: “The nose has been hit hard and fixed badly. We are going to strip all the paint off the front clip to bare metal, fix the nose and respray the front of the car. I’m sure we can match the gray.”
This wasn’t a request. It was simply a statement. Bill only does things one way — his way, the correct way.
He continued: “The bushings in the Weber DC03s are shot, so we’ll need to rebuild the carbs. Engine oil pressure and compression are sketchy; I recommend a rebuild. Tranny synchros are gone, so that also needs a rebuild. Rear end whines; replace.”
And so it began. The phrase “a pig with lipstick” began to cross my mind.
End of an era
The tranny was sent off for a rebuild to tunnel-case expert Claus Menzel (who has sadly since passed away). The engine went to racing legend Denny Pillar. (It would be the last one he built before passing.) The block and crank went to Bearing Service (which has since closed). In addition to the machine work and balancing, we ordered 1,400-cc pistons and sleeves from Jon Norman at Alfa Parts in Berkeley, CA, along with modern Pittatore cams. The engine also got a 101-series oil pump.
Norman modified a late-1980s Spider 4.10 limited-slip differential to fit. “It’s just not worth it to try to rebuild a 750-series differential,” he said.
Racer Dave Rugh (the former owner of our 1967 GTV) supplied his custom lowering springs, a stiffer front sway bar and Bilstein shocks. (It would be the last set he wound before getting out of the business.)
When it was done, the car was a dream to drive. I took it on several trips and drove it in an SCM 1000. It pulled strong and 7,500 rpm was no stranger.
Done, and done
After my stroke, however, I could no longer drive the Sprint. Matt Crandall at Avant-Garde Collection (911r on Bring a Trailer) sold it for us. While we were pleased with the $120,000 result, when we added up all the receipts, we had $118,000 “invested” in the car.
It’s gone to a good home with an Alfa enthusiast in Minnesota. We’ve been in touch and he is enjoying the Sprint. He paid the same price we did. But his car was “done” already thanks to all our work.
I think he’s the real winner here.
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