20k: Pile O Parts: 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint 1300
I will admit that I am a sucker for classic Alfa Romeo coupes. Step-nose GTVs sing a particularly sweet siren song, but the early Giulietta Sprint is the only Alfa that I could kill to own (for reference, I would maim someone for a GTV, and for a 164 I would verbally abuse a complete stranger.) To feature this Giulietta sprint will require breaking one of DT’s own rules, which is “don’t buy someone elses pile of parts”…but…it is about as cheap a Giulietta you’ll ever see. Find this 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint 1300
currently bidding for $19,100 reserve-not-met with 2 days to go on ebay, located in Thousand Oaks, CA.
This Giulietta Sprint was liberated from the estate of a departed Alfa owner. The current seller freely admits that he picked it up from the widow but makes confusing statements like “Repainted most likely a year ago.” It is one thing to say a car was repainted decades ago, but another to not know recent history of the car…but…you can forgive a lot of fishiness for a good price.
Just look at those finned aluminum drum brakes. So awesome. There is nothing more I can say about this photo.
It will be interesting to see where this auction ends, but if the reserve is reasonable, there is a chance someone will get a good deal on a Giulietta Sprint that simply needs mechanical assembly and some minor sorting. tips@dailyturismo.com
I know this car. It was for sale a few weeks ago in San Francisco. The seller, "Bruno," was a retired Italian car mechanic with several projects. He had just acquired a Veloce and was moving this car to make room and free up resources for the Veloce. He had been working on it for almost a decade, completing other projects along the way, and this was the one that never got done. He gave me a good tour of the car. The suspension and brakes, bushings, bearings, etc. was all new. The underside was nicely detailed. The body panels were all original, and there was no rust or accident damage. The paint was many years old, like a lot of restorers, Bruno admitted that he had made the mistake in his early days of hitting the cosmetics too soon. There were some shop dings here and there. The wiring harness was new and partially installed. More work needed there. He had quite a bit of NOS and reproduction parts. The chrome was O.K. but needed redoing, and the SS and aluminum polishing for show quality, and the trim, including the hard to find bits was 90% complete – Bruno said there were other bits and pieces in some of the bags and boxes, but he couldn't guarantee 100% complete. The engine and tranny were on pallets just back from the rebuild shop. Bruno said he would install them with new mounts, but not operable, for me for shipping. I think there was a tranny brace or something missing that he was going to dummy up, but which would need to be replaced. He had just had the interior sets and carpets done, and had paid $2.5K for them, but we was not happy with the quality. He had had a fight with the upholsterer, and didn't get satisfaction, but he said he would redo them, if he were to keep the car. It was the right material that he had ordered, and the fit was off. The door cards, panels, headliner, dash, etc. needed to be redone. Instruments were all there and reported as functional, and mostly clear, though a little yellowed. All-in-all, it looked to be a complete, sound project, that was about 70% there in terms of total, turnkey, work. Engine and tranny needed to be final installed and wired/plumbed, accessories needed to be cleaned, repaired, installed, etc.; wiring harness needed to be finished, interior needed to be finished, etc. Bruno was asking $30K firm, and he was including some spares and 3 or 4 blocks and an other tranny and rear-end that needed rebuild, etc. I don't recall who did the rebuild on the engine, but it struck me at the time as a reputable shop. I was at $22K, and he wasn't interested, so we parted company. I don't know if Bruno moved the car to Thousand Oaks, or if he passed on, or what, but this had the makings of as easy a project as one might find, and with some work and investment, a very good car, assuming all the boxes and parts have made the move.
Bert,
Awesome information, really appreciate the insights and I have no clue if the current seller is the same as you talked to before. There is a chance this fellow went on to the great parking lot in the sky and this is someone who bought it from the estate sale, but it could also be a seller being creative with the truth – not the first time that has happened on ebay. Regardless it looks like a huge pile of fun who whoever picks it up and I just wish I had the free cash or time to put together something like this.
Vince
Very nice to have the rundown above. I need to lighten a few cars before I could jump on this one. It sounds like it would be a worthwhile purchase and a bit of work to sort. Next time!