1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Well, I went and dun it again. Bought myself a ... 2-liter '61 Giulietta! (They were originally 1.3-liter.) Saw it advertised in the national Alfa club magazine. These pics are all I have for now. Except for the originality factor, this is my dream Alfa—Giulietta styling, nimbleness, rigidity, and light weight, combined with the performance and usability of the 2-liter drive train. And the best part: It's in Portland, Oregon!!!

I consulted my buddies Joe Cantrell and Doug Zaitz from the Oregon Alfa club about it. They both said that it's a great car, an icon in the Pacific Northwest. The seller (Glenn Herz) is a retired gent and has owned Alfas for over 30 years. Joe refers to him as an "engineer and philosopher" and the kind of guy who does everything exactly right. (I was concerned about the quality of such a conversion.) I talked with Glenn at length and he gave me a lot of confidence in both him and the car. His asking price was reasonable, as several of my local Alfa buddies agree, and I happily paid it.

The engine was rebuilt 20K miles ago with Borgo 10:1 pistons, Euro cams, custom headers, lightened flywheel, and Weber carbs. The entire drive train is 2-liter, with a 5-speed transmission, limited-slip differential, hydraulic clutch, and disk brakes at all corners. It's reputed to be a blast to drive, which sounds believable.

A "Giulietta" in time for our Alfa Romeo Owners Club national convention in the summer of 2004!


The transportation has been completed! Brother John and I went out to Oregon to drive her back to Boston! In fact, I found a pair of $99 tickets(!) on Southwest Airlines, and we flew on Tuesday, April 6th, 2004. We got together with Glenn and a few Oregonian Alfa club folks on Tuesday evening and then started heading eastward on Wednesday. Click here to follow along on our fourth old Alfa trip across the country!

 

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