As my father’s son I began a life long interest in restoring and maintaining things, starting with my Schwinn BMW bicycle, to my Vespa scooter, and on to my first cars. I restored a 1957 Volkswagon, a 1965 MGB, before graduating to more sophisticated machinery like my 1973 BMW 3.0CSL. All of those projects, the pain and pitfalls, tragedies and triumphs have prepared me for what I plan on being my magnum opus, the restoration of my 1957 Alfa Romeo 1900C SS.
The Alfa Romeo 1900C SS-So Rare That No One Cares?
The author with a 1956 Super Sprint at the RM Sotheby’s Auction at Monterey Car Week in 2015. The collector car world always loves the rare. We are always excited to see cars that were built in low production numbers, and usually, but not always, models of which few were built results in high valuations.…
Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Floor Shift Option
The Alfa Romeo 1900C derived from a 4 door family sedan, which despite its humble, utilitarian form, was also capable of winning races. The engine and running gear were sophisticated and robust, and the suspension capable of competition use. We should hardly be surprised. After all, it was designed and built by Italians. 1900C, with…
The Owner Restorer
As I mentioned in my overview, I have been around cars, motorcycles, and airplanes my entire life. As a young man I had hoped to become a commercial airline pilot but after graduating from college and just a few hours short of my Instrument Flight Rules FAA check ride, the universe offered me a sales…
I am the son of an airline mechanic who dedicated much of his life to restoring and maintaining old Jaguars. From a very early age he taught me how to behave in a workshop, how to handle and treat tools, and that “if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” Whether it was assembling the cylinder head on his XK-120, or rebuilding the wheel cylinders on our family Ford station wagon, he taught me that all vehicles deserve to be repaired properly, respected thoroughly, and treated lovingly.
As a life long “Alfista” I have wanted an Alfa Romeo in my garage since I was old enough to drive. During my undergraduate years the numerous Giulia Sprint GTs, Duettos, and Giulietta Spiders that I found in the local newspaper classifieds were hardly wise choices. I can still hear my old man’s voice after telling him about a nice fuel injected Duetto I’d found. “Son, call Alfa Ricambi and ask them how much a Spica injection pump costs for that car.”
It would take another decade or so but I finally did acquire my first Alfa, a 1966 Giulia Sprint GT Veloce. My relationship with it began with joy but quickly turned tragic when it was rear-ended by a distracted teenage driver, with my wife behind the wheel of the little Alfa. Undeterred, I committed myself to saving the car, an effort that I knew would be fraught with frustration from the outset. If I’d known just how painful it would be I might have reconsidered, because I was already in the 3rd year of what has become my aforementioned “magnum opus,” but 5 years later the Giulia was back on the road.
And so we come to the subject of this website, the 1900C Super Sprint. Here I will attempt to curate the things that I have learned personally, and those which have been researched and vetted by the small 1900 community. My goal is not to have this website track the restoration of the car; that can be found at http://inrestoration.wordpress.com. Rather, I hope to collect and present all of the details about the mechanical and cosmetic that I believe to be accurate. Some are derived from my own personal experiences dismantling and rebuilding 10321, and others come from 1900 cognoscenti including but not limited to; Peter Marshall, Joost Gompels, Bob Schnittger, Dan Allen, Bernhard Fleischhacker, Conrad Stevenson, Marco Fazio, Elvira Ruocco, John Deboer, Gonsalvo Alvarez Garcia, H.-J. Dohren, and Giovanni Bianchi Anderloni. Finally, I would be remiss to not mention the tiny but mighty members of the 1900 section of the AlfaBB Forum without whom I would be much less informed.
Grazie mille!
-tj
About Me
I am the son of an airline mechanic who dedicated much of his life to restoring and maintaining old Jaguars. From a very early age he taught me how to behave in a workshop, how to handle and treat tools, and that “if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” Whether it was assembling…
Overview of the 1900
If you are reading this I probably do not have to educate you about Italian manufacturing practices. Even in to the 80s and 90s they might be best described using the musical term “rubato,” which means “expressive and disregarding the previously set tempo.” A rubato phrase in music will speed up and slow down, crescendo…
My 1900C Super Sprint-AR10321
The following facts and statements regarding my 1957 Alfa Romeo 1900C SS, body by Touring are based upon information collected from Marco Fazio at Automobilisimo Storico Alfa Romeo, John deBoer of the Italian Car Registry, “Millenove” by H.-J. Dohren, “Alfa Romeo-Production Cars from 1910” by d’Amico and Tabucchi, “Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera” by Giovanni Bianchi Anderloni.…
The Body
Exterior paint and trim According to Dohren’s “Millenove” Tipo IVs were available in a wide variety of colors including but not limited to: Avorio ivory Azzurro verde oceano blue green ocean Azzurro verde blue green Azzurro metallico blue metallic Bianco white Bianco a bleu blue white Bianco biacca lead white Bleu grigio blue grey Blue…
The Alfa Romeo 1900C SS-So Rare That No One Cares?
The Alfa Romeo 1900C SS-So Rare That No One Cares? The collector car world always loves the rare. We are always excited to see cars that were built in low production numbers, and usually, but not always, models of which few were built results in high valuations. Would Ferrari GTOs be selling for upwards of…
- The Alfa Romeo 1900C SS-So Rare That No One Cares?
- Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Floor Shift Option
- The Owner Restorer
- 1900C Super Sprint Series II
- About Me
Carchaeological Dig-Alfa Romeo 1900C SS #AR1900C 10321
https://www.flickr.com/photos/corsachili/26792590019/in/album-72157628060710043/ People are drawn to vintage automobiles for many reasons. Some prefer the style, while others like the nostalgia of owning a car that they admired when they were either too young, or too poor to afford when new. Many vintage car lovers appreciate the design, and technological advances of a specific model. Personally, I…
Building A Model Car-Part 1
For the first time in 7 years, for the first time ever here at the property we call “Pacific Haven,” which we purchased almost 5 years ago, 10321 is home. It’s been a frustrating, at times torturous period with well documented episodes ranging from breach of contract to complete dishonesty. Thankfully, those days are in…
Building A Model Car-Prologue
Building A Model Car https://www.flickr.com/photos/corsachili/6366340651/in/album-72157628060710043/ Since I was a boy I have built things. My father was an airline mechanic and from the time I was old enough to walk he taught me how to use tools, and to behave in a shop. He loved Jaguars and from before the time I was born until…
Alfa Romeo 1900C SS 