Rods & Classics: Alfa Romeo Back From The Junkyard
Story and Photos by Nigel Matthews
Storied Italian sports car-maker Alfa Romeo built just five 8C-2900 Type B Berlinetta Coupés in 1938. And two of the powerful 2,900cc cars with a significant racing history have had strong B.C connections.
As an Alfisti (Alfa nut), I recount that fact with sadness, but as a classic car insurance specialist who would have undoubtedly been involved if, heaven forbid, either of these two cars was involved in any kind of accident or claim, I am somewhat relieved that they have both left the province!
Ian Davey, Mike Taylor and Rob Fram, from the renowned RX Autoworks of North Vancouver, said goodbye to both cars, having been connected to one of them for a number of years and the other during a mammoth restoration that took about one year to complete. That same car was recently shipped back to Vancouver from Florida, to have a small fender bump rectified and painted.
First, some history so that you can fully appreciate the pedigree of the magnificent specimens the local company was charged with restoring and caring for mechanically.
The first of the two cars produced (Alfa chassis # 412035) has the longer association with the province of B.C. having lived there for 14 years. One of its early owners was Frank Griswold who raced it in 1948 to its first victory in the Seneca Cup, the race that was to become the U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.
Seven owners later, a gentleman in South Africa purchased it during the early 1980s and shipped it to restoration specialist Tony Merrik in England. In 1991, the owner moved to British Columbia, where the car could often be seen driving the local streets and at the occasional car show.
Its slightly younger sibling, in purely manufacturing terms, (Alfa chassis #412036) had a relatively shorter brush with B.C. However, it actually achieved a racing victory a year earlier than the Vancouver car.
This Berlinetta was the 1938 Paris Salon show car. Having survived the war, stashed away safely on an estate, it was time for a new home. Second owner Emilio Romano entered the car in the 1947 Mille Miglia race in Italy, with teammate Clemente Biodetti, who had won the race in 1938 in an Alfa Romeo.
Modifications were required, as this was a twin-supercharged car and superchargers had been outlawed for the race (they just kept winning). With the help of the factory, the car was fitted with four Weber carburetors. Despite very tough competition, it went on to win the race.
In 1948, the car left Italy and ended up in Argentina, where it raced for a little longer in the hands of two different owners. After a crash it ended up in a scrapyard, where a couple of junkyard dogs made it their expensive kennel!
Lucio Ballaert heard the story—largely dismissed as a myth—tracked it down and purchased it for $2,000 in 1966. In 2000, the car was offered for sale at the Brooks auction in Carmel, California where a Floridian collector paid in excess of $4 million.
The two cars were reunited in early 2004, at RX Autoworks. The craftsmen in this shop are no strangers to turning out Pebble Beach winners and have a clientele on a waiting list to have their car restored.
The Florida owner is only interested in 100 percent correctness. It has to be this way if the car is going to be invited to Pebble Beach and eventually end up in his magnificent private collection, sharing floor space with some of the other masterpieces of automotive history. RX stripped the car of every single nut, bolt, mechanical component, body panel, glass and piece of upholstery. Get the picture?
Taylor explained how they used the first Vancouver car to help ensure their workmanship remained faithful to the original factory car. “The items on the Florida car that required rectification or refabrication, were removed form the Vancouver car, documented, disassembled, measured, and photographed one piece at a time. “The door handles are a perfect example… the ones fitted to the Florida car when it arrived in our shop were completely wrong. I had to copy the original design and fabricate new ones from scratch.”
Unfortunately, half way through the project in the summer of 2005, a new custodian purchased their “modeling” car and it was whisked away to a new home in Washington State. Without their research and resource material, the restoration of the Florida car became even more challenging.
The list of rectifications is too long to quote. Here are just a few of the tasks performed. New grille fabricated, sourcing and refitting the missing driving lamps, contouring the fenders giving them back their flowing form and correct shape, assembling a new wiring harness, fabricating new bumpers, fluid reservoirs and rebuilding the entire chassis behind the seats. Assisting Davey and Taylor, the company principals, are an incredible team—Rob Fram (master mechanic), Dave Gallagher (upholsterer), and Lanny Hussey (paint refinishing). Unfortunately, due to a few glitches, the car was not completed and did not make it to Pebble Beach in 2005, when Alfa Romeo was the featured marque.
The owner was probably disappointed at the time, but it all worked out well in the end. The following year, the car was invited to Pebble Beach and absolutely shone. It placed first in its class, won the Strother MacMinn Most Elegant Sports Car Trophy and was one of the three finalists summonsed to the holding area for the coveted Best of Show award.
The 2008 Best of Show Award went to the ex-Vancouver Alfa now owned by John & Mary Shirley.
During the Concours’ 58-year history, Alfa Romeo automobiles have only won the best of show award twice, once in 1988 and again in 2008. Surprisingly, their Italian cousin Ferrari has never received that honour.[PSGallery=5rgu3100e4]
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