1973 Alfa Romeo Berlina

1973 Alfa Romeo Berlina.

The 1973 Alfa Romeo Berlina. (at rear in above photo, behind CK's Fiat 850 Sport Coupe) Found in Sacramento California, and purchased for the 2006 Iron Bottom just four days before the event. We looked it over, and ran it over 1,300 miles in the first week of ownership. It also serves as a daily driver while the Cortina project lumbers along. It has a strong running two liter with Spica injection, trunk mounted battery and lowering springs. The wheels are Chromadoras shod with Costco's best Wynstar Phaser tires. I'm only guessing they came from Costco, but they did raise a few eyebrows on the Iron Bottom. Nice fairly rust free body, with liberal amounts of bondo covered by a Maaco production quality paint job. Italian Spica front shocks and Koni rears. It's definitely more of a tank than the Giulia Ti, but also more stable with the longer wheelbase. The radio was mounted in the glovebox, and the front speakers were cleverly zip tied behind the dash by the previous owner, who happened to be a partner of an Alfa repair shop in Sacramento. When driven back to back with a Ferrari 308 GT4, it's clearly the more nimble of the two, despite the taxicab quality suspension bushings and wheel alignment. It's actually a pretty quick car, but lacks the urgency of the Ti fitted with the same powerplant.

2 liter Spica fuel injection, 5speed manual, Chromadora wheels, 1"lowering springs, Spica shocks up front, Konis in rear. Limited slip differential, battery relocated to trunk, brake pads were done in April. Decent "two-footer" paint job covering some minor parking lot style flaws. The body has remarkably little rust - there's one small bubble spot near the passengers side rear fender. The floors and suspension attachment points are solid. Newer rubber gasket front windshield. Black and tan interior, stereo has been located in the glove box with remote controller, one of those carpet dash covers hiding a few cracks. Driven daily. The motor runs strong, and stays cool on hot days and in traffic. Previous owner was the part owner of an Alfa repair shop in Sacramento. Mechanically, it's been well maintained. Completed the 2006 Iron Bottom Motor Tour - a 1000 mile rally event with no problems.

Epilogue:

Armando P. in Florida bought the Berlina and carried out a bare metal respray and full restoration. Here's the car (below) in 2013.

Below - Here it is in a Hemmings Sports & Exotics magazine shoot in February of 2015. Way to go Armando!