Alfas at the Aeroclub - a super day out. AEROCLUB OPEN DAY · All Alfa Romeos are welcome of course, and admission is free! One of the big bonuses is the chance of free pleasure flights

Inside this edition:

�� MITCAR 2012MITCAR 2012MITCAR 2012

�� Cotswold Alfa DayCotswold Alfa DayCotswold Alfa Day

�� Mallory Park RacingMallory Park RacingMallory Park Racing

�� Mille Miglia by SpiderMille Miglia by SpiderMille Miglia by Spider

�� Our AlfasOur AlfasOur Alfas

�� and more . . .and more . . .and more . . .

■ ■ ■ ■ Alfisti Issue 146 ■■■■ September 2012

Alfisti is the AROC East Midlands Section Alfisti is the AROC East Midlands Section Alfisti is the AROC East Midlands Section Alfisti is the AROC East Midlands Section newsletter, edited and produced bynewsletter, edited and produced bynewsletter, edited and produced bynewsletter, edited and produced by

John Griffiths AROC East Midlands Section Secretary

Tel: 0774 8881317

e-mail: [email protected]

Our website for the latest news and more:

www.AROC--UK.COM/EASTMIDS

Alfisti production sponsored by

Twilight DriveTwilight DriveTwilight Drive The George & Dragon, The George & Dragon, The George & Dragon, ThringstoneThringstoneThringstone Wednesday 12 September Wednesday 12 September Wednesday 12 September

Amazingly it’s our last evening outside this

year - where on earth did the others go?

Anyway, for September, Residente Locale

Brian Smith (pictured below in his Spider)

will be taking us on a fun convoy drive

around the local roads as the sun goes

down, starting and finishing from the G&D’s

car park. The run will take around 45

minutes, so starting at 7.30 we will be back

in good time for a pub meal if you fancy.

KARTING NIGHTKARTING NIGHTKARTING NIGHT The Sutton CircuitThe Sutton CircuitThe Sutton Circuit Wednesday 26 September Wednesday 26 September Wednesday 26 September Back to Sutton Circuit near Broughton Astley

for our 2012 Endurance Karting Challenge.

Fantastic outdoor track with great evenly-

matched karts. Starting from 6.30pm, the

cost is £40 per person in a team of three for

90 minutes flat-out racing. Minimum age

16, all gear provided, no previous

experience necessary. Please contact John.

AEROCLUB OPEN DAYAEROCLUB OPEN DAYAEROCLUB OPEN DAY

ALFISTI / EASTMIDS Price? IT’S FREE!!

AROCAROC

EAST MIDLANDSEAST MIDLANDS

SECTIONSECTION

Formerly Central & East Mids.Formerly Central & East Mids.

Sunday Sunday Sunday 9 9 9 SeptemberSeptemberSeptember

We are delighted that the Leicester Aeroclub have again invited us to display our Alfas at their open day in September for local residents to enjoy seeing. All Alfa Romeos are welcome of course, and admission is free! One of the big bonuses is the chance of free

pleasure flights in light aircraft - everyone present last year who wanted one got one. Also returning are the ‘War Birds’ - Spitfires, P51-D Mustang (see picture at bottom), Hurricane and possibly ME109 . The planes use the site as a base for the displays that weekend at the Cosby War Show. Model aircraft displays, archery and a bar with hot food are all available - it’s a very enjoyable day out. Please keep an eye on our website though, if the weather is too bad the planes can’t fly so I’ll let you know there if the event has had to be cancelled. Despite really low cloud and a touch of morning

drizzle we just got away with it last year and Dave & Paul Atkins’ VW Damper Van (aka the SSV - Section Support Vehicle) came into its own with bacon butties at the ready! Knowing how the general Global Warming has been so far this year, we’ll just have to hope that we’ll be able to enjoy a picnic in some late summer sunshine - we’ll see! Anyway, the fun starts from 10.30am with

activities going on all day, and I emphasise this is ALL free to our members. Head for the Control Tower and cross the taxi way to our display field.

The Aeroclub is based at the grand-sounding Leicester Airport (it is aka Stoughton Aerodrome), on Gartree Road to the east of Leicester. There are brown tourist signposts - then, once off Gartree road, follow the winding road in past the kart racing track and you’ll see the public parking near the Control Tower. The Aeroclub day is NOT like a ‘Waddington’

style air display being small scale and for invited people only (primarily the local residents) – but utterly charming in its own right. The free flights have got to be worth at least £90 per person (think Red Letter Day gift prices), and yet Alfa club members don’t even pay to get in! Oh, make sure you pack a chair, and as we are on parked and standing on grass some suitable footwear. (Think wellies if/when it’s been wet!) BUSY OR WHAT? - It seems like AGES since the

last edition of Alfisti at the beginning of July, and the end July and beginning of August has been just crazy for events and activities: Mallory Park, MITCAR, Curborough track day, Spider night AND National Alfa Day, all in TWO WEEKS! Sadly I cannot fit everything in our printed edition so a lot will have to wait for the next one including several members’ items I’m afraid - it will not be as long in coming out. Thanks again for the terrific support at recent events. Enjoy the rest of the summer, then we’ve lots more to come. Cheers! JohnJohnJohnJohn

Alfas at the Aeroclub - a super day out.

Below - Karting is brilliant fun at Sutton Circuit...

Above - You can get incredibly close to the planes at the Open Day.

The Cotswold Section held another excellent event this year, returning to Sudeley Castle near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire. As well as the gathering at the castle, in the morning the cross country drive was enjoyed by around 40 cars. Setting off from near Tewkesbury, the ‘Carrera Panoramico’ took in some excellent (if muddy!) roads for around 50 miles before arriving at the green and delightful event site. I had arrived in the morning, dodging the showers on the way down, getting in to

the event just before Danielle arrived with the club van with Alan on board too. We managed to get the club shop erected, complete with its new red roof, just before an almighty downpour. Neil Fairhurst arrived soon after in his Giulietta, not fancying the trip in his Spider given the forecast. Dave and Chris Atkins also arrived just before the ‘Panoramico’ came in, them giving Chris’s white Giulietta its last run out. (See back page.) Those partaking in the Panoramico included Brian and Sue Smith in their Spider

S4, plus Stuart and Sharon O’Donnell who finally had a chance to get the top down on their recently acquired 916 Spider, for part of the way anyway. Sharon said she’d enjoyed the run, though had her head buried in the directions for much of it! Keith Millard and his wife had also done the trip - their shiny black 159 looking particularly filthy however after negotiating the numerous muddy puddles en route. A total of around 90 Alfas were present on the day with some real beauties among

them. Peter Woods’ well known grey 1750 GTV, a fabulous self-restored car, won the overall car of the day award, whilst a beautifully presented Giulia Sprint GTC (pictures left) won Chairman’s award. As always the 105 series models were very well turned out, and Terry Richardson’s sliver V8 Montreal, three lovely Alfetta GTVs and three Alfasuds also gave us interesting things to look around. All in all this year’s ‘CAD’ was another very well organised event and was enjoyed

by all of our East Midlands Section members who went along - and the afternoon stayed dry too! John

(You can see more photos on our website in the Gallery area.)

Cotswold Alfa DayCotswold Alfa DayCotswold Alfa Day Sunday 24 JuneSunday 24 JuneSunday 24 June

Fiat 124 Spider Rare Alfasud Gold Cloverleaf, in timeRare Alfasud Gold Cloverleaf, in timeRare Alfasud Gold Cloverleaf, in time---warp condition toowarp condition toowarp condition too

156 GTAs were grouped together A pair of Giulietta Spiders looked terrific

ALFISTI ALFISTI ALFISTI --- September2012 September2012 September2012 --- No. 146 No. 146 No. 146 AROC East Midlands Section NewsletterAROC East Midlands Section NewsletterAROC East Midlands Section Newsletter

We set out on a Sunny 12th May which just so happened to be my birthday. Our first port of call was Folkestone via an AROC Board meeting in Lavenham. We crossed into France early on the 13th and

used the Autoroute to Luxembourg so the drive was very easy, if a little boring. We stayed at a hotel on a golf course and the scenery was amazing. It's the same hotel that evicted those now known as Scuderia Kontz in 2008!! After a good look around Luxembourg and a little

tram tour, we headed to Basel for another uneventful overnighter. Next stop was Davos, with the aim to be Top Gear's best driving road, to Stelvio via Bormio but unexpected snow stopped play. The heavy snow didn't phase the Spider though, due in main to my excellent driving (!!) and the fact that the Swiss roads are excellent. Onwards to the main event. . . We arrived for three nights in Desenzano del

Garda all ready for the Mille Migla. The weather was great and it didn't disappoint. We watched the start in the fabled Brescia, milling around the numerous Piazzas where you can see, touch and smell the cars and in the evening, watched all the cars including Ferrari's Mille Miglia tribute come though, literally feet away from you. They don't do Health & Safety in Italia!! Onwards to Maranello then and a real treat. I

had a half hour test drive in a Ferrari California. I had the choice of numerous Ferraris, Maseratis & Lamborghinis to drive but picked the California as it’s my favourite car in the range at the moment. What a car it is too. So easy to drive and so easy to drive quickly with its DSG box, brilliant brakes a light (too light for my taste) steering. Coming from V6 Alfas, it wasn't the speed that impressed me the most. I did 175kph in a 70kph limit at one point though, reassured by my Ferrari test driver's encouragement "Don't worry, Ferrari are more powerful that the police" he said! It was the

“When I’m cleaning windows…” Dirty windscreens and glass in general drive me mad! On hols in Tuscany in July, our Punto Evo hire car was presented to us not just with a scratch on every panel, but the grubbiest windscreens you could imagine. (Advantage Car Rentals - not recommended!) Anyway, after a day or two of peering through grime and sticky kids paw prints I had had enough! Maria laughs that I always pack a microfibre cloth but boy did it

come into its own! Sans car cleaning products, I set to work with scrunched up newspaper and some ‘Fairi Liquido’ mixed in a water bottle. After some furious scrubbing the grime shifted, and the microfibre got it all nice and streak-free too inside and out…. Now newspaper and washing up liquid is fine when ‘stuck’ on holiday (Stuck? Oh to go back!!!!), but

at home for a few quid you can by some superb products that are much easier to use with first class results. ‘Erm, from Autoglym naturally. Firstly, for frequent light cleaning, the alcohol-based Instant Glass Cleaner (I haven’t tried drinking it, honest!). Just spray on and wipe dry with a microfibre or decent quality kitchen towel (‘Bounty’ is bril.) For more intensive cleaning, after a basic wash to shift bugs, Autoglym’s Glass Polish is ace. CAREFUL THOUGH. The trick is to not let it dry, or you will get its white dust EVERYWHERE. Use some stockinet roll and rub it steadily in horizontal then vertical strokes, a small area at a time. You don’t need to use vast quantities of it either. It will clean rubber surrounds, but I tend to avoid that as they turn rather matt. I have used competitors products but always return to the UK’s finest and these two ‘AG’ products heartily recommended. (Unlike Advantage Car Rentals…) John

DetailingDetailingDetailing CornerCornerCorner

Mille Mille Mille Miglia Miglia Miglia TourTourTour By Simon AddisonBy Simon AddisonBy Simon Addison The Spider does the Mille Miglia The Spider does the Mille Miglia The Spider does the Mille Miglia --- 2,643 miles in 13 days2,643 miles in 13 days2,643 miles in 13 days


package as a whole that did it for me. I loved it but £150k +... Whilst at Maranello we did the usual Galleria

but this time and with the aid of my Ferrari Premium Membership, we also got a Minibus tour of the factory site and a backstage tour and lap of Fiorano. We also visited the recently opened Cassa Enzo Ferrari in Modena. This day was saddened due to the earthquake

that woke us at 04:00. We were just 20k's from the epicentre and although Maranello was ok, historic Modena was less so. Several roads were closed and we were told six people had died. Such as shame as such a nice area with such nice people. The rain came in Maranello and lasted for

three days. We headed for Reims in France, firstly via the slightly disappointing NH Lingotto hotel in Turin (no history about the now converted FIAT Factory) where we did a hot lap of the roof (on foot. That banking!). For those of you who've not been to Turin, do it. It's great. Nicer that Milan even.

Then on to Macon in France, just for an overnight stop. It turned out to be a nice little historic town and worthy of breaking our otherwise 14 hour drive up. The added bonus was it was dry & warm when we left so the top came down. Onwards to Reims. It's a lovely peaceful place and

a regular stop for us. Whilst there, we took pictures of the now mandatory and very evocative Historic Grand Prix pits. After Reims it was the long slog home. Very warm

& sunny but we weren't complaining after the three days of rain previously. Overall, we did 2,463 miles. The car was fully

loaded, we experienced all weathers and drove on all types of roads from narrow mountain passes to fast autoroutes, yet averaged 30mpg on the trip. The car got universal praise wherever we went. It was photographed loads of times, even in Maranello. The only issues we had were a a sticky throttle

linkage after all the rain & an exhaust ruined by hitting it on several very steep down & up ramps into hotel car parks. The former was cured by good old WD40. The latter is being replaced by a custom stainless system by Custom Chrome in Nuneaton as I type. Road trips in an Alfa - we love them. Cheers, Simon & Clare

We like to move MITCAR to a new venue every year to keep everything fresh. Finding a new suitable one each time is always challenging, not least as we need one with a very low gate charge also willing to do it on a ‘numbers that turn-up’ basis. Bryan Alexander is particularly adept at this, and in January this year he was delighted that Elvaston Castle would be interested in accommodating our big event, a well located venue he had fancied for a while. Elvaston certainly promised much – an attractive

hall, (though internally in disrepair), café and gift shop, and importantly a fantastic show ground with its own entrance that we could use. On inspecting in June, after much rain, we still

found the ground to be firm, however after unprecedented rainfall at the end of that month and throughout July parts of it were literally underwater! With under two weeks’ to go, almost incredibly, cancellation looked like the only option, however on a final site inspection Bryan was able to swing it for us to use half of the public car park which is on hard standing. The last thing we wanted was to pull it – as no matter how hard you try, people will not all get the message and still turn up! This arrangement meant we could go ahead,

though naturally with compromises. Our normal creative parking by model / club etc. was out, though we could still do a degree of marque separation through some clever marshalling. We got in touch with as many as we could to pre-warn them, and sadly having to turn away some traders into the bargain and we know several families with multiple Italian cars (me included) just brought the one to save space for others. Come the big day and after another week of heavy

showers, the weather forecast was mighty grim with widespread thunderstorms looming. It was certainly a very grey start when our helpers arrived from around 9 when the gate was unlocked. After the usual half-hour of panic/thinking on feet as all traders arrive at once, we were able to get


ourselves organised to greet the cars as they came in. After the first few Fiats and Alfas were in position it almost went like clockwork though – we even coped as the mass of Fiat Forum guys en masse having gathered at Asda, closely followed by GTA Register and local AO crew. Leigh, Kev, Dave A and Dave McF, Peter, Simon, Martin and Duncan all performed superbly to use up every scrap of hard standing space, and remarkably tidily. Mandy,

Clare, Joy and Linda all did great on the gate too, and with some judicious use of the exit road we made sure that hold-ups were minimal – frantic as things were for a few minutes! By 11.30 most were in and we could begin to

take stock. Around 20 very nice ‘Classics’, five Ferraris and two Lambos (though one, a Silver Countach we believe being a kit – the NangKang tyres being a bit of a giveaway!!!) The various Alfas and Fiats looked great wound around the snaking roadway under the trees, and over in the overflow ‘Coach Parking’ area we had some great rarities too – notably a number of interesting Lancias. Choosing awards is never straightforward and

Bryan and I had much discussion. Public vote was a tad ‘skewed’ but we accommodated that by way of a special award that went to Nigel Rayner’s super 3.8 156 GTA. Car of the Day – an Alfa 1300 GT Junior belonging to Mark Lightfoot- had collected many public votes and that swung it. Sadly a number of the very nice Exotics left before prize-giving thus ruling them out (Gallardo, 355, 430 Spider.) I fell for an immaculate red Lancia Beta Spyder that was parked up in the Coach Park, Bryan agreed and we gave that Organiser’s Choice (Clifford Groom).

We were very pleased to award Bob Woodward – Fiat MC Organiser and owner of two Alfas – the Rarity award for his lovely original Fiat 850. At 6 foot whatever I am amazed he fits in it!! Bryan collared Nick Wright to select the car for the

Expert’s Choice award; he selected Steve Ball’s lovely ES30 SZ for that – and well deserved too. The Prize Draw from submitted voting slips went

down well as ever and ensured will still had over 100 people around to witness the general award giving – and in bright sunshine too! By 4pm the storm clouds were really gathering to

the south, so it was down with flags and gazebos, all hands to Danielle’s AROC shop marquee too… The only minor downside was at the very end when Bryans Sprint refused to start (flooded – with fuel!), but we got that going, and two clowns from Fiat Forum larking about on the flooded field while our backs were turned. (Any bill for chewing up the show ground will go to them!!) Anyway a huge thanks to the East Midlands

Section members for the marshalling duties on the day, without whom we could not have gone ahead, to Mandy and Clare for preparing the excellent ‘helpers lunch’ – to Paul at Chris Variava’s for funding in the Programmes and Chris Cheal for producing them with a ‘Stop Press’ so quickly, Autoglym and MotoWorld for the prize awards and of course to everyone who came along to make it so enjoyable. Here’s to MITCAR 2013!! John (Lots more pictures on our website)

A saturated display field, yet awards given in bright sunshine

and smiles all around!

MITCAR MAIN AWARD WINNERS

* Camshaft Trophy for Car of the Day - Mark

Lightfoot - Alfa Romeo 1300 GT Junior (below)

* Organisers' Choice - Clifford Groom - Lancia

Beta Spider

* Expert's Choice - Steve Ball - Alfa SZ

* Rarity Award - Bob Woodward - Fiat 850

* Special Award - Nigel Rayner - Alfa 156GTA

Mark Lightfoot receives the trophy.

2012 2012 2012 Elvaston CastleElvaston CastleElvaston Castle

Beating the Beating the Beating the elementselementselements

Steve Ball’s SZ


Countach - sadly not a real one... Dave Armstrong’s superb Alfasud was in running for award

Panda 4x4 in perfect setting

All suggestions for a new venue for MITCAR in 2013 will be welcomed, please contact John or Bryan. See Section website for list of the 12 used to date.

Panda Power

Past winner - Lancia Flavia Sport Zagato

Mandy & Clare on the gate

Bob Woodward’s super little FIAT 850


AROC Racing at AROC Racing at AROC Racing at Mallory ParkMallory ParkMallory Park

You’ll be able to read detailed reports about the races in the October club magazine, suffice to say the racing was close and exciting with some great Classic Alfas battling it out.

On the outfield, Mark Sangster very kindly got there bright and early to organise the Alfa parking - much depleted this year, surprisingly down to just 13 cars compared to the 170 or so in 2011: of course this was not as heavily promoted an AROC ‘event’, and it was in peak holiday season.

Thanks to Mark, Neil Fairhurst and Brian Austin for the photos here. John (More pics on our website)

Local members’ Alfas in the car park, Lancia Montecarlo allowed in (nicely sideways!)

AROC East Midlands Section Events 2012

Gazetta News Snippets

The Small Print: ‘Alfisti’ is published primarily for the enjoyment of members of the Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club East Midlands Section. The Section is very pleased that local dealer Chris Variava Alfa Romeo Nottingham supports the cost of Alfisti’s printed production; it is printed at cost rate by a Section Member’s company. Please note that the Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club UK ltd cannot endorse or recommend services or products advertised in its publications. In particular, any opinions published in ‘Alfisti’ are personal ones. Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club Ltd registered Number 01106134. Please contact John Griffiths if you have any queries about the club or our active local area Section (see cover for contact details) .

NATIONAL ALFA DAY, on 12 August at Newby Hall near Ripon in Yorkshire will feature in the next edition of Alfisti—as you see in the panel on this page, sadly we’ve run out of space in this one!

JAGUAR FACTORY VISIT

We are planning a visit to the huge Jaguar plant at Castle Bromwich this autumn where the superb XK, XF and XJ are built. It is a 2 1/2 hour tour, including video introduction. If general arrangements permit we will include a pub lunch to make it a good day out. ITALIAN CAR MARKET

Alfa’s home market may well be suppressed at present with the Italian economy teetering on free-fall, but Alfa is still doing comparatively well with the Giulietta in 7th place, selling ahead of the Golf by around 10%. (Top three is Panda, Punto, 500 - if you hadn’t have guessed!) The MiTo is marketed and classified there as a Sports Car, selling less than half as many as Giuliettas (1,500 v 3,500). LPG is the latest big thing with many models sold fully equipped with the ‘GPL’ gear, including the Giulietta and MiTo with a 120bhp 1.4 turbo carrying a c. E2,000 premium. With LPG at half the price of ‘Benzina’ that could be quickly recouped even though the fuel is not as efficient a burner with both economy and performance down a tad. 5 YEAR WARRANTY! Alfa Romeo has extended its warranty across the Alfa MiTo and Giulietta ranges from three to five years. Available to retail customers only until 30 September 2012, terms and conditions apply; the warranty comprises of 36 months’ unlimited mileage warranty, plus a further 24 months’ mechanical warranty. Speak to Paul Jones at CV’s for a fantastic deal… FIFTH GEAR

New Section member Keith Davies, specifically his Series 1 916 GTV, will feature in the new series on Discovery Channel soon. More in the next edition!

Date Event

9 Sep ‘12 from 10.30am

Leicester Aeroclub Open Day - at Leicester Airport (aka Stoughton Aerodrome), including air displays, special AROC display, model aircraft flying displays and potential free pleasure flights too! Starts at 10.30am. The WW2 'War Birds' are expected again. FREE ADMISSION –SEE COVER

12 Sep ‘12 from 7pm

Monthly Meeting at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7pm. The last remaining ‘light’ evening of the year will see our traditional Twilight Drive.

26 Sep ‘12 from 6.30pm

KARTING NIGHT at Sutton Circuit, Broughton Astley. Fantastic FAST outdoor track- endurance style event, £40 a head . SEE COVER

10 Oct ‘12 From 7.30pm

Section AGM & Alfa Quiz at The George & Dragon in Thringstone

14 Nov ‘12 from 7.30pm

Monthly Meeting at The George & Dragon in Thringstone,

16 –18 Nov ‘12

Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham, AROC stand featuring historic Alfa Romeos and possibly something new. This year will see celebration of the magnificent 105 Series Giulia in its 50th Anniversary year.

12 Dec ‘12 from 7.30pm

Monthly Meeting at The George & Dragon in Thringstone

PLEASE ALWAYS CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR THE VERY LATEST ON EVENTS

Date TBC Oct /Nov ‘12

Jaguar Factory Visit - Castle Bromwich. Date will be finalised after plant summer closure. Please check our website after 17 August or contact John for details.

OTHER MARQUES

NEW MERCEDES A-CLASS.

A shocker here - Mercedes appear to have used the ugly new BMW 1 Series as a template. Either that or a house brick. (One and the same.)

(Ugliness rating on Nissan Scale: 8.97)

AUGUST ACTIVITY AUGUST ACTIVITY AUGUST ACTIVITY --- so much we can’t fit it all in!so much we can’t fit it all in!so much we can’t fit it all in!

As per the cover editorial, we’ve had a terrific time in late July and early August. Here are a couple of shots of things that will be reported on next time:

Curborough Sprint Track Day Spider Night at the George & Dragon

AROC EAST MIDLANDS MERCHANDISE

High quality Polo shirts with full colour embroidered logo NOW AVAILABLE in mid or dark blue,

All sizes - JUST £15

Show your Colours!! TO ORDER simply send an email to our man Brian Smith at:

[email protected]


■■■■ Alfisti no.147 will be out in late September

Our AlfasOur AlfasOur Alfas All the latest on our local members’ cars...All the latest on our local members’ cars...All the latest on our local members’ cars...

‘Scoop’ particularly liked this mickey take of the VXR advert on SniffPetrol.com ...

- SCOOP! - Unusual news from the world of motoring

Chris has swapped her white ‘G’ for a silver one! Dave couldn’t resist the deal from Guests - almost beyond belief. The car will be swapped on to the white one’s 18” ‘optional extra’ alloys shortly, meantime it looks terrific anyway; Silver really showing off the Giulietta’s sculpted lines...

■■■■ Alfisti’s production is kindly sponsored by Chris Variava Alfa Romeo Nottingham

Alfetta GTV - Don Lloyd From an email to John: I thought it time to send you an up to date photo of the Alfetta. The car continues to run well after its tune-up at the end of last year by BLS Automotive of Lincoln, the engine now runs and idles very smoothly. BLS must be one of the few Alfa specialists still left who were working on these cars when they were new, and consequently know them inside out. The car is getting regular trips out, time and weather permitting and it runs better overall

as a result. Numerous jobs wait to be carried out as time allows such as replacing the headlining and carpets and reinstating the air conditioning, but in the meantime I am just enjoying driving the car. Kind regards, Don Lloyd

Alfa V6 ’Special’ - Andy Wallington Courtesy of George’s 146 and trailer, Andy’s V6 powered Spitfire project sits in the Wildmoor MCT workshop at Oldbury for assessment as to work required to further its completion. Above, on the ramp, is a Proteus Jaguar XJ13 being built to completion for its French owner. (This is also where George’s Terrapin racer had a BMC 1380cc A-plus engine and GAZ suspension fitted, corner weighted and rigged.)

Hail storm carnage June saw some quite incredible weather. A massive hailstorm near Hinckley wreaked havoc - the hailstones as big as golf balls smashing windscreens and denting bodywork all over the place, Mandy Nethercot’s MiTo suffered huge damage (pictured), her son Adam’s car (a Punto) being written off. Paul Atkins’ gorgeous 156 GTA was among a whole car park full of cars at Triumph in Hinckley that were similarly damaged. There are insurance claims aplenty; at time of writing we know Mandy’s car is getting a new roof - good luck to all others affected!!

FIAT 500 Corner Two new baby FIATs are in members’ hands - Laura Nethercot has a delightful blue 500 1.2 Lounge,

and Simon and Claire Addison a very black 500 Twin Air ‘Plus’. This is a good opportunity to mention Jenny Alexander’s 500 1.4 Dualogic Sport too, now three years old - she’s ‘called Fifi’ and is adored!

Giulietta 1.6 JTDm Lusso - Chris Atkins

Some of the culprits Above: Brian Smith’s smashed screen and Mandy’s MiTo’s roof...

Documents

Alfas at the Aeroclub - a super day out. AEROCLUB OPEN DAY · All Alfa Romeos are welcome of course, and admission is free! One of the big bonuses is the chance of free pleasure flights