The newsletter of the Northwest Alfa Romeo Club

IniezioneIniezione

It’s hard to imagine how an act of animal cruelty can lead to a number of wonderful things, but that is exactly what we discovered on our 2014 NWARC Annual Summer Drive.

After our driver / navigator talk in a large sunny parking lot in Woodin-ville, our leaders, Ken & Louisa Case, handed out the route guides and gimmick questions, and we headed out. Just under 20 cars joined in for the run as we wandered east toward Duvall long wooded roads with a little construction going on. We then turned north along the scenic West

Snoqualmie Valley Road with the valley floor, farms, and the placid river

on our right side. Eventually, we turned right over the river to follow Tualco Road past flower farms, the former Wash State Penitentiary Honor farm, and a rural tractor show. Another couple turns and we were on Ben Howard Road as it twists its way along the south side of the Skykomish River to the town of Sultan.

As we left Sultan, we again found back roads but this time we wound our way to a gate at Pasado’s Safe Haven. Our guide met us at the gate as we entered. Our walking tour commenced and we stopped at the first enclosure. Two huge pigs greeted us as our host petted them and told of their story. Across from the pigs, a couple donkeys enjoyed a field with shade, sun, water, and a nice shed. All of these animals had come from either abusive or neglect situations. We even met a number of pigs that had been rescued from the Cle Ellum forest fires.

Our guide introduced us to the on-staff Vet who shared a little about how they care for animals then the guide gave us the history of Pasado’s Safe Haven. Sitting on 85 acres of rural donated land and using funds raised from numerous people and business’ in the NW, this has become a safe place for domesticated and farm type animals in need of rehab or just a place to live. Named in honor of the friendly donkey named Pasado who greeted families and friends at Kelsey Creek Farm & Park in Bellevue for many years who was cruelly killed by three punk kids back in 1992. Though the kill-

ing of Pasado was an isolated incident, the trial and subsequent efforts to create tough laws against animal cruelty ex-

posed larger problems. The farming industry had evolved into factory practices that would be deemed cruelty by most people. (Dragging a cow when they can no longer walk. Tossing a live pig into boiling water to kill it so it is blemish free for a luau. ) Over a year later, the Pasado Law was passed after satisfying farmer by excluding farming practices. Perhaps we should take the time to consider our choices when we buy our food. Perhaps find where it comes from, who grows it, what chemicals are used and what is not used. Though we cannot see it while standing in the store, we should simply consider the ethical process of animal treatment. If we cannot afford free range, organic meats, then perhaps we shouldn’t eat them and not support the factory chicken farms, or indus-

try cattle ranches. More info about the great work Pasado’s Safe Haven does and how you can help, can be found at http://www.pasadosafehaven.org

After our tour of the dedicated spaces for dogs, cats, horses, pigs, goats, and much more, we headed out onto more back roads. The route wound up and down past

farms, streams, and rural homes as we enjoyed Florence Acres Road, Old Owen Road, before passing through Monroe and back towards the Maltby area and into Woodinville. Ending at the Round Table Pizza, many of us gathered to eat and talk about the drive, and turn in our Answers to the Gimmick Questions from along the

route. They were too tough for me, but three others turned them in with Gordy Hyde getting the most correct answers! Nice.

Thanks goes to all the great folks who brought out a nice variety of cars, the kind people at Pasado’s for the tour, and especially to Ken & Louisa Case for putting this all together. Another excellent day in the lives of NW Alfisti.

Summer in the NW Words by Fred Russell

* Summer Drive …….…….. pg 1

* President’s Column …... pg 2

* Half Lap Reservations ... pg 3

* Alfa News ...................... pg 3

* Club Meeting / Event ….. pg 4

* Viva Italia …………….….. pg 5

* Concorso Italiano ….. pgs 6,7

* Monterey Auctions …..... pg 8

* Alfa 4C Test Drive … pgs 9,10

* Classifieds ………….…. pg 11

* Calendar …………...….… pg 12

Next club events…

* Club Meeting ………..….. Sept 10

* Half-Fast Lap …….... Sept 13-15

* Club Meeting …………..…… Oct 8

Inside this September 2014 issue…

Photos by Gordy Hyde

NWARC September 2014 newsletter page 2

“NWARC Member Makes History, “Modern” Car

Wins Pebble Beach Concours”

Even though we don’t see him often, Jon Shirley is

one of our members, and we all appreciate his Alfa

Romeos and awards. He owns a few Alfas, but the

most important are the #12 P3 that Nuvolari drove to

the famous win at the German Grand Prix in 1935

and the 8C2900 that won Best of Show at Pebble

Beach in 2008, the trifecta at Ville d’Este and numer-

ous other big time awards. This time Jon made his-

tory with one of his Ferraris, the 1954 Scaglietti

coupe that Roberto Rossellini had built for Ingrid

Bergman. Many of us have seen it in his collection in

Bellevue. After he

bought it in 1995 and

restored it, it won a

Best in Class in 1998 at

Pebble Beach. Like the

8C2900, he drove it a

lot, then decided to

have it completely re-

restored. (With the only changes being the leather

interior. Editor) Butch Dennison handled the work.

We’ve seen many of Jon’s cars in Butch’s shop and

Butch presented this car at Pebble Beach. Jon’s Fer-

rari won Best of Show at this year’s Pebble Beach

Concours. This is especially newsworthy as it's the

first time since 1968 that a post-war car won Best of

Show and also the first Ferrari to ever win. So, Jon’s

win surely broke the mold and will always be famous

for being the first one. Kudos to him, and of course,

to Butch Dennison and his team.

Also on the Monterey Peninsula were the auctions.

This year, Bonhams had the Ferrari GTO, which was

anticipated to be the highest auction sale ever, and it

was, at $38,000,000. Various pundits had predicted

more, but that is comparable to what a local collector

(also with notable Alfa Romeos in his collection) re-

portedly paid for the ex-Sterling Moss light green GTO

a couple of years ago. The Pebble Beach auctions

were certainly big time this year, with 828 cars being

sold for a total of $428,000,000, an average of

$517,000 per car. There were lower priced ones, too,

as the median was $99,000, but still a little rich for

my blood. It is an average increase of 28% more per

car than last year, so I guess the market is still pretty

strong.

Speaking of local collectors, a couple of them are go-

ing to be honored at America’s Car Museum, popu-

larly known as the LeMay, in Tacoma. Some of you

may remember a movie night meeting we had at Club

Auto Kirkland, which also included Peter Hageman’s

collection being open next door. Peter wasn’t able to

host us, as he was out of town, but his friend, Al McE-

wan, did. Al opened Peter’s site for us, and enter-

tained us with some good stories at our meeting. Al

and Peter both have some great cars in their collec-

tions, and, perhaps partly because they are founders

of the Kirkland Concours, are going to have some of

them featured in Americas Car Museum, starting Sep-

tember 6. It will be fun to see what is there, as mu-

seum entrance is included in the price of the ticket to

the Pacific Northwest Concours d’Elegance, on Sunday

September 7.

We’ll go to the Concours, but I certainly have mixed

feelings. It doesn’t seem the same as its predeces-

sor, the Kirkland Concours d’Elegance. In Kirkland

through 2011, we used to have entrants from some

of the top collectors, such as Bruce Meyer, Sam

Mann, The Peterson Museum, John Mozart, David

Gooding, The Blackhawk Museum, The Cavallino Col-

lection, Arturo Keller, The Nethercutt Collection, Peter

Mullen, Jules Heumann, and many Pebble Beach ex-

hibitors, as well as all of the prominent local collec-

tors. We used to have special classes, such as Ulti-

mate Packards, Alfa Romeo Sports, Historic Hot Rods,

Sweet Sixteen (cylinders), and others. Now the fea-

ture classes are such as Lincoln, Mustang and BMW.

When it was still in Kirkland, I used to attend selec-

tion committee as well as general committee meet-

ings and was very impressed with the local talent

and knowledge, and they always succeeded in pro-

ducing one of the top concours in the United States,

probably one of the top five. My big highlight was,

for years, getting to greet every entrant as they en-

tered and direct them to their display area. Seeing

and hearing those cars move was a priceless experi-

ence. Judy used to say the Kirkland event was a

“Little Jewel box” in the way the cars were presented.

Now, we drive down to Tacoma and see the cars

spread out on the lawn. It just isn’t the same.

The next regular meeting is September 10, at

Angelo’s, where we’ll hear about wheel repair as well

as collector car insurance, and of course, there is the

Half-Fast Lap of Washington, September 13-15. I

hope to see you at one or both of them.

Bill Gehring

NWARC President

President’s Column By Bill Gehring

NWARC September 2014 newsletter page 3

NEW LOCATION

2600 West Commodore Way

Suite #3

Seattle, WA 98119

206 378 0900

www.group2inc.com

While I write this issue, I am watching Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson on a Quad Bike ATV/boat as he races against Richard Hammond in an Alfa 4C. They are rac-

ing the length of Lake Como. The direct path, and lack of traffic allows the am-phibious Quad Bike to finish first, but they love the 4C, though they think the inside

is too plastic and cheap. Luckily one of the next episodes also featured the new Alfa Disco Volante based on an Alfa 8C… “the most soulful car I’ve ever heard.” said Jeremy Clarkson. “It accelerates like it fell off a cliff.” Those guys are an entertain-ing bunch.

From August 28, through September 28 the Griot’s Garage flagship store in Tacoma is celebrating Italian cars by putting some

stunning examples on display. Our mem-ber, Clyde Rutherford, has his perfect GTV displayed next to three Lamborghinis, and a few Ferraris including Jon Shirley’s Pebble Beach Best of Show winning 375 MM. (See Page 2 for more info) Nice company of cars

and the Alfa Romeo GTV looks right at

home. Swing by during the month to ogle the cars and the cool garage supplies.

The Lucky Car Auction is held once a year, or maybe more, but more importantly they are working on making it a premier NW auction. Held at the LeMay Family Foundation during their annual Open House, they had a wide variety of cars cross-ing the block. A few are from LeMay, but most are from outside customers. Alfa

Romeo was represented with 3 entries;

an ‘88 Spider, a tired GTV, and a very nice ‘74 GTV. The excellent ‘74 GTV sold for a $24,500 which was cheaper than I felt it was worth. The other GTV was a lot cheaper but needed a lot of work. For entertainment value, the ‘88 Spider had a note on it that hampered

sales. “Not sure what happened on the way here but the clutch stopped work-

ing.” Sounds like hydraulic fluid loss.

Alfa News By Fred Russell

Its time for our annual NWARC Half-Fast Lap, which heads to the San Juan Islands this time

around. Our first day will take our Ferry ride from Anacortes to Lopez Island. Second day is Orcas discov-ery, while the third day is on San Juan Island before heading back to Anacortes.

With people coming from a variety of places, we’ll gather in Anacortes at the Safe-

way store at 911 11th St. Since we have to catch a 9:35 AM boat to Lopez Is-

land, so we need to gather close to 8 AM, enjoy a short “Driver Meeting” and head to the ferry dock.

So far, it appears that the 27 people coming along are: Cindy Akana, Fred Russell, Heidi, Merril, and Dillon Gordon, Dean & Lynne Sinnott, Georges & Arlette Hebrant,

Ken & Louisa Case, Harry & Elsie Reed, George & Marie Bradshaw, Dick & Jessica Camp, Kristy & Paul Affolter, Bill & Judy Gehring, Rondi & David Opko, Dave & Jane Emerson, and Alex & Kathleen Voss. We are all staying at the North Beach Inn (360 376 2660)

If you miss the start timing, the next boat to Lopez leaves at 12:35 PM. It catches up to the rest of the group. Call me (Fred) at 425 308 6621 if you miss the early boat and we can get you caught back up.

San Juan Islands Half-Fast Lap Sept 13-15

NWARC September 2014 newsletter page 4

SOVREN (Society of Vintage

Racing Enthusiasts)

TBD

AROO

(Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon)

Ed Slavin 503 789 3282 eslavin@nic-mail.com

FEN (Fiat Enthusiasts NW)

Gordy Hyde 425 241 9307

MGCCNWC (MG)

Ken Bottini 425 883 9615

President Bill Gehring (425) 822 4231 bjgehring2@msn.com

Vice President Ken Case (425) 702 9298 casekb@msn.com

Secretary Gordy Hyde (425) 241 9307 gohyde@hotmail.com

Treasurer Ron Calkins (206) 403 3445 tip1ring1@gmail.com

Activities Earl Krygier webmaster@nwalfaclub.com

Competition Co-Directors Mirko Freguia (206) 795 0861 Chris Benny (206) 283 9065

Membership Paul & Kristy Affolter (206) 523 8534 phaffolter@gmail.com

kristinaffolter@hotmail.com

Iniezione Editor Fred Russell editor@nwalfaclub.com

Webmaster Earl Krygier webmaster@nwalfaclub.com

Technical Editor Wes Ingram 15613 “C” Peterson Road Burlington, WA 98233 (360) 707 5701 wing@nwlink.com

http://nwalfaclub.com

www.aroc-usa.org

www.alfabb.com

Facebook: NWARC

Board Members

Committee Directors

Club Liaisons

The Iniezione is the monthly newsletter of the Northwest Alfa Romeo Club, a non-profit organization of Alfa Romeo en-

thusiasts. NWARC is a regional chapter of the national Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC). Chapter meetings are typically held the second Wednesday of most months except December. Membership dues are $63 per year, which includes sub-

scriptions to either the digital and/or print versions of the Iniezione and the monthly national publication, Alfa Owner. For

information about joining the club, contact the membership director listed in the right hand column. Opinions expressed

in the Iniezione are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the club. (The author may simply be nuts!)

Publication of articles describing technical procedures does not constitute an endorsement by the club, its officers, or

AROC. It is the responsibility of the person performing any procedure to accept all consequences of his or her actions. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone would take personal responsibility?

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Just the Facts...

Two guest speakers will inform and entertain at our next club meeting. Learn about damaged wheels and making them new again, as well as specialty car insurance, and vintage racing at Laguna Seca.

When: September 10 6:30 PM—9:00 PM

Where: Angelo's Ristorante 1830 130th Ave NE Bellevue

Starke Shelby will bring us up to date on the latest in collector car insurance and share

his recent experience vintage racing at Laguna Seca as part of the Monterey Historics

event. No, he wasn’t racing his Alfa Giulia Super, but he was still having fun in the sun

in California.

We will also hear from Shana Blum who specializes in repairing auto wheels. Her busi-

ness is called Bellevue Wheel Repair and one of her services is she comes to you and

your car. She’ll share info about what is fixable, and maybe show an example of her

good work. With the easy damage we can do to rare rims, this may be a good fix.

September Club Meeting Sept 10

The Citroen club has invited us to join their End of Summer Drive on Sept 21. They

plan to start at 9 AM from the Redmond Ridge QFC and end in late afternoon on the

Everett waterfront. For more info: Paul at 425-306-8525

With an open drive up Maryhill Loop Road, car show, kids events on Saturday, Oct 4th

and Hillclimb races on Oct 5th, SOVREN’s Maryhill Hillclimb should be a ton of fun.

This is your chance to enjoy the unique locale and vintage racers. You must pre-register

by Sept 30 at http://sovrenracing.org/maryhill-hill-climb/

Upcoming “other” Fun Events

NWARC September 2014 newsletter page 5

Though weather is never a guarantee around the Northwest, our luck this summer has been good. Lots of sunshine and it delivered on Au-gust 23rd for our annual Viva Italia Italian Car & Motorcycle Show at Columbia Winery in Woodinville. With a perfect forecast and a great location combined with getting the word out through a number of chan-

nels, we had a great turn out of around 60 cars, and plenty of happy people.

The event followed a nice showing of British cars in the middle of Redmond Town Center, and a very good variety of Alfa Romeos at the South lot of the Exotics show as well. Once the Exotics @ RTC show ended, many of the Italian cars cara-vanned over to Columbia Winery and started to gather. Since Viva Italia benefitted the Maltby Food Bank, it was great to see so many people off load bags of groceries from their Ferraris, Fiats, and Alfas as they arrived. In all, over $200 in groceries and $229 in cash was raised.

Plenty of people took advantage of the half price wine tasting coupons and the wonderful flatbreads. Nice!

The Alfa Romeo section was well represented. Gordy brought out his rare Junior Z, while Mirko and JVR both brought out

their fierce Milano racers. Cindy Akana attended her first car show with her nice 164L. Kim and Rosco Buty brought their Montreal, and it would’ve won Best Montreal if we’d voted. Kay Jones and many other club members enjoyed the day with their Giuliettas, Alfettas, GTVs, Spiders, and much more.

Andy Bock won the unofficial Longest Distance award since he came all the way (532 miles, 2 ferries, and 2 border cross-ings, Round Trip) from Black Creek, BC on Vancouver Island. That is a fun drive! Other Alfisti brought Italian cars like Dave Kingstone in a Fiat 500, Mike Leonetti with his Ferrari 575 Superamerica, Joe English was in his Fiat Dino Coupe,

Shannon Low brought the Lancia Scorpion, and Lee Atkins arrived in his bright red Lamborghini Countach. Fiat Enthusi-asts Northwest (FEN) had 9 or cars from older Spiders to new 500s. Alex Sargent brought a new Maserati Ghibli from his inventory at Maserati of Kirkland, while we also enjoyed 14 different Ferraris, and one rare Italia 2000 Coupe from 1960.

What a great gathering of passionate people, including Hayden Coon who came with his parents. He helped me work as a greeter and served lemonade, and

gave his parents a tour of the cars when he had a chance. Thanks to Hayden, Columbia Winery, and

everyone who made this a great day

for Italian cars and the Maltby Food Bank.

5th Annual Viva Italia Enjoys a Perfect Woodinville Day

Photo by Al Glenewinkel

Photo by Al Glenewinkel

Photo by Al Glenewinkel

Photo by Gordy Hyde

Hayden Coon enjoyed Lee’s Countach

NWARC September 2014 newsletter page 6

Concorso Italiano 2014

What’s to say? Concorso Italiano is an outstanding event every

year for lovers of Italian cars in general and for Alfa Romeos in par-

ticular. This year, the event moved to the Saturday of the Mon-

terey Car Week; a gathering of car freaks and everything car re-

lated. It is an overdose of car events if you try to take it

all in, so you pick and choose the things you must see, can

afford to see, or just happen to see. In my book, Con-

corso Italiano is a Must See, with Pebble Beach being the

next day, if you can make it.

This year, the featured marque was Maserati as well as a

special Zagato display. Maserati was celebrating 50 years

of the Quattroporte and they had each model displayed.

They also had an inner circle of select Maseratis which in-

cluded a Bora belonging to our local guy, Bruce Wanta, as

well as a great variety of cars. Sebring, Mistral, Ghibli,

Khamsin, Shamal, 3500GT, and more were on display and

looking great!

The Zagato display was helped by Andrea Zagato being

there and a number of one-off, or extremely rare cars in-

cluding one of the nine built Alfa Romeo TZ3 based on the

Cisitalia 202 MM 4C on Display!

Alfa TZ3

One-off Zagato Lamborghini 595

A field of Alfa Romeos

NWARC September 2014 newsletter page 7

last original version of the Viper, the ACR-X.

Wandering around the display you find vendors selling art,

car oddities, memorabilia, and clothing.

Next are the displays for each type of Italian car. Lambor-

ghini had thirty or more of the older cars, and tons of the

newer Gallardo, Aventador, and even a couple Huracan.

Ferrari, must be about 35% of all the cars on display in a

sea of red across the green grass. An eclectic group had the

Cadillac Allante, and others. Back into the normal cars with

DeTomaso, Lancia, Fiat, and then Alfa Romeo. The Alfa Ro-

meo grouping had a wonderful assortment with the usual,

and unusual. A nice

AR51 sat next to Giulia

Supers. I found a num-

ber of people I knew in

the area including Joe &

Lynn Faherty.

The rest of the field in-

cluded specialty dis-

plays like a wrecking

yard that

specializes

in exotic

cars with a

Ferrari 458

Italia in two

halves, and a Lam-

borghini Gallardo that

was severely bent.

One more display was

for the McLaren

dealer who had a P1

on display. It isn’t

Italian, but looked

like it could be so

maybe that is okay.

Right at the main entrance,

and next to the awards area

was the Alfa Romeo display

tent with two Alfa Romeo 4C

for people to try on. They

even had a couple more hid-

den out behind the show so

those lucky enough to get to

test drive could get access

out of, and back into the

event.

As the day came to an end,

and the Italian overdose sank in, it added

up to a wonderful day. Most people had

left by the time I finally was dragged from

the grounds as I ended the evening ranting about the cool cars and people

during a nice dinner with the Joe & Lynn, as well as Tony & Debi Schmid,

Sean Russell, and a few others. Make sure Concorso Italiano is on your

Bucket List a few times. If you aren’t convinced, contact me.

Concorso Cont’d...

Early Lamborghini Countach

Lamborghini Huracan

AR51 Military Vehicle

Fiat Dino Spyder & Coupe

1958 Fiat 1200TV

Lots of Ferrari

Perfect Milano Verde

NWARC September 2014 newsletter page 8

The auctions during Monterey Week are an impressive sight to see. A lot of

money is spent from around the world on impressive, and some not so impres-

sive cars. During our October Meeting, Shannon Low will be able to share a few tales of cars selling for odd prices, but in the mean time, I thought I’d share the sale prices for the Alfa Romeos I know of during this one week in August.

I am always amazed as Alfisti complain about how much money someone asks for their car when selling. “It’s way overpriced.” or “That guys a fool if he

thinks his car will sell for that much.” These comments may make the person feel smart, but it actually does nothing

more than help keep the values of our cars low. In the non-knucklehead world, the prices are often higher. In the alcohol induced, ego driven world of

flashy auctions, the prices are much higher. Reality falls somewhere in be-tween.

Enjoy the photos and the sale prices in US dollars which include the auction fees. There were more Alfas including a

nice but non-stock GTV that sold for over $40000. Oh well… check these out.

Monterey Auctions

1947 1900 SSZ $1,012,000

Montreal $99,000

1900 Ghia Coupe $330,000 6C2500 Pinin Farina Spyder $4,000,000

NWARC September 2014 newsletter page 9

Name: _____________________________________________________________________

Spouse: ____________________________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip: ______________________________________________________________

Home Phone: _______________________________________________________________

Alt. Phone: _________________________________________________________________

E-mail Address: _____________________________________________________________

Do you wish to be affiliated with the local Alfa Club? Yes…. NWARC

Please indicate your interests:

Technical______ Tours______ Social_______ Rally_______ Vintage Cars_______

Cost: $63 annual AROC dues includes $3 NWARC affiliation fee

Make check payable to: ALFA ROMEO OWNERS CLUB

Or… Online registration http://www.aroc-usa.org/

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The following members provide Alfa Mentoring!!!

Don’t hesitate to contact any of these members for good Alfa info!

Model/Series Member Name Contact 164 / GTV-6 Dan Jardine thosejardines@comcast.net GTV Dave Emerson dj.emerson@comcast.net Spiders, GTV Fred Wright fred.wright@comcast.net Spiders (101/105) George Gibbs alfamale1@gmail.com 80’s Spiders Harry Reed arspiderq@comcast.net Almost Anything! Fred Russell FKTMRussell@msn.com

The NWARC would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest member. We hope to see you at upcoming events. Please don’t hesitate to introduce yourself to others within the club.

Paul Forecki Tacoma, WA

1971 Spider

Membership

NWARC September 2014 newsletter page 10

Member Recommendation!

Have a parts or service provider you have found to

be highly satisfactory? Share your wisdom at

casekb@msn.com . With your help, we can all be

better automotive consumers.

Dent Solutions, Mobile - Paintless dent removal

206 890 6456

Burien Upholstery, Burien - Upholstery, carpets

Classic Interior Restorations, Seattle - Headliners

Mark 2 Collision Center, Lynnwood - Collision repair

North Kitsap Auto Rebuilt, Poulsbo - Collision repair

Professional Glass Company, Seattle - Windshield

Replacement

Security Safe & Lock, Inc., Bellevue - Lock rebuilding

Speedometer Service, Portland - Speedometer and tachometer repair and calibration

Tire Rack Internet - Tires, wheels and parts

Vancity Plating, Burnaby BC - Chrome plating

and polishing

All the providers listed were recommended by one or more club members as being highly satisfactory but are not specifically endorsed by NWARC.

The Alfa Romeo 4C has been getting a lot of press coverage of late, and the anticipation of the coming car is huge. Sure, it has it’s detractors but every car will. For the most part the coverage has been extremely positive, especially about the fun factor, or DNA as Alfa Romeo calls it. A few months back, I toured the Maserati factory in Modena, Italy where the

Alfa 4C are assembled. It was extremely cool to see the carbon fibre tub and all the sub sections coming together along with the body panels being installed. Can’t travel to Italy soon? You’re in luck as The Science Channel on TV has been showing a very informative episode of How Things Are Made that features the Alfa Romeo 4C. If you missed it, you can always ask me… I have it saved.

After my factory tour, they allowed me a little seat time in the car, but as soon as we pulled out onto the roads of Modena, I was told to drive slowly and easily. After only a short time on peaceful pretty roads just north of town, I was back in the lot at the factory with the car. No speed runs, fast corners, hard braking, or DNA usage.

Alfa Romeo 4C Test Drive By Fred Russell

1-800-788-4435

www.international-auto.com

FREE CATALOG

Selling Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Lancia Parts Since 1971

Photo by Sean Russell

Cont’d on Page 11

NWARC September 2014 newsletter page 11

Parts For Sale: Complete 3.0 Ltr V6 Motor w/Auto Trans, from ‘91 164 L sedan Engine still at repair shop. Reduced Price $900 Also a set of 4 wheels for $200. Call June at 425-244-1098

Parts For Free! Yes Free: several dellorto carbs with or without key parts, 2 three shoe brake drums, an oil pan from something soon after 101, some starter motors, a generator, a fly wheel presumable from 101 series car, and 3.5 or 4 quarts of Dentax 85 90 trans oil for early cars. Call Fred R at 425 308 6621 to pickup what you want.

Parts For Sale: 3 new '78-79 Alfetta Sedan doors with factory stickers on them. Also for sale- a 3L block for Milano/

GTV6 new. Must sell-make offers. Call Peter in Seattle at 239-292-4838.

Wheels For Sale: 4 Alloy 5 spoke wheels from a 1985 Spider. These look really nice! $300 Call Jeff at 206 300 6468

For Sale or Parting Out: 1977 Alfetta Sedan There maybe a few parts on this car someone may want before I send it off to the grave. I am a recycler Call Tim Covey at 800-809-5334 M-f 9-5 or email at tim@coveysautoparts.com .

For Sale: 1984 Alfa Romeo Spider The car has always been stored in a heated garage (the body is rust free), and 2 years ago was sent down to Alfa of

Tacoma to bring it up to good running condition. The car now runs and drives ex-ceedingly well. Top and tires are in very good, almost new condition. Interior and body are basically in original condition with minor detailing required. The car has been well maintained since I bought it in 1989, and I have all the service records. The odometer shows 128,000 miles. Asking price: $6,000. Contact Priscilla at 206-282-6152

Classified Ads Cars & Parts For Sale!

That changed in mid August as I pulled out of the parking space in sunny California. This time, it was a US spec Alfa 4C with no restrictions on speed or style. All they asked was that I return in an hour and to try to not hurt the car as they

had to show it the next day at Concorso Italiano. I had that in mind as I gently drove off into the scenic countryside on the Monterey Peninsula. Sharing the car with Sean Russell, an Alfa dealer from San Diego, he endured the view from the

passenger seat as I tried to get close, but not quite wreck the car.

The fit and finish of the inside of the car is extremely good, and the look and feel of the interior material is excellent.

Stitching, dash display, controls are all pleasing, sporty, and in view. Compared to Lotus Elise, Tesla, and other smaller cars, this is a visual treat that fits. The seat doesn’t adjust, as they are fitted to the owner upon purchase, so some may complain but the setup fit my 6’2” size extremely well, especially for spirited driving. There is excellent visibility out the sides and front, but enjoy the mirrors to the rear. I had no problem backing up the car, as I quickly adjusted to what I

could see. The nose drops away but I never felt like any portion of the wide car was a mystery as the car feels the same as its dimensions.

If I’m going to complain about anything, it will be the transmission and perhaps its simply that I’m old. After driving a manual transmission since 1974, I really like shifting exactly when I want to. Even using the DNA Sport setting the car

helped me with that decision. Otherwise, the car will go down as the most fun Alfa I’ve ever driven. The handling is beyond exception with an incredible balance

and sure footed effort around every corner. Bumps half way through corners pro-vided no tail wag or hop that my GTV6, Sport Sedan, or Milano would provide. Acceleration was smooth and strong and under most situations the paddle shifting was fast and easy… perhaps too easy. Downshifts were equally quick throughout the 6 speed shifting. The engine makes great music as you run up the revs, with

each gear change adjusting the tone, you have no need for the infotainment system in the car. There is no risk of cell phone use or texting as it would distract from the experience with the car.

The low weight of the car is quickly noticed in the responsive steering and easy braking. Though there is no assist with the steering any forward movement at all and the thick steering wheel turns easily. The stop pedal gives excellent feedback as the large brakes bring the car to a stop so quickly it made my behind pucker a little.

Overall, the car is not going nearly as fast as you think you’re going. Any well dressed guy in BMW M5 will blow your doors off until you get to a corner, then he’ll be worried about his dry cleaning bill while you easily pass on the inside line. The treat is that the car feels and sounds amazingly fast and you don’t care if it isn’t.

I was worried about who would be selling these cars at dealerships. Not any more, as after I climbed out, I realized these will sell themselves. The looks, handling, sounds are exactly what makes an Alfisti’s heart race. The car is a ton of fun, even if you’re driving to visit your mother-in-law. Go place your order as soon as they put up their Alfa dealership sign.

Test Drive Cont’d...

NWARC September 2014 newsletter page 12

Sept 6 Griot’s Garage Tacoma Caffeine & Gasoline Italian Automobili 8 AM start

Sept 7 PNW Concours d’Elegance Tacoma LeMay-Americas Car Museum

Sept 10 Club Meeting Angelo’s Ristorante Bellevue (See page 4)

Sept 13-15 NWARC Half Fast Lap of Washington San Juan Island Tour

Sept 21 End of Summer Tour Citroen Club (See page 4)

Sept 27, 28 Festa Italiana Seattle Center wwww.festaseattle.com

Sept 27, 28 SOVREN Fall Finale Pacific Raceways Kent Vintage Racing

Oct 3 Microsoft Car Show West Campus Garage

Oct 4, 5 Maryhill Hillclimb & Car is King Show Goldendale, WA (See page 4)

Oct 8 Club Meeting Park Place Ltd Bellevue (host: Shannon Low)

Oct 15-19 Seattle Auto Show (Century Link Exhibition Hall)

Oct 19 Fall Leaves Tour (FEN contact dsrian@frontier.com )

Nov 12 Club Meeting Angelo’s Ristorante Bellevue (speaker: Martin Rudow)

Nov 8 NWARC Performance Driving School Monroe

Dec 7 NWARC Holiday Party Burien (Save The Date!)

Jan 1 Anti Football Drive

Event ideas? Contact: Earl Krygier webmaster@nwalfaclub.com

2014/2015 Calendar of Events

Fred Russell taking the new Alfa Romeo 4C out for a spirited drive in the California Sun. Photo by Sean Russell