The weather here in the Bay Area has been cold and wet for so long that the month long break we got in January is a distant memory. With the rain and chilly temperatures it's been much harder to muster enough enthusiasm to go out to the garage, move the motorcycles and the CSL, and start massaging metal. Welding and panel beating just aren't fun when you it's 45 degrees. And so I've spent more than one night watching TopGear, Chasing Classic Cars, or reading Alfa books in front of the fire.
Recently a long time friend, and fellow Alfista, found a nice Milano on Craigslist, parted with a small sum of cash, and brought the little Italian stallion home. It's a great car, and my short but inspired test drive confirmed a belief I saw in print the other day. "Alfa Romeo seems incapable of making uninteresting cars". The v6 engine's exhaust note is fantastic, although the feel of it is noticeably different for someone who has spent 20 years driving BMWs with their turbine smooth straight 6 power plants. With my Alfa lust sufficiently spiked, I hit up Craigslist and clicked through the usual morass of mid-70s Spiders. Not that I'm looking to buy but it's always fun to see what's available. "Ah well, there's nothing interesting here", I thought. "Wait, what's this?" The listing read "Alfa door panel-$149". Not very sexy copy, I'd seen it but not even paid attention to it for the first 10 minutes. I clicked on it and couldn't believe my eyes; it was a driver's side door for a 105 series Giulia Sprint Veloce.
Twenty minutes later I'd PayPal'd the funds to the owner, who lives just about 60 miles north of me, and who'd promised to bring it down the peninsula in the next week or two. Even from the poor quality picture I could tell the door was well worth my small investment. The driver's door on Chela's Alfa requires a lot of work to get it straight. It's been dented and damaged and has areas of rust that will require lots of work to be a usable part. The door I found on Craigslist needs only to be stripped and painted.
Last week the owner kindly delivered it to me and I wasted no time in bolting it in place. This is temporary of course, but it's fun to see it on the car.
