Auto Italia Sportiva

For some time now, I have been trying to figure out the most cost-effective way to bring back the original style engine compartment boots originally fitted to Alfa Romeo series vehicles as well as many period Ferrari models. After been working for some time now with a local machinist who specialises in making molds for injection molding, I had him make me a six cavity injection mold for the most common of the engine compartment boot. The ignition coil, water sending unit and one of the two generator boots. That is a total of four boots of the seven boots fitted into the Giulietta engine compartment. Unlike Ferrari series cars that had eleven of these boots fitted to various electrical devices.

I am also working on the two larger size boots and depending on the general response I will decide whether making these additional boots will be feasible due to the significant cost and efforts associated with such reproductions. At least, due to the amounts required I took a chance with the smaller size boots. Making an effort to bring these cars to their former glory is a priority for me.

For a while, I have had my heart set on either acquiring or building a Celete like work table capable of aligning and straightening the Giulietta unitized body structure as needed. This new table will come very handy for some work we have on the works.

We have been working on this one for a while and finally managed to complete the work table thanks to my friend Ludwig, who took on the task of getting the table done. We should be able to get started on a couple of projects scheduled for next year.

Given that the there are differences in the length between the various Giulietta and Giulia models  the work table was built to accommodate all 750 and 101 models.

As we prepare to set on the table the first of our new project for the upcoming year.

More photos at http://aisllc.smugmug.com/The-work-table/

Now that we have completed all the cosmetic work on five cars the next step is to sort out and catalog all the interior upholstery. All cars will have their original interior colors and correct upholstery options. See choices below:

Note: All interior photos were collected from multiple sources and listed here for demonstration purposes only.

Giulia SS: Green with Camel upholstery/Grey wool carpet. Finding nice photos for a Green SS interior has been somewhat challenging but we get the picture.

Giulietta Spider 101: Graphite Grey with Red-black piping/Red wool carpet.

Giulietta Spider Veloce: Red with Black-Red piping/Red wool carpet. There will be no Red piping on the dash cap. Nor a Red boot on the shifter.

Giulietta Sprint 2+2: This car was originally Red and now Graphite Gray I am going with Red and Grey cloth centers on the seats with matching door panels and Red wool carpets.

Giulietta Sprint Veloce 1st series: Light Grey seats with either Cream or Grey cloth centers with matching Grey wool carpets. 

It is now November and soon approaching the end of 2014 were for me, thus far, has been a year of nonstop activity. Although, we have been performing metalwork at our shop for about a little over three years now, the final results of those years in the making had been just finalized within the past four months.

To begin with, been able to paint five of the six cars we completed metalwork, during the past three years was indeed a major milestone.

The first car we painted was the Green 1963 Giulia SS to its original Green color as depicted on photos as before and after.

Second car painted was the 1961 Giulietta Spider also to its original color Graphite Grey. Lovely color and happy with the results.

Third car was: the 1958 Giulietta Spider Veloce painted Red as original, but I used the Ferrari Rosso, which I find to be a spectacular choice.

Classics towing classics 1958 Spider Veloce being towed by 1973 Wagoneer and 1961 Spider being towed by 1973 Land Rover

Fourth car was the 1959 Giulietta Sprint 2+2 originally Red, but I went Graphite Grey. I am just tired of looking at too many Red Sprints and could not handle another Red Sprint

Photo as I once listed the car on ebay.

Fifth car was the 1958 Giulietta Sprint Veloce 1st series, painted to its original color Azzurro Chiaro Nube, the very last first series car produced as 1493*06611.

Now to the assembly process where I am starting to sort out all the interior work before I place my order for the new upholstery kids. Currently, we have grown to four people working at the shop but for now, our goal is to focus on my personal collection and thus our shop remains a private one. Wiring harness manufacturing, metal fabrication, reproductions and some other specialties will continue to be part of our intended focus.

The month of August was indeed unusually high with auction activities for the Alfa Romeo Sprint Speciale. There were a total of seven auctions going on ALMOST simultaneously! That in itself was incredible.

I find the SS to be the elusive car that has been under the radar for the longest time as the most unappreciated car at the Alfa Romeo gatherings where most don’t care to identify.

The SS was unique and avant-garde model that many found too radical when first introduced in 1957 and last produced 1965 and, as a result, it fail to captivate the souls and mind of the general audience. The Sprint Speciale loyal following had been small. And for that reason many managed their way into neglect and abandonment for the longest time until recently, the lovely SS is finding its way back into the mainstream and appreciated for what it is, a real classic and a work of art.
Personally, I attribute the sudden change and shift as a result of the 2011 Amelia Island lot 32 Goodings auction 1961 Giulietta Sprint Speciale  such a sale set a new record. This auction opened the floodgates for other SS market when it sets new pricing precedence and at one point it seems that SS’s were coming out of the woods thus “flooding” the market with many cars becoming all available in all sorts of conditions. Market since then has been leveled off.
Let’s leapfrog to August 2014 and review today’s SS market after looking under the microscope on the most recently completed auctions:
Auction #1;  The Bring A Trailer listed SS better known as the Vespa SS. In my view, and, generally speaking, I expected to see this car go for around $145,000 to $175,000 given it was a fully documented restoration that actually happened live under the watchful eye of a generally sympathetic audience. Not particularly keen on speculating or dwell why it did not sell; nevertheless, comparable SS concurrently running at various auctions managed to perform significantly better with completed sales.

UPDATE: The Vesta SS is back on Bring A Trailer for auction. Hopefully, it will do better this time around despite of my believe that Bring A Trailer is not the ultimate auction setting for some cars and in particular this one. I wish Vespa the best of luck.

Auction #2; Bonhams Auction Lot 300
1965 ALFA ROMEO GIULIA SPRINT SPECIALE

Chassis no. AR 381354
Engine no. AR00121*01353  Sold for $77,000 including buyer’s premium. Poorly presented by both the owner and auction house missed an opportunity to reach it potential given that it seems like a good restoration candidate.
Auction #3; Goodings Auction Lot 25
Sold for $198,000 including buyer’s premium
Auction #4; RM Auction Lot 258
Sold for $165,000 not sure if this number includes the buyer’s premium.
Auction#5;  Ebay Auction
This one sold on eBay with a final price of $85,000. A real bargain for the condition and completeness of this car. This SS virtually walked away under the radar at a  relatively steal when compared to similar samples available. Whoever purchased this car most likely will be happy.
Auction #6; Mecum Auction at Monterey Lot S138
This one sold for $130,000 and again, not sure if it included the buyer’s premium.
And last but not least,
Auction #7; Russo and Steele Run # S618
Final selling price if it managed to sell still unknown. The Zat mobile although interesting it does not spark any emotional interest.
Despite the doom projections of the SS flooding the market, crashing, or the bubble bursting proved to be nothing more than a general public over-reaction of future market behavior.

My view, on the other hand, seems like the SS market will remains stable with continuing upward appreciation.
One final note on what we have learned on these auctions:
It’s overwhelmingly clear that the venue selection needed for promoting the sale of these cars will have the biggest impact. That said; Not all auctions venues are created equal. Likewise, presentation and condition are crucial. Thus, I would stay away from personal liberties such as interior colors and other distracting modifications. Originality and good taste will always prevail.

It has been a while since I last updated thegiuliettashop.com progress diaries due to lack of spare time. There is much to report, and I will try to bring all the information at hand to date in no specific order.

Let me start with our last major project which consisted of upgrading the wiring shop. For the past ten years I have been operating classicwiring out of my home garage which I had remodeled with the intent of creating a well lit and comfortable place to work. Since then, I have outgrown the place and relocated to a much larger space where I can have multiple work tables as well as increased storage capacity.

Work in progress at the new shop. Now I can work multiple harnesses at a time.

Working on new looms while getting everything in place.

Orders ready for my July 2014 deliveries.

For me, the hardest part was the move and now I am organizing the space. Now that I have consolidated all of the operations into one common area, our new wiring shop will be in a 8,000 sq ft building.   An adjacent 4,000 sq ft building behind it houses our restoration work shop.  The benefit is that I will be on site 8 to 10 hrs per day thus eliminating the trips back and forth on a regular basis.

My next goal is to hire suitable candidates to help with wiring harness manufacturing and restoration. Until then, I have made the decision not to take on any additional projects and focus on our basic core business.

The future plan is to streamline the process more effectively  to ensure the highest quality standards for all major work such as upholstery, bodywork, painting and mechanical.  Necessary support staff would be hired to work on-site versus utilizing outside parties for essential work.

Our biggest challenge in achieving our goals are outside distractions, therefore our shop will remain as a nondescript building by appointment only at this time and will be closed to the general public.