An Alfa Romeo GTAm barnfind
We all have favourite cars we once saw and met but never to be seen again. Years passes and we wonder where they all have gone. Our unicorns that got away. Rumours of lost vintage Italian cars always sends chills down my spine, but not in an unpleasant way: I want to be the one that finds them and saves them from certain death by rust or neglect. Not strange really - after all I run the company “Benzina vintage Car Finder”. We do just that. Find cars that are lost and bring them back to life. A great job I might add.
A couple of months ago, while looking at a Ford 32 coupé project, the owner and I chatted about the rich racing heritage of the Italian car maker Alfa Romeo. During the conversation, the owner shows me a car he owned about 20 years ago. He wonders if it is still alive, where it is and if it still drives. The car in question is one of Alfa Romeos holy grails, the famous Alfa Romeo GTAm. Unfortunately, not the real one which is only made in 40 something cars, but a really well-made tribute with all the right bits. The Ford owner shows me an old photo and by some strange reason I memorize the licence plate. At that moment, I did not really know what to do with the info.
After two nights of restless sleeping and waking up with sheets wet from sweat, I realized I had to find this old GTAm. I contacted the Central Register of Motor Vehicles in Norway and got the current name of the lost Alfas owner. But the car had been unregistered since 2002. It was still in the system, but this kind of information often is a sure sign of neglect and that the vehicle now is a wreck. Who wouldn´t drive this Alfa for almost 20 years? The yellow pages gave me the owners number, and after developing courage I called him. The man on the other line was a very nice and polite gentleman. – Sure, he had the car, and yes there had been lots of troubles. Garages had given him big bills but nothing to show for. The car had most of its mechanics new, but could not be started. It had stood non-moving in his garage since 2007. - But selling it, never! Well, I am not a man that gives easily up. And after a long talk about cars, life in general, he softened. I convinced him to send me some photos. In my mind, I thought at least I could help him to get his motor up and running. Standing still is not good for any car.
A week went by. No photos neither calls came. I messaged the gentleman and politely asked for pictures again. Finally, after some hours I got them. It was really not much to go after. The pictures where low in resolution and taken in a dirty and dark garage. But the “want” for the car was stronger than ever. I decided to go for it. Maybe it was a complete wreck - but after all it was a classic Alfa Romeo. Anything could be restored and rescued. I decided on my max bid and instead of thinking too much, I offered him that amount of money come what may. In my mind the bid had to be high enough to be interesting and low enough to make me be able to sell all the parts and maybe go in zero.
After two nights of restless sleeping and waking up with sheets wet from sweat, I realized I had to find this old GTAm. I contacted the Central Register of Motor Vehicles in Norway and got the current name of the lost Alfas owner. But the car had been unregistered since 2002. It was still in the system, but this kind of information often is a sure sign of neglect and that the vehicle now is a wreck. Who wouldn´t drive this Alfa for almost 20 years? The yellow pages gave me the owners number, and after developing courage I called him. The man on the other line was a very nice and polite gentleman. – Sure, he had the car, and yes there had been lots of troubles. Garages had given him big bills but nothing to show for. The car had most of its mechanics new, but could not be started. It had stood non-moving in his garage since 2007. - But selling it, never! Well, I am not a man that gives easily up. And after a long talk about cars, life in general, he softened. I convinced him to send me some photos. In my mind, I thought at least I could help him to get his motor up and running. Standing still is not good for any car.
A week went by. No photos neither calls came. I messaged the gentleman and politely asked for pictures again. Finally, after some hours I got them. It was really not much to go after. The pictures where low in resolution and taken in a dirty and dark garage. But the “want” for the car was stronger than ever. I decided to go for it. Maybe it was a complete wreck - but after all it was a classic Alfa Romeo. Anything could be restored and rescued. I decided on my max bid and instead of thinking too much, I offered him that amount of money come what may. In my mind the bid had to be high enough to be interesting and low enough to make me be able to sell all the parts and maybe go in zero.
However, he politely declined my offer. Well, that´s life sometimes. You do not always get what you want. But I really wanted to see the car, so we arranged for me to come and us to have a chat. We hit it off imminently and he understood my good intentions of saving the car. A firm handshake and the Alfa was mine. Just getting it home was a pain. Five men had to help getting it on the trailer. The wheels where firmly stuck after all those years lying dormant. The first night I did nothing, just sat in my garage in an old sixties chair thinking and looking at the green machine that appeared brown from years of dust. Thoughts about barnfinds presented at auctions and getting silly prices honestly crossed my mind. But this car deserved more, it deserved returning to the tracks and screaming in fury at 7500 rpm. So, the next day I got up early, had a proper look at what I had bought and carefully started to clean one side of it. I wanted to see the transformation from dust to shine. The restoration had started. Hopefully we will return for road and track during the spring of 2018. That is my goal.
One thing is for sure, the sleep is over dear GTAm, and your heart will beat again.
Benvenuti nel mondo, cara Alfa Romeo!
One thing is for sure, the sleep is over dear GTAm, and your heart will beat again.
Benvenuti nel mondo, cara Alfa Romeo!
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