Recently i was looking up in my car owners books supplied with the 33, and under 'Service', it was quite interesting to see how the landscape had changed, the books were printed in 1984, the biggest selling Alfa Romeo of all time had just been introduced that is the Alfa 33 sedans 989,324 units sold, not including wagons or Sprints, this had replaced the second biggest selling Alfa Romeo the Alfasud, 972,713 sold, see if you reconise some of the old dealers from 84.
1. Talbot Motors in Abbotsford, - know of this place, its where i purchased my 33 in 1986!, was a club sponsor.
2. Rugolo Motor Body Works in Ascot Vale, - Alfa Romeo Panel Beaters, used to be a club sponsor.
3. Cambro Motors in Clayton, - Alfa Romeo Panel Beaters in Clayton, also used to sponsor the club.
4. Straighway Motors in Cheltenham, Alfa Romeo Dealer, - I think they started selling Peugeots, also used to be a club sponsor.
5. Kellow Falkiner in Glen Waverley, - They were a British Leyland Dealer in the 70's, so they would have been used to warranty claims!
6. Henly Motors in Hawthorn - Alfa Romeo Dealer, went broke about 1990?, i used to buy my spare parts there, old bloke in a dust coat knew more about Alfa parts than the computer, missed very much, was a club sponsor.
7. Alfa City in North Melbourne - Alfa Romeo Dealer owned by Frank Porter, later on shifted a few blocks down the road and around the corner, was a club sponsor.
8. Clemens Sporting Cars in Oakleigh - were an Alfa Romeo dealer early on in the 70's.
9. Peter Greenough Motors in Preston - was a service provider and i heard he used to fix automatics in 164's, still going i beleive.
10. Bennica Motors in Surrey Hills, Sold new Alfa Romeo's early on, mostly known as a service provider, still going today with Joe, Patrick and Peter, the place used by the Alfa club for their Dyno days, has had a collection of fast Alfa Romeo sports sedans, still going and servicing Alfa's' was a club sponsor.
11. Peter Stapleton in Ballarat - Sold new Alfa Romeo's between 1972-1992, still sevices and sells
spare parts, also wrecks Alfa Romeo's as well, still going.
12. Gil Gordon in Geelong - don't know anything about Gil Gordon, anyone from Geelong know?
13. Ross Lamont in Geelong - imagine having 2 dealers in Geelong for Alfa Romeo's, don't know at all about Ross Lamont.
14. P&R Eurocars in Moe, - once again don't know, anyone from Moe know?
15. F&M Dondio in Myrtleford, - didn't think that there was a big demand for Alfa Romeo's in Myrtleford, most likely a service provider.
16. Bill Clayton Motors in Shepparton - anyone from Shep know?
And here are some that are not mentioned in 1984, but came after the book was printed,
17. Max Kirwin Alfa Romeo in Greensborough, yes Max Kirwin sold Alfa Romeo's briefly in Plenty road, but made his name with Mazda's.
18. Berwick Alfa Romeo in Berwick - Berwick had a Alfa Dealer in Berwick in the 80's also selling Nissans, not to be confused with ARNA's, but thats another story.
19. Henly's in Heidleburg, just up the road from me, sold Volvo's and Alfa Romeo's, shifted about the time i purchased my 33, meaning i couldn't walk there anymore.
With all the new dealers coming on to sell Alfa Romeo's, i wonder how many will fall by the wayside or figure out its not the goldmine they thought it would be, selling and servicing cars is a tough game, look at the list and see who isn't doing it now, Colin.
4. The Straightway Motors buildings are still there, it is now a tile shop. Fond memories of ogling the various Alfas they used to have on their forecourt.
Great Memories Col !
Correct about the guy in the dustcoat at Henly .... what he didn't know about Alfa spares would fit on the back of postage stamp. Clemens were in Neerim Road... when they were getting out of Alfa stuff.... the parts guy let me jump the counter and pick what I needed....filled a box....he then couldn't be bothered to look up all the part numbers so he pulled out a figure from thin air and asked if I was happy with that (I was!) and away I went. Alfa City had Frank's son Derrim working in the spares section for a number of years. Benninca's.... got my first Alfa from them ($900 for my 66' Super! ..one owner).
Also, Straightaway Alfa in Cheltenham were known by another name before that..I remember going there to buy some used bits for my Super....
Anyone remember the name?
Cheers,
Paul.
1. Ah, Talbot Motors! Bought my first Alfa (Alfa 33 Gold Cloverleaf single carb) from them in 1985. The Service Manager (Ray?) also wore a dust coat everyday as well. Unfortunately, got to know him very well. :o
2. Rugulo. Had some rust fixed on the 33 after 8 months under warranty.
10. Beninca's. First intro to them in 1985/86 looking to put twin carbs on the 33 after finding out that ALL 33 Gold Cloverleaf were now coming out with twin carbs.
Quote from: colcol on June 01, 2013, 05:43:34 PM
12. Gil Gordon in Geelong - don't know anything about Gil Gordon, anyone from Geelong know?
Gil Gordon ran a couple of Group C Alfa's at Bathurst. A 105 (2L) and an Alfetta GTAM, both of which are now owned by The Enforcer (on this forum) and run in original Group C spec. I believe Gil came out to the Phillip Island historics this year (or last?) to have a look at them in their restored condition complete with Gil Gordon livery from the day. As a side note, an impulse buy from eBay, I recently picked up a 1979 Australian Sports Car magazine (sister publication to Wheels) which was an 'Alfa Edition', it has an advertisement from Gil Gordon on the inside cover.
Victor, the Service Manager at Talbot's had to wear a dustcoat, because he had to work.
At Henly Motors in Camberwell, i was waiting to see someone in the service department and there was this young girl about 20 years old bawling her eyes out, it seems her 33 experience wasn't to her liking.
The Henly Motors place in Heidleburg that was a Volvo and Alfa Romeo Dealer is now a Doctor/Dentist/Chemist Medical Centre,.....but according to a bloke from around Bendigo who i got talking to on a Sunday Run, asked me ,"Col where do you live", told him, he said yes, he knows where, near in Burgundy Street, Heidleburg, there used to be a Alfa Dealer there in the 80's, but in the 60's i worked there as a Mechanic, it was a Rootes dealership selling Hillmans!
Alfa 33's had a 6 year corrosion warranty, but it wasn't worth the paper it was printed on, too many ifs and buts, like the car had to be serviced at a Alfa Service Dealer, not at a Licenced Service provider, Alfa didn't want to know about rust problems, left a bad taste in 33 owners mouth, Colin.
Derrim Porter was the owners son of Alfa City, Derrim was one of the most helpfull spare parts interpretors i have ever dealt with, i think he drove a Sud and knew them backwards, i beleive he now works for Repco?, his replacement at Alfa City was not so helpfull.
Does anybody remember Autoricambi round the corner from Alfa City?, i later found out that 'Autoricambi' stood for 'original parts', always thought it meant empty warehouse, in the 5 years or so i used to go there, the only thing i ever purchased was when they were closing down, i purchased a ATE brake and clutch book that i hoped would see me right on getting a Alfasud handbrake to work, i later found out that the fix for having an operating handbrake on an Alfa was to .....purchase a 33 with the big Fiat 131 drum brakes on the back, a bit cheap and unsophisticated,but they sure did work, Colin.
I've got a cool set of blue Alfa Romeo work overalls from Talbot Motors. One of the mechs musta been a little guy as I had to get them altered a fair bit to get more length out of them and I'm pretty average height.
Quote
One of the mechs musta been a little guy as I had to get them altered a fair bit to get more length out of them and I'm pretty average height.
Derek your
airbag ( stomach) hasn't gone off has it ???
Anyone remember Autosprint Motors in Nicholsen St, in Fitzroy?, i think they shifted down to near the Eastern freeway in Fitzroy, and remember Florio Motors, a wrecker in Thomastown or Lalor?, Colin.
Yep - remember Autosprint. Someone I knew bought 2 Alfa's from there; one Alfetta 1.8 sedan and an Alfetta GTV.
Colin in the fiftys bob Jane had auto land in Brunswick where he sold alfas amongst other things
Great thread Colin. My Sud was sold new by Talbots and I purchased from Short Tony at Alfa City in 92.
I do take exception to one comment though '.... i later found out that the fix for having an operating handbrake on an Alfa was to .....purchase a 33....'. Beninca's modified the Sud calipers 20 years ago and have not had a handbrake problem since (ie going out of adjustment)!
The 105 was sold new by MW Motors in Elzabeth Street and I believe the M stood for Mantons.
Cheers
Paul
POC, the MW i think stood for Murray Wright?, he sold Alfa Romeo's up until about 1972 when Alfa Romeo Australia were formed, a current Alfa Romeo club member purchased his Alfa there and traded his Woolsely in on it!, as Alfa Romeo were appointing new Dealers and he then started selling other cars, one of the brands he sold was Skoda the original Czechosolvakia Car maker who sold rear engined cars with swing axles, a world away from the current Volkswagon clones sold now, Colin.
Quote from: colcol on June 04, 2013, 10:57:52 PM
Skoda the original Czechosolvakia Car maker who sold rear engined cars with swing axles, a world away from the current Volkswagon clones sold now, Colin.
Rear-engined with swing axles doesn't sound too far away from a Volkswagen to me...
I heard that the early Skoda's were a Renault 10 built under licence in Czechoslakia, some have confirmed this, some have denied it, truth is some where in between.
Did Peter Manton of Mantons Motors race a Mini in the 60's?
The Dealers and Service Providers that have been around for a long time would be the place to take your Alfa, the Johnny come lately's haven't got the experience, my 2 cents worth anyway, Colin.
Funny - the 2000 Spider/GTV brochure I have has a Henly's business card stapled to it. And the prices are written inside for each car. $7k something for each if my memory is right.
In the eighties we got fantastic support from Frank Porter at Alfa City in Peel St, North Melbourne. Henly's really didnt want to know us, and Talbot's helped occasionally but it was Frank that helped most. Apart from Frank's obvious passion for the marque and his racing exploits, he understood the mutual benefits to be had by engaging with the club and getting to know it's members. He proved the mantra that Alfa club members don't buy new cars to be total guff, something that more recently Damon Earwaker at Dixons also understands.
People who passed through Alfa City and were very active in the club included the likes of Warrick Jolly (still active in the trade at Mercedes Melbourne on Kings Way and I think still a club member) and Darryl Blackmore, and of course Frank's son Derrim.
We had a famous technical night at Alfa City once, where Frank opened up the workshop and we put a few club members cars up on the hoist. It was in the days when the current club competition rules had come into use and several members were testing the limits of what was "standard spec". One maroon Giulia Ti belonging to a certain Mr Blackmore was duly selected and we all crowded around underneath. When we got to one part of the car, I think it may have been around the bellhousing area, there was an exclamation from the group, a hasty denial from the owner and general laughter and finger waving. Lots of fun!
Darryl also sold me my first GTV6, around 1990/91. It was a 1985 model, one owner with 100k on the clock but very straight. The previous owner had neglected its service, a head gasket was suspect, and the dual plate clutch was worn. $12k as is, off to have a 75 single plate clutch fitted and a leaky tensioner seen to, then 5 years of great service including many club events until getting a 3-litre transplant in 1996. Sadly destroyed at Eastern Creek later that year but a good deal from a great supportive dealer.
Colin great thread.
I used to like knowing where my Alfa's were first sold, Henly's, Alfa City & Straightway, only one I don't have any history of is my GT Junior.
Autosprint- A good friend of mine Jamie used to own and run Autosprint with his dad and uncle.
Jamie (or Chuffa) was the bloke that greeted you at the front desk, a great people person and a really nice guy.
He studied industrial design and worked for a few years but later went and joined the old man (Marino) in the business.
They ran a small showroom and I was always curious on what they had on offer, would usually would stop on the way home from a
hard Saturday night on the turps from Brunswick/Johnston St as they always left the lights on. Now and again id stop in for a coffee and there was always a story.
They once had a beautiful Pino Verde Duetto which sold for about 22 grand back in the late 90's.
There were 2 mechanics Rob and a big bald import (Italian) bloke called Gianni. They used to deal in Maserati and Ferrari spares as well. Once Jamie and his dad and uncle wanted to sell the business Rob & Gianni bought it and carried it on for some time. I think it's an Apple store or computer shop now. Sad to see no alfa's in the showroom :(
Veloce Spares - Anyone remember Veloce spares ? First went there in 1991/92 was run by a big Jamaican dude Andre.
They were located in Essendon Airport which was handy for us North Westeners (why should the pompass arses have all the benefits ? :)). Andre had no power so he didn't operate a hoist or have the luxury of lighting, it was a wrecker initially and later conducted some mechanical repairs. I remember going there once to source some shims for the Fiat, I had all the sizes listed (head had come off again ! ) and Andre gives me a big bucket of brand new secondhand ;) Fiat shims . With the aid of a micrometer and the pressure of the sun going down (remember no lights approaching 5pm) I was able to get the shims I needed and i think he charged me a couple of bucks and that was it. Vince Sartor bought Veloce Spares off Andre in 1995 and cleaned the place up, installing a hoist and lighting etc. He was there till about 98 then he moved to Airport West and closed up in late 99.
Another great thing about Veloce Spares was the location. When Vince serviced your car there was a bit of a (unofficial) test track out the back of the airport where you could test drive your car post service, once talking to Vinnie out the front a bloke in a GTV enters the street sideways, pulls up, gets out of his car and says Yeah car goes great Vinnie - Thanks......
I know Vince Sartor, he is a nice bloke, i used to go out to Essedon Airport at Veloce Motors for bits and pieces, i don't know how i found out about the place, .......note to Service, Spares and Wreckers, advertise in the magazine or we won't know you.
Vince also worked at Milano Motors in Thomastown a while, now i heard that he has a place somewhere in Thomastown?, no advertisments, don't know.
Does anyone remembe a Wrecker in Thomastown or Lalor or Epping called Florio Motors?, i used to go there when i first got my 33, purchased a front sway bar of a Alfasud to put on the 33, it wasn't as good, seemed Alfa romeo knew more than me after all, Colin.
My 33 was sold originally by Alfa City in Peel St. in February 1985, it was built in October 1984, then it was sold to me by Talbot Motors in April 1986, in a strange irony the book of which i gleaned all this information, is mimicking the old school Alfa Romeo's, the staples are all rusting, they may have been in the same batch of steel purchased from the Russians, one of the the conspiritors involved in the Fiat Technoligy to Russia and Russian steel to Italian Car Makers, Mr Mario Andreotti, [not the racing car driver], but the deputy Prime Minister in Italy, for all those years, passed away the other day in Italy, Colin.
Vince can be found in Temple Drive Thomastown
Yesterday afternoon I saw a lovely silver 2000 GTV in Burke Rd, Camberwell and it had an original Talbots of Collingwood sticker in the back window. Very Nice.
Hi All, being a newbie to this forum caper have been trying to send a message about some great news here in good 'ole Sth Aust, Guess in some cases this is also a blast from the past, you see Sth Australia had three recipients of the OAM (Medal of the Order of Australia) in the Queens Birthday Honours, Peter and Margaret Hall, Peter is the long standing and current President of the MSCA SA and Clem Smith, current owner of Mallala Motorsport Park and has for many years, Clem at 86 has been dedicated to Motorsport for the past 60 years.
To all three we offer our congratulations and may they continue to enjoy what they do so we can enjoy what we do, go racing or circuit sprinting.
Quote from: Paul Gulliver on June 04, 2013, 11:56:43 AM
Quote
One of the mechs musta been a little guy as I had to get them altered a fair bit to get more length out of them and I'm pretty average height.
Derek your airbag ( stomach) hasn't gone off has it ???
Ha! You nailed it!
Max Kirwin...Alfa Romeo, circa about 1984 on one of my other Dealers of the World books, was on the corner of Plenty road and Greensborough road in Bundoora or Greensborough, only there for a short time, used to go and look and admire Alfa Romeo's on the weekend, amazed at Alfasud bonnet fit even from new, the bonnet gap to mudgaurd at the front was about 6mm, at the back near the windscreen it was 8mm, always used to think one or two used ones had been pranged, then there were about 6 new ones in a row and the gaps were all consistant, they must have all meant to be out like that, Colin.
Just thought I'd add these..... just scanned the relevant pages from a 2/65 dealer booklet, then a 4/72 and finally 2/79. Scanned them for the VIC dealers but if interested let me know and I can throw up the other states.
Anyone got a circa 68, 69, 70,71 version?
Cheers.
Here is the list from 1967
Quote from: GTV-074 on June 02, 2013, 11:56:35 PM
Also, Straightaway Alfa in Cheltenham were known by another name before that..I remember going there to buy some used bits for my Super....
Anyone remember the name?
Maybe another Alfa Dealership in Cheltenham?, But Straightway have been operating there since at least 1932 when they helped out the local constable chase some baddies after his bike got a flat tyre.
"Constable Christopher Coe, without his bicycle because of a punctured tyre, sought help at Straightway Motors, near the police station on Point Nepean Road. There he enlisted the aid of Claude Dunn, a racehorse transport agent of Collins Street, Mentone. Dunn drove him to Highett station. Stationmaster Hunt and Snelling briefed him on the situation. Coe then approached the two men who were sitting on the platform waiting for a Melbourne train, told them he was a constable of police and that he had a gun in his pocket, and he then asked them to accompany him quietly to the station office. This they did."
Derek... thanks for that.... I love that list .."Hollywood Motors - Footschay"! (should be 'Footscray' for our interstate friends!).
Craig, yes you are probably right .... it might have been a place very close... Perhaps Delta Cars ?
Cheers.
I remember Delta cars in Cheltenham or Huntingdale?
There was also Salerno motors nearby both of which dealt in Italian cars.
Salerno closed in 99 and Delta not long after that.
A mate of mine bought his first Fiat a 124 BC from Salerno way back in 92.
Nearly bought a really mint Alfa 75 2.5 from Salerno and after I initially test drove it
was going to go back to do the deal, but noticed it had been sold onto Delta and they wanted
a grand more.
As a result the negotiations stalled as I refused to pay the extra grand and they offered peanuts for the GTV as a trade in.
It was a really nice example, a bit disturbing as
I still remember the rego CYF-575, and was advertised in unique cars. Probably no great loss as I ended up with a Twinspark but the V6 sound was awesome.
I really liked the Straightway sticker on my old 75 and love seeing old Alfas with original
Dealer decals, very cool albeit rare.
Was Delta originally something else ?
Does anyone remember Alfamotive ?
I remember when hunting around for a first car having a look at an 80's giulietta at Straightway on St Kilda Rd. Where I was educated that it's 'Julietta', not 'gillyetta'... Perish the thought ! Didn't manage to close the deal on that one - it was pretty ratty, had a dash switch to turn off the thermo-fans (bit of a sprint giveaway there..) and they wanted a bit much for my spend - they had space to store it, so didn't need to flog it I guess.
Ended up with a Pug 504 eventually after passing on a visually nice series 1 alfetta sedan I saw also (which had rotten floors underneath...)
Learnt a lot about driving in that 504 - very forgiving car. no power, needed 2nd-and-a-half gear, but was fully independent and discs all round. A mate with a hot Torana could always beat me up the mountain roads, but could never beat me down the other side....
This is fast becoming my favourite thread.
keep the stories coming.
my 75 TS (since sold) was from Straightway. I used to get it serviced at Alfa Melbourne in Peel St back in the early 2000's. That site is now up for lease.
I remember the Max Kirwan dealership in bundoora. I always looked to see if the 33's on display had a green or gold cloverleaf as a kid. The site is now an aldi
i'm now working a few doors down from where Talbot were in abbotsford. That is now a Suzuki/Hyundai dealership
Bought my first Alfa from Clemens Sporting Cars in Oakleigh. 3 YO white Sud 4 door. Fell in love after the first corner, thinking 'how long has this been going on' after driving my 72 Charger 75 Honda Civic. Thought it was the perfect car (drove like a go-kart and i thought the interior was very classy in grey velour) until I wrapped it around a tree. The subsequent 33 TI was OK but not as good as the Sud.
Remember getting the Sud serviced at The Italian Job and Charlie having a go at me for not have a 'real Alfa'. Whatamean it's not a real Alfa says I. 'That's a real Alfa' as he points to a beautiful light metallic green 105 GTV2000 in the driveway.
I reminded Charlie of this conversation as we were walking thru his factory last year, looking for a part and he points to a Sud telling me what a great car it was. "No way would I have said that" he tells me.
I remember Salerno Motors in Huntingdale or Chelternam, because it was on the way to Braeside, where we used to go and collate the Alfa Club Magazine at The Late Brian Hormans Printing Factory, on the way home at about 11 pm, i would stop and have a look in the place. Delta was close by, i used to wonder if they were both owned by the same person.
The Max Kirwan Alfa Dealership was on the city side of the Plenty road and Greensborough road intersection, the Aldi place is on the opposite side, the former Max Kirwin site is now a Caravan or pool place or something, i will find out the next time i go past there, i used to go there on the way to Mario Panozzi's house, where he used to sell used Alfa Romeo parts from his garage, before he shifted in to his warehouse in Thomastown.
Does anyone remember Florio Motors in Lalor or Thomastown?, closed up about 1990, that was in the days, when you would look for wrecking yards in a phonebook, remember them?, kids ask your grandparents, Colin.
Was Salerno the place under the overpass on North Rd? That's where we bought Fang, our "1.6" Alfetta GT club car. Very cheap at the time but for good reason ;D
Quote from: colcol on June 13, 2013, 08:34:35 PM
The Max Kirwan Alfa Dealership was on the city side of the Plenty road and Greensborough road intersection, the Aldi place is on the opposite side, the former Max Kirwin site is now a Caravan or pool place or something, i will find out the next time i go past there,
it was indeed a long time ago so I may well be wrong. The aldi site was definately a dealership in a previous life, but it did pass through a lot of marques and there were and are a number of dealerships on the city side so my memories of where exactly it was might be melding into one.
In my relatively short (25 year) Alfa ownership, I've purchased my 75 TS from Mick Fuoco at Talbots, traded that in on a 164 from Talbots, then traded that it on the 164Q that was in Alfa Melbourne's showroom in Peel Street, (salesman was Warwick Jolly) which I still have. Then purchased a 33, and an Alfasud from them. Next the Sud was traded in on a yellow spider at Lance Dixon, which was traded in on a 156 Wagon at Trevor Stanley in Geelong, which was traded for a 159 wagon at Zagame's , which was sold, and then the Giulietta at Lance Dixon.
In 1980 there was a Alfa Dealer called Donington Motors at 899 Nepean Highway in Moorrabin, unknown if they were a Franchised Dealer or just a specialist.
Hollywood Motors, Alfa Dealer early on, as Furniture Retailer Franco Cozzo would say, "In-Foot-is-gray", in the 80's was a Honda Dealer.
Lightburn Company in South Australia, was a distributor for Australia?, they assembled some Alfa Romeo Models there in the 60's, alongside 'Australia's worst car ever', the Lightburn Zeta, also made car jacks, washing machines and concrete mixers, they still make concrete mixers, "Lightburn, mix with the best", Harold Lightburn was the owner of this operation and thought he could export the Zeta, when he couldn't and they auctioned of the remaining unbuilt Zeta's, and someone purchased the fibreglass bodies and used them as dog kennels.
Alfa Romeo's started selling well, by this stage and by 1972, Alfa Romeo Australia, was established in Beuauchamp Rd. in Matraville, where they stayed until 1992 until they closed down, Colin.
Alister I think the one near the overpass in North Road was Delta Cars but as I mentioned I am pretty sure that was their 2nd location (could well have been on Nepean Hwy near Straightway originally).
Salerno Motors was on the corner of Clayton Road and Dandenong Rd (we bought our auto Berlina there) but I am pretty sure they were somewhere else before that location.
I'll have to dig out some of my 'archive' and see what that throws up!
Any one remember going to Italian Job at their original location on the corner of Toorak Rd and Bourke Rd? ....
Col, what Alfa's were assembled here? I was under the impression that no Alfa's were ever assembled in Oz.
(see Barry's comments here http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=5213.msg28810#msg28810)
Cheers.
QuoteAny one remember going to Italian Job at their original location on the corner of Toorak Rd and Bourke Rd?
There's a Budget rent a car there now . It used to be a collection of old tin sheds down a lane way. I remember buying a spare wheel for my first 1750 GTV there about 1976
Quote from: GTV-074 on June 14, 2013, 09:38:15 PM
Alister I think the one near the overpass in North Road was Delta Cars but as I mentioned I am pretty sure that was their 2nd location (could well have been on Nepean Hwy near Straightway originally).
Yep, now that you say that it sounds right. Thanks. We bought that GT in a pretty rough shape and got a roadworthy somehow, in the basis that the car was for track use only. Which it was but anyway......!
We thought it had a standard 1.8 engine but when we pulled it apart some time later to do the rings we found it was in fact a 1.6. I can still recall offering up the new 1.8 rings to the block and having them overlap......
Anyway, it worked out well as late cast 1.6 engines were sought after whereas nobody wanted a 1.8, so when we wanted to put a 2 litre engine in (from a perfectly reasonable Berlina that Dave Crump found somewhere) we sold that 1.6 complete for decent money to someone who put it into a Giulia Super for a round Australia trial re-run. Everyone won.
In the olden days of the 60's, it made good economic sense to assemble cars in Australia, as there were massive import duties to pay on imported cars, 65%, if i remember rightly?.
So if Lightburn industries already had an underused production line, then they may of built some 105 coupes, as cars were a lot easier to assemble back then.
In the olden days of the Bathurst 500 mile enduro, the cars running had to be assembled in Australia, and you would have Studebakers, Mercedes, Triumphs, Volkswagons, Simcas, Hillmans, Morris Coopers, Hillmans.
A few car enthusiests turned up one year at Bathurst in Porsche 911's and they didn't comply because they were not locally assembled.
Later on at Bathurst the local assembly laws were relaxed, to allow a bigger mix of cars, even Fiats were then able to compete.
Does anybody remember Formula Uno the wrecker in Geelong?, it was setup in a what looked like a ex car dealer or furniture showroom, and he had a massive amount of bits for Alfa Romeo's, he seemed to be a bit slow on answering his phone, you would ring 4 or 5 times before he answered, one day i neede something and his phone wasn't answering, so i drove down to Geelong and the place had closed down.....well missed place on the Alfa Romeo landscape, Colin.
QuoteFormula Uno the wrecker in Geelong
He was always a handy guy for 164 bits in the early 1990's when no body was wrecking a 164's.
For a while UNO was where all the Alfa wrecks went. He had some amazing stuff and prices could have very good. I've still got a 75 air con compressor and bracket in the garage that came for there.
The Max Kirwan Alfa Romeo site in Bundoora in 1984 was a number of things after that, currently it is a ex car park bomb site, across the road from Aldi, with Alfa Romeo Dealers coming and going all the time, it does nothing for the stability of the Marque, i hope the current new Alfa Romeo Dealers are in for the long haul, and Alfa Romeo - Fiat - Chrysler need more than 2 models to represent our hallowed Brand, Colin.
In 1972 there was a Alfa Romeo dealer in Ringwood, Victoria at 409 Maroondah highway Ringwood, called Mark Windsor Motors, place is still there, but now is called Procar, they sell all sorts of late used cars, and you see the odd late Model Alfa Romeo there, i purchased a VT Commodore there about 13 years ago, it is just up the road from Car City, in 1972 it would have almost been a Country Alfa Romeo Dealer, from 41 years ago, anybody remember this place?, Colin.
This article has an interesting synopsis of the early (actually mid-, I suppose) Alfa Romeo history in Australia, including Murray Wright's MW motors...
http://www.shannons.com.au/club/news/alfa-romeo-105-coupe-essence-of-ferrari/
I often wondered what happened to Joe Kenwright, if i remember rightly he used to write in the AGE motoring section DRIVE, he did a column called 'Rear View', and he would look at owners of old cars and do a story on them, Joe is much missed as is the Drive section of the AGE.
It is the only part of the SUN that is better than the AGE, still not going to buy the SUN though, Colin.
Col.... Joe has a regular spot in Unique Cars magazine....
Mainly reminiscing about Oz built/assembled cars.
Article here by Joe about Alfa 147GTA -
http://www.uniquecarsmag.com.au/news-and-reviews/article/articleid/78475.aspx (http://www.uniquecarsmag.com.au/news-and-reviews/article/articleid/78475.aspx)
All what Joe said was a good modern Front Wheel Drive car is better than a old 75-90 series with poor quality build and materials with a woefull gearchange, but you have to get a Q2 diff before the standard one explodes, he said the 147GTA is like a GTR Torana like they raced at Bathurst, a big 3.2 powerfull motor shoehorned into a small body, Colin.
How about these notable Club Members from the 1986 Annual Trophy Dinner Night? 8)
The man in the back ground with the glasses is the late Ray Sharp, thankfully none are me because to win a trophy you have to do something good and i had a beard from 1977-1993, Colin.
Is the young man smiling in the 3rd picture Vin Sharp, the Alfa Romeo engine Guru from PACE engineering?, Colin.
Yep. And you can just see Marie on the right of the first picture.
Victor already showed me these pics. Interested to see if anyone picks the mustachioed chap in the first pic?
I'm guessing the first pic is a very handsome Alister Grigg?
And the second is Don Johnson Andrew Carra? (This one looks obvious to me now, but Gina picked that one for me)
Quote from: Sheldon McIntosh on July 15, 2013, 03:21:10 PM
I'm guessing the first pic is a very handsome Alister Grigg?
And the second is Don Johnson Andrew Carra? (This one looks obvious to me now, but Gina picked that one for me)
I have to fess up that you're right on both counts. And of course fess up that I must have enjoyed a few decent meals since that photo was taken..I say nothing about Andrew! :)
But as a side note, we (being Dave Crump and I) were awarded the bunny in recognition of the lack of rear shocks in our then current 105 GTj, a.k.a. The Rocket. 1290cc of pure driving adrenalin for which I still have the purchase receipt - $750 from some business off Bridge Rd in Richmond. Thinking back it wasn't such a bad car. The left side sill was gone but in those days genuine parts could be had for a few dollars and long evenings with a few pizza's, some VB (remember, this was the 80's) and a gas torch tended to fix things.
Actually, building on this theme anyone else remember the car dealer in Camberwell that used to sell shonky old european cars, the ones that the main dealers didnt want to touch? They were on Riversdale Rd where the Caltex servo is now, just across the junction from Henly's.
One car they had was a red 1.8 Alfetta sedan that somebody locally had converted into a wagon. It sat on their yard for months and I recall it was rather rotten as well as being rather ugly!
Quotecar dealer in Camberwell that used to sell shonky old european cars
Alister, I had to chuckle when I read this . I used work in the building behind that car yard. (The VTU building in Camberwell Rd) circa 1981 - 82 . One of the guys at the office brought a 1977 Lancia Beta Coupe from them. About 5years old, but after he bought it and read the service books he found out that it had done about 200,000klms. The trouble started about 2 weeks after he brought it. I just rang him then to see if he remembered their name . He couldn't , but he rolled off the name of " that lying bastard of a used car salesman" who sold it to him like it was yesterday.
Could the dealer have been "David Wright Motors" ???
Bump, I looked at those photo's and never would have picked it as you. Maybe we have all put in some hard yards over the last 30 years or so. I know my hair has gone grey , my airbag has gone off & its about a 10 minute walk around me these days.
Gully
Ah yes.... who could forget the quality used cars that graced the forecourt at "Camberwell Car Centre" .... (More like off centre!)
Had a look at a few cars there...called them first then drove over to check them out...well...I was always amazed...were they talking about the same car?
That same location some years later , reorpened as a service station (i think when Woolies joined the petrol retail game) and promptly had some
claims put in against it for dirty fuel...when a heap of Mercs, Beemers & Audi's started spluttering to a hlat after filling there! ...
Old ghosts still haunt it!
Cheers.
I was living in Camberwell at that time and remember it well. Their cars were amazing, for all the wrong reasons.
I remember a yard in Camberwell taking a customer to court over a 450SLC (I think) because he purchased it subject to inspection. It was the biggest pile of junk I had seen! I did not bother to go through it fully because I only had one pen and and two sides of A4. Perhaps they assumed he wanted it when the inspection told him it needed a fuel leak and a misfire to fix it properly.
My brother and i used to go there on weekends, when they were shut, and were amazed at how crappy the cars were for a dealer in Camberwell, more like wrecking yards in Campbellfield, [i know i used to work round there], there was always a good chance that you would find a car left open and you could sit in them and look at them and change gears, etc, the cars always had plenty of repaired rust as evidence from new paint around the sills, the Alfa Romeo cars always smelt musty inside from the water leaks rotting the carpet, was a dealer we used to look forward to going to, as they always had interesting cars, the Alfetta wagon that was there used to get me into trouble at club nights, because i told someone that there was an Alfetta wagon there and i had seen it, someone purchased it as i saw it driving around, wonder what happened to it?, Colin.
Quote from: GTV-074 on July 15, 2013, 05:48:08 PM
Ah yes.... who could forget the quality used cars that graced the forecourt at "Camberwell Car Centre" .... (More like off centre!)
Had a look at a few cars there...called them first then drove over to check them out...well...I was always amazed...were they talking about the same car?
That same location some years later , reorpened as a service station (i think when Woolies joined the petrol retail game) and promptly had some
claims put in against it for dirty fuel...when a heap of Mercs, Beemers & Audi's started spluttering to a hlat after filling there! ...
Old ghosts still haunt it!
Cheers.
Sadly Land Rover's also suffered from that dodgy fuel; speaking from personal experience :(
Quote from: colcol on July 15, 2013, 08:41:48 PM
My brother and i used to go there on weekends, when they were shut, and were amazed at how crappy the cars were for a dealer in Camberwell, more like wrecking yards in Campbellfield, [i know i used to work round there], there was always a good chance that you would find a car left open and you could sit in them and look at them and change gears, etc, the cars always had plenty of repaired rust as evidence from new paint around the sills, the Alfa Romeo cars always smelt musty inside from the water leaks rotting the carpet, was a dealer we used to look forward to going to, as they always had interesting cars, the Alfetta wagon that was there used to get me into trouble at club nights, because i told someone that there was an Alfetta wagon there and i had seen it, someone purchased it as i saw it driving around, wonder what happened to it?, Colin.
It seems someone else had the same idea:
http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/alfetta-gtv6-1972-1986/158249-i-didnt-know-alfetta-estate-existed-pics-attached.html
Can't say I'm a fan. Proportions look all wrong.
Col et Al,
I cant say I have read such an evocative thread, well done. Ah...those were the days, aimlessly traversing Melbourne looking at the current stock of cars, looking for hard to get parts or those on a wish list. Not sure if it has been mentioned, but there was a Alfa/Fiat parts place in Nth Fitzroy???....Tony??? It's these great memories of what once was that makes AROCA what it is today. Keep up the good work guys.
Regards
Jim
I think that was Mudano Motors on St Georges Rd (now a block of town houses). I had them order a set of Cromodora Mags for me at one stage. After having them on order for about 2yrs I gave up on them! They were mostly a Lancia/Fiat shop as I recall but did have some Alfa gear.
There was a place at Nicholsen St. Fitzroy, that about 1990 sold spare parts, they may have been a Maserati Dealer as i remember the Triden on the window, they were called Auto Sprint Motors.
Used to go to Alfa City in Peel St. West Melbourne, and if they didn't have what i wanted, i would try Autosprint on the way home, Alfa City didn't have a left hand genuine tensioner for the 33, and they were about a month away from Australia, so i purchased a non genuine left hand tensioner, with VEMA Italy on the box, so i thought that would be good.
When i got it home, the tensioner sounded rough, like it was lubricated by sand and the bearing was sloppy and leaking already, put it in the 33, and it sounded terrible, waited a month and purchased a new genuine tensioner, installed it and sounded better, checked VEMA tensioner under a microscope and the important part, the bearing was made in Romania!, had to do the job twice because of this, kept tensioner as a reminder of the folly of buying rubbish parts, didn't go back to Autosprint Motors, Colin.