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How I found the SZ
How I found the SZ
On January 16th 2022, I received an email link from my brother for this listing at the BaT (Bring-a-Trailor) website for a 1959 Giulietta Sprint Zagato, VIN number AR 10126*00001 https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1959-alfa-romeo-giulietta-sprint-zagato/ I chuckled to myself thinking that he was joking again as he nor I ever expected that I would actually join in the bidding, but there it was like a dream, and that night, like all true Alfisti bitten by the bug, thoughts of driving that little gem were burning into my brain and it was hard to sleep. In the morning, I had another look at the listing while lying in bed. My fiancée woke up and asked me what I was looking at. Not expecting an enthusiastic reply, I explained that of all the cars I’ve seen in my life, this was one of the most important and collectible examples to be found. Not only that, it was an Alfa Romeo! I explained how this car checks every box including Zagato hand built alloy body, prototype with original engine - first of a series with slight differences from the rest of the limited production of 213 cars, the actual 1960 Geneva show car for Alfa Romeo and Zagato, race winning history including the 1960 Naples Grand Prix and complete history of ownership with the first owner being Scuderia Sant’ Ambroeus racing team of which Elio Zagato was one of the founders. After explaining all of that to her, a novice of all things automotive, imagine my total shock and glee when she said “you should buy it”, and so my bidding started on April 17 with only two days to go with the auction. I have to wonder if somewhere in the heavens that some famous female race car driver like Ada Pace may have sprinkled some fairy dust over my wife on that morning. Yes, of course I married her!
In the bidding, I was surprised that I didn't face any scary competition from high rollers such as Lopresto or other serious collectors of prototype or Zagato cars. Overall, there were relatively few bids, and I was expecting a lot of activity in the final hours, but not much happened. Comments were going crazy though, and in the end, there were more than 300 comments. With only a few minutes to spare and my fiancée by my side I was on the phone with my dear friend, Bill Daemke, an Alfa junkie and wizard mechanic from way back, trying to decide on a strategy in case a last minute bidding war started. My final bid turned out to be the highest, but it still wasn’t enough to meet the reserve. The real negotiating went on after the auction, kindly facilitated by the seller’s agent Christian Phillipsen of LeBolide.com. We settled on an amount which was below the listed reserve, but at a level that was a good outcome for everyone. For the privacy of the seller, I won’t divulge that final price, but I can say that it is most likely the highest amount ever paid for an SZ, and rightly so.
At the time of delivery, USA was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ships were stacked up for months outside of Long Beach, California and other ports. I couldn’t risk having my new baby boxed up that long at sea, maybe even getting lost in the shuffle of that huge backlog of sweaty shipping containers. I made the wise decision to splash out for air shipping. Accidents happen at sea. In fact, just one day after my car flew into Los Angeles, the massive Felicity Ace ship caught fire and sank. Thousands of mostly brand new cars are now laid to rest at the cold lonely depths of more than 1600 fathoms.
Getting Acquainted
Getting Acquainted
My SZ arrived from Bergamo, Italy without a hiccup. I happened to be near Los Angeles when it came off the plane, so I made an appointment with Matt Fisher of Classic Automotive Relocation Services (CARS) to see my car at their warehouse. While there, we saw the familiar beautiful dark blue Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B, a regular at local NW car shows, that was waiting for paperwork before heading overseas to its new owner. A few days later, I met my new Zagato gem in Portland, Oregon. The truck arrived, but the car refused to start. Bill and I tried this and that, but no dice, so we pulled the plugs out and used the starter motor to drive the car out of the trailer and into my shop. The Lodge spark plugs were toast and a new set of NGKs were all it needed to bring it back to life. The sound was spectacular and fitting for the mostro. The car was everything it was said to be, so I was quite relieved that there were no big surprises. I took a huge risk in buying something that I had no way to inspect from abroad. Now I had my chance. A quick look under the car while up on the lift revealed a complete lack of rust and only a few dings and scratches from being used and loved by its previous owners. There were some old rally brochures, stickers and a couple of baseball hats printed with a long past hillclimb event that they must have participated in. Generally, the car seemed like it hadn’t been used much for a long time. The owner, Maria and her grown son had inherited it many years before. Her husband became owner of the car in 1982. I could tell by our conversations that it wasn’t an easy thing to let go of something that was so dear to their family for so many years.
Changes or Updates
Changes or Updates
As for making any changes to my SZ, there are very few. To start with, as a weight saving measure, all unnecessary logos and extraneous trim was omitted from these race cars, but after changing to the shorter American license plate, a large flat space above the plate remained with an incomplete feeling, so I decided to glue a chrome Alfa Romeo script there on the boot lid. It looks totally appropriate, and no holes were made, so no harm done. It was especially interesting for me to discover that after only a few weeks of doing that to my car, Zagato chose to do the very same thing on their most recent design of the Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato. It’s precisely in the same place as if they got the idea from my car. Great minds think alike.
Update: In of August 2024, I have removed the Alfa Romeo decals that were on the front fenders. I believe that it looks much better now. I have also removed the non-original dual gauge cluster that was mounted in front of the passenger seat. The original oil and water temperature gauges aren't working and I will be sending all the gauges to Palo Alto Speedometer Inc for restoration.
Driving Experience
Driving Experience
Since starting my ownership of SZ 00001, I’ve driven about 2000 miles. Last year, I participated in two major events in my area. The first was the SCM1000 Rally. It was a four day rally traveling 250 miles per day in some of the most beautiful and scenic areas of Oregon and Washington states. The roads are fast and there are lots of curves and hills. My wife was a great navigator and she quickly came to appreciate the spirit of the car. The second event was the Northwest Classic Rally during August 2022 which was about 350 miles over many fast country roads of the valley and hills around Eugene Oregon. The weather was perfect and this time my friend Bill and I took turns navigating and driving. We had a blast, but missed a really important turn which turned out to be a good thing because we ditched that afternoon of the rally and ended up at the beach where we had a great meal of fish and chips. We later received the “Magellan Award” for the car who deviated furthest from the route. The tip off was during the dinner slide show where participants posted their best photos from the day. Our posting was a photo of the SZ with a lighthouse in the background, but the rally didn’t go to the beach. That got a big laugh. It was a great adventure, but what’s it like to drive an SZ? Things happen fast in an SZ. It requires full attention. It’s controlled and poised, but it’s hard to get in and out. It’s hard to put on the four point seat belts, there are fumes and it’s loud; really loud in a vicious way. You can barely carry on a conversation. My wife and I hardly spoke for four days. That all sounds difficult, but the truth is that the SZ is a pure joy to drive. It could be said like this: Comparing cars to horses.. Driving a modern Alfa like my Stelvio is like riding a horse with a comfortable saddle. Driving my 1967 GT 1300 Junior is like riding a horse bareback, but when driving the SZ, you ARE the horse. It just feels like you become part of the car. It’s really quite an experience and very addictive. As Ferris Bueller puts it, “If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”
Enjoy listening to a podcast about the story of this Alfa Romeo SZ as published by Lance Dong for his "Always Looking For Another" show in December of 2024.
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