1970 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300 TI
Discussion
Welcome! I thought I had Better make a start on the chronicles of the latest addition to the fleet.
To start with, the world of classic cars is still a fairly new one to me. I have always been into modern cars mainly. don’t get me wrong, being a life long automotive obsessive, I have always appreciated classic cars, but I didn’t really understand what they had to offer aside from looks.
Then along came the Caterham just over a year ago (see mint green 420r thread) which opened my eyes completely to the visceral physical experiences of driving beyond just “power”, and I began to realise what classic cars offer. It’s the whole experience that is exciting, the smells, the sounds and the quirks. it’s not just about speed. That epiphany combined with regular attendance at Bicester Scrambles and Classic and Cake at Duke of london meant that I had been well and truly bitten by the classic car bug and the search began.
There were two cars in particular that kept on stealing my heart whenever I saw them at shows and meets, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Saloon and the GT Junior Coupe. So I knew from the start it had to be one of those two.
I set out online trawling the classifieds for possible candidates, and soon realised that a decent coupe was out of budget. Which was no great shame as in my heart of hearts I knew as pretty as the coupe is, I loved the little Giulia. For every five coupes you tend to see at a meet there always seems to be only one Giulia Saloon. Plus I have always loved the idea of fast estates and big saloons, so my mind was made up. *There will be pictures soon I promise*
I narrowed it down to one car, the advert had the faint wiff of “great car, bad photos” which excited me. There was the small issue of it being located in Dundee! Which is a 8 or 9 hour drive from home. Even so, I had a feeling this is might be the one. A quick phone call with the owner had a deal put togeather - pending seeing the car in person - so off I went on the first flight to Scotland from Heathrow!
With the appropriate reading materials…
After a two hour flight and a fifteen minute taxi ride I arrived at the local garage where the car had just had its MOT, and there she was parked outside.
I had a brief look around the car before the owner came out and it was instant relief, the car looked in much better shape than the photos suggested. I was slightly concerned that if the car wasn’t as described my negotiation power might be slightly impacted by the fact I had just turned up fresh off a one way flight with no other means of getting home besides buying the car! But luckily the car was better than described.
The garage kindly stuck her up on the ramp and let me have a good look around underneath, everything was in fine order so the deal was done! Thus retaining my unbroken record for always breaking the golden rule and buying the very first car I see
and after a brief demo on getting her started I was ready to set off for the eight hour (so I thought!) drive home!
there was stunning scenery…
Many obligatory petrol station shots…
More stunning scenery…
Then finally at 11.30pm, 10 hours after setting off from Dundee I was back home!
I’m pleased to report the car was a dream for the entire 10 hour trip, not a single hiccup to report. It will happily sit at 70 odd mph on the motorway and keep up with traffic, and the ride is actually better than my daily driver golf estate which is was very surprising!
The next day I thought it would be rude not to take it on my commute to work in central london, I could see how it fared in city traffic, also I would be able carry out one the essential steps in automotive bonding. The all important “first clean”. I was pleased with the results!
So there you have it, another exciting chapter begins! I am over the moon with the car. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel and enjoy this great little car.
The next steps are getting it serviced - I was planning on carrying this out myself, but there are a couple of other bits that need sorting on the car, so I thought I might as well get it serviced at the same time and get it back as blank slate so to speak - and a full check over at my local Alfa specialist. As well as plan out a few choice upgrades for the future, so stay tuned!
To start with, the world of classic cars is still a fairly new one to me. I have always been into modern cars mainly. don’t get me wrong, being a life long automotive obsessive, I have always appreciated classic cars, but I didn’t really understand what they had to offer aside from looks.
Then along came the Caterham just over a year ago (see mint green 420r thread) which opened my eyes completely to the visceral physical experiences of driving beyond just “power”, and I began to realise what classic cars offer. It’s the whole experience that is exciting, the smells, the sounds and the quirks. it’s not just about speed. That epiphany combined with regular attendance at Bicester Scrambles and Classic and Cake at Duke of london meant that I had been well and truly bitten by the classic car bug and the search began.
There were two cars in particular that kept on stealing my heart whenever I saw them at shows and meets, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Saloon and the GT Junior Coupe. So I knew from the start it had to be one of those two.
I set out online trawling the classifieds for possible candidates, and soon realised that a decent coupe was out of budget. Which was no great shame as in my heart of hearts I knew as pretty as the coupe is, I loved the little Giulia. For every five coupes you tend to see at a meet there always seems to be only one Giulia Saloon. Plus I have always loved the idea of fast estates and big saloons, so my mind was made up. *There will be pictures soon I promise*
I narrowed it down to one car, the advert had the faint wiff of “great car, bad photos” which excited me. There was the small issue of it being located in Dundee! Which is a 8 or 9 hour drive from home. Even so, I had a feeling this is might be the one. A quick phone call with the owner had a deal put togeather - pending seeing the car in person - so off I went on the first flight to Scotland from Heathrow!
With the appropriate reading materials…
After a two hour flight and a fifteen minute taxi ride I arrived at the local garage where the car had just had its MOT, and there she was parked outside.
I had a brief look around the car before the owner came out and it was instant relief, the car looked in much better shape than the photos suggested. I was slightly concerned that if the car wasn’t as described my negotiation power might be slightly impacted by the fact I had just turned up fresh off a one way flight with no other means of getting home besides buying the car! But luckily the car was better than described.
The garage kindly stuck her up on the ramp and let me have a good look around underneath, everything was in fine order so the deal was done! Thus retaining my unbroken record for always breaking the golden rule and buying the very first car I see
and after a brief demo on getting her started I was ready to set off for the eight hour (so I thought!) drive home!there was stunning scenery…
Many obligatory petrol station shots…
More stunning scenery…
Then finally at 11.30pm, 10 hours after setting off from Dundee I was back home!
I’m pleased to report the car was a dream for the entire 10 hour trip, not a single hiccup to report. It will happily sit at 70 odd mph on the motorway and keep up with traffic, and the ride is actually better than my daily driver golf estate which is was very surprising!
The next day I thought it would be rude not to take it on my commute to work in central london, I could see how it fared in city traffic, also I would be able carry out one the essential steps in automotive bonding. The all important “first clean”. I was pleased with the results!
So there you have it, another exciting chapter begins! I am over the moon with the car. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel and enjoy this great little car.
The next steps are getting it serviced - I was planning on carrying this out myself, but there are a couple of other bits that need sorting on the car, so I thought I might as well get it serviced at the same time and get it back as blank slate so to speak - and a full check over at my local Alfa specialist. As well as plan out a few choice upgrades for the future, so stay tuned!
Edited by MTW on Wednesday 7th June 14:39
Slowboathome said:
I love everything about this.
- The car
- The photos
- The adventure!
Thanks mate, much appreciated!- The car
- The photos
- The adventure!
Northbrook said:
That looks wonderful!
Thanks!Chunkychucky said:
Lovely looking car OP, congrats on the new acquisition glad to hear it was better than described!
My old man has a 'step front' 1968 GT Junior, must admit always preferred this saloon shape of Giulia
Looking forward to future updates!
Ah thanks mate. Oh yes lovely! The StepMy old man has a 'step front' 1968 GT Junior, must admit always preferred this saloon shape of Giulia
Looking forward to future updates!Front Scalino is the one I wanted coupe wise, but they start around four times the price I paid for the Giulia so are an entirely different proposition! But they are very pretty! I would love one in the future.
Richard-390a0 said:
Hats off to you jumping into an unknown car & driving it ten hours home lol! It looks fabulous btw.
Ah thanks! To be fair it was good fun in the end!ChevronB19 said:
Lovely things, Uber cool, and made surprisingly good saloon car racers, both in their day and in historics.
Cheers! Oh yes I follow a few of the Italian race teams on instagram, they looks great.alfabeat said:
Love it! I also love these little cars - sort of the underdog to the Coupe, but just as entertaining to drive. Keep us updated on how you get on with her please!
Thanks mate, yes will do!CarlosSainz100 said:
Well that is just immense. Both the car and size of your balls to attempt that journey. Fantastic
Ah ha ha, thanks much appreciated!Edited by MTW on Wednesday 7th June 21:09
Squadrone Rosso said:
Lovely machine. Congrats!
Cheers!Electric Blue said:
Looks fantastic. I love the willingness to take a gamble on the flight! We all know you get the best ones that way.
Thanks mate, yea you know it!jaybarts said:
Love this, big balls to drive it for 10 hours on the first drive too!!!
Ah ha ha cheers!JJJ. said:
Lovely.
Thanks mate.StescoG66 said:
CP Garage Services Dundee. Euan Colbron? If so, he has a great rep and is one of the main AROC guys up here.
Yes that’s where I picked it up from, he sorted the MOT and got the car ready for sale on Behalf of the seller. Yes he seemed a great chap who really knew his stuff!MTW said:
Thanks! Yes it is, it’s a 114270 its an older one!
Clearly a man of impeccable taste :-) My 214270 (blackout) is 10 years old and still gets worn almost every day. I had acquired the taste for classics a bit earlier than you, having now had my 1981 Mercedes 500 SEL for 9 years.I look forward to seeing your progress on the latest addition, I have enjoyed your other threads to date 👍
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff