Update November 11, 2016. This car is listed on ebay again out of Greenville South Carolina. It’s funny to read my old write up – so earnest! This car has been improved a tiny bit – most notably with Sprint seats being added, but still has a few things that could be improved if the new owner so desired. Or not.
Still a good looking example. This dealer had a Giulietta TI listed recently. Very little distortion on the side of the body in the reflection.
Having this blog to look back on is pretty neat – I get to revisit my younger self, see what I thought about stuff, and reflect on what’s changed. Most people can probably relate to how it feels when they discover an old essay they wrote for school, or a set of pictures from some big event in their life – a very human mix of nostalgia, slightly embarrassed introspection and my-god-where-has-the-time-gone reflection on changing priorities. Anyway, I was doing some house keeping and found this post. I think it is as useful now as it was then.
Me in a younger mans clothes – a few days before I wrote this post. How’s the Sprint Veloce doing Corey?
From July 30, 2008: Cleaning up the differential housing was one of those jobs I resisted doing for a while. Every time I looked at it the 2 hours of scraping, solvent bathing and degreaser scrubbing I would have to do flashed before my eyes and I found something else to do. Last week I rearranged a lot of my stuff to fit the Berlina in my space and found myself once again faced with this greasy lump in a tray sitting on my bench top waiting for me to clean it. It was time to face the subject of so much procrastination.
The housing was covered in a thick coating of dirt that had bonded with oil and built up over the years. To save time and solvent I used a small scraper to remove the big stuff. By the time I was done I had removed probably three pounds of the caked oily dirt.
Greasy oily goo scraped off easily, but there was so much of it that it took about an hour to get it ready for a solvent bath.
Update October 13, 2016. Another success story. Eight years ago almost to the day this car was a stalled project, looking like a few bucks and hoping for rain in the form of a value bump enough to be worth tidying up and putting back together for either enjoyment or resale. That rain came.
I like the color combo and the restoration was done by a Giulietta specialist well known for quality work in Alfa circles. I’m guessing that a discussion about a purchase price around the $44,000 asking could buy it. I’m also guessing everyone involved would be happy since it’s very likely better in person as it looks in pictures.
It’s strange to think you can become immune enough to the charms of something like this that you lose the wonder and awe you felt the first time you saw one. Gotta get my steel and aluminum 3D printer working.
Update October 12, 2016: Nice to see this charming project making a fresh appearance. The times have seriously changed since late 2009 / early 2010! This model has surged in value, parts availability has improved a bit, and getting quality work done has gotten much more expensive and necessary. On top of that, my taste for ragged drivers has diminished a bit (see my original comments below for a laugh).
The car has been soda-blasted and treated to some metal repairs that look to have been competently done. It comes with many of its original parts that 6 years ago were slated to be sold separately. Good deal.
Looks like the same car from many moons ago. What’s that blue thing sitting next to it? I watched a friend repair a bunch of metal in a car like this, that started out looking about this good. Was quite an ordeal, and not in any way cheap.
I’m going to guess the seller is several years into getting it to this point. Hopefully pictures prior to application of primer are available. It really is a lot of work, so documenting it is important if you want to get the value from the work.
Update February 3 2016: This car has come back on the eBay market out of New York. It’s sold as a car with one owner for over 30 years – but I think that can be said for many many Giuliettas that come on the market – even mine! Interesting counterpoint to the Sprint out of Mexico I wrote about yesterday.
Bravo on a nice picture. I like the new yellow headlamps. I’m still at odds with the wire wheels. We’ll see how much value the clover leaf stickers and headlamps add.
Update January 12 2012: I have it on good word that this car has been sold.
Update January 7 2012: The time they are a changin’ for our favorite little coupe. Just 18 months ago this 750B Sprint 08689 struggled to reach $25,000 on eBay, and now, today it is listed for $64,500 by Fantasy Junction with a big ‘Sale Pending’ sign under it. It looks amazing in the photos, and with a two liter engine should be a blast to drive, but this price for an Abnormale? I guess.
A little wide in the stance with these wire wheels. Attention to detail is impressive, as is the coat of shine.
October 29 2015: This car has come back on the market after a bit of a hibernation and a healthy coat of rattle can primer. Interesting to read my comments from 2008 and think about how the market has moved since. It probably changed hands for just under $10,000 back then, and now it’s already at $14,200 with 31 bids and just under 3 days to go. Amazing how things change.
Looks like a nicer starting point today than it did 7 years ago. Also noteworthy is that this is a 10102, not a 10105, so it, has metric gauges and was originally probably meant for Italy -though it may have been a Mexico or Venezuela bound car. Anyone know if Mexico or Venezuela cars have Italian language gauge inserts?
October 10 2008: I’m sure at least one of you out there were wondering what the seller wants for this car. Well wonder no longer, this car is available now on Hemmings website. Asking price is $11,900. Are we in a financial crisis or not? More pictures can be seen on Picasa (unless like me your employer blocks Picasa access for some reason). What do I think? For $11,900 this car should run, drive, stop and not make you worry about when you last had a Tetanus shot. Subtract the cost to make it so and you are back to a $5500 car. It is a free country though so be prepared to see this car on the market for a while.
September 22 2008: Reserve not met! Bidding ended at $5950 with 15 bids placed. I bet the seller wanted $6000 and is trying to make a deal with the high bidder. Relists always fall flat and this is pretty good money for this car.
Giulietta Sprint 10102 1493*20205, engine 1315*010311. Here is a reportedly rust free 101 Sprint Project that is currently on eBay out of Florida. I would want to verify the rust free claim with pictures as Florida has a climate that promotes rust. Car wears new tires which is a plus at least as far as rolling it around while working on it is concerned and if they are of good quality your $300 ahead of the game. Everything on the outside is still bolted in place though it’s tough to tell for sure from the pictures it all looks reasonably straight.
You can assume the ‘blush’ on the front of this car hides surface rust of the sort seen on the drivers door. I like the fender-forward mounted mirrors (maybe a Japanese market car?) and the trim looks good. If you are bidding, assume it will all need rechroming.
Update 8/18/2015: As yet finding it difficult to find a human whose tastes align with its character, this Giulietta Spider continues to float from mark-up to mark-up (I would have thought mark-down to mark-down -but who am I to speculate). Buy it now on eBay for $37,900 and be eschewed by Alfa owners, Cobra owners and those who aren’t comfortable in the presence of this much yellow. I mentioned in the last update that the clock was ticking toward a time when it would be an attractive value proposition to take this car back towards stock. That clock is still ticking.
How hard could it be to lose the black?
