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Hello, I'm Mike. I joined after a friend of mine (user rcollum) told me about this site. I hail from the Northern Virginia area. I've been into cars since I was in elementary school. I'm interested in just about anything, so long as it's old. British and European sports and GT cars, "full classics" from the 1930's, and even muscle cars and hot rods. In the past four years, I've drifted further away from hot rods and muscle cars, in favor of British and Italian sports cars. This all culminated in the purchase of my first car, last October, a Series 3 (1984) Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce. After driving it all Winter (at least when there wasn't snow on the ground), it's currently awaiting the arrival of some parts so I can rebuild the suspension. In addition, I'm currently reassembling a 68-year-old MG TC for a client.
On nearly every weekend from April through October, you'll find me at various car shows all over the Mid-Atlantic, camera in-hand. I average about 10,000 photos per-season. I also am a regular attendee at Katie's Cars and Coffee, held every Saturday morning (~5-9:30AM) in Great Falls, VA.
Thanks. I'm hoping this works and that there isn't an image size limit, as I have no way of editing my photos. Here's a pic from earlier, this year, when I participated in an Alfa driving tour. You may notice the paint is not correct (one of the PO's resprayed the entire car including the bumpers and rubber "ducktail" spoiler body color). The car is a bit too new, for my tastes, but it's still basically the same car, underneath, as the earlier ones. I had been looking for an old car (not an Alfa), but was having trouble finding one that fit my paltry budget ($2,000). I stumbled across this one on a rainy day and bought it the same day. The engine and drivetrain are good and the top is watertight. On the downside, the car is full of rust (including the famous Alfa rocker rust). Surprisingly, the floorpans are pretty solid, as is the spare tire well, but everything else is pretty rotten.
In any case, I never expected it to be perfect, as a restored example should be in the $20,000 range and I only paid $1,400 for mine. I was just happy to have a running, driving car with a top that doesn't leak. Thankfully, I'm trained as a tech and am mechanically inclined, plus my job allows for a lot of flexibility. Unfortunately, I'm not a body man, nor can I afford to have anybody else work on the car.
Thanks. I'm looking forward to finally getting it back on the road, but I'm still waiting on parts I ordered from IAP (International Auto Parts, a major supplier of Alfa Romeo parts). It's a little frustrating, as I don't have a garage and was hoping to get it done before the heat and humidity of the Virginia Summer. Unfortunately, it's already hot and humid, and is unlikely to get any cooler. Oh well.
A bit of both actually, but more so physical location - Los Angeles, CA! Cars and Coffee don't count haha
Yeah, I think there are more Alfas on the East coast due to the fact most of them were imported through the NY/NJ area, just as you see more old Japanese cars in CA (though that's also because the East coast Winters have rendered most old Japanese cars to little more than piles of oxidized dust).
Around where I live, I see old Alfas being driven around on a fairly regular basis. There's a strong following for them, here, and a few shops that specialize in them. That last fact and the fact that parts are relatively easy to find was one of the ways I justified buying mine.
Great! I love the classics too! You can thank James Bond movies, the old ones
Yeah, I'm a huge Bond fan, as well. I've got the 50th anniversary set on Blu-Ray and have seen all of them (and all of the Daniel Craig ones in theaters).
Likewise, my favorite era is up through 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".
My favorites are "Thunderball", "From Russia With Love", and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".
You can't beat the 60's ambiance. The cars, the music, the whole Jet Set lifestyle, even the women were hotter (IMO). There was just a magic to that era that can't be replicated, today. That said, the Daniel Craig films are some of the best Bond movies we've had in decades and, certainly, a refreshing change from Pierce Brosnan's mediocre (again, IMO) performance as Bond.
Though my Alfa is far from an Aston Martin DB5, when I sink into the plush, Italian leather, grip the wood-rimmed steering wheel, and run through the gears, it's easy to imagine I'm speeding up the Mediterranean coast, on my way to a high-stakes game of poker in Monaco!
