A few days ago, in response to something I mentioned in a previous post, Peter Marshall sent me four photos of the Alfatross, apparently taken in 1965. I have been corresponding with Peter in England since 1981. He is the go-to guy for reliable information about Alfa Romeo 1900s and has been an inspiration to many of us owners for the last 40 years.
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The Alfatross in 1965. Owner: Pat Braden. Note peculiar icon painted on front
fender ahead of the door.
There can be no question that this is the Alfatross. The giveaway is the icon on the front fender just in front of the door. All other features also match. The previous owner made a sketch of the icon before repainting the car to preserve a record of it in case it might be important later. Thank you, Bo!
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These images show that a blog can be a powerful tool. As a result of a previous postingI now have four photos of the Alfatross that were previously unknown to me. The photos, shot with a Polaroid camera, are not of the best quality, but that is true of just about all photographs from that period. Does anyone even remember Polaroid cameras now? The scans Peter sent me are much clearer than what I can show here.
Evidently Pat Braden, the owner, took these photos to show the car's condition to prospective buyers. He was advertising it for sale in Road & Track magazine for $2,250! It's value had been falling for 10 years--but it still hadn't hit rock bottom!
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| The Alfatross seen from the rear quarter in 1965. |
The photo of the rear quarter is probably the most important for me because it shows the presence of a rear bumper. This was removed during the repaint and the holes in the body for its supports were filled in. Until these photos arrived I always wondered if it had ever had a rear bumper. Now I know!
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| The Alfatross interior in 1965. |
The interior shot is important to me because it shows that the Jaeger chronometer and various badges are in place on the dash. That proves they were installed some time between 1955 and 1965 and not added later. The interior is already looking shop-worn. One of the previous owners must have installed the seat belts--they would not have been original equipment. There is some kind of carpet on the floor and over the transmission tunnel--original?
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The engine room. Not much to see from this side. The air cleaner
housing that covers the two dual downdraft Solex P II carbs
probably weighs 25 pounds! |
