I remember the days when cars came with tool kits. These days a lot of them don't even have a spare tire anymore. If (when) you develop a problem with a modern car you hook it up to a computer. We're not drivers anymore. We're operators of self-propelled computer systems.
At least they still look like cars . . . .
The Alfatross was made when breakdowns and tune-ups were expected, not considered lamentable evidence of poor design or craftsmanship. Making your own repairs were welcome opportunities to bond with your vehicle on a nice Saturday afternoon. Your tool kit was an essential part of your vehicle and as such it was treated with respect. It included special tools specific to your vehicle: wrenches for adjusting the valves, removing and installing spark plugs, and appropriate tools for draining the oil pan and fuel tank.
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| The normal tool kit supplied with every Alfa 1900 according to the 136 page owner's manual. The Alfatross' kit may not have contained No. 10, the lug wrench, or No. 13, the hubcap lever because it came with wire wheels. The little hammer is a mystery. It's too small for knock-off hubs.What was it supposed to be used for? |
Miraculously, most of the Alfatross' tool kit somehow survived, Here I have to admit that during the many decades I had the car but was not doing anything with it, I found some of these tools quite useful. The open-end wrenches, the side-cutter pliers, the tubular socket wrench were all pressed into service at one time or another on other vehicles. I know it sounds like sacrilege now, but from 1965 until 1990, The Alfatross was just another used car. Who cared about its tool kit?
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| The tool roll and jack bags are long gone, but I have all the original tools except the screwdriver, feeler gauge, little hammer, and the rod for twisting the tubular socket wrench. |
I don't know what happened to the original tool bag or the one just for the jack and lug nut wrench. They were not with the car when I bought it. For all I know the tools associated with steel wheels and lug nuts were never included with the car because it wore Borrani wire wheels. But the leather straps that held the tool kit were still there, withered and crusty, still screwed down to the top of the rear axle hump in the trunk.
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| One of the two leather straps that held the tool bag in place on top of the rear axle hump in the trunk. |
One of the previous owners, Paul Turner, inscribed his name on some of the tools. If you Google Paul Turner you will get "about 60, 200,000" results. Before I start scrolling through 60 million results, I'd like to narrow the search down a little. According to Pat Braden, he "found" the car for Paul Turner who became owner number 4 in about 1960. Turner lived in the Chicago area and was an Alfa Romeo Owners Club member. Braden had the right of first refusal so when Turner was ready to sell, Braden bought it in about 1962, becoming owner number 5.
That's all I know about owner number 4--other than he coveted the tools enough to scratch his name into them! I tried tracing Paul through the AROC, but was told by the current membership officer that old club member records were discarded years ago. If Turner had lived in Lizard Lick North Carolina, I suppose it might be worth while to have a go at cold-calling all the Turners in town (how many could there be?), But Chicago? No way.
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| You can just make out the name "Turner" on this valve adjuster tool. |
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| Paul Turner's name is clearly visible on this open-end wrench,. I don't know if he is still alive somewhere, but the few minutes or seconds he spared to engrave his name on these tools firmly establish his claim to previous ownership of The Alfatross. |
If the original tools had not survived I probably would not have known that a tool kit came with it originally. Or I might have assumed that normal Alfa 1900s may have had tool kits but Zagato would not have bothered to include them with the chassis that they re-bodied. But now I feel I should find the three missing tools to complete the set. Then there is locating a proper tool roll and jack bag . . . where does it all end?
