Ordinarily, the single-marque clubs no longer hold as much appeal as they used to, especially since repair resources are now available to anyone with internet access. However, when given the opportunity to ogle loads of old Alfas and spend some time on the track and in the field with them, it’s hard to resist. And that’s how the RustyButTrusty Alfetta GT ended up attending the 2013 Alfa Romeo Owners’ Convention. Tuesday’s offering (okay, so it’s not exactly live reporting, but cut me some slack, I was drooling on other people’s cars today as well) was a Hooked On Driving course at Sears Point, or Sonoma Raceway as they insist on calling it.
Archive for July, 2013
Live Trackside Report – 1979 Alfetta GT at Sears Point for 2013 Alfa Romeo Owners’ Convention
July 11, 2013Sporty Fuselage – 1969 Chrysler 300 Coupe
July 6, 2013Although I have a definite proclivity for European cars, since that’s my experience, here at RustyButTrusty we do not exclude any particular type of car. However, leaning toward oddballs often implicitly means you’re not going to see many American cars here, since collectively they’re pretty common in the US! There is some kind of opposites-attract appeal to the insanely large American cars – I used to hate these cars as a child, probably because they were all over the place, holding our Saab 99 up and belching blue smoke from years of service. However, at this point they’re fairly rare, and as such I think the remaining cars are interesting for what they say about the conditions under which they were conceived. In the fat years leading up to the late 1970s and onwards, US manufacturers offered all kinds of derivatives (models and sub-models) of what was basically the same platform. So for example, for the new fuselage bodies in 1969, Chrysler offered the Newport, Newport Custom, New Yorker, Town & Country, and the 300. Within the 300 model, there was a coupe, convertible, and pillarless sedan. Today’s car is a 300 coupe, listed for $1500/$2500 in Falling Waters, WV.
Suckered – 1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT (plus bonus ’78!)
July 5, 2013As regular readers know, I am a sucker for a nice Alfetta, or even a not-so-nice Alfetta, which is how I end up spending more on bodywork than I probably should! While they have their issues, which are well-known from when Alfa Romeo was trying to sell these as daily drivers, many of those are significantly diminished by the weekend driver status. When sorted, they are really quite reliable as a fun second car. With that, let’s see today’s example, a 1976 Alfetta GT listed for $1500 in Seward Park, near Seattle, WA.


