It's not an Alfa, but you gotta love the
Stovebolt!
This is the famous HWM "Stovebolt" racer now owned by
Simon Taylor. On the left is a photo from a 1995 R&T feature on
the car. On the right is a 2003 shot from Laguna Seca, just minutes before
Simon takes the car out for his Friday practice session.
So, you're asking about now, why is this terrific car on the Alfa page? Certainly not because HWM originally used
Alfa engines
(They were Alta motors, not Alfa). Not even because the car was built by
HWM's legendary mechanic Alf Francis. No, it's here because
the Stovebolt has a
legitimate Italian
connection and because the Stovebolt is
an example of what happens when a bunch of really good
hot-rodders and tuners go
to work on an already fine racer. Switching the
4-cylinder Alta engine for a 265 cube Chevy was just a start.
About the Italian connection, Simon shares
that "in 1950 Stirling Moss had
his first Formula 1 race in it, even though it
was merely a
2-litre Formula 2 car, and he finished a sensational third to
the works Alfa
Romeos of Farina and Fangio ... that was in the Bari
Grand Prix.
Then a few weeks later Moss had the first bad accident
of his
career in my car: he was leading, holding off the pursuing Ferraris,
when a
back-marker moved across on him and put him head-on
into a tree.
Among other painful injuries, he knocked out his front teeth on the
cockpit edge. In 2000, when I told Stirling I'd bought
the car, he said,
'Have a look in the undertray, boy - you'll probably find my teeth.'"
Left photo: Simon Taylor, on the left, chats with John "Bat" Masterson and a
friend. Masterson, center, is a former Stovebolt owner. Right photo:
Simon applies
the Stovebolt's Chevy power at the 2003 Monterey Historics.
Banks Family challenges legendary Belgian
race track,
finishes 8th in the Spa
Six Hours
Max Banks (left) and his brother Andrew in the pit garages at
Spa. The brothers qualified their GTA Replica 26th but stormed through the
pack of 91 cars
to win the Eau Rouge Trophy and finish 8th overall. Take a look at the
entry list on their website and you'll see what a huge victory this was.
We're pleased
to report the SNO stickers seen on the corners of the GTA's windshield gave them
the winning edge. They'll probably claim it was careful preparation and
driver skill, but we know the truth. Check out the following Alfaholics
link for more race photos and a complete story:
Alfaholics Spa Six Hours Full Report.
World's fastest 4-cylinder Alfa is
SNO-equipped
The crew of Bonnie, the world's fastest 4-cylinder Alfa, gathers
on the lawn at Concorso Italiano, August 19, 2005. Note the Scuderia
Non Originale sticker, placed by engine-builder and driver, Jim Steck (third
from right). In 2006 this car ran 221 mph on the Bonneville
Salt Flats. With Steck at the wheel, it set a new world
record for B/GMS, with an average speed of 217 for the timed mile.
There's more about Bonnie at:
www.autocomponenti.com .
Bonnie's turbocharged engine produces nearly 600 horsepower.
To lend a little perspective, a stock 1600cc motor tested at about 96 hp at the
Magnaflow Dyno Day in 2005. My 1750 engine, back when it was young and
strong, dyno'd at 130 hp (flywheel hp for all 3 cars). A full-race
GTA, "back in the day," was good for about 165 hp, or what my 2-liter motor
makes now.
Max Banks' road-going GTA replica with 198 hp twin-spark engine. Bet
you wish you had after-hours access to the Alfaholics parts supply.
Peter Nitoglia's Vintage 2.5 Challenge GTV.
Richard Lane's 1967 GTV (left) with 2L engine.
Gary Williams' 1967 GTV with also with 2L.
Brian Berger's 1978 Alfetta GTV with
incredible Autocomponenti turbo engine. Wow!
Jim Steck calls 4SFED his "street" Alfa. Oh my! Jim we need more
pictures and details.
Steve Smith's 1959 Sprint as of
August 7, 2005, after its second shakedown run around the neighborhood.
The car was stored
for more than two decades, but after a cleaning and inspection the
engine fired right up. The carbs got new gaskets, but no
retuning, yet it starts and
idles with a twist of
the key. It has a 1750 engine, genuine Shankle 8L cams, and other
upgrades
befitting the car of a former Alfa Romeo dealership mechanic and parts
manager. Ed Note: Now that we have two Steve Smith's in
in SNO, this one will be NorCal Steve unless he hates the name enough to quit
helping me with various Alfa projects.
More shots of Steve's car on its shakedown run around the City of Santa Clara
after its long rest.
Ben Lamprecht's beauty. Engine swap, paint, upholstery done by him.
"Helena,"
Jeffrey Zurschmeide's Berlina ... and Hermia, his GT
Jr.
Joe Cantrell's Berlina ... with Scuderia sticker.
Joe's Spider. To the right is a
shot of Joe's real favorite. Yep, it's a Trabant, which
obviously drew
its styling cues from Alfa's Berlina.
Left - Peter Nitoglia's '63 Spider 2L 45 DCOE "super-elaborata
non originale." Right - Joe Kollman's white-nosed Giulietta Sprint in more
originale company.
They grow some nice Alfa's in South Africa. Here are a few
owned by Greig Smith. With the cars on the right are "Lucie, Mum, and Dad
(Smith)."
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Two more from Greig Smith.
This fine Junior Zagato belongs to Tom Sahines.
Tom Sahines with his GTV at the 2005 Concorso Italiano.
1974 GTV of Ted Williams.
Scott Fisher with his '74 Berlina
Scott with his '74 Spider.
Two views of Tom Hardy's red '67. The third is Tom's
Italian bike. When we asked for "bike" photos, we meant motorcycles, but
what the heck.
Rick DuPuy's recent find is his very first Alfa.
Russ Turner's Ferrari.
Two views of Phil Sykes' 1974 GTV 2000, sitting low with its
Harvey Bailey handling kit.
Carl Liebold's first Alfa shown during its full-on restoration (left).
Don't ya just love a good after photo?
On the right are Carl and the same car.
Below are two more fine views. It may look originale, but the motor is a
warmed up 2L and the suspension is from Alfaholics.
Charles Pernot has about 230hp in his turbo'd Alfetta.
Paul Albertson's Turbo Alfetta. modified when new by AutoVolante in Miami with
Auto Delta race parts, including this exhaust manifold, waste gate and turbo.
Above: Ahmet Tuncay's supercharged 1972 GTV and 1959 Giulietta Sprint Coupe with
2L engine, 45DCOE's, 5 spd tranny, and -- stop me now -- disc brakes.
The GTV uses an Eaton M45 blower, 8.5:1 compression, and Porsche intercooler.
Suspension is by Ward & Dean. You can find more photos of the GTV at:
http://www.alfacybersite.com/ACSSuperchargedGTV.html
This is Michelle Muller's GTV, braving a nasty flooded road.
Brian Shorey's "slightly modified" 1972 Spider.
Michelle also has a Sprint Coupe. She's Scuderia NO's Director
of Jazz because she works at the country's best Jazz station,
KCSM in San Mateo, California. Tune into 91.1 FM or
find KCSM on the web if you don't believe me.
Alfa Nationals Time Trial winning 1969 1750cc Spider, left, and
modified 1987Milano Platinum, owned by Bob Harris and his wife, S.T.
Bruce Colby's 1969 GTV daily driver with Twin Spark engine and Motronic Fuel
Injection.
igure
out how to modify the navigation bars on this template, so "Product" is Webese
for "Here are the Alfa pix."O
