Alfa Romeo Giulia GT Sprint Veloce

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Ted's 1974 GTV

The Story Behind the Car

One warm, sunny day in 1966 I was exercising my motorcycle on the winding roads of New Almaden, south of San Jose, California.  I came upon a sports car in multiple colors of red, red primer and black primer.  While it didn't look too good, it easily pulled away from me and made a great sound doing so.  After a bit the Alfa slowed, I caught up, and the driver and I were surprised to find we knew each other. 

Little did I know that chance meeting would lead to a continuing appreciation for Alfas for me and for Ted, the son who came along a decade later.  I bought the mostly red 1959 Giulietta Spider soon after, quickly coming to prefer it over the Austin Healey 100/4 I already owned.  The Healey and motorcycle went away in short order, because they weren't driven. 

As for Ted, it is now family lore that one fine day when he was about 8 he looked longingly at the GTV I still have and asked, "Dad, when you die can I have your car?"  Fortunately, the car and I are still here, and Ted now has his own GTV.

He's already owned a non-running GT Jr. project car, two Milano Verdes and an Alfetta (Why Ted?  Why?).  He'd just bought the latest Milano when I put the new engine in my car.  Late in 2004 I did a bad thing to him.  I asked if he would accompany me to visit his grandparents, a 500-mile round trip we would make in one day ... in my Alfa, the one with the hot engine.  That part was fine.  But about half-way there, on Coast Highway 1, I pulled over and asked him to drive.  Once he got used to the new engine's power, he became a terror heading south, passing long lines of tourists who were there to admire the coastal view rather than challenge the twisting, turning highway. 

Ted had so much fun that when he got home he put the Milano up for sale and began an aggressive hunt for his own GTV.  He found it a few weeks later in the hills of Berkeley, California.  And this time, at least, he took the old man's advice:  Pay for a good one; it's less expensive than buying a fixer-upper.

Last modified: April 10, 2007      Send mail to Gary Williams:  alfa at greend.com (Sorry, you have to type this in; it's not a link)