I recently sold my original 71 Giulia Super, after coming to the conclusion that two complete-car restoration projects was at least one too many.
Maybe it is the way I'm wired, but I couldn't leave the pretty “Aubergine”-colored Super alone, and would have had to repair the relatively minor body corrosion to make it perfect. Anyone who has done a repair like this knows that the potential is great for it to turn into a complete strip-down restoration. It is the classic string-on-a-sweater syndrome. Thus I settled on the need for a restored replacement Super.
After driving the Giulia Super and discovering how wonderful an automobile it is, my decision to make it my daily driver became concrete. I can't think of a new production car which would satisfy the senses like this little Italian jewel. It is so light and lively in its handling characteristics, unlike every modern car that I've driven. Forgive my bias, but to me most new cars are quite dead and heavy-feeling. The road feel in new cars is damped out by over-boosted power steering, necessary because of weight of a modern car. And I've driven the best of them – M3, 330, Z-06, A6, A8, alphanumeric soup. The safety and comfort features are great, but the driving experience suffers for it.
So, back to the Giulia Super. I've been searching for one for two years, and in my exhaustive scouring of all sources came upon a great one. The car has been on display in a new car dealer's showroom, where the owner worked, for more than 10 years. I happened upon a dealer who had another Super for sale. In our online conversation where my needs became apparent, he thought of this 1972 car, contacted the owner, and we were able to put together a deal.
The car was in pretty good shape before restoration, so there wasn't a lot of bodywork required. At the time, remember this was about twelve year ago, parts were more readily available. Therefore it was economically feasible to replace rather than repair/refurbish some parts, and this car has brand new doors replacing those which had a bit of rust, and new parts such as chrome door handles and rear bumper. Everything that could be replaced, was – as the photos clearly show. All of the plastic and rubber parts are new in the interior, under the hood and even under the car.
The car has been on display, and only driven a bit more than 200km since restoration. Since it was kept indoors in a temperature controlled environment, it is as it was when the restoration was completed. The car will be in transit very soon from Germany, and hopefully I'll have it here before the end of October. The plan is to convert it to 2L mechanicals, taking care to maintain the superb condition of the car, adding necessary comforts such as air conditioning. This becomes a much easier project than the 71 Giulia Super, as everything but the transplant is done, and of course, it is clean! More details to come.
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