Yea. Alfa = Always Looking For Another.
Got my eye on a 4th one. 60's 2600 touring spider.... With wire wheels.
Like this one that sold at auction.
Yup... about forty years ago when I was a teenager I had managed to collect every model '65 Alfa but the GTA... included the 1600 Berlina, GT and Spyder as well as the same trio in the 2600, plus the universally acclaimed to be either the ugliest or prettiest car ever built, the Sprint Speciale complete with bottomless gas tank and range. 2600 Berlina was one of only three in the country, I believe, brought in for the embassy. Electric windows, five speed column shift, looked like a checker cab but with the 5.13 rear it was an incredible hole-shot sleeper. Had a blown (missing) engine but I had a spare 2+2 engine with the triple side-drafts that I shoehorned.
First marriage forced me to whittle the stable down to just the the 1600 GTV and a '62 2000 (4cy, iron block/al head) concours 2+2 I had picked up in a trade for three of the others... that '62 was serial# as the last one built, had a commemorative placard on the dash and, like your photo, has the Borrani wheels, which were quite rare.
The end of that first marriage brought an end to the collection as well, and career brought an end to available creeper time, so I had to transition to more reliable transportation with names like Beechcraft and BMW, but none of that perfectly engineered, boringly reliable machinery ever had the heart and soul of an Alfa... just something about the ride, looks and sound of the exhaust rumbling behind you on a warm summer night with the top down... I can still remember. The hand-ground flashings inside the block and other places nobody but an engine builder could appreciate, the webs and fillets making the bottom end sans crank look like a cathedral. In particular I recall a beautiful casting for the oil cooler thermostatic valve assembly on the 2600... just amazing. I seem to recall they held 8 quarts of oil including the cooler, and when I would drive down to the Jersey shore at top speed on the hottest days the oil and water temp gauges, both needles facing each other in one instrument, would just sit there at 180 no matter what.
On the other hand, I also remember endless fights against rust, constant rebuild of Girling brake components, and carrying a dedicated tool kit and spare head gasket around with me... could change out a 1600 head gasket in about half an hour on a moments notice with the only inconvenience being removing my tie and dinner jacket.
Have fun with your obsession. I'll see if I can dig up some old phtos and scan them... the ex has most of that stuff.
