|
|
|
|
24 December 1988, the day that
I officially passed the test for my drivers licence. And it was my first
attempt!!
My parents told me that the had seen a nice second hand
car for me at a local dealer in Prinsenbeek. We went
to the dealer and my first Alfa Romeo was a fact!! It was an Alfa Sud, colour
dark brown. The engine was a 1.5 Liter
boxer, with 105 HP. Build in 1980, licenseplate FN-22-HF.
Click on the thumbnail for a large
picture
Alfa Sud 1.5
My Alfa Sud was one of the Alfa's that had a serious
rust problem, so after 1 year it was time to buy another car.
I went to the same dealer, left the Alfa Sud behind and bought another second
hand car, again an Alfa Romeo!
It was an Alfa Giulietta, colour bordeaux red, build in 1983. License plate JJ-07-BF. The
engine was a 1.6 Liter four cylinder with 110 HP. The engine gave me some
trouble. Two times
I had a big hole in one of my
piston
in a short period. The first time the engine was repaired and the cost were paid
by the local dealer. The second time the cost were on my own account. I decided
to buy a 2.0 Liter engine with 128 HP from a crashed Giulietta. After that
I didn't have problems anymore.
Click on the thumbnail
for a large picture
Alfa Giulietta 1.6/2.0
One year later, again time for
another car. This time I found one at the Alfa Romeo dealer in Dordrecht. It was
an Alfa 33 1.5 Quadrifoglio Verde, 105 HP colour Silver. Build in 1985, License plate
LX-62-XJ. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of that car. To give an idea I
used a general picture of an Alfa 33.
After the Alfa 33 I bought an Alfa 75, colour Red, with a 1.8 Liter
120 HP
engine.
License plate RH-88-TZ. It was a very nice car and had very sportive look.
As you can see there is a difference in colour between the front side and
backside of the car. My girlfriend "parked" her car in the back of my Alfa 75!! It
happened while driving to the expo Italie weekend in Houten. She used her breaks to late
while facing a traffic jam. The Alfa 75 was 2 cm shorter after the crash and the
backdoors could not be opened anymore. The total repair was 8500 guilders.
Click on the thumbnail for a large picture
Alfa 75 1.8
Well, as I said, my girlfriend "parked" her car in mine. And you will not
believe it, but she had an Alfa Romeo also.
It was an Alfa Sud 1.5 Quadrifoglio Verde with 105 HP, colour Black. License plate LB-66-BZ.
I repaired the Sud myself after this crash.
Click on the thumbnails for a large
picture
Alfa Sud 1.5 QV
While enjoying the Alfa 75, the
Alfa SZ was introduced. What a car!! But at that moment to expensive for me. I
had the possibility to rent a SZ for one day. At that time an once in a lifetime
opportunity. And I promised myself to buy one if the opportunity was
there.............
Click on the thumbnail for a large
picture
Alfa Romeo SZ, rented
After the Alfa 75 I probably had a black out. I bought several other cars, but
no Alfa Romeo's!
Porsche 944 S, imported from the USA
BMW 535i Click on the thumbnails for a large
picture
Opel Omega 2.5 V6
After this Opel my black out was over. I needed a real car, an Alfa Romeo
again!!
And as said earlier, when I have the change I would buy an Alfa SZ. And the
opportunity was there at this moment. So I visited Alfa Romeo dealer Savali
(Sam van Lingen) in Houten to see if they had a SZ in their collection. And yes,
they had one SZ, but also a RZ. The RZ is the convertible version of the SZ.
Before I made the decision to buy the SZ or RZ at Savali, I decided that I
needed more information on these cars. I friend of mine found a website with a
lot of information. It was the website of Eduard van de Beek. He's the one that
owns the SZ/RZ register. A link to this website is available on my homepage. I
sent him an e-mail and asked for more information. He gave me his
telephone number and we spoke with each other for more than one hour. This guy
knows really everything about the SZ and RZ!! At the end of our call he said
that he also has a RZ and that it was for sale. I visited
him the next
day and bought his RZ. It was a beautiful car with only 9665 km on the counter!!
Click on the thumbnails for a large
picture
Alfa Romeo RZ, number 23
A month later I won the first price at the Concourse Elegance
which was held
during an Alfa Romeo event.
At the end I sold the Opel Omega and bought a brand new Alfa Romeo 147. So with the RZ
and the 147 the Alfa family is almost complete, we only need an Alfa Romeo for
my girlfriend. To be continued.........................................
Click on the thumbnails for a large
picture
Alfa Romeo 147 1.6 TS
Hmmmm........... this one
would be nice. Alfa Romeo 156 GTA!!!
