iniezione - alfa romeo · on the drive. cindy is an excellent navigator so we did great and stayed...

Iniezione The newsletter of the NorthWest Alfa Romeo Club

W e headed into

this year’s Tulip

Rallye on April

27th - the 38th that the MG

Club has run - with high

hopes. It turned out to be

an exceptional event, not

least because for the first

time in many years the sun

shone!

We were one of the Alfas in

a strong club turn-out of ap-

proximately 4 Guilias, 5 Spi-

ders, and at least one Fiat

entered as an Alfa. Through-

out the tour we experi-

enced brilliant (if cold)

sunshine and gorgeous

scenery on twisty Alfa

roads, and the traditional

rain (and, this year, hail)

held off until we’d all

arrived back at the park-

ing area.

As we entered the car corral at the start we heard that Fred

Russell couldn't make it, and knowing that Gordy and Dolly

were also out (touring on Route 66) we thought we may have

a chance of an Alfa class win after all. Well, the Gehrings -

all 3 of them, Bill, Judy and their son Jeff - busted that theo-

ry. Then Kristi

and Paul Affolter

showed up, as

did Cindy Akana

in her Abarth!

Our competitive

spirit for these

gimmick rallyes

and their some-

times-obscure

clues has slipped

over the years so

we decided on

no doubling back for answers, and just enjoy the

drive. And if we get the answers, fine!

For me the best part of this particular event is watching all

the different marques throughout the drive. With 40 different

Clubs participating, the mix of cars is very cool! We saw a

Lambo followed by an old Land Rover (has that guy ever

missed one of these?) fol-

lowed by MGs,

Austin Healeys,

Triumphs and Min-

is.

Another highlight

of the day was go-

ing south on the

always-fun Chuckanut Drive following the Guilia of

Paul & Kristi. New Alfas on Chuckanut!

Congrats to Bill and Judy Gehring and their son

Jeff for their 1st place accomplishment! Well done

team!

Triple-Teaming at the Tulip Rallye Experience - and a third set of eyes - help the Gehrings win

(continued on page 4)

May, 2019

In this issue…

* Tulip Rallye reports ….... pp 1, 4

* President’s Column .............. p 2

* Hydroplane Museum ……..... p 3

* Jay Nuxoll’s G’Raj Mahal ..... p 3

* Test-n-Tune Track Day ……. p 4

* Italian Wie Tasting ….…….... p 5

* FEN All-Italian Show …….… p 6

* AROO Old Spider Tour ……. p 7

* Garden Tour ………………... p 7

* Twilight Lapping/HPDE ……. p 8

* Seattle Art Museum show .... p 8

* Historics BBQ …..………...… p 8

* Concorso Italiano …………... p 9

* AROC Goes to USGP ……... p 9

* Citroen Spring Drive ….……. p 9

* Bolt-On Performance . pp 10, 11

* Membership Update ……… p 12

* Calendar ……….......……... p 16

Next club events…

* Hydroplanes ………,,,,,,. May 14

* Garden Tour …………... May 18

* G’Raj Mahal …………... June 11

Lindsay Geyer

Iniezione page 2 May 2019

Good and Busy!

B etter late than never... that's the old adage. This

newsletter would have arrived a few days earlier ex-

cept I got busy and missed the deadlines offered by

the on-time editor. Busy... car things, event planning, the

AROO Old Spider Tour, house buying... all of these got me

distracted. I hope you'll forgive me.

As I write this, Cindy and I have just returned from Oregon

after participating in the 41st Annual Old Spider Tour hosted

by the great folks in Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon (AROO).

I didn't drive an old Spider so I was relegated to the back of

the crowd but we did volunteer to lead the group of Non Alfas

on the drive. Cindy is an excellent navigator so we did great

and stayed right on course, starting near Beaverton and wan-

dering twisty roads on the way to Astoria, then lunch, and

finally a Gimmick Gymkhana before heading home.

The route home wandered towards Portland for most, but

Cindy and I took the bridge across the Columbia River and

used this as an excuse to cut up past Grays Harbor and the

ancestral territory of the Russells. I didn't have any logging

attire so we didn't get out of the car as we passed through

Aberdeen.

"To boldly go where no man has gone before..." These

words became part of many of our lives in 1966 when the

second pilot episode of Star Trek aired. Today, times have

changed and it calls for an update. Though it really isn't my

responsibility I'm doing it anyway. Perhaps, 'To boldly go

where no Alfa has gone before.'

FCA / Alfa Romeo has sort of done that with the Stelvio. I

know, they made the AR-51 and truck in Europe, but until a

few years ago, we'd never seen any SUV with an Alfa badge.

Even the 4C is a bold new option for us.

More locally, I'm taking this mentality in a different direction.

Fox Island has at least two NWARC members and McNeil

Island may have an Alfa member (but we hope not). By my

checking, Anderson Island doesn't have any Alfa Romeos or

NWARC members... until now. Yes, I'm finalizing the pur-

chase of a small home and land on this tranquil island just off

shore from the town of Steilacoom.

The once safe roads where people walk hand-in-hand, deer

wander freely, the school bus brings kids to the two room ele-

mentary school.... will all change very soon. A Rosso Com-

petizione Alfa Giulia Ti Sport will soon be changing the island

way of life. To make it worse, I plan to invite NWARC over for

an island event perhaps in the fall. And they thought climate

change was a problem.

Before all of that, we have some great club events coming

up. The May meeting (See page 3) will be at the Hydro Mu-

seum down in Kent. This is always a fun place to get up

close to the Thunderboats many of us remember pounding

across the water on Lake Washington. As a kid, I made a 12"

wooden hydro, attached

a string, tied it to my

stingray bicycle and rode

around a course in the

lawn marked by screw

drivers stabbed into the

ground.

We also have the great

Garden Tour coming up

on May 18. This is a

must attend event every

year as Debi Schmid

does a great job of finding fun, informative places for us to go.

She also orders up excellent weather and plans out a won-

derful day. Find the details on page 7 and make sure you tell

Debi you're coming along.

Additionally, I’m working on a few fun events that will hap-

pen in June and later. In late June, there is a fundraiser

event in Seattle at the Olympic Sculpture Park with 18 ex-

tremely nice cars, among them a few Alfa Romeos. This will

be a very cool event with cars on lawn... my favorite way to

display them. There is more info about this on page 8 of this

issue. It’s a great chance to see great cars in a great setting,

eat some good food, hang out with artsy people and help the

Seattle Art Museum raise money for events and special ex-

hibits.

Later in June are the Greenwood Car Show and LeMay

Grand Tour Show & Shine. We know August always gets

busy but one local event is always well attended, the Kirkland

Waterfront Car Show. This year, I have asked for 9 spaces

for club members cars to display as a group. I'd love to have

a variety of years and car types to share. Keep August 11 on

your calendar for this and I'll ensure we have the details in the

next newsletter. The next day (August 12) is the Magnolia

Car Show: so much to see and do!

August also has the always outstanding Monterey Car

Week. I'll be there with two cars on the lawn at Pebble and I

hope a few of you can attend as well. If so, please let me

know so we can have a NW contingent wandering the area

and enjoying this car heaven together.

Lastly, I'm working on the 2019 Half Lap of Washington.

We will go on some roads we have enjoyed before but that

should be okay as they were good last time. We'll visit differ-

ent places and I'll make sure it is another unique trip. There

are so many great things to see and do in our state!

I do a day trip car drive every month with another car club.

Do all of you want to enjoy day drives as well? Contact me

and tell what you'd like and I'll try to make sure it happens.

Back to busy and fun stuff... It never ends and I like it that

way.

- Fred Russell

President’s Column By Fred Russell


AROO (Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon) Doug Zaitz

509-768-4312 [email protected]

FEN (Fiat Enthusiasts NW) Gordy Hyde

425-241-9307

MGCCNWC (MG) Ken Bottini

425-883-9615

Pacific Coast AROA (BC, Canada)

Don Best 604-939-5056 dlbest@telus

President Fred Russell

(425) 308-6621 [email protected]

Vice President David James

(206) 849-3211 [email protected]

Secretary Joanie Vivaz

(206) 420 8161 [email protected]

Treasurer Ken Case

[email protected]

Activities Directors Judy & Bill Gehring

425 822-4231 [email protected]

Chief Driving Instructor Mirko Freguia 206-795-0861

Membership Chairs Paul & Kristy Affolter


[email protected]

Newsletter Editor Jon Inge


Webmaster Earl Krygier


Technical Wes Ingram


15613 “C” Peterson Road Burlington, WA 98233

http://nwalfaclub.com

www.aroc-usa.org www.alfabb.com

Facebook: NWARC

Board Members

Committee Leadership

Club Liaisons

The Iniezione is the monthly newsletter of the NorthWest Alfa Romeo Club, a non-profit organization of Alfa Ro-meo enthusiasts. NWARC is a regional chapter of the national Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC). Chapter meet-ings are typically held the second Tuesday of most months except December. Membership dues are $65 per year, which includes subscriptions to the digital and/or print versions of the Iniezione and the monthly national publica-tion, Alfa Owner. For information about joining the club, contact the Membership Chairs listed in the right hand column. Opinions expressed in the Iniezione are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the club. (The authors may simply be nuts!) Publication of articles describing technical procedures does not constitute an endorsement by the club, its officers or AROC. It is the responsibility of the person performing any procedure to accept all consequences of his or her actions. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone would take personal responsibility?

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To subscribe to the digital newsletter, please sign up using the form at the lower right corner of the Club Web-site’s home page, www.nwalfaclub.com..

Informazioni Generali

Next Club Meetings

J ay Nuxoll, aka “TWOLITERLOVER”,

has graciously offered to host the June

club meeting at his home.

Jay is a seriously Alfa-diseased and an-

cient lover of the old two-liter cars and a

founding member in 1965 of the NorthWest

Alfa Romeo Club. We will gather at Jay’s

ALFA G'RAJ MAHAL, his home garage with

more Alfa cars and parts than he dares list

because of the disapproval of his shamed

and chagrined family, and where he still fee-

bly tries to tend a teeny sacred flame to his

serpent mistress. (Jay’s words, not mine)

The theme of the meeting will be "When

does a car hobby turn into an obsession -- or

is it just a junkyard?"

Socializing is set to start at 6:00 pm, with

the formal meeting set for 7:00 pm, but you

are welcome to arrive early.

Jay Nuxoll Residence

13843 SE 10th Street

Bellevue, WA 98005

(425) 641-2600

- David James

T he awesome Hydro-

plane & Raceboat

Museum is hosting

the May club meeting.

Hydroplane and powerboat

racing have a long and sto-

ried history in the Northwest

and this is the nation's only

public museum dedicated

solely to powerboat racing.

The exhibits range from the early wooden

round-nosed boats through the later “lobster

claw” hulls to jet boats. Power plants on dis-

play include Allison and Rolls-Royce Merlin

and Griffon aero engines, and the museum

has a wide range of models showing many

innovative designs. If we are

lucky, volunteers will be on site

working on the boats in prepa-

ration for the summer boating

season.

Remember to bring your din-

ner, or order ahead and have it

delivered between 6:30 and

7:00 pm. The meeting will start

at 7:00 pm, but you are welcome to arrive

early to view the museum.

Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum

5917 South 196th Street

Kent, WA 98032

- David James

May 14 Thunderboats in Kent

June 11 Jay Nuxoll’s G’raj Mahal

https://hangouts.google.com/?action=chat&pn=%2B12064208161&hl=en&authuser=0http://www.nwalfaclub.com


After the Rallye,

Wes and Rita

Ingram hosted a

lovely post party

at the Ingram

Enterprises shop

just five miles

away. The party

included an

abundant spread of food, many oohs and awws, and some

great stories, too!

Wes has a new toy! I could not figure what was under a tent

next to his shop. It had a trailer tongue and wheels and a

GMC supercharger on its side next to an exhaust system. It

turned out that Wes has built his own dyno! He ran an engine

up on it while we watched. We need to schedule a gearhead

get together to fully appreciate Wes, Herb & Karl’s shop!

All in all, a great day out, another fun Rallye and congratual-

tions again to the Gehrings!

- Lynn and Joe Faherty

Photos Jon Inge except where noted

Triple-Teaming at the Tulip - continued

O ur esteemed Chief Driving Instructor,

Mirko Freguia, successfully orga-

nized and managed yet another

excellent High-Performance Driving Experi-

ence at Pacific Raceways on April 25. Turn-

out was a little sparse, probably due to it

being on a Thursday, but as a result those

who did take part had signifi-

cant amounts of track time

and few distractions from

other traffic.

Part of the day’s intent was

to provide an opportunity for

vintage racers to get their cars

set up for the SOVREN

Spring Sprint that weekend,

and consequently several race

cars turned up in the paddock

throughout the day. Some got

down to work right away, run-

ning a few laps, making adjust-

ments, running a few more and

so on. Others just concentrated

on setting up early in a favored

corner of the paddock space.

While several club members ran cars on the track only two

were Alfas. Sadly the GTA lasted only a couple of laps before

arriving back in the paddock in a cloud of

steam, with coolant all over the engine.

Well, it IS called a test day… He probably

had time to fix it before the weekend races,

but nevertheless it was a big disappoint-

ment.

The other Alfa was Bill Wiltsey’s 2018

Giulia Quadrifoglio, in

which he laid down con-

sistently fast and steadily

improving lap times. It

certainly makes a nice

noise, and its (relatively)

quiet performance was

especially impressive

when compared to

some of the slower but

far noisier race cars

out there!

Most impressive of

all, though, was a brutal Dodge Viper, being driven

very fast and expertly between fine-tuning ses-

sions in the paddock. It’s a big car, but its 8-litre

engine has big lungs, and the mighty “whomp” it

generated blasting through Turn 9 right up against

the wall was very memorable!

- Jon Inge

Test and Tune-Up at Pacific Raceways

Lindsay Geyer


O ur club meeting on April 9 taught us about a couple of

Italian wines, about how a German doctor ended up

selling wine in Seattle, and that the Alfa experience is

universal.

On a beautiful spring evening about 15 of us met in the back

room at Portalis Wine Shop, certainly an inspirational setting!

After our usual socializing and catching up, Fred kicked off the

meeting with officer reports, a review of recent events and a

quick summary of upcom-

ing attractions, then intro-

duced our host for the

evening, Jens Strecker.

Born and raised in Germa-

ny, Jens and his American-

born wife Julie moved to

the USA in 2000. Although

he had been an emergency

room doctor in Germany,

rather than re-qualify to

practice in the US Jens

turned to his other passion,

wine, and joined a Manhat-

tan wine merchant. Head-

ing west soon afterwards

he joined a wine shop in

Seattle’s University Village.

In 2003 he opened his own wine bar and shop on Ballard Ave-

nue, a location that quickly became very popular.

When Washington state wine laws changed in 2009 to allow

retailers to import directly, Jens took the opportunity to set up

an importing company, and soon built up a strong client base

amongst local restaurants. As this business took off, he

closed the wine bar in 2015 and moved the shop to its current

location on 15th Avenue, still in Ballard. Business with the

public remains very strong, helped no

doubt by the extensive range of wines

carried and the wine tastings offered five

days each week!

Jens poured two Italian wines for us to

taste, both reds. The first was a 2015 Cin-

cinnato Polluce from Lazio, the region sur-

rounding Rome. The winery is named for

the Roman consul Cincinnatus, who

served in the Senate in the fifth century

BCE and reportedly had wine-growing

estates in the area. In other words,

they’ve been doing this for a while... The wine is made from

the Nero Buono grape, grown extensively in Lazio, and was

fresh and fruity, not unlike a sangiovese.

The second wine was a 2016 Mario’s Pelassa, a Barolo-like

blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and barbera grapes from

Piedmont, in Italy’s northwest region. This was a more com-

plex, fuller wine, and very nice indeed! Both were good value,

and worth adding to any Alfisti wine list.

Jens travels extensively to visit the producers of the wines

he imports, from Austria to Australia. Among several things he

passed on to us where:

- he prefers screwtops to corks for sealing bottles, having ex-

perienced too many problems with cork failure, especially in

older wines.

- the US market is very de-

sirable for Italian producers,

not only because it’s so

large but also because US

importers typically pay their

bills much faster than Italian

customers!

- Argentina is making some

terrific wines, but it can be

difficult to export them with-

out a great deal of hassle.

It’s often easier to truck

them over the Andes to

Chile and export them from

there!

As for his Alfa experienc-

es, in Germany Jens drove

an Alfa 33, a highly successful (nearly 1 million sold) evolution

of the front-engine Alfasud. The universality of the Alfa experi-

ence comes from (a) it was a blast to drive, great fun in the

hills and mountains of southern Germany, and (b) when the

odometer broke it took his local Alfa dealer three months to

find a replacement, and even then only from a crashed 33!

“But the replacement reads 10,000 km lower than my old one;

is that legal?” “Do you want it or not?”

Many thanks to Jens for his hospitality and stories. Wine

enthusiasts; Portalis has an excellent selection of good value

wines, and a great reputation. It’s well worth dropping by if

you have the chance.

- Jon Inge

Upcoming Events Italian Wine Tasting at Portalis Wines


D espite the promise of showers in the

forecast, club members and other

Alfa owners put on an excellent dis-

play at the FEN All-Italian Day, held April 14

at the XXX Drive-In in Issaquah. I counted

over 15 Alfas on show, which equaled the

number of Fiats from the organizing club,

Fiat Enthusiasts Northwest. Well done, all!

We had a good mix of old and new cars,

from Gary Patitz’ immaculate 1966 Guilia,

Doc Doolittle’s GTV and

several 70s/80s Spiders

to a number of 4Cs, new

Giulias and a Stelvio.

Two GTV-6s and a

Sprint Veloce represent-

ed the hatchback bri-

gade well, and Steve

Walker’s whimsical sin-

gle-seat-plus-sidecar

1958 Giulia Special add-

ed a touch of humor.

Other makes were rather

sparse this year; did the

weather forecast keep them

away? Three Lancias were

a treat, as was an immacu-

late Fiat Dino convertible, but

only two Ferraris and one

Lamborghini were

there. A lone Ma-

serati Quattroporte

lurked in a parking

lot away from the

display area. I

don’t know which

car won the over-

all “People’s

Choice” award,

but surely everyone’s favorite for “cutest car” was the

tiny Fiat 500-based Neckar Weinsberg Limousette.

Thanks to FEN for putting yet another fascinating show

of interesting vehicles! - Jon Inge

Great Alfa Turn-out at FEN’s All-Italian Day


T wo Seattle gardens this

year! We start at Dunn

Gardens in Shoreline, then

go on to the nearby Kruckeburg

Garden. We’ll meet at 9:00 am at

Northgate Mall, at the Starbucks

in the Food Court inside (at the

south end). Park on the east side

of the Mall (away from the freeway) to make it easier to leave.

Dunn Gardens (dunngardens.org) is a 10-minute drive away,

at the western end of NE 130th St. Parking is on the street

outside the entrance; there are 6 parking spots inside the gar-

den, which we’ll reserve for people who need assistance.

A docent-led tour starts at 10:00 am. This Olmstead-

designed garden features sweeping green lawns, surrounded

with naturalistic groupings of trees, flowering boarders, shrubs

and ground cover, always enhancing views, natural water fea-

tures and rock outcrops. The artfulness of an Olmstead design

is its apparent artlessness – nothing looks forced or unnatural.

After the tour, we will enjoy a pre-ordered boxed lunch on

the terrace at the top of the garden. Le Fournil is an incredible

French bakery that will deliver lunches to the garden. The

desserts are to die for, but I need your lunch choices by

May 11!

We will then take a quick drive north to the Kruckeberg Bo-

tanic Garden (kruckeburg.org). Parking is limited here too, so

we’ll park on side streets off 15th Ave just after the garden en-

trance.

The Kruckeberg Garden is known for its May-blooming

spring bulbs, flowering trees and shrubs. It’s a unique Puget

Sound woodland garden, located in a gully nestled in old

growth Douglas Firs. The Kruckebergs col-

lected starts from around the world to plant

here. There are more than 2,000 species,

which include native and exotic conifers,

hardwoods, rhododendrons, magnolias,

ferns and groundcovers. Many of these unusual plants are

available at the M&K Rare and Native Plant Nursery on-site.

From Kruckeberg we will drive north through beautiful Wood-

way to the Edmonds Anthony’s by the marina, and enjoy a

Happy Hour (begins at 4:00) with a beautiful view!

Reservations

Dunn Garden - Entrance fee $10/person

Le Fournil Box Lunch – $9.99 each. A link for ordering will be

sent upon registration.

Kruckeberg Botanic Garden - Entrance by donation

Please send checks to me, made out to NWARC, as soon as

possible. Again, I need your lunch choices by May 11.

Many thanks!

3311 N. 26th Street, Tacoma, WA 98407

[email protected] - Debi Schmid

Saturday, May 18 Garden Tour: Shoreline, Seattle

Upcoming Events

Saturday, May 4 AROO Old Spider Tour, Portland, OR

A ROO is running its 41st Old Spider Tour on Saturday,

May 4, from a starting point TBA north of metro Port-

land, OR. This highly popular event is a great way to

enjoy the spring weather and blow the cobwebs out of your

car! This year, the tour is sponsored by Sports Car Market

magazine and Sidedraught City.

An NWARC contingent is going down to join in the fun; If

you’d like to take part, contact Fred Russell at 425-308-6621,

or [email protected].

As always, all cars are invited but the tour will be led by its

inspiration, early convertible Giuliettas and Giulias. These will

be followed by other vintage Alfas, then contemporary Alfas,

with non-Alfas bringing up the rear.

Start with a full tank of gas and count on covering about 225

miles of Oregon

back roads.

There’ll be a pre-

ordered/pre-paid

restaurant lunch

in Astoria, OR,

with a traffic cone

gymkhana thrown

in on the return

trip to keep you

engaged!

RSVP to rallymaster Neil d’Autremont at 503-781-0183 or

[email protected].


W e invite all our sport driv-

ing friends to an after-

noon of spirited driving,

camaraderie and good times. This

is a late afternoon HPDE event at

Pacific Raceways in Kent, in an

open lapping format to provide driv-

ers with the thrill of driving their

beloved Alfa Romeos (or any other

vehicle!) in a "spirited" manner on a closed road course.

NWARC membership is NOT required; 1-day temporary

AROC membership is included in the registration cost for non-

members.

All levels of driving skill and experience are

encouraged to register, as there will be expe-

rienced in-car instructors available as needed.

Check-in: Begins at 4:00pm

Mandatory Drivers Meeting: 4:45pm

Open track: 5pm - 9pm (or dusk, whichever

is first)

Registration Fee: $175

More details and registration form at

www.motorsportsreg.com

- Mirko Freguia

O n June 29, the Olympic Sculpture

Park, with its stunning views of

Seattle, Elliott Bay and the Olym-

pic Mountains will have an added bonus...

stunning cars!

Coffee with Cars: Your

morning could start with a

casual walk through the

park for up to 1,500 visitors,

a beautiful way to start your

day. Entry is $25/person

and is open to the general

public. This is a wonderful opportunity to support a good

cause and treat yourself to some fantastic and rare cars.

Rally for SAM: Saturday evening offers pop-up bars, hors

d'oeuvres by favorite Seattle chefs, art installations by local

artists, and artistic surprises. VIP tickets are $250 (including

dinner and drinks): general admission tickets are $150. All

funds go to SAMs efforts to expand art and art appreciation.

The Olympic Sculpture Park lawns will include 18 carefully

selected cars with fantastic heritage and beauty. They range

from an elegant Figoni-Falaschi designed Delahaye 135M to

the rugged beauty of the Alfa Romeo P3 Grand

Prix car. Other cars will include Ferrari 250 GTO,

NART Spyder, California Spyder, Mercedes-Benz

SLR, Auburn Speedster, Talbot-Lago, ERA Romu-

lus, Alfa Romeo 8C2300, Alfa Romeo 8C2900 and

more.

There is also

an exclusive

event on Friday

night if you have

$2,500 in your

pocket. Let me know if you want details on this.

All events raise funds for SAM to support artistic and en-

gagement programs such as regional school participation, stu-

dent activities, guest speakers and much more. As schools

cut back arts funding, SAM has expanded its reach to ensure

kids of all ages and backgrounds have exposure to art and are

encouraged to explore their artistic side.

Tickets can be purchased at: www.seattleartmuseum.org/

rallyforsam

Questions? Contact me at [email protected] .

- Fred Russell

Saturday, June 29 The Art of the Car - Seattle Art Museum

Wednesday, June 19 Twilight Lapping, Kent

Upcoming Events - continued

O nce again the club is invited to celebrate the SOVREN Historic Rac-

es at Pacific Raceways with a barbeque at the beautiful home of club

members Gary and Marie Patitz, held this year on the Saturday.

Their house is set in a lovely wooded valley, and the food, friends and cars

are outstanding. Simply ask anyone who’s gone before and they’ll tell you

this is not to be missed! Plan to attend for great sights and conversation, and

leave with a full stomach. All Alfisti are welcome!

When: July 6, after 3 pm

Where: the Patitz home, 13412 SE 301st Street, Auburn, less than half a

mile from the track!

Saturday, July 6 Historics BBQ, Auburn


A s college students we usually have predictable daily

schedules, so we were quite excited when Ella’s par-

ents ask us to join them on the Citroen Club Spring

Drive. We were also delighted to be offered the reliable 6-

speed SUV (which shall remain unnamed here) to drive,

although we think it was really to act as a support vehicle to

their Spider (but don’t tell them we said that!).

We gathered at the Newcastle Starbucks for the pre-drive

meeting, led by our intrepid leader “Panhard Paul” Melrose.

Off to our rides and out onto public roads, the initial queue

was quickly separated by wrong turns,

and our focus for the drive became

staying on route rather than providing

any kind of support. The distribution

of driving-navigating responsibilities

inevitably devolved into driver serenely

piloting the car through rolling hills and

turns with navigator neurotically

checking directions and adjusting, and

re-adjusting, pace notes to account for

an odometer gone wonky. There’s a

world of difference between trying to

find an unmarked side road in south King County versus navi-

gating Paris-Dakar, but at the time they didn’t feel so far apart.

The route took us through residential side-roads, forests,

and open farmland, with tight turns transitioning to long, open

vistas. For anyone familiar with Maple Valley, Black Diamond,

Enumclaw and the surrounding area, it’s no surprise that the

landscape of the drive itself was beautiful — the type of semi-

rural Washington pastoral scenery that looks its best on an

austere, grey day. Even

Ben, a proud Californian,

had to admit that Washing-

ton could, in rare moments,

put the Golden State to

shame.

A mid-drive stop afforded

opportunity to admire some

of the other cars and partake

of the Black Diamond Bak-

ery cinnamon rolls. Upon resuming we settled into a produc-

tive rhythm, and the miles slipped away. While the drive was

without incident for most, an unlucky Cobra did succumb to

the hazards of a train crossing. Its exact fate was unknown,

but a wheel located some distance away seemed omi-

nous... Regardless, it appeared no one was injured, barring

perhaps a bruised ego.

The drive finished at the Oddfellas Pub & Eatery in Auburn,

where our “support” services were rewarded with a hearty

lunch. Afterwards we returned to campus and our structured,

focused lives, but an overwhelming passion for cars and driv-

ing left us longing to return to the open road. Perhaps driving

something a bit more interesting next time?

- Ella James and Ben Sovocool

A ROC is headed to Austin again this

fall! Join your friends in welcoming

Alfa Romeo Racing back to its 2nd

year in Formula 1 at the United States

Grand Prix, once again at the Circuit Of

The Americas, Austin, TX.

Steve Austin’s Great Vacations has arranged for another

fabulous four full days for us at race 19 on the 2019 F1 sched-

ule. We’ll walk the track, meet the

drivers, attend practice and qualify-

ing, enjoy Texas hospitality, cheer the

team – and more! With World Cham-

pion Kimi Raikkonen as our #1 driver,

it’s going to be an amazing 2019 sea-

son. Join your AROC friends and be a part of it all!

October 31 - November 4 AROC Goes to the US Grand Prix, COTA

Saturday, August 17 Concorso Italiano, Monterey, CA

C oncorso Italiano continues its multi-year celebration of

Alfa Romeo in conjunction with Sports Car Market, this

year focusing on the Junior Zagato and the Giulietta

and Giulia Spiders.

Register early and get your car ready for another of the SCM

Alfa Romeo celebrations! This year Concorso Italiano will also

celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ferrari Dino GT and

GTS, plus an announcement about DeTomaso and something

special about Triumph Italias.

Tickets are currently

only $120, Italian regis-

tration is $115, Global

Exotics registration is

$125, and Italian motor-

cycles are $70.

This will be their 34th year of celebrating Italian vehicles,

fashion, food, and style. Make sure you don’t miss out!

Upcoming Events - continued

Two Students Tackle Citroen’s Spring Spin


As those with sporting intentions tune their cars for the coming

season, bolt-on enhancements are appealing but aren’t always

a good idea. Good ones can help, but setting them up is non-

trivial. Mark Thornton recounts some cautionary tales.

--------------

A friend and former manager at work built an awesome

’56 Chevy with all the goodies, and then some. Cus-

tom leather interior, monster engine mods, custom

leather booth in the garage to enjoy dinner in the car’s pres-

ence. I didn’t hear whether or not he installed a turntable in

the floor. Later a tuner shop installed a custom fuel injection

system that they then proceeded to demonstrate they could

not set up. When I saw the car it delivered enormous noise

and probably power but who knew? Overall it was scarcely

drivable. I was asked to check into it but there was just no

time. One of the most beautiful restoration project cars I ever

saw turned into a trailer baby. I think they literally pushed it

into car shows.

---------------

A race team campaigning a Fiat X1/9 in autocross did

well week after week for years. It was never really a

sorted out car but they had fun and competed. The

three team members - car owner/driver, tire sponsor/driver

and technician/driver - chose not to run in the same competi-

tion class, so two drivers would enter the car a few classes up.

The owner ran in the lowest class, where the car was most

competitive. The Fiat was a trailer baby in its way, though on

a simple dolly rolling the rear wheels on the pavement.

One year they purchased and installed a custom fuel injec-

tion system. They never mastered it. The car started and ran

but that’s about it. They were frustrated with the vastly compli-

cated system. They were frustrated with autocross. They got

frustrated with each other. Discord ruled the day.

They asked for help but none of the usual club members

knew much about such a system. I took a look with an elec-

tronics technician friend. We spent a good long time figuring

out how the system operated, but our suggestions didn’t really

help since our fellow club members weren’t willing, or possibly

able, to do what the car needed: a whole day with an expert at

a dyno shop. They needed to measure the exhaust gas com-

position with a four-gas system on the dyno to figure out where

they were. Speed runs with spark plug reads were what I

used to set the main mixture on my Spica Injected Alfa, but

they weren’t open to that.

So they cruised around autocross courses at low revs for a

whole season. They were not together the next season. I’m

convinced they would have cut their lap times with a used

stock engine from the boneyard. The fun was gone for good.

An Italian car that can’t redline in 3rd gear? Unfortunate.

---------------

A longtime friend bought a Mazda RX-7 3G and got him-

self a handful. He bought it in SoCal, where it couldn’t

pass inspection. No wonder; it was a purpose built hot

rod sporting a host of modifications from the long list of tuner

bits available for that treasured model. About $20K paid;

heaven alone knows what the previous owner put into it. It

had a custom spark box and coil pack, custom high capacity

turbo, custom exhaust, modified two-rotor engine, lowered

suspension, giant wheels and sticky tires. No roll cage or 5-

point harness. No sign on the tires that it ever cornered hard,

but how it could move!

I got to drive it and I can only say it was a thrill. We did

speed runs on a quiet stretch of road. Wow! Very pipey and

non-linear. It could catch you by surprise as the turbo spooled

up. Lots of noise from the turbo waste gate. This was high

level boost and it kicked in like an afterburner. My children

named this car The Crimson Animal; we never told my friend.

The Crimson Animal had a custom fuel injection control sys-

tem that my friend, an engineer and thoroughly capable fellow,

never was able to dial in. It was off tune in several operating

regimes, and there were so many knobs to turn I think he

eventually gave up on it. My own willingness to help was

cooled by lack of diagnostic tools to determine if the system

was even working to spec, let alone dialed in for the highly-

modified engine. It needed a day at the dyno shop, the full

routine, an idea my friend simply could not countenance.

I was offered the car at $20K but can’t see that value. Off

tune it can’t meet emissions requirements here. Its uneven

performance could surprise you; my friend’s son looped it one

night, putting it off the road but fortunately not into the Armco.

Other modifications were added related to overheating almost

certainly caused by mismatch of the oversize turbo and impre-

cise fuel delivery. None of this contributed to motorsports ca-

pability. It’s been garaged for a long time, and became an

object of friction within the family.

Bottom line on this fabulous trick car is that it is not usably

faster than an older and simpler Alfa Milano. More to the

point, you could never apply its unbalanced power to the chal-

lenge of an autocross course.

----------------

M any US Alfa owners in the 1970s and 1980s pulled

out the Spica fuel injection and installed carburetor

setups variously sourced from the boneyard, new

Bolt-On Performance Isn’t Simple


stock and spares from cars overseas. It’s true that these car-

buretor conversion cars all ran, that the owners were able to

set aside a mechanical system that had led to some frustra-

tion, and were able to sell the Spica parts to offset the cost of

the conversion. This was all very well except for two things.

First is that setting and adjusting two dual-choke side-draft

Webers or dell'Ortos fell outside the scope of all but the most

savvy mechanics. Looking up what jets and needles to install

from a table in a parts book will not get even close to the right

mixture. Many of these cars did not have that crisp engine

note that speaks of good tuning. Many were set up rich to

keep from burning the valves. The engine would load up its

plugs, driving the owner to pull out perfectly good spark plugs

and stock ignition system in favor of something hotter.

Second is that the process brought together various combi-

nations of stock parts for different engines, some sourced

overseas, with different displacement, compression ratio,

cams and ignition timing. This did not add up to a matched

system on a US car. To this hodge podge was then bolted up

in-artfully designed intake parts such as air box and runners.

Many of these setups were arguably worse, often contributing

to a peaky power band. That sort of thing does not lower lap

times. Owners ditched the clever stock cold air box with ve-

locity stacks inside and installed paper elements you might

see on a domestic car. Other little details like no adjustment

in regard to air pressure or temperature made these cars run

off tune some days. Just like any car with a carburetor.

Custom fuel management systems do not add power. The

very best they can do is provide the correct mixture over a

wide range of conditions. Power is set by other parameters

such as cylinder head passage geometry, compression ratio,

cam timing, intake runner volumetric efficiency, exhaust head-

er tuning and spark lead. Lots of converted cars did not have

the right intake setup for good efficiency, but they did sound

great, and I know plenty of owners were happy with them.

Nonetheless, professional help tuning the bone stock FI sys-

tem would have worked out better in the long run.

I benefitted from this change for change’s sake restless-

ness, acquiring two stock Spica FI setups to cherry pick for

my Berlina. Why not, with the world expert on re-

manufacturing and setting them up (Wes Ingram) close by in

Burlington?

----------------

T he preparer now working on my Milano - I have fired

myself from that level of wrenching - runs a highly

modified car in circuit racing events. His starting point

was a car not unlike my own with fewer accessories and a 2.5

Busso V-6 engine, not the 3.0. What has this preparer, driver

and driving instructor focused on?

The biggest single thing is that this pure race car tips the

scales at 2,450 lb with fuel and driver, around 500 to 600 lb

under the stock Milano. That’s an accomplishment. Second

big thing is conventional power brakes, not ABS. Convention-

al but big, brakes with larger ventilated rotors and double the

number (4) pistons in each caliper up front. The right stuff.

It has a different bolt-on aero package and lightened panels.

Roll cage, racing seat, harness and removable steering

wheel. No AC, no heater, no interior trim. No sunroof. Ad-

justable rear spoiler.

He runs larger than stock size wheels and tires. Larger

wheels and tires do not on their own add speed, unless they

are lighter than stock, usually not the case for stout perfor-

mance tires in larger sizes. They can add g force in corner-

ing, or enhance transitional handling, but at the expense of

speed. Nevertheless this is a worthy trade on most circuits.

Larger tires can also help with overheating or incorrect tire

temperature profiles, not rare with heavy stock cars in sports.

The suspension is stouter, everything new or correct with

metal or heavy-duty urethane bushings, and adjusted with

attention to detail. A huge laser alignment rack and suspen-

sion repair fixture form the centerpiece of his shop. Modified

Watts linkage. All the other struts and structure are factory

original. Different transaxle and lower gearing. Manual not

power steering. Oversize custom aluminum radiator.

But here’s something to note and to consider well.

The engine was built about 10 years ago by local legend

Carlo, in Tacoma. The modifications include slightly more

aggressive cams from a later model Alfa, a change, yes, but

one that is well understood. I do not know if the heads were

modified to enhance airflow, or if it has high compression pis-

tons. It sports elegant tube headers and exhaust system from

Italy. It’s all dialed in now, and the owner says it just sings out

on the track. All this with stock original Bosch L-Jetronic fuel

injection, ECU, MAF, throttle body, air box, spark box and

spark amplifier. The coil is a Bosch sports model favored for

years by Alfa tuners. Nothing exotic here.

The point I take away is that the engine tuner understands

all these parts and how they work together, tests them to be

sure they are correct, and then runs it all as-is. And has a

blast.

- Mark Thornton

Bolt-On Performance - continued


Anniversaries

Congratulations to all these worthy members celebrating

their club membership Anniversaries this month!

Charles Gunderson - 45 Years

Dave Sherman - 34 Years

Cindy Rio-Rados - 23 Years

William Markham - 22 Years

Harry Reed - 22 Years

Earl Krygier - 21 Years

Alex Voss - 13 Years

John Seger - 11 Years

Louis Germano - 8 Years

Garth Stein - 7 Years

Tom Harwood - 2 Years

Herb Sanborn.- 2 Years

Mark Thornton - 2 Years

Allison Best - 1 Year

Fred Creitz - 1 Year

Lorenzo Giovacchini - 1 Year

Cary Kendall - 1 Year

Jason Nelson - 1 Year

David Schroeder - 1 Year

New Members

In March-April we added one new member; please welcome

Richard Goroski from Burien, with his 1984 Spider! We hope

to meet him on the next tour, with the top down of course!

- Paul and Kristy Affolter

Membership Update


Name: _____________________________________________________________________

Spouse: ____________________________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip: ______________________________________________________________

Home Phone: _______________________________________________________________

Alt. Phone: _________________________________________________________________

E-mail Address: _____________________________________________________________

Do you wish to be affiliated with the local Alfa Club? Yes…. NWARC

Please indicate your interests:

Technical______ Tours______ Social_______ Rally_______ Vintage Cars_______

Cost: $68 annual AROC / NWARC dues Make check payable to: ALFA ROMEO OWNERS CLUB

Or… Online registration http://www.aroc-usa.org/

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BARBARA C

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The following members provide Alfa Mentoring!!!

Contact any of them for good Alfa info!

Model/Series Member Name Contact 164 / GTV-6 Dan Jardine [email protected] GTV Dave Emerson [email protected] Spiders, GTV Fred Wright [email protected] 80’s Spiders Harry Reed [email protected] Almost Anything! Fred Russell [email protected]

Member Mentors

Member Recommendations Have a parts or service provider you have found to be highly satisfactory? Share your wisdom with us all at [email protected]. With your help, we can all be better auto-motive consumers.

Burien Upholstery, Burien - Upholstery, carpets

Convertibles Only - Convertible top repair/replacement

Dent Solutions, Mobile - Paintless dent removal

Mark 2 Collision Center, Lynnwood - Collision repair

Muffler King - Kirkland Custom exhaust services

North Kitsap Auto Rebuilt, Poulsbo - Collision repair

Professional Glass Company, Seattle - Windshield Re-placement

NW Crafted Interiors (was S&S Custom), Everett - Auto Upholstery & Interiors

Security Safe & Lock, Inc., Bellevue - Lock rebuilding

Sound Wheel Works, Bellevue - Wheel repair

Tire Rack Internet - Tires, wheels and parts

Vancity Plating, Burnaby BC - Chrome plating and polish-ing

All the above providers have been recommended by one or more club members as being highly satisfactory but are not specifically endorsed by NWARC.

VSCCA Spring Sprints - Sports Car Marketing, Dom Miliano


Northwest Alfa Romeo Club 9301 236th Street SW Edmonds, WA 98020

1928 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 SS on the 2018 Mille Miglia - Sports Car Digest

• May 14 NWARC Meeting / Hydroplane Museum, Kent, WA

• May 18 Annual Garden Tour / Shoreline and Everett, WA

• June 11 NWARC Meeting / Jay Nuxoll’s home, Bellevue, WA

• June 16 French & Italian Car Show / Vancouver, BC

• June 19 Twilight Lapping Evening (5 pm - dusk) / Pacific Raceways, Kent

• June 28/29 Seattle Art Museum Car Exhibition / Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle

• June 29 Greenwood car show

• July 5-7 SOVREN Historics / Pacific Raceway, Kent, WA

• July 6 NWARC Historics BBQ / Gary & Marie Patitz’ Home, Auburn (Note: Saturday)

• Aug 11 Kirkland Car Show.

• Aug 12 Magnolia Car Show.

• Aug 13 NWARC Meeting / Group 2 Motorsports, Seattle

• Aug 17 Concorso Italiano / Monterey, CA

• Aug 24 San Juan Islands Concours / San Juan Vineyards

• Aug 31 Crescent Beach Concours d'Elegance / White Rock BC

• Sep 10 NWARC Meeting / Fremont Brew Cruise, Seattle

• Oct 31 - Nov 4 AROC Goes to the US Grand Prix 2019 / COTA, Austin, TX

• Nov 17 Driving School/HPDE / Pacific Raceways, Kent

2019 Calendar of Club & Local Car Events

iniezione - alfa romeo · on the drive. cindy is an excellent navigator so we did great and stayed...

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