Berlina Register Newsletter No. 11
(November 2000)
Notes and Comment
Welcome
to Berlina Register Newsletter Number 11.
No big topics this issue, but I thought I'd talk about Berlina values a
bit, and update some Berlina parts sources.
If people want to send me feedback about Berlinas they've bought and
sold, I'll start a regular "Berlina Market Report" section, just like
others do for cars that are actually worth something. Several people have asked me to post the actual register of
Berlinas on the website. I'm working on
it, but have more to learn about HTML and web stuff. The web page is at www.berlinaregister.com
A
few more cars have passed through my backyard recently. A Register member contacted me last summer
about buying his 1974 Berlina, which needed an engine replacement that he
didn't feel like tackling (he was already restoring his other Berlina). So Chris Off and I took on the project,
replaced the engine with a good used one from APE, replaced the gritty steering
box, and fixed a number of small items like a bad speedo cable and leaky heater
valve. We sold it to a local guy whose
nice 2000 GTV had been hit-and-run by a stolen car. I also bought another Giulia Super, which turned out to be more
of a project than I wanted (though it was totally rust-free; incredible!), so I
sold it to a guy who already had eight other Alfas and should have known
better. More recently, I bought a 1969
Porsche 912 because I've always wanted to see what Porsches were like, and this
seemed like a cheap way to check out the cars and the Porsche community. For those who don't know, the 912 has the
body of the 911, but the four-cylinder pushrod engine of the old 356. It is a dual-carb 1600, and has about the
same performance as my 2000 GTV. It is
a very handsome and fun car, faster than I expected, and has wonderful light,
responsive steering. Basically sound,
it has some underbody rust, just like an Alfa, and has been cosmetically but
not mechanically maintained. So I'm
learning how to work on Porsches. This
car is dark blue with black interior and has Fuchs factory mags, which along
with its lowered stance, makes it look meaner and more capable than it really
is. It looks like a comparable 911, but
when you fire it up it sounds like a VW; you can impress people only as long as
you don't start it. Finally, yet
another 1972 project Berlina is trying hard to end up in my driveway, but the
deal hasn't worked out yet.
The
keeper of the Berlina Register is Andrew Watry, 1284 Monterey Ave., Berkeley,
CA 94707 USA. Phone (510)
526-0391. Email:
andrew@berlinaregister.com. Send me
corrections to your register information or any other Berlina-related facts,
rumors, tips, or needs. Always seeking
articles for the newsletter. Free
Berlinas and parts gladly accepted.
Berlina Values
I've
bought and sold a few cars lately, including a Berlina, and seen a few other
Berlinas for sale, and have been thinking about Berlina values. I thought I'd pass along what I've learned
from my own experience and others', as Berlinas can be notoriously difficult to
value. Berlina values have been flat
for the period I've owned them (six
years) and I'm not sure their values are ever going to come out of the
basement. For those of us who like
playing around with these cars, that's good, because it keeps them affordable.
As
with all old Alfas, price is usually a reflection of condition, and I believe
the main reason for Berlinas' low value is they mostly are not in very good
shape. Most of the cars I see around
here in California run and can be driven, but have fairly major problem areas,
typically rust and interiors. These are
not cars that people ever took care of much.
I get inquiries from people looking for "very nice" or
"perfect" Berlinas for sale, but in my experience they just aren't
often in that condition; I've only ever seen a couple. The other big reason for the low value is
that some people don't like how Berlinas look ("Is that a Volvo?"),
particularly in comparison to Giulia sedans, which have a devoted following
willing to spend more money. A lot of
people (including me) buy Berlinas as a fallback choice when unable to find or
afford a Giulia sedan. I realize plenty
of people appreciate Berlinas for their own particular charms, though. I drove my 1969 Berlina for five years and
was very happy with it. It's hard to
beat a strong 1750 with a good SPICA pump; the car was very fast.
In
my area, typical decent running usable Berlinas go for $1,500-2,500. Nicer cars bring $2,500-3,500. I've seen asking prices much higher, up to
$7,000, but I don't believe many people will pay that kind of money for a
Berlina, regardless of condition.
Beaters, rust buckets, and project cars are generally under $1000,
frequently under $500, and sometimes are the mythical "free Berlina"
that gets bandied about on the Alfa Digest (go to www.digest.net to
subscribe). In this range, I bought a
pair of Berlinas in early 1998, one a rusty but running registered 1973
rubber-bumper car, plus a complete 1972 parts car, for $400 for the pair.
By
way of illustration, here are some actual selling prices. Most but not all of
these are Bay Area California prices, where there are probably more daily-use
Berlinas than anywhere else. Sorry for you folks outside the US:
C
1974 US 2000 Berlina.
$2,800. October 2000. This was a white rubber-bumper car with
black interior. Sold new in Los Angeles
in 1976, it had one owner (an older doctor) til 1992, when it came to the Bay
Area and had one more mature owner til 2000. In daily use its whole life, the
car had 164,000 miles on it, but had good regular maintenance. Sadly, it got run out of water which blew
the head gasket and warped the head.
With a good used APE engine and replaced steering box (the original was
very gritty), this was a great-driving car, which had more rust spots than
you'd expect from a pampered California car.
On the plus side, it had Marelliplex ignition, new brakes, a great
interior, and yellow taillights. This
was a fair price for both parties, and the seller probably could have gotten a
bit more (maybe $3,000) if he'd been more patient.
C
1969 1750 US Berlina.
$2,500. August 2000. This beige-exterior, tan-interior car looked
very nice in the email pictures the buyer sent me. An original Arizona car, it seemed complete and straight, had
rebuilt engine and trans, BWA wheels, and redone interior. It passed the AZ smog check. This seemed a good price for the buyer,
perhaps a little low for the seller, considering how nice the car appears to
be.
C
1969 1750 US Berlina.
$1,500. Late 1999. This was a maroon two-owner Fremont car, the
most recent owner a fastidious old guy who bought it in 1971 and took
incredible care of it. Unrestored and
virtually concours, the car needed a head gasket replacement. I saw it once at an ARA meet, and it was by
far the nicest Berlina I've ever seen: hard to tell from a showroom car except
that it was perhaps nicer than when new.
This was a real bargain. If any
Berlina is worth the $6,000-7,000 that sometimes gets asked for them, this is
it.
C
1974 2000 US Berlina.
$900. Summer 1999. This car came from Sacramento to SF, was
dark blue, with a number of mechanical and cosmetic issues, but was basically a
decent, usable car. Probably a good
price for the buyer.
C
1969 1750 US
Berlina. $2,500. April 1999. This was my
good-but-not-great daily use Berkeley car, metallic olive drab, tan interior
with 106,000 miles, a very strong engine and nice interior, and straight
body. Rebuilt brakes, driveshaft, head,
clutch. Only a few rust spots, and none
around the front or rear windows, but the paint was pretty faded and the car
was a bit dingy overall. Everything
mechanical worked, but it needed front A-arm bushings, which had gotten
flaky. This was a good price for the
seller and maybe a little high for the buyer.
C
1973 2000 US Berlina.
$900. Summer 1998. This car came
literally out of a barn in Marin County where it had sat for some years. Dark blue with black interior. Straight and
complete, with moderate windshield-area rust, but the rest of the structure was
good. As sold, it ran and could be
driven, but needed sprucing up. Two
years later, the engine is on its last legs and burns oil. This was a pretty good deal for the buyer,
who was capable of doing the repairs needed, and mainly needed a good shell to
replace his rusted-out other Berlina.
C
1971 1750 US
Berlina. $1,400. Summer 1998. This car came from Stockton, CA, and was pale yellow
with a number of electrical issues to deal with; has since been turned into an
autocross hotrod. This price seems a
bit high for the condition.
C
1973 2000 US Berlina.
$600. Summer 1998. This was a complete, maroon, decent-running
but somewhat rusty and tired rubber-bumper car. Located in the SF Bay Area, it needed a waterpump replacement
shortly after sale, then successfully took visiting Australians on an extended
driving tour of the United States.
Price was probably too low, as seller placed ad for it on the Alfa
Digest and had four immediate sight-unseen acceptances of the $600 asking
price.
By
way of speculation and hope, here are some recent asking prices I've seen
lately, off the Berlina Register web page classified ad listing, local
newspapers, and eBay:
C
1969 1750 US Berlina. In storage for some time and not running, but
complete and converted to Webers.
Rebuilt engine, brakes need work, located in Iowa. Asking $1,500.
C
1971 1750 Italian
Berlina. An extremely nice restored Italian-market car, in Canada, with
lots of work done to it. Asking US
$6,900, perhaps now sold to an owner in the southern US. I saw this car in person in 1999, and no
expense was spared to make it nice. I
would be interested to hear what the final sales price was.
C
Three 2000 US
Berlinas. Uncertain condition, but I believe it was two running cars and
one rolling shell, located in Colorado.
$5,000 for the lot.
C
1973 2000 US Berlina. Pretty good
condition, located in Central California. Asking $2,000.
C
1973 2000 US Berlina. Runs but
rusty, apparently in regular use.
Located in Northern California.
Asking $1,500.
C
1973 2000 US Berlina. Complete but
rough, has AC, been sitting for years and looks rusty and dingy. Was on eBay, located in Alabama, asking
$1,000.
Berlina Parts Sources
Here
is a list of businesses that have Alfa, and particularly Berlina, parts to
sell. I'm sort of a clearinghouse of Berlina information, so contact me if you
have specific questions.
Alfaholics is Richard Norris and Richard Banks, teaming up to
provide sales, service, parts, restoration of all Alfas, particularly older
ones. Claim to be the largest
dismantler of 105 series cars in the UK.
Richard Banks has decades of repair experience, and Richard Norris was
very nice to deal with when I bought some parts from him in 1999 (phones +44
(0)1398 351360, +44 (0)20 8299 2929; fax +44 (0)1398 351163; website
www.alfaholics.com).
Alfa
Parts Exchange is the foremost Alfa
junkyard in the United States. They
deal with all kinds of Alfas and have a vast knowledge of Alfa parts. They have parted out many Berlinas,
including my 1969 car, and usually have at least one Berlina (2000 National
Ave, Hayward, CA 94544; (510) 782-5800; email ape@apedirect.com; website
http://www.apedirect.com/).
AR
Ricambi has a wide variety of parts
to fit all Alfas, particularly performance parts like springs, sway bars,
exhaust systems and includes the old Shankle parts (6644 San Fernando Rd.,
Glendale, CA 91201; phone (800) 225‑ALFA; fax (818) 956‑5160; email
arricambi@aol.com). All Parts in Berkeley CA has
a range of new and used Alfa parts for all models (2255 San Pablo Ave.,
Berkeley, CA; phone (510) 548-8748).
Centerline
Alfa Romeo Parts has new mechanical,
electrical, body parts, plus accessories, manuals, and some used parts. They have a good supply of hard-to-find
stuff, including restoration pieces like Berlina window seals (P.O. Box 1466,
Boulder, CO 80306; (303) 447‑0239; fax (303) 447‑0257; website
www.centerlinealfa.com).
di
Fatta Brothers claim to have 50
years' experience servicing and selling parts for Alfas. Had hard-to-find Berlina brake parts in 1995
(5928 Belair Rd., Baltimore, MD 21206; (410) 426‑7524; email
gianni@difatta.com; website www.difatta.com).
Charles
Dodson at International Imports has
lots of used Alfa parts. He had Berlina
and Giulia bumpers, trim, mechanical parts, and the like, when I contacted him
in 1996 (7 Wainwright Ave, Annapolis, MD 21403; phone (410) 267-9245; fax (410)
268-2266).
Ereminas
Imports has been selling Alfa parts
for years and has a great knowledge of the cars both old and new (3000 South
Main St., P.O. Box 1214, Torrington, Connecticut 06791; phone 1-800-ALFAHOT).
Ranier
Hurtienne has a vast array of
mechanical, trim, restoration, interior, and body parts for various Alfas,
including Berlinas (Harpener Feld 34a, 44805 Bochum, Germany; phone
+49/(0)234/86 41 43; fax +49/(0)234/86 46 99; email sales@alfahurtienne.de;
website http://www.alfahurtienne.de/).
International
Auto Parts has new mechanical,
electrical, body, trim, restoration pieces for most Alfas, including Berlinas
(P.O. Box 9036, Charlottesville, VA 22906; phone 800‑726‑0555; fax
(804) 973‑2368; email iap1@esinet.net; website
www.international-auto.com).
Matthew's
Foreign Car Parts has both new and
NOS Alfa parts, as well as numerous cars they are parting out. They have some esoteric stuff (4709 First
Ave. North, Birmingham AL (205) 592-8900).
Jon
Norman's Alfa Parts. Jon Norman and Ruth Ann Yager have been
selling Alfa Parts for decades, and know most models of Alfas inside and
out. Providing new factory Alfa parts,
accessories, ReOriginals parts.
Affiliated Norman Racing Group does sophisticated Alfa engine work,
machining, and fabrication (1221 Fourth St., Berkeley, CA 94708; (510)
525-9435); website http://www.alfa-parts.com).
Portello
Auto Works has the stock of Alfa
parts formerly owned by Tom Zat of Alfa Heaven, other good used, NOS, and
reproduction Alfa parts, especially 750, 101, and 105 cars, plus some used cars
for sale (Chula Vista, CA (619) 429-6518; website www.portelloworks.com).
Re-Originals has NOS and reproduction pieces for Alfas,
particularly hard-to-find stuff. A good
resource when doing a restoration. A
lot of things are remade by the original supplier (12618 Craigwood Lane,
Cypress, TX 77429; (281) 807-1945; (281) 807-1946 (fax); email:
ReOriginal@aol.com; website http://members.iinet.net.au/~unimec/reor.html).
Berlina Classified Ads
Parts for sale from 1970
Berlina with 37,000 miles: Front and
rear bumpers, front and rear windows, side chrome, window chrome, front and
rear hoods, consol with gauges, speedometer, tachometer, door panels (brown),
front seats (brown), door and window opening hardware, calipers, driveshafts,
gas tank, rear taillights, headlight chrome, center grill, steering wheel,
transmission, differential, brake and clutch fluid tank, fuel injection
assembly, and misc. other small parts.
Ron Thiel. r.thiel@home.com; 905-887-8800
For sale: Two berlinas; one
1972 green in good used condition with red konis and reinforced coils, alloy
rims 15"x7", 195/55-15 contis, cd radio suzuki sport seats, not very
much rust it has been used for 190000 km; The other is for spares only without
engine & gearbox but most of chrome is ok and four extra doors in very good
condition. Also engine parts carbs extractor pipes and other stuff. Price
17,000 SEK. Contact Mr Jan P Wanhainen, soderbygaardsvag 25, S‑76296,
Raanas, Sweden; wanis76@hotmail.com; tel +46175/61370; mobile +46 70 498 62 52
Three Berlinas for sale, '73,
'74, '74, plus parts, $5000, VHS video available, 303‑258‑7905, ask
for Mark Smith, e‑mail contact: rsachter@bvsd.k12.co.us
1971 1750 Berlina for sale.
Genuine 105.48 Italian‑market car. Weber carbs; car is in excellent
condition. $6900 US negotiable. Contact Dr. Andrea Berardelli, Victoria BC,
Canada at doctorb@imag.net; see information and pictures at
www.geocities.com/alfa4door/index.htm
1969 Berlina for sale.
Rebuilt 1750 with twin side draft Webers, five speed. Red with black interior.
Straight body with some rust on rockers and around rear of trunk lid. Interior
good. 4 good Vredestein snow tires. Car has been in storage for several years
(but license fees paid), needs brake boosters rebuilt, and not currently
running. Car is in Des Moines, Iowa. $1,500. knewman@mcleodusa.net
1973 or 1974 Berlina for
sale, in pretty good shape. Seller wants to sell it to an Alfa person so it
will be taken care of. Perhaps $2,000. Call Abe in Santa Maria, CA at (805) 928‑8646
"Mortimer II," a
racing Berlina, is for sale. Car is in Mass. Contact Norm Riffle, 410 Eastfield
Dr., Oregon City, OR 97045 for more information; Its‑A‑Grind.com;
phone 503‑227‑2711