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The Alfa Romeo Owners
Club's Capital Chapter meets in Baltimore Monday,
February 2, at our old haunt -- Squire's Restaurant. This will be a
chance
to lay plans for the 2004 driving season for those living in and near
the
Maryland city, so we encourage any and all in this neck of the woods to
come
on out! As always, the meeting's at 8:00 p.m., but folks tend to arrive
earlier to chat and order food. Directions on the back cover.
The owners of Spring
Grove Farm in Appomattox, Va., destination for our
club's Spring Backroads Ramble, has asked us to move the reservation
deadline from March 15 to February 15. Why? Because they have people
begging
to stay there. For the May 21-23 weekend our club has reserved the whole
inn. Now it's time to fill it up!
Though the event is not until May, please plan three
months ahead
and call today for information and to register. If we do not fill the
rooms
by Feb. 15, we must release the remaining ones... and from the demand
they
are seeing, they'll go fast.
By popular request, this year the trip will be a
double-overnight
trip. Participants are encouraged to come on down after work Friday.
The extended trip will allow for much more
relaxation, socializing
at the inn, and exploration of the historic and beautiful Appomattox
area.
Participants will head down on their own on Friday,
during the day
or after work. Directions will be provided by the organizers. (Those who
only wish to spend one night away from home can drive down early on
Saturday
morning).
On Saturday, after a hearty country breakfast at the
inn, the group
will head out to explore the region. Among the sites to see are
Appomattox
Courthouse, the restored village where Lee surrendered to Grant at the
end
of the Civil War; Thomas Jefferson's country retreat, Poplar Forest; Ash
Lawn-Highland, home of President James Monroe; and of course, a bunch of
lovely backroads. If there is interest, we could also visit the local
Fred's
Car Museum, well worth the time (and our best bet in the event of nasty
weather) or International Auto Parts in Charlottesville.
Your tour organizers will be hard at work scouting
more good roads
this winter. We will only drive on paved roads that any club member's
car
should be able to handle with aplomb, be it a 1958 Giulietta or a 1995
164Q.
Look forward to varied and scenic roads, most with barely any traffic,
in
fine to excellent condition.
Upon the return from our adventures on Saturday
evening, the inn
will host us for a wine and cheese reception, followed by a delightful
homecooked meal. There's no more driving tonight! Enjoy an evening with
good
Alfa Club friends, then retire to a room filled with more than 150
years of
history.
After Sunday breakfast, we have a beautiful drive
home mapped out
based on our tour down in previous years. Participants can join the
convoy
home or head off on their own. The route will take about five hours and
cover roughly 200 miles on the way to the Washington area; a more direct
alternate route will also be available.
We will plan one extended break for a picnic lunch,
and will likely
make another short break or two for photos, benzina, stretching,
looking at
historic markers, etc. Figure on getting home before dusk/dinner time.
Ask anyone who's been
there the past two years... Spring Grove Farm is a
special place, with charming hosts, gracious grounds, and charming,
warm,
antique-filled rooms. Generally, it's all but impossible to book a room
there in the nicer months, because there is a wedding nearly every
weekend;
but we booked over a year in advance to ensure this would be an Alfa
Club
weekend! And our hosts, Joe and Emily Sayers, were glad to have us do so
because they have gotten quite a kick out of the Alfa crew. They'll
even let
you work on your car in the barn if need be.
We have reserved all 10 rooms at the inn for Friday
and Saturday
nights. Again, we need to confirm this by February 15. Anticipate double
occupancy room costs of $110-200 per night, depending on amenities (see
the
rooms and learn more at www.springgrovefarm.com), and including a full
breakfast, plus $25 a person total for the full dinner Saturday.
Get your motor running;
Head out on the highway; Drive up to New Hampshire;
Manchester way.
July 27 to August 1, 2004, Alfa owners from around
the nation will
gather in Manchester, N.H. for this year's National Convention. This is
not
just any convention -- it will also be the "Giulietta Giubelee,"
celebrating
the 50th anniversary of the 1954 introduction of the model that would
revolutionize the Alfa marque.
This year's event is hosted by the Alfa Owners of
New England.
Manchester is about 480 miles, or eight hours, from Washington, D.C.
That
means this will be one of the closest conventions for our chapter. Since
2005 will be in Washington State, this year is especially not to be
missed.
It will also be a marked contrast, in distance and temperatures, to last
year's national convention, which was in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. over
July 4
weekend. A number of our chapter members made that hike; those who did
recall sweating profusely.
The organizers are luring us North with promises of:
* Track time on the road course of the famous New
Hampshire.
International Speedway in Loudon, N.H.
* Zig-zagging around a challenging autocross circuit.
* Zipping around the countryside on a tricky
Time-Speed-Distance
rally.
* Drag racing at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H.
* Ogling lots of great cars, old and new(-ish), at
our Alfa-only
concorso.
* Taking an Alfa tour through the beautiful White
Mountains of New
Hampshire.
* Participating in the AROC Directors meeting to help
set our Club's
direction in the coming years .
* Dining on some fine New England offerings at the
Banquet and
Luncheon affairs, plus many other venues.
* Enjoying some family fun, including a Pinewood
Derby for the kids
and shopping and sight-seeing junkets for those who don't wear Nomex.
* And hangin' out, kickin' tires, tellin' tales, and
otherwise gettin'
down 'n' dirty with a bunch of like-minded Alfa cuckoos.
With this convention so much closer than 2003's, one could realistically
plan a trip around driving up on Wednesday or Thursday, enjoying the
events,
and even staying through Sunday's concours and luncheon, making it home
before midnight.
Full information about the Convention and schedules are posted at:
www.giubilee.com. Registration should be available by March, and will be
printed in this newsletter this spring.
Assuming that a good crew will head up from our chapter, there is
potential
for convoys North and South!
By Bob Kleinfeld,
Secretary
Gathering at Vicino's Ristorante Italiano on a pleasant enough Monday
evening (worth noting in the D.C. area in January), the usual suspects
received their accustomed dose of Alfa aficionado conversation and
bonhomie.
Our meeting venues may lack a certain panache but more than make up for
that
deficiency with good cheer and conviviality.
Vice President Sherry Thackeray opened the meeting
with a report on
the chapter Holiday Party at Steve and Suzanne Morrison's (a good time
really was had by all) and then advised us that our re-elected President
John Kay is definitely on the mend and will return to his rightful
place,
presiding over our meetings, in the spring. All of the 2003 officers
were
reelected for 2004 (what did we do wrong?) A new position was created;
Denny
Broud fills the chair of Social Coordinator. Librarian and webmaster
Jack
Chesley, technical advisor Les Smith, and editor Brewster Thackeray
continue
as club appointees.
Sherry reminded us of some important upcoming dates:
The deadline
for registering to participate in May's Backroads Ramble, May 21-23, has
been moved up to Feb. 15. The Regional Italian Car Tour will be April
25.
Sherry is making good progress on developing the events calendar for
2004
and encourages ideas and suggestions.
Gavin Corn related some stories from his work travel
about the
availability of more than a few stolen Alfas in Albania. Alfas
"liberated"
from their rightful owners in Italy mysteriously find their way across
the
Adriatic to impoverished Albania. He emphasized that he couldn't
recommend
searching there for a bargain Alfa. Although the car might be a steal
(sorry), registration in the States could pose certain problems.
(Confiscation of the car and jail time for the buyer might be among
those
problems.)
Denny Broud suggested we should be able to view the
club's financial
statements at the monthly meetings, and opined that we don't get enough
attendees at our meetings. Brewster Thackeray replied that 10 percent or
more of our Chapter's membership generally attends meetings, and that
this
is typical for marque car clubs. Not that 20 percent wouldn't be more
fun
for us all, so come on out!
Denny further suggested that the Chapter consider
sponsoring Alfa
Romeo entrants in next fall's Rockville Car show. It would only cost us
$7
per entrant and having a mass of Alfas on display under an Alfa Romeo
banner
would add to the luster of the show. Bob Kleinfeld noted that such
banners
appear regularly on eBay at reasonable prices. Someone suggested that an
Alfa parts dealer or technician might sponsor the entrants.
In the same vein, it was suggested we might partner
with another
club to stage an autocross. Bob Kleinfeld said the autocross at the 2003
convention was conducted in partnership with the local Porsche club and
was
a huge success.
Following introduction of the members, Sherry
adjourned the meeting.
by Brewster &
Sherry Thackeray
As 2004 begins, we find ourselves with a 17 year-old living in our
basement.
No, don't you veteran parents start pitying us. It's our Spider
Graduate,
Aurora, who was produced in January 1987 (back when one of us was a high
school senior... The other was not his prom date; she was only 12, and
her
mother would not have approved. Besides, he drove a Volvo back then.)
Aurora had a great birthday outing on New Year's
Day, thanks to our
club friend Dermot McDermott, who rounded up a few of his acquaintances
for
a tour in Maryland. Dermot drove his Jaguar D-Type topless (the car,
not the
man) and for much of the drive, we doffed our lid as well. What a nice
warm
New Year's it was -- and the second weekend of the year was warmer
still!
Nearly worth the cold snap that followed.
The tail end of this month finds us scrambling to
get you this
newsletter. Scrambling because a computer upgrade deprived the editor
of his
PageMaker program, and because we were hightailing it out to California.
Unlike last year's trip, we didn't drive home across the continent in a
164.
Though there were both a 164S and a Spider Quadrifoglio on e-Bay this
week
under $3,000 that might have made for a fine cross-country cruise! Ah
well,
we did enjoy renting a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder (learn to spell, Mitsu)
with an auto stick and V6, a pretty nice little rental ragtop.
Also in January, it was a real kick to meet up with
a bunch of
people from the club on a chilly Sunday morning in Old Town. We had a
nice
lunch and then shared a fascinating tour of David Cammack's Tucker car
museum.
So what's the point of this miscellaneous rambling?
We urge those of
you with whom we've established friendships to join us for more great
adventures, building on our love of Alfas, in the year ahead; and we
hope
that some of you who've belonged to this club, but not yet had the time
to
be actively involved, will find 2004 the year that you catch an Italian
Car
Tour, Backroads Ramble, dinner, or picnic. The more you take part, the
more
you will gain--and so will we all!
For those of us whose
friends may think we're a little obsessed with our
hobby, January's visit to David Cammack's Tucker museum was a great
justifier. Mr. Cammack is teh nation's premier Tucker collector--he has
three complete Tuckers, a rolling chassis, several engines, and a
plethora
of parts and literature. The collection is so cool, even a non-car lover
would enjoy it for the history. And thus, it makes automotive obsession
palatable.
Mr. Cammack graciously hosted a group of more than
20 Capital
Chapter members at his Alexandria compound on January 11. He says he
loves
sharing the unique collection that he began assembling more than 30
years
ago, and indeed his enthusiasm was contageous.
Alfas have often been ahead of their time. Tuckers
were radical when
they came out in 1948. Rear-engined, a third headlight (which turns
with the
steering wheel) instead of a traditional grille, and safety promised by
thick side frame rails. This car was something else!
As anyone knows who has seen the movie
Tucker, the car barely
launched. An IRS investigation of Preston Tucker derailed his dream
car. He
made several attempts at a comeback but died at 53 in 1956.
It's a miracle any Tuckers survived, but
most of the 50 prototypes
did. Some are in private hands, others in museums, including the
Smithsonian
and Harrah's. Mr. Cammack's collection, which includes the first, is the
largest of the marque.His cars are beautifully restored, but he says,
too
rare to drive.
Capital Chapter members took the opportunity to look
at the cars up
close, watch videos about them, and check out period spec charts and
advertisements.
We had a full tour group, but Mr. Cammack graciously
invited us to
schedule another tour if interest warrants it. We are indeed lucky to
have
such a unique museum in our neighborhood, to say nothing of such a
knowledgeable and generous host who shared his time and collection with
us
at no charge.
Never sell your Alfa! (But if you absolutely have to, I can help). Free
advice. Low commission sales. eBay auctions. Brewster, 703/807-0798 or
brewthack@aol.com.
FEBRUARY MEETING
Monday, February 2
Squire's Restaurant, Baltimore, MD
8:00 p.m. (but you're welcome to show up earlier!)
Directions:
Northbound from D.C.:
Take I-95 North through the Ft. McHenry Tunnel. Take exit 58 after
exiting
tunnel; at the third light, take a left onto Holabird Ave. Squire's
Restaurant is 1/2 a block up on the right, at 6723 Holabird Ave.,
Baltimore. 410/288-0081.
Southbound on I-95:
Take exit 59, Eastern Ave. Take a right onto Eastern Ave. Immediately
turn
left onto Kane St. Take a left onto Dundalk Ave. At the third light
take a
left onto Holabird Ave. Squire's is 1/2 a block on the right.
MARCH MEETING
Monday, March 1
Pulcinella's, McLean, VA
APRIL MEETING
Monday, April 5
Vicnio's, Silver Spring, MD
ITALIAN CAR TOUR
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Starting at Criswell Lamborghini in Gaithersburg. Come out to drive some
great roads with Ferraris, Fiats, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Lancias...
SPRING BACKROADS RAMBLE
Friday-Sunday, May 21-23, 2004
Appomattox , VA
For details, see Page 3, and www.springgrovefarm.com. Reservations:
Sherry
or Brewster Thackeray, 703/807-0798; TwoThacks@aol.com.
ANNUAL CONVENTION OF AROC
July 27, August 1
Manchester, NH
See details on page 1, and at www.giubilee.com
February 10 is the Virginia Primary
Maryland's is March the second
Let's elect a president who will make
New Alfas available to Americans!
Alfantics is the official publication of the Capital Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC). Local membership and a subscription to this newsletter is included in the annual AROC membership fee of $45.
Permission is granted to other AROC Chapter Newsletters to reproduce any original material herein, provided full credit is given to the author and the Capital Chapter. Pictures may be available from the editor in digital format.
Articles, letters and photos should be submitted to the editor, Brewster Thackeray; brewthack@aol.com; 100 Battle St. SE, Vienna, VA 22180.
Authors should be aware that acceptance for publication in Alfantics implicitly grants republication rights to other AROC Chapter newsletters. Alfantics reserves the right to edit or reject any submitted items. Classified ads for Alfa-related items are free to members of $5 for non-members. Commercial rates are available from the Treasurer.
The deadline for classified ads and contributions to the newsletter is the 15th of each month prior to publication. Articles may be sent to the editor by e-mail or on a diskette in a common format.
DISCLAIMER: While it is a service of the Capital Chapter of AROC to disseminate technical information, any techniques or modifications published in Alfantics should be weighed against the conventional or generally accepted practice. The mentioned product, service, or procedure in this newsletter does not constitute an endorsement by this Chapter, its Officers, Alfantics, AROC, or Alfa Romeo, Inc. Alfantics, its editor or contributors assume no liability for the accuracy of any technical information appearing herein.
Standard Disclaimer applies
here! Neither the Capital Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owner's Club nor
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information presented in these pages. Use common sense in any business
dealings and mechanical work.
Talk to jack
if you have comments
last updated: Jan 2003