|
|||
|
By Myron Barnett and by
Stephan de Pénasse Okay, here’s my recap of Tutto Italiano week and all that led up to it. Being involved with both the museum and AONE, I saw things from more than one perspective. I attended meetings upon meetings, I witnessed the Sons of Italy and their enthusiasm, I met the Italian Consulate General, I saw many Fiat 500s. I met the people who organized the wonderful British show in the Berkshires. I witnessed all the enthusiasm that the museum staff had. Yuppie Racing of New England was involved. A brand new FIAT was to be the raffle car this year. There were dinners, a fashion show, a pre-show in Faneuil Hall (which included an 8C Competizione), and a spirited police-escorted sojourn to Faneuil Hall from the Museum. (Witnessing an 8C driving on the road is not something an Alfista will easily forget.) Oh, did I mention the great coffee, pastries and food in the North End? Yes, this was the beginning of a very different and extremely well-planned, well-manned celebration. The auto drive-in the day before the big event (Saturday) was even a hit. Our club was going to attend en masse (we did). The event included Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Maseratis, Lancias, FIATs, Bizzarinis, Duccatis, Moto Guzzis, MV Augustas, Vespas, clothing, food, automobilia, etc., etc. Even the Italian consulate was coming. So what went wrong? The weather!!! We had lots of weather — sun, wind, rain, lots of rain, clouds, a lot more rain, and then even more. In spite of the weather, many people showed up. Alfas were definitely the dominant marque. What can I say — we are a hardy bunch! We had a 164S, 164Q, 164LS, GTV6, Berlina, and Spiders old and newer. We even had a GTV race car on slicks. We had Alfisti and plenty of car parkers, but alas no concours cars for the front of the museum. On Tutto morning, I got up and rewashed the car, detailed it as much as possible, stopped for a bagel and coffee, put my Alfa hat on, started the car, and drove con brio to the museum. I arrived at around 7:30, drove through the park, and saw not one Italian car — hmmm! Was this to be a sign of the day? What is wrong with people — it’s just a little rain! I went to get my judge’s shirt and watched the vendors setting up. I saw a great deal of pasta being prepared. Later, I would discover that there were nowhere near enough people to devour it. I witnessed the police giving the gate a hard time, restless individuals wondering whether the cars would show up. The phone rang constantly in the gift shop with callers asking if the show was still on. It was! I went up the hill and heard some wonderful sounds that only a car person can appreciate. The cars were arriving. This was a good sign. They kept arriving … and then they stopped as the rain arrived. But some Alfas were still arriving. Alfisti love driving their cars so much that the weather didn’t seem to deter some of you. We really have to take our hats off to the judges. They had miserable conditions at best. Those who knew got a free lunch, though. Guys and gals, we owe a big thanks to all of you! I watched a truck with a trailer pull in front of the museum, open the trailer, and lo and behold there were two brand new Lamborghinis waiting to be backed out. My 8-year-old was standing about 20 feet behind the trailer when they started up the new SuperLeggera. It was so loud that he jumped about 8 feet right into one of the Lamborghini personnel. I went up the hill to see what was going on and saw lots of Ferraris, including a BB, Californias, 328s, 308s, 330, 430s, 360s, etc. Even some motorcycles showed up. This show had the potential of being the largest, best-run, most-attended show the museum had ever run. In spite of it all, we had a great time. Inside the museum, they had 500s for people to try out; they even had an F40 complete drive train on display with the twin turbochargers intact. The awards included plaques and ribbons. I had so much fun that I can’t wait for part two on October 16th. I hope that at least half of the people who were going to attend Tutto I will attend Tutto II on the 16th. All previous registrants will be admitted for free, as they’d already paid for the prior event. The museum is excited to bring the event back to us in the same year, and hopefully bring out all Italian car lovers and friends. Remember October 16th! (Jeep day was moved to accommodate us!) There were many great moments and a few wet ones, but this is a brief recap of the event from my eyes.
It all started for me when a member suggested that I should enter the “competition class” for this event. Having never participated in a concorso, which is typically for cars that are in mint condition, my ‘73 Alfa GTV is more of a great street and track car, and this is the way I have it set up. So now begins the task of detailing the car for the event. With help from friends in the club, I got some tips on engine degreaser, cleaning, and detailing. I furthermore secured the excellent services of my better half, Wendy, to detail the inside of the Alfa. Getting through the roll bar to the back seat required some contortion moves I could not possibly make! Equipped with Q-tips and cleaning / shining agents, the Alfa looked like it had just come out of the factory (sort of). I washed, cleaned, polished, and buffed all of the exterior parts and engine compartment. While working on the Alfa, I thought about being part of a great Meguiar’s commercial; I guess it was the heat, sweat, and exhaustion that may have caused some delusions. On the day of the event, I decided NOT to trailer the Alfa. It looked like a nice day — a bit cloudy where I live but nothing serious. I had racing slicks on the car and, given that I was taking mostly highway, I thought it would okay. I also wanted the Alfa to be presented in full-regalia “ready to race” mode. The great start to the weekend began going a bit “damp” when I approached Waltham, MA, on my way to Brookline. A few drops of rain quickly escalated into a deluge. Now, I have raced on slicks in the rain and I think I enjoy that. As long as there is no standing water, the small couple of grooves on each tire should be enough to keep the grip on the contact patch. But the challenge while driving to the concorso was dodging the standing water! Once I arrived, I was staged in the Alfa zone. There, I parked the car, saw several familiar faces, and made my way under the AONE “hospitality tent” for shelter and good camaraderie. Before long, all of the racing stickers I had placed on the headlights were running like a woman’s mascara when wet. The judges came out in the rain to rate the Alfas in several categories: Make, model, class, condition, originality, etc. Kudos to the judges (which included our own Kevin Murphy and Andy Kress) for their hard work. Several Spiders were also brave enough to participate and hoped the soft-tops could hold the incessant downpour. In the end, my GTV won the “Best Competition Car”, with a mention of “bravery” in driving to the event on slicks J. Of course, mine was also the only Alfa that showed up for the parade (shhhhh — don’t tell anyone!). I think that the highlight of the event was the nice chit-chat under the AONE tent. Several workers, members, and passersby came for shelter and provided for a nice ambience. Special thanks to Il Presidente Tom Lesko for putting the tents up! I’m not sure how he managed to drag all his gear in the Giulietta, and I know now why he didn’t have extra space for the espresso machine and a few bottles on Chianti Riserva to warm us up!
After the "business" portion of the program, the gang continued to
hang around and gab, and it was well after 3:00 before people began
to depart. Our thanks once again go to Kevin Murphy for arranging
our gathering, and to everyone who attended for contributing their
thoughts about our activities and making our club the success
that it is!
|
|||
|
(Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view, and then
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
