The "Restored" Missouri fire 8C 2900 and Testa Rossa

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

The "Restored" Missouri fire 8C 2900 and Testa Rossa

In AD7-465 Ron J Horowitz, following the 1500 TF & St. Louis Collector thread,
in which I had mentioned loss of a 6C 2900 and several other choice cars in a
barn fire, wrote:.

"One of my friends is the nephew of said collector. If you've got a picture
of the car, perhaps he can verify. By the way, I've been told that both the
2900 and the Testa Rossa which were "recreated" based on these chassis numbers
are not what they were claimed to be. It seems the true remains of
the two chassis were both buried under a new freeway some time ago, and the
recreations are 100% new, not based on what little remained of the old
chassis as claimed. Or at least that's the story John tells.... By the way,
he has an interesting little puddle of aluminum sitting on his coffee
table. It used to be the Testa Rossa's engine!"

It wasn't quite that bad, but almost. Several years ago Henry Wessells III
wrote an article about his Alfas- all of them - for Het Klaverblaadje,
entitled "40 Jaar Alfa's; Een Parr Herinneringen". Rather than copying the
Dutch text, which the late (and sorely missed) Ben Hendriks had translated,
and then have Jaap Bouma (Thank you) retranslate it to English for we non-
polyglots, I will just quote from Wessells' manuscript.

"If new Alfas are less interesting it is not difficult to focus on the old
ones, and one result was my expedition to find and recover the ex-Biggs
"Missouri fire car" no. 412021 in Simon Moore's "The Immortal 2.9". We had all
heard that it was buried on a farm after the barn burned in 1968, but it was
Rodney Felton who decided to find it and asked me to be his American agent. It
was a fascinating hunt, through estate agents an farmers to the present owner
from whom I got permission to dig. In the event it was not really buried, just
pushed over the edge of a ravine where the typical 2900 front suspension was
clearly visible to anyone who looked. It was like finding a sunken ship filled
with gold. There were meant to be other cars. I found a 1900, but between fire
and rust it was hardly worth rescuing. There was no trace of the 6C1750, and
when I saw a photo I laughed. It was the same car I bought years before and is
in my garage. There was a Ferrari which I identified by the front spring
trunion, the only part showing. It was thought to be a 212: "there was a Testa
Rossa but it was taken away years ago." It hadn't been, but that is another
story. The Alfa, of which all steel suspension parts and frame and crankshafts
were usable, has been restored by Rodney and will be on the road for this
season."

There was an article in one of the main British classic car magazines a few
years ago about Rodney Felton's restoration of both the Alfa and the Ferrari.
As I remember the frame of the Alfa had been folded up when the remains were
bulldozed, but there was enough to straighten and patch back together. It was
rebodied in the style of the Mille Miglia cars, the old story that "four were
built, of which twenty-two survive" which blesses Bugattis, Buciallis,
Bentleys, SSKL Mercedes, and many other rare and desirable artifacts. The
original body had been atypical, not the loveliest 2.9 but very interesting,
and now it has been replaced by a cliche.

The next to last paragraph of the article speaks of the progress on the
restoration of his 3000 CM and a 1900, and continues "If Zagato ever produces
them I might have a new SZ- if not that I shall have to settle for a 3.0
Milano, for the 164 is FWD and therefore not an Alfa."

His earlier comments on the 3000 CM Spider which he used as the getaway car
from his wedding are priceless, but off topic, so I close with regret.

Cordially, 

John H.
Raleigh

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