Giulia Giardinetta (station wagon)

[Tony Stevens <tony@domain.elided>]

I have been "off-Digest" for a week or so & missed the recent discussion
about the Giulia Giardinetta. However, the following additional
information may be of interest while the trail is still warm.

Having owned one for 10 years I can confirm from my own experience that
information on this model is extremely scarce.

Going back a few years to the '50's, the Colli Giulietta Giardinetta was
produced in a very limited production run (about 90 examples if my
memory is correct) yet was officially listed as a Giulietta derivative
in that reference is made to it in the Giulietta Parts Book - although I
have never seen any publicity material apart from press photos.

Colli then produced ambulance conversions of the Romeo van in the late
50's & early 60's which were sold by Alfa Romeo as official models. 

The Giulia Giardinetta seems to have been the rarest Giulia derivative
in that only about 100 or so examples were actually converted by Colli.
The initial version was based on the chrome grilled Giulia TI & the
Giulia 1300 & was probably aimed at the general public in that it was
fully glazed & equippped with folding rear seats etc as a normal station
wagon, as shown in Fusi. The rear tailgate was full length & extended as
far as the rear bumper, the normal rear panel being part of the
tailgate.

I saw an example for sale in Belgium in about '94 & I believe that the
car is now in Switzerland.

I have seen only one sales brochure for this model & that was a Colli
poublication. Unlike the earlier Giulietta model, no reference is made
to the Giardinetta in the Giulia Parts Book.

The majority of the Colli Giulia Giardinetta production was for the
Police & Customs & were half car/half van in that the side panel behind
the rear door was sheet steel with ventilation louvres. Later versions
had a shorter tailgate which extended only so far as the usual saloon
rear panel which was retained (for increased structural rigidity?).

The Colli conversions were carried out with factory approval/co-
operation & used a complete new roof panel produced by Colli. Most were
based on the 105.26 series Super, although some were fitted with a Solex
downdraught carb as per the TI!

Whereas most italian small volume productions & conversions used
production windscreens etc from other current makes or models, the Colli
Giardinetta tailgate glass seems to be a special produced just for this
model. The tailgate was incredibly heavy & seemed mismatched to the
slender curved external hinges. 

Alfa Romeo also offerred the Giardinetta to it's importers & dealers in
many countries. Two RHD examples came into the UK in about '68 & were
used as an express delivery van & by the technical manager of ARGB, one
of these is believed to survive in a rather rough state awaiting
restoration. 

There were also many unofficial conversions carried out by local
carrozerie for Police forces who would buy a standard Super from their
local & have it converted in the style of the Colli version.

To complicate matters even further, I have seen two examples of what
appear to be genuine Colli conversions which were based on the Nuova
Super......

The Giardinetta which I owned was produced in Jan '71, with hanging
pedals & the shorter tailgate is now in Portugal & is likely to return
to the road this year.

Tony Stevens
Belper GB

'52 AR51 Matta
'55 & '57 Giulietta Sprint
'58 Romeo 2 Ambulance - by Colli
'58 Romeo 2 Mobile Blood Tranfusion Clinic
'60 Giulietta Spider
'61 Romeo 2 truck
'65 Giulia Ti
'68 Giulia Super
'90 Citroen CX 25DTR Safari - now outgrown, looking for a replacement!

- -- 
Tony Stevens    http://www.alfastop.co.uk
ALFA STOP, POBox 50, Belper DE56 1AS, UK
Tel: +44 (0)177 382 2000
Fax: +44 (0)177 382 1900

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