Young alfisti

[Antti Korhonen <antti.korhonen@domain.elided>]

I know that I propably have said this before, but I myself started driv=
ing with a nice 1973 2000 berlina being still only 18, or just enough o=
ld to get a drivers' license here
in Finland and still a high school student. (we do three years here and=
 begin in the so-called third stage of the state's schooling system whe=
n you're sixteen, you know...)
Sure, it was like a dream to have such a car, which I and my friends us=
ed to go all kinds of picknicks, etc during the beginning of the summer=
 holidays. But than some kids
sadly destroyed it's paint work in the same week, as the gearbox failed=
 totally (not just the 2nd gear, which really has been a problem with t=
hese, even though you would use
doubleclutches...). Since, the car has been waiting proper restoration =
in our carage, as I went to the navy service for nine months. I started=
 saving all my money there just
for the car and also saved my half years salary later on, but just when=
 I had enough I happened to find my giulia 1300 ti. So, now I'm waiting=
 for the summer and trying to save
money ON BOTH cars. I must point out that I work as the only reporter i=
n a quite popular local newspaper, but get only about $700 a month, whi=
ch is actually really badly. (It
is getting hard to live with that you know, though I still keep my pare=
nt's house as my home...)
Anyway, what I mean is, that owning a Alfa costs a lot, but gives you e=
aven more. After all, you can allways get money somehow, but not a nice=
 Berlina! Or fuel costs, but it
pays  back for a youngster like me a lot more: think of 20-old chap dri=
ving a car, that used to cost in the past about ten times as much as a =
beetle, witch was thought as an
expensive and quality-built car, unlike all the popedas and other sovie=
t cars, that put my country's wheels rolling again after the war...
Besides, in my humble opinion, driving a old sports car shouldn't be ju=
st a way to get all the chicks but an enjoyment of best driving and old=
 roads, plus a nice way to spend
your summer holidays with your fianc=E9e!
Happy new year to all of you,
Antti Korhonen,
=46inland

Own cars:

'62 Jaguar MK 2 3.4 (teared to parts 20 years ago)
'68 1750 Berlina, Finland's first!
'69 Giulia 1300 t.i., never driven in winter...
'72 F12 Ambulance, 60.000 and original, only in scandinavia?
'79 Audi 80 1.6 CL (original, in daily use, but actually could soon be =
museum registered! Finland, the country of Nokia and most densed Intern=
et-state, has Europe's oldest
stock of daily used cars, you know... Even Greece is now before us!)

My father's:

'62 Gilera 175 Giubileo, in use-condition
'68 1750 Berlina, good project
'73 2000 Berlina, totally original and smells like new!
'73 Giulia 1.6 Super, spoiled wreck
'74 GTjunior 1.6, wreck found from Lapland
'94 Volvo 850 GL(?) estate, awfully boringly swedish...

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End of alfa-digest V7 #1251
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