Alfa Guilia Ti Transformation: Something Magical Just Happened

Alfa Romeo Giulia TiSo we finally got around to painting the wheels and fitting new tyres. The car looks great on 14 inchers all round but that is only half the story. Something truly magical has happened to the car, it has been transformed from a track day brute that reluctantly put up with the daily commute to a twinkle toed, lightweight delight. It now exudes that classic Alfa grab-it-by-the-scruff-neck-and-fling-it-at-the-next-corner vibe and every trip is a blast.

How did this transformation come about? Well we went from a set of lovely Saab sourced 15 inch steelies fitted with awesomely grippy 195/55 r15 Toyo Proxes to a set of OEM 14 inchers with more humble Dunlop 185/65s. So a drop of an inch in diameter, 10mm in width and 10mm in profile has resulted in a completely different car.

Of course the other change is that we have gone from silver steel wheels to black steel wheels and we just wonder whether some black steelie magic happened during this process, and that’s the real reason the car is so different.

We’re looking forward to giving the previous owner a drive in the Giulia – reckon he’ll want to buy it back!

Alfa Giulia Ti

Nearly There: The Black Steelies Giulia

Well we couldn’t very well drive around with silver steel wheels now could we.

Actually there is a practical reason for the change too. Our Giulia came with very nice 15 inch steelies from a Saab which look great and allow for wide rubber, but they rub the inside of the rear wheel arches when we carry passengers. So we are swapping to OEM 14 inches that will be black. This will provide the added benefit of making the steering easier at slow speeds and allow the car to be generally lighter on its toes.

1968 Alfa Giulia Ti

Black But Not Steel: Fiat 2300 Coupe

Fiat 2300 Coupe

Thanks to BlackSteelies reader Gert for reminding us of the beauty of the Fiat 2300 coupe and for sending this great image of a lowered example sporting black wheels – it looks ready for anything.

The 2300 coupe is a very elegant car and even looks good without black wheels!

Fiat 2300 Coupe

For a final word on the 2300 Coupe check out this gorgeous video on Petrolicious: http://www.petrolicious.com/the-fiat-2300-s-coupe-is-suspended-in-time. Did he really say “…a little island inside the ocean of technology and modernity”. I want that on a t-shirt!

Land Rover X Cooper 500

Land Rover Cooper 500

 

Wonderful image of a Series 1 Land Rover being used as a transporter for a Cooper 500. Some may say that a trailer would have been easier but we admire the ingenuity.

The location is Crystal Palace in South London, the year 1953 and the driver is Stuart Lewis-Evans.

Thanks to Classic & Sportscar for a great find

Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti

Ok, now that we have finally got that Delorean monkey off our backs we can get back to more regular posts. And what better way to get things rolling along again than to introduce a new car to the BlackSteelies stable. I present our 1968 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300 Ti.

The little car is turning out to be quite the media darling with a starring role in the Our Cars section of our sister website ItalianCar.com.au

Eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed that the car does not currently sport black steel wheels. This is being rectified post haste.

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Delorean Trifecta Part Three: Pop Tribute

And here it is, the final installment in our overly drawn out Delorean triple-header.

We’ve been reading a lot about John Delorean lately, his name keeps cropping up all over the place. But we were really surprised to hear that an entire album has been dedicated to him – a Delorean concept album, how cool is that, a collection of great songs telling the story of a Motor City legend. And it is excellent too.

And to top it off one of the founding members of the band behind the record is none other than greatest-living-Welshman Gruff Rhys – he of Super Furry Animals fame and a legend at BlackSteelies HQ.

So for your listening please we present Stainless Style by Neon Neon – https://myspace.com/neonx2/music/songs