1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Turismo by James Young

For sale by auction on Saturday 28 November 2015 with Historics at Brooklands. Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit. Weybridge. Surrey. Call 01753 639170
The Alfa Romeo 1750 chassis. designed by the great engineer
Vittorio Jano. was the logical development of his very successful
6C. 1500 types. 1750 production began in 1929 and continued until
1933 with a total production of around 2. 80 units. starting with
the 3rd to the final 6th series. Engine options allowed for single
cam. twin cam and twin cam with a supercharger.

We are delighted to offer this very fine example of a
single-cam. six-cylinder 1750 Alfa Romeo bodied by James Young.
During 1929. the chassis was delivered to the coachworks of James
Young in Bromley. who were established in 1863 making horse
drawn carriages. Their first automobile body was made in 1908
and they continued until 1967. during which time apart from
Alfa Romeo. they produced bodywork for Rolls-Royce. Bentley. br/>Daimler. Talbot. Hispano-Suiza. Isotta-Fraschini and others.

In total. James Young bodied 57 Alfa Romeo chassis with
various types of coachwork. such as three position. two
and four seat drophead coupés on the long and short chassis. A few
were built on the long chassis. of which this is an example. and so
having rear side windows was known as a four-light coupé. This
configuration made it possible to produce a very elegant full four
seat body. During restoration. the production number 309 was found
to be marked on various parts of the frame and panels. plus some of
the exterior fittings. The chassis of this car is a 3rd series
1750T numbered 0411875 with a single cam engine carrying the same
number. It is the oldest known 1750 in existence being the 24th
built.

This 1750 was first registered on March 5th 1930 to a Mr. George
Couper. an Inverness trawler owner and. according to his daughters. br/>it remained in the family ownership until 1950 when it was given to
a relation. Its whereabouts upto March 1956 is unclear
but it may still have been in the family ownership. A
continuation log book. dated March 1956. records six owners up to
1968. It was then purchased by the current owner in 1984 from
a Mr. Dan Margulies and it is thought to have been off the road
since the last book entry. The speedometer reading of 59. 50 miles
can logically believed to be correct. as the car was laid up during
World War II and not accounted for from the last book entry to 1984
and not driven again until 2011. almost fifty years.

The decision was made to carry out a full restoration and a
detailed rebuild of the chassis and all the mechanical components
was commenced in 1992 by the present owner. an automobile engineer
of considerable skill and who was Rob Walker's mechanic with over
fifty years' experience with the Alfa Romeo marque. having also
owned many. including two Zagato variants.

A number of improvements were carried out during the work to
make the Alfa Romeo more reliable and comfortable for long distance
touring; the most significant being to the engine where the
compression ratio was raised from 5. 2 to 7. 2-1. Modern shell
bearings were fitted to the crankshaft and new con rods were added
with a full flow filtered oil system. The result is that the car
has better performance than the twin-cam variant of the pre-war
1750 engine. New lower vertical and cross shaft gear sets were
fitted. The camshaft was re-ground and installed with new line
bored bearings valves and caps. The water pump was overhauled
and fitted with a stainless steel impeller. New gears were made for
the oil pump and a new set of sliding gears and all new bearings
and seals were fitted to the gearbox. The rear axle gear and
pinion were replaced with a new set raising the ratio
from 10/55 to 12/49. This higher ratio has made the car more
comfortable to drive and has improved the fuel
consumption. All the components were dismantled for
examination and restored as necessary; every bearing and seal was
replaced. A new wiring harness was made. and
modifications to the side and rear lamps enabled flashing
indicators to be incorporated. A discreet installation of an
electronic ignition system has ensured the engine is performing at
its best. When the panels were removed the body timber frame
was found to be beyond any sensible repair. so a new Ash
frame was constructed and panelled in aluminium to the exact
dimensions of the original with great attention to detail.

The interior is trimmed with the finest leather from the Bridge
of Weir factory in Scotland. The wood trim veneer is North
American black walnut. book matched on the instrument panel. door
facings and rear side trims. The hood is finest quality Mohair
and the head lining. wool cloth. The colour is Midnight Blue with a
grey line on the exterior waist moulding to match the interior
trim. &nbsp.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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