The nickname for today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Alfa is Matta which translates into English as mad or crazy. This rare, and nicely restored Italian Jeep comes with a sizable price tag and it’ll be up to you to decide if someone would have to be matta to pay it.
How will I miss you if you won’t go away?
Have you ever had house guests that wore out their welcome? That seemed to be the case with the Avanti at the end of its decades-long production run. Yesterday’s 1990 Avanti LTS four-door was a prime example, the car exhibiting little of what once made the model great and a lot of why we don’t do DVD players in cars all that much anymore. It’s price proved likewise an unwelcome guest as the Hawaii-located oddity went down in a massive 88% Crack Pipe loss.
Of course, if you thought that Avanti was odd, wait until you get a load of this 1953 Alfa Romeo 1900M. Imagine if you will a Jeep-like vehicle, built for the military, rocking a DOHC hemi-head four cylinder, four-wheel drive, and suicide doors. Now imagine it with all the brio and eclectic personality of an Alfa Romeo. Yep, that’s an oddball if there ever was one.
There aren’t too many 1900Ms odding it up seeing as the Italian military found them to be too expensive and after a short three-year production run they were out, replaced by the simpler, and cheaper Fiat Campagnola. Around 2,100 1900Ms were built in total.
The name is derived from the 1,884-cc iron block/aluminum head four found under that spare tire on the hood. The 64-horses it produces are sent to a four-speed manual gearbox and high/low transfercase. The front wheels are independently sprung while a leaf-sprung live axle does the duty of holding up the rear. With the exception of that beautiful motor (check out the radiator hose passing under the timing chain bridge) it’s about what you might expect from a Jeep-like vehicle.
What you might not expect is the condition this one presents. It’s described as numbers-matching and fully restored. The ad notes that during the restoration it was converted from military spec to civilian, but other than the red paint I don’t know what that entailed.
It has the bonafides as well. It’s claimed to have won best in show at the 2014 Concorso Italiano and to be offered by a guy who’s email has “alfaholic” in the address.
Is it all chianti and formaggi under a spreading olive tree, however? Nope, there are some issues as noted in the ad. The canvas top is AWOL and there is a seat missing in the back. The ad further says that the engine has a couple of minor oil leaks, which, this being an Alfa, should come as no surprise. It seems that for the longest time Alfa’s rust-proofing strategy was to coat the engine compartment and undersides of their cars with surreptitiously applied engine oil. The dipstick is your and your engine’s best friend.
It shouldn’t really matter on a restored ride, but mileage here is claimed to be a hair over 40K kilometers.
As noted at the top of the hour, the nickname for the 1900M is Matta or crazy. It does have a crazy high price—$58,000—but that’s not to say it may not be worth that. In fact, that’s up to you to say, and it’s now time for you to say it. What do you think, is this crazy rare and mad-interesting Alfa Jeep worth that $58,000 asking? Or, does that price seem, well, you know, matta?
You decide!
Orange County CA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to @kylewolffor the hookup!
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