Alfa Romeo Montreal Coupé, 1973
Alfa Romeo Montreal
Alfa Romeo Montreal•
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Chassis No.: AR 142861
Engine No.: ARO056450795
Estimate: £75,000 - £95,000 GBP
- Coachwork by
- Carrozzeria
- Bertone
- Registration no. UPA 8M
- Engine no. ARO056450795
- Delivered new to the UK
- Left-hand drive
- Original registration
- Original colour combination
- Fresh from recent restoration
This car comes with an official Alfa Romeo authenticity certificate dated 31st January 2019 together with the Alfa Romeo Museum curator's signed statement of fact of the same date confirming the original provenance of the car and its delivery to the UK. The Montreal was built on 5th July 1973 and sold new on 10th July 1973, the destination market being London (United Kingdom). The car was originally finished in
Arancio Metallizzato
(Orange Metallic) with Nero (Black) interior and was first registered as 'UPA 8M', its current registration, on 2nd November 1973, some four months after its arrival in the UK. It is believed the car has had six previous owners registered with the DVLA, all of whom lived in the UK when they acquired the car.
The car was bought by Jeff Wilson, its current owner and restorer, from Englishman Mr Jeremy Stubbs on 20th April 2018 at an address in France, after an advertisement for its sale had been seen describing it as a part completed restoration project.
Dated 20th April 2018, a copy of the sale contract for the Montreal's purchase from Jeremy Stubbs by Jeff Wilson is provided together with the French consignment of sale (Jeremy having moved to France some time after having bought the car). Also on file is a copy of the previous bill of sale for 'UPA 8M' to Jeremy Stubbs by the Chorlton House Motor Company (based at Balsall Common near Coventry) dated 25th September 2008. Those bill of sale details indicate the car as having been sold as a non-runner with a recorded (but not verified) mileage of 11,499, which is believed to be the reading in kilometres at that time.
The V5C provided shows that Jeremy Stubbs owned the Alfa from 8th October 2008 until its sale to Jeff Wilson. The owner before Jeremy Stubbs is believed to be Robert Adamson (from 10th October 1989, as indicated by the copy of part of an older V5C on file). The advertisement placed by the Chorlton House Motor Company at the time Jeremy Stubbs bought the car indicates that it had been 'laid up' in 1990 (soon after Robert Adamson acquired it). The car had been stored since then and was offered by the Chorlton House Motor Company as a restoration project when Jeremy Stubbs bought it in 2008.
Some copies of the car's older V5C forms are provided. These record Robert Adamson's ownership and before him that of Stephen Brian Rigby who acquired the car from his father, Brian Joseph Rigby, its owner from 27th July 1981.The V5C at that time marked the car as being 'Red', a respray from the car's original colour of
Arancio Metallizzato
The current V5C is in Jeff Wilson's name; as of 1st June 2022 the original is with the DVLA for updating to reflect the MoT exemption/historic car status (see related paperwork on file).
The current 'mileage' was not registered on the recent AA check undertaken by the owner but it has been taken from the odometer as 11,554 (believed kilometres) this cannot be verified as being accurate. The car is undergoing final road testing following the completion of its restoration this year, so the 'mileage' will be greater by an additional few hundred kilometres by time of sale.
Jeff Wilson spoke to Jeremy Stubbs in 2018 in France when he went to inspect the car and purchase it. Jeremy advised that he had incurred costs up to £10,000 in having the car partially restored by Robert Thompson, including, it is believed, a rebuild of the engine (see related paperwork on file). Jeremy Stubbs and Rob Thompson parted company before the restoration was completed.
Jeremy advised Jeff that he had also had the front seats recovered (as included in the car for sale) together with some re-coating of suspension components and fitting some new suspension bushes. The seller has archive pictures of the aforementioned engine restoration including machining of the water pump casing to install a new bearing and a recognised modification of the cam chain guides.
This engine restoration has been corroborated in discussions between Jeff and Chris Slade, the secretary of the UK Montreal Register, who viewed 'UPA 8M' part way through its restoration (the owner has pictures of Chris Slade in his garage with the part restored car). The restoration undertaken by Jeff Wilson encompassed all parts of the car. Bills relating to the surface preparation of the body shell by SPL in 2018 and, after the body shells restoration by Jeff, its re-cleaning and electrophoretic coating in October 2019 are on file. The electrophoretic coating is similar to the treatment that Alfa Romeo applied to Montreal bodyshells before painting in the customer's chosen colour.
The car then underwent a body re-spray in the original Arancio Metalizzato cellulose (rather than a water-based paint) by a specialist. The engine bay and underside were painted black to original specification. Bills from Redditch Shotblasting in 2019 are provided for the preparation of the wheels and other components and their powder coating.
During the restoration all parts of the car were inspected and original components retained and refurbished where possible. Where new parts were required, these were sourced either from Classic Alfa or recognised specialists. A large quantity of receipts and bills comes with the car.
A comprehensive catalogue of photographs is available illustrating the extent of the car's restoration both by Jeff Wilson together with and those purported to relate to the works undertaken by Rob Thompson.
Jeff has been working with Cars and in Motorsport for 45 years, including a stint as Chief mechanic under Ross Brawn at TWR for the Jaguar Endurance Racing team which won Le Mans in 1988 and 1990. He has been a regular at Goodwood with Don and Justin Law.
