Alfa Romeo Giulia Super. From 1300 to 2000. Taking steps

A while ago we reported about a wonderful, ongoing project. Frans de Groot is currently working on the Alfa Romeo Giulia Super from giving his son Koen a new heart and new technique. The Giulia currently still has the original 1300 engine, but this will soon be replaced by a state of the art 2000 power source and beautiful technology. On to the De Groot house for the state of affairs.

Frans and I make an appointment to catch up at his home, and that is a bright spot in an increasingly dark time. The hospitality of Frans and his wife Grietje is unprecedented, and I am still grateful for the fact that I was allowed to use Frans's Giulia for a weekend last summer. That was real a gem in 2021. But now it's about the other Giulia, Koen's car. Even with this thoroughbred Alfa Romeo, Durk, Bart and I had a great time during a beautiful summer day. Frans is quietly working on the conversion of this beautiful Grey julia. Koen also sits down at his father's house. Durk is not there this time, but what is in the barrel never sours with us. It matures, and only gets stronger. Anyway, it's nice to see each other again, and nice to see the progress of the transformation.

De Alfa Romeo Giulia Super van Koen is stored high and dry, today the beautiful Italian classic is not coming out. But we will see what the car from 1971 will probably receive from Frans. After coffee and various stories we walk to the garage and there we see the result of the work of the last months. Frans takes the time to tackle everything minutely, to make the right choices and to make them ready to the millimetre. And that in peace.

Several brake callipers are located on one of the work panels within the beautifully arranged workshop. They once did their work, including Giulia 105 copies. Some have been blasted, the others have been stripped and repainted with our own hands. It looks stunningly beautiful, and so do the cylinders that come with the pliers. It's not for nothing that Frans does it this way. Feeling and seeing what you do is one aspect to make the Italian purebred horse tailor-made. But another aspect has to do with the cost. A new brake pliers costs dik more than €300,–. Then you prefer to do it yourself, and you have much more satisfaction than ordering plastic pliers with accessories. If only because the Giulia comes from an era when the phenomenon online was still very far away.

An electronic ignition is available for future installation. Magneti Marelli naturally, because Italian. And this part has also been embraced with life experience. Wonderful to be able to screw that into the beautiful Giulia from 1971. Further on are brake cylinders and clutch cylinders. The revision kits are behind it. Here it is about rubbers, cups, about the right spring. And about spare parts. Because maybe one cylinder is just a little bit more precise than the other. This, too, is a sign of the ambition of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Super van Koen one of the best in the country.

Speaking of reserves: two rear axles of a Berlina 2000 lie behind each other. “One serves as an example,” says Frans. He also points Koen and me to the copper brake lines on the example axle, which are neatly mounted and shaped. The smallest fasteners are made by Frans himself. He points to a diabolo, which will help to make the rear axle even less mobile later on. Then the gaze shifts to the camshafts. Frans and Koen have not decided yet. A sharp cam is nice, but lift height is an even bigger factor. An oil cooler is also possible, but no decision has been made yet. This does apply to the type of cooling gallery. No, it's not from one Alfa Romeo 75 with a two liter engine, but is historically correct, given the right house at the far end. Wonderful reflections.

And so it goes on for a while. Koen and I get a mini workshop about camber, caster, toe-in and toe-out. This will soon also be an important factor for the handling of the car Alfa. Again that millimetric precision, which we already know will soon make the difference thanks to Frans. And the shock absorbers: are they adjustable in height or not? What will be the chassis and body height. How does the Alfa Romeo Giulia soon? How will she drive? Already we can't wait, but really: in this case patience will only pay off more.

Every millimeter counts in the transformation, certainly in the ravishing charm of the Giulia and in the ditto technique, which is already surrounded by visible beauty. That is exactly why Frans works with so much love on his son's car. When you know which materials you have used, which parts you have tackled, which axle has been mounted, which brake pliers you have prepared and which piston you have skilfully blasted, you will experience an even stronger ride. With every meter driven you get the extra tingling in the fingers and feet. Certainly with the refined Giulia, every millimeter counts instinctively. And you will feel it in this car too. This gemstone is cut very fine.

This is how a beautiful afternoon comes to an end, but not after we have a late dinner. We chat over a cup of soup and a nice sandwich. Once again there are fantastic stories from the historic and long alliance between Frans and Alfa Romeo loose. It happens in an atmosphere of warmth that ensures that I drive home much later than planned. And that wonderful respect for each other makes that the transformation of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Super van Koen is also wonderful to follow from a completely different perspective. To be continued!

Thanks to Grietje, Frans and Koen