In 1967, just by chance, I visited Expo '67 while on my way to Chicago. I was so astonished by the Montreal concept car that I stood staring at it with my mouth open, and a Pavilion steward came up to me to ask if I was feeling all right! At that moment I vowed that if the car went into production I would own one some day.
So the day after I retired I started looking for a Montreal to purchase. I inspected several cars, and finally chose one in good condition that had only 47,000 km on the clock and was a most unusual colour. The car had been bought by a nobleman of Catania in Sicily as a gift for his wife, and before taking delivery of it he had it repainted from its original orange to a fantastic metallized micaceous ruby finish. I kept it like that for three years until I started a full restoration. At that time, trolley buses and buses were orange, so I decided to paint the Montreal Bertone red.
During the restoration work I found it difficult to procure many body and mechanical spare parts, so I decided to make them myself. In my professional career in graphic arts I had gained experience of physics, chemistry, mechanics and other fields, so I had no problem making new parts starting with damaged originals and the restoration was very successful.
Since I was retired I had spare time at my disposal, so I decided to build the spare parts for other Montreal owners as well, and I am still doing that today. Many of the parts are shown on the Montreal Website, but they are not advertised or exhibited anywhere. It's a hobby activity that I undertake to help other Montreal fans, not for financial gain.
return to the Alfa Romeo Montreal owners section