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This Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior Is For Life
Owner: Faisal Huda
Year, Make, and Model: 1969 Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Photographer: Lucas Scarfone
Growing up, his favorite toy had been a yellow (then pronounced “lello”) car. It was lost one day and while Mr. Faisal Huda was sad for a while, he eventually forgot about it. Years later he fell in love with this car, a 1969 Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior, originally colored Giallo Ocra (Ochre Yellow) because it reminded him of the story his parents had recounted about Faisal losing his little yellow car. He happened upon it in Venice, Italy and says it “was like finding my toy 34 years later!”
The car was in stock, original condition when he found it, unsuitable for fast road use as you might find in modern traffic. So, he had the car sent from Italy to the UK, where he commissioned Alfaholics to upgrade the car’s engine and mechanicals.
After Alfaholics completed the work, the car was shipped back to his home in Toronto, Canada in May 2011. He drove the car for a year (stored through winter, of course) after which he experienced a minor fender-bender during the 2012 Alfa Romeo Convention of North America, held in Toronto that year.
“With the damage to the car being unsightly and disappointing, I decided to commission a full body restoration on the car. It was at that point that I decided I’d had enough fun with my lello Car and that if it were painted a bespoke deep Candy Apple Red, that the car’s lines and stance would just pop. The Guild of Automotive Restorers in Canada, famous for their concourse quality workmanship, carried out the body restoration. We also included a refresh of the interior, which brought a level of pure luxury to the interior, with contrasting stitching and Alcantara and leather surfaces.”
Faisal loves to take this car out on dry sunny days, particularly into Ontario’s wine country, not far from Toronto. It is also a great car to take into Northern Ontario with its twisty roads with elevation changes. The car handles so crisply it feels as though it has a sixth-sense as it magnetically hugs the curves and just knows where it is supposed to go.
The car is much admired by whoever sees it. Faisal calls it the “friend maker” because he always seems to make a new friend each time he takes the car out. Of course, the car’s official nickname is “Alfie.” Featured on the first season of History Channel Canada’s show, Restoration Garage, Alfie is also featured in the 2014 BASF calendar as the Nov/Dec feature car.
“Alfie will always be a part of my life, I could never give this car up. It will get new stable-mates over the years, certainly, but the purity, spirit and sporty elegance of this car could never be matched for me.”
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