Back in a Super Again

The red 1967 Super parked at Hallett Raceway

I drove a Super again yesterday. And it was as much fun as I remember.

If you've read the "About Me" attached to this blog, you know that the title came from my driving a famous (or infamous) 1967 green Alfa Romeo Super for seventeen years. About a year ago, my husband moved Green Streak from its place in the garage to the restoration slot in his shop. Green Streak is once again a gorgeous shade of green and is coming together nicely. But it will be awhile before I'll be on the road again in it.  Meanwhile, a restored red 1967 Super sits in our garage.

April 11-13 was Corinthian Vintage Auto Racing weekend at Hallett Raceway.  "Vintage" in this case means 1972 or older and our down-the-road neighbor, Mike Halley, needed a vintage car to drive as the pace car. The 1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal was Mike's choice and the plan was for David to drive it to Hallett Saturday morning. I would drive a second car, which would be the transportation home, since the Montreal would stay at Hallett until the last Sunday race was finished.

So when David asked me what car I'd like to drive,  I said the Super.  It was, of course, in the back of the garage and took a considerable amount of moving cars around to get it out. And then the battery needed charging. All of that was accomplished and off we went, three Alfas in a row: the Montreal, the Super and our friend David in his Spider.

I hadn't driven a Super since 2006, when I ferried this one home from the Alfa Romeo National Convention in Tulsa. But as soon as I sat in the driver's seat and put my hands on the narrow steering wheel, it all came back: the key on the left side, the emergency brake to the right, the five-speed gearshift; the very simple two-slider heater control, the absence of a radio. Air conditioning? Roll down those windows!

For the sixteen miles between our house and Hallett, it was me and the sound of the engine, the wind through the windows, the gearshift rattle, the various engine sounds as I shifted up and down and up and down, revved it at stop signs.

As I drove through the gate at Hallett, the compliments started. "Love your car," the woman who opened the gate said. I found a parking spot and went to find David, ogle cars and watch them race. The only way I'd watch auto racing on television is tied to a chair, but I thoroughly enjoy seeing these vintage cars and watching them race. Occasionally, I'd return to the car to get something and find someone admiring it.

We stayed until the middle of the afternoon before heading home. David drove home and being a passenger was fun, too.

I doubt if Green Streak will become my daily driver again. I've become a creature of comfort, thoroughly enjoying the air conditioning, radio and efficient heater and defroster in my Abarth. But it will be fun to drive Green Streak occasionally and listen, not only to the car sounds, but also to memories of the students who were my passengers during those seventeen years of my teaching career.