If you've scanned through these pages, you know that my first Alfa was a '69 Berlina. Well, it's always been in the back of my mind to own another one some day, and starting around 2000 I started looking for a nice Berlina.
The problem is, while Spiders and GTVs may have been pampered to some degree, Berlinas were more utilitarian in nature, and tended to get used up. So 30 years later, it's not so easy to find a decent example, and some times if you do, the prices are a little unreasonable.
I had Mortimer in my garage for a while, but that got taken away, so the search continued. Over the years I've looked at quite a few, but ever since some dealer in Florida claimed to had sold a nice one for $14,000, everybody seemed to think their beater Berlina was worth that much or more.
Finally, a co-worker pointed me to an ad on the Alfa BB, Berlina 4 Sale, a nice California car that I was actually familiar with, and it was local! (Ad can be seen here). While I was hoping for a '71 (I like the dash!), this was the best example I've seen in a long time, and the price was fair. One test drive and one hand shake later, the Berlina was mine!
Watch here for more pictures and updates!