Miguel Sánchez
PHOTOS ALFA ROMEO "DARGLE TO DARGLE": JETHRO BRONNER
One night in 2013 several friends were chatting in a rural area of South Africa. All of them were fans of classic cars, so the mechanics topic came up right away. In fact, one of them had already started his mechanical engineering studies at university. It was Jethro bronner, and he still did not know that at that very moment he was going to embark on the greatest adventure of his youth.
Jethro is passionate about vintage Alfa Romeo. What is said all an alfista. But beware, not a weekend alfista. His thing goes far beyond concentrations and routes. He drives a 1300 Giulia Ti 1973 every day. With it he moves through the vast expanses of inland South Africa, traveling more than 90 kilometers a day on his way to and from the university.
But let's go back to that night. As a renowned alfista Jethro had to endure - again - the insinuations of his friends about the unreliability of classic Alfa Romeo. The conversation stirred spirits and Jethro went upstairs. I would drive an old Alpha across all of Africa to prove just the opposite, to show that old Alphas give full reliability if treated properly.
Obviously his friends thought that all this had been the result of the conversation. An outburst without more. However, Jethro contacted the local Alfa Romeo club. His idea was to find a first-year-production Giulia Sprint GT. In just 2 weeks he located a vendor in Durban. Without even seeing her, he compromised his purchase, beginning a restoration process that would take him more than two years.
While in his garage he was trying to assemble the mechanical puzzle -the car was disassembled with the pieces stored in boxes- Jethro became more and more obsessed with the idea of crossing Africa in the Giulia Sprint GT. Perhaps the fervor of seeing himself fulfilling the route through jungles and deserts was what encouraged Jethro not to leave a restoration in which, if something could go wrong ... It would go wrong.
However, in June 2015 the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT "scalino”From 1964 with chassis number 10504 was ready. Ahead he expected a journey of 9 and a half months crossing 25 countries through some 32.000 kilometers, linking the Dargle of South Africa with the Dargle of Ireland. Anyway, the best thing would be for him to tell us himself ...
Jethro, you are a renowned alfista. Why Alfa Romeo?
Well, I was lucky to stumble upon Alfa Romeo by chance. Like one of those times when you come to the right conclusion but perhaps for the wrong reasons. When I was thinking of buying my first car, I got an Alfa GTV because it looked good and it was cheap. I didn't realize at the time that I just came across one of the best sports cars for everyday use from a legendary manufacturer.
Regarding your classics, what old model did you start with? How were your beginnings in the restoration of classic Alfa Romeo?
My first classic Alfa Romeo it was a 2000 GTV 1973. It had bad paint and a bit of rust, but it worked quite well. It didn't give me any reliability issues. I drove it every day and it wasn't a chore, I really liked doing it. It was not common to find a car from the early '70s with an aluminum double overhead camshaft engine, 5-speed transmission, limited-slip differential, and standard disc brakes. It is a beautiful and very well built car. And also simple enough so that I could fix it, to which it is added that I could find cheap spare parts here. On this car I started doing simple jobs, like removing the carburettors or changing the starter motor. Eventually I jumped into larger jobs like repainting the body. All that taught me a lot. Then came cars like the Giulia Ti.
Are you still using the Giulia 1300 Ti for your daily transport? What do you think about that urban legend about the unreliability of old Alfa Romeo?
Yes, I am still moving around with her normally. In addition, I also keep my GTV, although I have it in the middle of a restoration at the end of a long line of cars that I am working on. Regarding the mechanics of the Alfa Romeo I have to say that these cars are very reliable if they are cared for correctly. They cannot be treated like a Ford or a Mini; require maintenance. But if you take proper care of them… They are really useful and trustworthy.
Why did you choose a Giulia GT for such a trip? Can you tell us something about how you found it?
Well, when I started that trip I was 22 years old. My purpose was to spend some time traveling, of course, but I also wanted to continue my hobby of driving vintage cars. With this idea, starting the road in a Sprint GT made perfect sense, since this car allowed me to combine my passion for Alfa Romeo with my desire to travel. And boy, did I do it for more than 32.000 miles. I found the car when I was 19 years old. It was a somewhat chaotic set of parts and a painted body. A half-done restoration project by the owner, who had lost interest in finishing the job. As soon as I saw it, I got hold of it. The first thing I worked on was the color change. The previous owner had painted it red, but I changed it to blue. From there I got to work with the mechanics.
We read that you found him unarmed. Assembling the pieces had to be hard work! What approach did you follow in the restoration? Did you respect the factory condition or were you tempted to include modifications?
The work took me about two years. As I have said before, what I found was a half-done restoration project and yes, it was disassembled, with the pieces arranged in boxes. That was like a huge puzzle. However, I was inclined from the beginning to achieve a state as similar as possible to the factory one. Finally when I made the trip through Africa the car was a completely standard Sprint GT. The only modifications were an additional fuel tank and a few headlights.
What were the biggest difficulties in the restoration process? Do you remember some of the biggest problems?
The biggest challenge during the restoration was rebuilding the engine. My original idea was to use the original motor but it was badly damaged. After a year working on it I definitely decided not to use it. So I found another 1600 502 Sprint GT block and started from scratch. I also had to learn how to wire the whole car as the original wiring was unusable.
With the car already prepared ... When did you embark on the adventure? What is day-to-day like on a 32.000-kilometer trip with wide stretches of desert?
When the car and I were ready, I didn't really understand the scale of what I had set out to do until I spent my first night away from home. In fact, during the first week I was convinced that I had made a big mistake in setting out to drive solo through Africa. After the first week things started to normalize, and I started to enjoy being in new places every few days. You are getting used to the challenges of traveling in Africa. Crossing borders becomes easier as you gain more experience.
The images of the Alfa Romeo in the desert are truly impressive. But in truth we have read that your biggest fault was in Italy. Is this true? What mechanical problems did you have during the trip?
The Alfa Romeo performed very well for most of the trip, even on the most difficult days. There were days when I drove up to 16 hours through the desert, and still the car kept going without a problem. However in Italy I had my first problem, true. One of the floats in the carburetor broke and began to leak, flooding two cylinders. Fortunately it was close to Maranello, so I was able to buy a spare. In hindsight it was a beginner's mistake not to carry a spare float.
Jethro, we look great on you. But what has become of your traveling companion? How is the Giulia Sprint GT?
I still have it, though I've had to slowly work on it again. The sheet metal work they did before I bought the car was very poor quality, so the bodywork has rusted again. I look forward to showing you the trailers on my YouTube channel, along with the work I want to do on a Sprint GT and 2000GTV.
On your YouTube channel we have seen you work on several Alfa Romeos. What can a restorer of classics tell us about our hobby in South Africa? Are you with a project in hand? Restorations in the near future?
South Africa has a pretty strong classic scene, especially for Alfa Romeo fans. At the moment I am with several restorations at the same time. You can see some of them on my channel, where I show you how I'm working on a 1967 Spider Duetto and a 1750 GTV 1970 which now takes up most of my time. After these works I will get to work to restore my Giulia 1300 Ti for daily use. Then they wait for the Sprint GT and the GTV. Well, maybe a Honda motorcycle too!
We see that you have no shortage of projects! If you cross Africa to Europe again, we hope to meet you. If you make the passage from Morocco to Spain through Tarifa… It would be a great meeting point.
I look forward to another trip to Europe in a classic Alfa Romeo shortly. Possibly in 2020.
Well, it seems that there is little left for Jethro to get back on track with one of his Alfa Romeos. So who knows maybe in a year we will be reporting his story to you, being able to chat live with him. Meanwhile we will have to settle for follow the progress of their work on their YouTube channel. A perfect trajectory for both Alfa Romeo enthusiasts and seasoned adventurers riding their classics.
