On Tuesday, February 15 2022 the Three Rivers Alfsiti and the Western Pennyslvania Chapter of the Penn Jersey Ferrari Club of America will jointly host a little macchina love at the Double Tree Hilton in Cranberry Township, PA beginning at 7pm to celebrate the 2022. Looks like we made it. 

Following up on the plans discussed at the Pre- Pandemic Holiday Party in December 2019, local Alfa Romeo and Ferrari owners are hosting a get together and celebrate with some drinks and finger food at the Ember & Vine at DoubleTree Cranberry. The evening will start with a cocktail reception followed by a very informal meeting to discuss some event ideas for the Spring, Summer and Fall including:

• Ferrari Club Spring Thaw
• Cortile Italian Car Show - Featuring Maserati in 2022
• ​Staggerwing Tour and Catz Reception
• Red Belt & Route 18 Driving Tour

All current and former Alfa Romeo and Ferrari Club owners are welcome to attend  as well as local owners of Fiat, Lancia, Lamborghini, Maserati and other Italian Marques.

On June 3, 2021, Giuseppe Antonio "Joe" DiFelice passed away suddenly. Giuseppe came to the United States as a young man of 22 from his beloved Populi, Italy. A kind, gentle and thoughtful man who never had a negative word about anyone, he made his life in the United States as a citizen but never forgot his native country.  

Giuseppe was an expert mechanic and worked exclusively on Italian marques like Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Fiat. If you owned a class Italian Car in the past 30 year, you would have met or at least heard of Giuseppe.

Before we kick off off the discussion about our summer plans we will remember Giuseppe with a toast and a moment of silence during our meeting.

Here is the video from Paul Bowman's presentation last month on Braking Systems.

The Three Rivers Alfisti will be supporting the Rally Accross America effort with two upcoming events: 

• July 11, 2020 “Over the River Tour “
• August 29, 2020 "Staggerwinging with Catz"

All of the proceeds from both of these events with be contributed to the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix charities. Be sure to register ASAP!   We will be posting more information on these events with details we get closer.  Below is an article from Hagerty Insurance that explains more about the Rally Accross America.

Jeff Peek, Events, Hagerty Community
23 June 2020

Lilly Pray has a passion for cars, and now she’s channeling that energy into an organized drive that will give back to the community. Lilly, a nurse in Boulder, Colorado, serves an ambassador for Rally Across America, a grassroots organization whose goal is to raise more than $1 million for nonprofit groups across the U.S.
​
As a frontline medical worker and car lover, the fundraising tour is right in Pray’s wheelhouse, and it all started with her dad. Malcom Pray Jr. was a successful car dealer and well-known collector who gave generously to the Boy Scouts, Boys and Girls Club, Red Cross, USO, and other local charities in Greenwich, Connecticut.

“My father taught me how to drive classic cars,” she says of Malcom, who passed away in 2013. “If I wanted to spend time with my dad, it was in the garage with him, as well as attending a lot of auctions and concours events.

“I’ve been a concours judge for many years, and it is probably how I made my dad the proudest when I started judging at Hilton Head Concours 19 years ago. He instilled in me a great sense of giving and giving back to my community,” she says.

Lilly Pray began working in the medical field in 1987, first as volunteer, which led to a career as a firefighter/paramedic. She became an RN in 2010 and volunteers as a victim advocate for the Boulder Police Department.

“My brother died in a car crash in 1986,” she says of Malcolm Pray III. “It was a life changing event. My life motto has been always to ‘help the weaker hikers on their journey.’ So as an EMS provider, and now a RN, I guess I’m still helping the weaker hikers and holding their hands in whatever way I can.”
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She jumped at the opportunity to help Rally Across America, which hosted its inaugural drive on June 7, with proceeds going to the Connecticut Foodbank. A total of 41 cars took part, with each driver donating the suggested $100.

Lilly says the idea began with her friends Frank Taylor and Wendy and Jim Petty, who organized the drive as a way to recognize and give to 501(c)3 nonprofits in their area that have greatly suffered during the COVID-19 lockdown. Pray happened to be in Connecticut at the time, so she immediately registered her 1987 Porsche 911. Since Rally Across America hopes to have ambassadors in every state (and average eight drives per state), she took the lead for Colorado.

The first drive that Pray is organizing is set for June 28, beginning and ending in Boulder. Her chosen beneficiary is the Denver-based Morgan Adams Foundation, which raises funds for pediatric cancer research. “The MAF holds the best four-hour concours in the world,” she says, “and they had to cancel their annual major fundraiser on August 24 due to the ongoing events with COVID.”
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She has planned two other drives for July 26 and August 16. They will follow a route “into the foothills of the mountains—an easy 60-mile drive lasting 3–4 hours.” As a registered nurse, Lilly is well aware of the possible negative ramifications of any gathering, so social distancing guidelines will be observed. “We just want to get out in our cars and help the nonprofit community,” she says.

She’ll be driving the 1959 Porsche Convertible D that she has owned for 25 years. If you’re sensing a Porsche pattern here, you’re onto something. Lilly’s daughter is named Portia.

Pray says Rally Across America events are planned in six states so far, including one later this year, organized by Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter, that will travel country roads from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Virginia International Speedway and include a parade lap on the track. Details are forthcoming.

“Driving cars makes me happy,” Lilly says. “My car friends really are my family, and there is nothing as fun as gathering for a family reunion—whether it’s at a concours event, a 1000-mile drive, or a short day-run with friends.”
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Rally Across America ambassadors are being sought in every state. If you’re interested in becoming an ambassador or joining a ride near you, contact Lilly Pray at LillyPrayRAA@gmail.com.

Here are the links to both of our club events.  Sign up for one of both! 

The Alfa Romeo Owners Club 2020 National Convention hosted by the Alfa Club of the Rockies was postponed until July 2021.

Along with just about every other organization in the world, AROC has looked for ways to keep our membership engaged with the cancellations and/or postponements of National and Chapter events.

Those ways have consisted of Chapter level Zoom meetings, Detroit Chapter's Zoom tech sessions, posting of those tech sessions on the new AROC YouTube channel, AROC Chapter Presidents Zoom with the AROC Board, and now a new type of virtual event is on the way with the intention for all AROC members to have an opportunity to engage with other members.

The name of the event is COncorso Virtuale Italiano Dell’automobile 2020.  AROC Director Doug Zaitz came up with the title name for the event that kept it related to the COVID-19 virus causing all the schedule changes.  AROC Director John Justus began putting the online car show together along with input from AROC Director Arno Leskinen

AROC National is going to present a web based “virtual not a concours” car show. This will be available for all AROC members who would like to display their Alfa(s) in an online virtual concours setting. AROC members will then be asked to vote on a Winner for each class and a Best of Show overall winner.

The voting will be done online, like our Board of Director elections, and the awards will be presented at the AROC Virtual Convention w/Business Meeting & Board Officer election on July 25. 2020 and the results will also be announced in the September issue of the Alfa Owner.

Alfas through 1995 – 4 classes

• Open class – Spiders, roadsters, GTCs, convertibles
• Closed class – Alfas to 1995 - Closed - Sprints, GTVs, Milanos, Berlinas, Supers, coupes, sedans
• Competition-prepared class – race, rallly
• Preservation class – 1995 or older, semi / non-restored but still driven

Modern - 5 classes

• 8C class – includes coupes and Spiders
• 4C class – includes coupes and Spiders
• Giulia class – includes all levels; base, Ti, Ti Sport, Ti Carbon, Lusso, Quadrifoglio, etc
• Stelvio class – includes all levels: base, Ti, Ti Sport, Ti Carbon, Lusso, Quadrifoglio, etc
• Competition-prepared class – race, rallly

Other - 2 classes

• Commercial class – includes police, taxis, trucks, vans, etc
• With Character class– those with special paint schemes, modifications, or strange locations
  

• One entry per member per class
• Member submitting chooses the class to enter (this will be reviewed by agents of the Event Czars to ensure proper or appropriate class)
• One Photo under 2 MB. It is up to the entrant to determine the content and angle of the photo to best represent their Alfa. Photo-shopped pictures are discouraged.
• No objectionable or obscene photos and no copyrights violations.

Eligibility:
Open to any current AROC member and their immediate family.

Entry Information needed:

• First & Last Names
• AROC Membeship #
• Primary Chapter
• COVID-2020 class you are entering (see Class list above as these are NOT standard AROC concours classes)
• Year, Model, and special edition on the entered Alfa – 40 characters max - Ex: 1978 Spider Nikki Lauda
  
• Comments with information about the Alfa Romeo you are submitting – 75 characters max
• One photo per car and smaller than 2 MB. It is up to the entrant to determine the content and angle of the photo to best represent their Alfa. Preferred photo format is a 4 x 6 photo. Do not post unapproved photos copyrighted by others.

Below you will find answers to questions already asked by AROC members and hopefully this will help you with while entering your Alfa in the COncorso Virtuale Italiano Dell’automobile 2020.

How many photos can I have?

• One photo per car per class.  Several members with multiple Alfas have entered multiple classes.  One Spider went in Open, one Milano went in Closed, one 4C Spider went in 4Cs, and one Giulia Quadrifoglio went in Giulias.

Can I change a photo?

• No, you cannot change a photo, but you can tell us to delete an entry and re-enter that class with a new photo. Send your request to covid-support@aroc-usa.org.

What does Open class contain?

• Any Alfa with a fold down top or no top: Spiders, convertibles. 
• Spiders with removable hardtops are Open. After market sunroofs on Berlinas are not.

What does Closed class contain?

• Any Alfa with a non-removable hardtop. 
• Coupes - include any model with letters “GTV” in the model, Sprints, Jr Zs, TZs, Speciales, Montreals, etc
• Sedans - Berlinas, Supers, Milanos (75s), 164s, etc

What would be in Preservation class?

• Barn finds
• Entries that have visible rust
  
• Body work needed
  
• Alfa Red paint that faded to a whitish pink
• Spiders with fogged rear windows

What is NOT photoshopping?  

• Cropping the porta-a-potty out of the side background
• Resizing the photo so your Alfa is more prominent
  

What is photoshopping?  

• Solarizing the photo
• Making it a chalk photo
  

Make plans to join us this January 16  for the Post Holiday party at the Doubletree Hilton in Cranberry Twp. PA from 6pm - 10pm, Thursday January 16, 2020

Check out the Alfa Owner October issue with a jam packed full series of articles about the Cortile Della Corsa 2019 AROC Convention hosted by our Three Rivers Alfisti Club.

Reporting is by Dave Hammond and Bob Abhalter.  In some cases, I've linked back to the convention pages so you can see all of the schedule details in case you don't recall when reading the articles.

By Enrique Zuniga for Alfa Owner magazine
edits and additional details by Bernard Martin

Here's where you will find a list of the DRIVING events that will be going on at the 2019 Alfa Romeo Owners Club Convention.  With a theme entitled "Cortile della Corsa", the "Courtyard of Racing" promises to deliver some unique and memorable driving experiences.

Alfa Romeo is the SPOTLIGHT marque of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix (PVGP) and Wednesday is the day in which the city of Pittsburgh stops to celebrate this magnificent annual tradition.

The map here depcits the parade route into the city.

Downtown Parade
Downtown Pittsburgh, only 20 miles from the convention hotel, is the place to be on Wednesday! The day begins with a morning Downtown Parade with Alfa Romeos leading the multi-marque event.  No where else in the country has there been an Alfa Romeo parade of cars into a major city with a police escort!  This is a very unique opportunity for only 40 Alfa Romeo's!  For those entering their Alfa, the cost is only $10 per car.

Downtown Car Show
Celebrations continue with the Downtown Car Show, which will have 40 Alfas on display at Point State Park. Point State Park is where the Headwaters of the Ohio River start with the convergence of the Allegheny River from the north and the Monongahela River from the south: It's the "Three Rivers" for which Pittsburgh is famous!

While there, note that this is a great opportunity for a quick visit to Fort Pitt Museum. Your entry payment for the Downtown Car Show display includes entry into the Fort Pitt Museum.

There are three other mixed marque downtown car shows that the PVGP is holding with celebrations at PPG Plaza, Market Square and US Steel Plaza.

Tune Up at Heinz Field
The day culminates with the evening PVGP Tune-Up Party at Heinz Field. Registration for this event has not yet opened so be sure to the check back on the PVGP Website or updates.

All vehicles that are parking in the Car Showcase must be preregistered and can begin to park at 5:00 pm. Enter from General Robinson Street – there are no other entrances. The bars will not open until 5:30 pm and the food will not be served until 6:15 pm but you are welcome to move in starting at 5:00 pm – please do not show up early, the street will not be closed and we are not permitted to block the street until 5:00 pm.

Time Trials
Track Day is always a special for all club members and this year it will take place at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex (PittRace), a 20-minute drive from the convention hotel. The track opens at 7 am and closes at 8 pm, but since it is in an urban area where noise restrictions apply, competitive driving hours are from 8:30 am until 5:30 pm. (Please note that convention plans to have all track activities concluded before 5 pm.) Spectators should note that there is a very comfortable second floor air-conditioned VIP room that overlooks the track below.

Time Trials are open to all cars (race cars, street cars, Alfas and other marques). There will be timed practice sessions in the morning, with the final Time Trial laps taking place in the afternoon. This is a fabulous opportunity to place your car on a fun, 13-turn, 1.6-mile road course, with elevation changes. Drivers arrive early in the morning to set-up their cars and attend the mandatory driver’s meeting. Cars and drivers are classified ahead of the event and placed into groups according to horse power as well as driver experience, but these groups may be adjusted after the first practice laps. Driving a car on a track is just great fun. Drivers may share a car

Autocross
The Autocross is also taking place at the track. It is open to all cars. Taking part in both the TT and the Autocross will not be an issue, even for those sharing a car. This is a traditional autocross, with AROC car classifications. Autocross laps around the cone-marked course take about 60 seconds, mostly in second gear, but are a blast to experience.

For those who have never driven a course or simply wish to learn the basics in a calm, non-intimidating setting we have created a Novice Only Group.  Novices’ times will not be announced and will only be recorded if the driver wishes so.  Experienced drivers will not be allowed in this group.  The Novice Group setting has proven very rewarding for those always wondering about autocross, but unsure about trying it out.

Important: All drivers who sign-up for Time Trials and/or Autocross will be contacted to go over all details regarding AROC car classifications and safety guidelines. Please note that due to the preparation that organizers must complete, drivers must be registered for these events by the first week of June.

Karting
Go-karts may be rented in 10-minute sessions to drive the track’s 0.82-mile circuit. There is a

Parade Laps
As is our tradition, the track will open around noon for all to drive a few laps around the course, but this year we are offering an “Enhanced Experience”.

All drivers and assengers will gather to hear an explanation about the track and how racers typically drive on it.  Attendees will understand what the red and white markings around the curves are for, what is an apex, what is the line, and what is meant when someone says, “you must slow down to go faster”.

Cars will drive the track in pre-arranged groups according to vehicle powerplant and driver experience.  Cars will take their laps following in single file behind a pace car driven by an experienced driver, familiar with the concepts presented.

TRA Members where able to experience luxury while helping parents and families in need this past holiday season.

The folks from Ron Lewis Alfa Romeo invited TRA members to Sienna on the Square on December 14 from 12:00-2:00pm to enjoy Italian cuisine, live music by Christina Chirumbolo, and test drive one the new Alfa Romeo Giulia's or Stelvio's.

For every test drive, Ron Lewis Alfa Romeo donated $20 to Christopher’s Kitchen.

Space is LIMITED.  You MUST RSVP to attend.  No Walk-ins are going to be permitted.  Please use the button button to make your reservation.

On the morning of November 11, the Three Rivers Alfisti visited Fowler Auto Street & Street who hosted a Meguiar's Detailing session from 9am until Noon.  At least that is what was scheduled. The event actually finished up around 1:30 in the afternoon! Dan Yaworski from Meguiar's was kind enough to answer many many questions that the group had regarding paint finishing.  

Fowler Automotive Street & Track provides auto service for sports & luxury cars as well as transport & trackside support for vintage race cars and teams. Dan Fowler started F.A.S.T Company in 2011 with the encouragement and support of the many race teams who have depended upon his expertise as a mechanic for over 50 years.

As a teenager, Dan restored the '67 Alfa 1600 and proceeded to promptly trade it in on a 1967 Alfa Romeo Duetto in 1969. Dan raced a 1966 Alfa Romeo Guilia Veloce 1600 in the early 1970's. 

In 1973 Dan attended the University of Pittsburgh and began work on his mechanical engineering degree but very quickly started working with the Pitt Race Team. It was called the "The Pitt Crew," with Bob Fryer driving a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, and became the best known non-factory car in the Trans-Am series during that period.

In 1975 Dan became the first employee of the Auto Palace. The iconic Pittsburgh landmark for exotic and racing cars from 1975 until 1984.

​The Auto Palace was owned by Elvidio and Mario Grande and was originally called the Auto House (currently the Party House) until it moved to Baum Boulevard to become the iconic Auto Palace.  The building now hosts the "Scaife Auto Palace". 

By 1980 Dan was the highest trained Alfa Romeo technician in North America. 

In 1981, Dan purchased the first Alfa Romeo GTV in black. He sold it to none other than Mario Andretti and bought then bought the second black Alfa Romeo GTV ever produced.

Before we kicked off the Detailing session we where treated to some morning snacks and got to walk around the shop.  F.A.S.T Company not only provides support to many race teams but also serves as storage for the active vintage race cars.  TRA Members got the opportunity to walk around and learn about some really interesting race cars during our visit as well as some unique street cars.