To Japan for an Alfa Romeo

In the early 1980s, The Japanese were ever present at the Monterey Historics which were held annually at the Laguna Seca Circuit. At this time there was a big interest in Japan for Italian classics and many important cars were being imported. One of these was an Alfa Romeo 8C 230 n. 2211097 the last Monza built and sold new to Philippe Etancellin a very well-known French driver.

It was in 1982 at the Monterey Historic races that my then wife Sandra went to introduce herself to Mr. Hayashi who had come from Japan to watch the races. Sandra told him that he should know me and then took me to meet him. This introduction opened the door to a future business relationship. Within a short time, a Maserati 4CLT/48 arrived from Argentina for a full restoration to be shipped to Japan upon completion.

The following year I received an invitation via telex that I should come to Japan as a guest to drive Mr. Hayashi’s Alfa Romeo P3 at Japan’s premier Historic race at Mt Fuji Raceway. I accepted without hesitation and within a few days, a ticket arrived for me to fly to Tokyo. The Japanese are very generous and well-known for their hospitality. They had booked me a lovely room at the New Otani Hotel in downtown Tokyo. I didn’t know at the time but there was also a 6 Hour race and Mr. Hayashi had hired Bob Wollek and Henri Pescarolo to drive his Porsche 935.

When my plane arrived in Tokyo there was a limousine waiting to pick us up to take us to our hotel. I felt like a real celebrity.

Mr. Hayashi didn’t speak English so he sent his PA Mr. Taki to look after us and be sure that we had everything that we desired. After dinner, Mr. Taki told me that he would send a driver to collect me the following morning to take me to see the Alfa Romeo P3 which was located in their workshop nearby. The idea was to reset the carburetors to use methanol.

The workshop was immaculate and all the mechanics had pink coveralls with green script. They were very elegant.
Mr. Hayashi’s business was prêt-à-porter fashion and he was a big player in the Japanese market. I was told that his partner had a zoo with real leopards in his Tokyo apartment. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see this.

 

 

The mechanics didn’t speak much English, but after handing out several bottles of Johnnie Walker Black Label as gifts they were falling over themselves to help me. I converted the carburetors to the correct settings with the jets that I had brought with me and then drained then fuel tank. I sent the head mechanic out to buy some methanol to start the car and to take with us for the race at Mt Fuji on the weekend.

After about an hour and a half, the mechanic still hadn’t returned. Another hour passes but he still hadn’t appeared. I began to worry, but just then his van appeared at the entrance and he got out with a big grin on his face. I asked him to bring me the methanol and he went to the van and took out a 5-liter can and brought it over to the car. I asked him where the other cans were and he looked blank. There were no other cans in the van! An engine running on methanol uses at least double the amount of fuel that a gasoline-fueled engine does so I was in really big trouble. I asked him if he could return to the supplier and buy some more. The answer was an emphatic no.

I decided to call Mr. Taki to find out if the problem could be solved. He then told me that it is against the law in Japan to sell more than 5 liters of methanol without a permission from the Japanese government. I wondered if they might be putting it in the Saki! This bad news was the last thing I needed. There was no way to run the Alfa Romeo P3. I had come all this distance for nothing.

A quick call to Mr. Hayashi and the problem was solved. He suggested that I drive his Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza instead. The day was saved!

 

Keep following the tale Alfa Romeo 8C Monza in Japan