Glore had not been an Alfa enthusiast. His tastes ran more to British cars, but \u201cI had a friend who was a big Alfaholic, and he was pushing me toward various Alfas. I really liked the Jr Z shape, and the fact that the Zagato body made it rarer.\u201d So, the search began for his first Alfa. Glore continued, \u201cI was going to Pebble Beach with a doctor friend of mine to look at a Jr Z at Fantasy Junction \u2013 blue car. It was sold days before I arrived. So that bit me with the Junior Z bug pretty seriously.\u201d He then talked to a Jr Z guru in California, who believed there were only about 36 in U.S. and Canada. The guru called Glore a few days later about a gold Jr Z for sale\u2026 in Spain. The guru said it looked like a good car, but it was actually on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. \u201c[The seller] didn\u2019t speak English, and I didn\u2019t speak Spanish. However, we were able to communicate through translations on the Internet. I agreed to purchase the car without any knowledge of how difficult it would be to get it to the States. I had never imported a car.\u201d The purchase was completed in May, but Glore would not see the car until November.<\/p>\n
He talked to importers of cars at Pebble, but they were not interested in such a \u201ccheap\u201d car. It was up to Glore to find a shipper. \u201cThe problem is that shippers don\u2019t pick up on islands, they pick up at main ports, which are usually on the mainland.\u201d The former owner ultimately found the solution. He kept the car in his garage for six months until he found shippers who would get the car to the Spanish mainland and then to U.S.<\/p>\n Glore then had to find an import broker to pass the car through customs. \u201cCustoms is a giant black hole, and when they get your car, they have it for as long as they want it.\u201d He was looking forward to picking up the car at the port when he was contacted by Customs. He would have to pay extra to have the car x-rayed! He finally got the car after two weeks, delivered in the back of a container, strapped with four flimsy straps, one to each wheel. \u201cOne strap broke, allowing the car to move within inches of redesigning it.\u201d<\/p>\n Once home, Glore changed a few things to get the car streetable. He smiles when he talks about the car: \u201cThe car rides very well. The rear hatch comes up and closes by a rocker switch on the dash to aid air flow, which it does very well. It runs good, it\u2019s a five-speed, and can easily hold its cruise at 90 or 100. And nobody knows what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Driving Impressions<\/strong><\/p>\n First, I have to apologize to Mike Glore for drooling on his car. I have been a fan of the Jr Z since I saw my first one in the early \u201970s. I had a chance to buy one for $10,000 around 1980, but that was outside my budget at the time. My son-in-law, aka Glore\u2019s \u201cAlfaholic\u201d friend, passed up another about ten years ago for $30,000. Values have gone up since.<\/p>\n As always, I try to familiarize myself with a new car before taking it for the ride. The Jr Z is easy. The dash is very familiar \u2013 I\u2019ve had a number of Alfas with similar dashes. All the good gauges are there \u2013 tach, speedo in KM, water temp, oil pressure, fuel. The five-speed transmission is like every Alfa I\u2019ve owned. The wiper and heater controls are on the console, similar to my first Alfa (1971 1750 Berlina). There is a rocker switch that raises and lowers the rear of the hatch, and an old style cigarette lighter. And the seats are very nice \u2013 plenty of padding, so they\u2019d be fine for a long trip. Steering wheel is wood, and it looks and feels fine, and the horn buttons are right where you want them \u2013 no airbag causing you to have to take you hand off the wheel to blow the horn.<\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/IMG_4052.jpg\")
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