Paul Russell and Company

Chassis No. 2311214
Engine No. 2311214

This strikingly handsome two-toned Alfa-Romeo 8C 2300 Castagna debuted at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, winning First in Class after successfully completing the Tour d'Elegance.

The earliest history of chassis number 2311214 is not entirely clear. Despite having been built in 1933 its first known registration, Florence plate number FI 25691, does not appear until it was acquired by a Mr. Olivero Olivieri in 1939. By 1941 the car had arrived in the United States, with a New Jersey bill of sale listing a Lieutenant Frederick MacHugh as owner. Mr. Haig Ksayian purchased it in 1942 from George Rand's garage in Manhattan for $1,500, still wearing its pre-war Italian license plate from Florence. In 2001 David Sydorick acquired this car from long-time owner Ksayian, together with a Zagato-bodied 8C 2300.

When purchased by Bud and Thelma Lyon in June of 2005 from the Sydorick collection, it appeared that the car had not been on the road since the mid-1950s. The fact that there had been changes and modifications made to the body were immediately evident, as the body had been partially disassembled and repainted years before. The question was: When had those changes occurred and were they historically important?

According to Gioacchino Acampora of Archivio Carrozzeria Castagna, the unusual styling features were a result of a succession of evolutionary styling updates made to the original coachwork by Castagna and shown by the coachbuilder in the Milan "Salone dell' Auto". Our extensive research, in conjunction with noted Alfa-Romeo authority Simon Moore, led us to the conclusion that there were essentially two different Castagna styling treatments within the eight LWB Castagna-built 8C 2300s, giving the Lyons the confidence to restore this car back to its 1933 configuration.

The original body lines were confirmed by the clear weld lines we found on the original fenders and hood moldings during our paint stripping process, as well as the alterations evident in the wood coach frame. The period modifications included lowering of the fender drape to a more closed configuration (a trend circa 1934); removal of the battery box, tool box, and oil filler neck from the running boards; raking back the A pillar; lengthening the hood and deleting its louvers; and installing a later "waterfall" grill.

During its complete mechanical and cosmetic restoration at Paul Russell and Company from 2006 to 2008, we restored the coachwork to the 1933 Castagna design by cutting along the original fender line and returning to the louvered hood. We fabricated and refitted the running board boxes and oil filler neck, and replaced the running board strips as original. Returning the A pillar to its original upright position necessitated the re-lengthening of the convertible top cant rail as well as reconfiguring the cowl in conjunction with the shortened and louvered engine hood. We also returned the cowl air ducts and shock absorber controls at the dashboard to their original configuration.