Would you pay £20k for this pile of bits?

For those who haven’t worked out what it is yet, these are the component parts of a 1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 S. Last of the 6Cs, last of the great Vittorio Jano-era Alfas, one of the most expensive cars of its day and a favourite of the rich and famous – all in all a true classic, difficult though that is to believe from the pile of apparent scrap in the picture.

The parts were collected by the father of well-known VSCC hillclimber, and Shelsley Walsh ladies’ record holder, Joy Rainey. The late Murray Rainey, himself a racing driver and 1950s Australian F3 champion, had the idea of rebuilding the car, but his project remained just that. Now the “project” is available for others to take on with the sale of the 6C making up one of the more unusual lots at the Bonhams Festival of Speed auction at 11.00 on Friday June 30^th. 

The collection of parts, which comes with a presale estimate of £20-30,000, is more than you might imagine and is, in part, matching numbers, with one of the two chassis fronts corresponding with the engine number. Parts include many pre- and postwar Alfa Romeo components such as suspension, dampers, springs, trailing arms, axle tubes, brake drums and shoes, con-rods, cylinder head, camshafts, diffs, clutch and shell bearings. Bonhams says the gearbox appears complete, less selector, while the engine is complete with crankshaft, rods and pistons.

And if you want to know how it should all look when put together, here’s one we prepared earlier…

Any 6C (six cylinder) Alfa is special of course but the 2500S by Pinin Farina was very highly regarded in 1947. It was designed before the war but production didn’t really get under way until 1946. There was a variety of cabriolet and coupe versions, from different coachbuilders, all powered by the Jano-designed double overhead cam 2443cc straight six. Power was around 90bhp and the car was good for almost 100mph, over 120mph in the Super Sport. 

The fast and sexy cabrio versions were the Alfas to have in the 1940s and early ’50s. Famous 6C 2500 owners included King Farouk, Alì Khan, Rita Hayworth, Tyrone Power and Prince Rainier.

Values today? More than £20,000 that’s for sure. Bonhams sold a 1949 6C 2500 Super Sport cabriolet in 2010 for £188,000… and this year another sold elsewhere for €300,000.

Better get to it then!