Hey fellow Alfisti,
I just wanted to share that one of the most interesting characters in the Alfa community past away recently.
For those that new Mario, you will understand when i say he was a character. Mario was always full of interesting stories and the only person I can think of that was able to string a sentence together with 90% of it being a swear word, but somehow not being offensive at all.
http://tributes.heraldsun.com.au/notice/91032029
I knew Mario for over 35 years..... always a story, always a character.... with an unbelievable knowledge of Alfa, Fiat and Lancia. I was at Uni when I first met him and at the time I really couldn't afford to run an Alfa.... but Mario was always there with the right part, advice on how to fit it and even happy to lend a hand all from his garage at home.
He knew every part just by looking at it including the all the subtle differences between even the same models.
Mario was a true Alfanatic, who took a hobby and passion and built it into a business.
He was the first place i purchased a used Alfa Romeo part, when he was working from his garage in Plenty road, Bundoora, deepest regrets to his son Marc, who was a chip off the old block, will be missed, Colin.
Like many I too got to know Mario well from my many visits over a couple of decades. His wealth of knowledge about Alfas and Fiats and most other things relating to Italian cars, which he was always willing to pass on, will be sorely missed. A visit to the old garage at his home in Bundoora and then later to Thomastown was always a chance to have a chat to Mario, and he sure did love to have a chat. I will certainly miss his friendship, his knowledge and his advice which he gave so freely and those chats. He was a one-off character with a unique way of expressing himself.
Sincere condolences to Marc and the family. Barry
Oh how sad to hear of Mario's passing. I too like many came across him as a result of needing parts to fix my Alfas over the years. I didn't have a lot of experience with him, as a result of finding his Italian-Australian over the ph not the easiest to understand. Marc being my main contact with Milano Spares. But I do recall the genuine passion he had for the marque.
Many years ago I attended spettacolo and Mario, his wife and Marc had a stand there, and so I took the opportunity to introduce myself, given I had only ever talked to them over the ph. They all were so open and friendly to me and I really appreciated this. My sincere condolences to Mario's wife and Marc and family. Dave Mitchell
Sincere condolences to the Panozzo family, regards Adrian Gervasoni
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