The 39 . . . or 42 . . . or . . . ? (Post # 21)

The blasting soda still hasn't shown up, but even if it had I couldn't use it today--we've had 30 mph winds all day.  So maybe this is a good time to talk about the Alfatross' family history.  One of the things that makes the Alfatross and its siblings valuable is rarity.  But exactly how rare are they, really?  If we start with the available records for how many 1900C Alfa Romeos were clad in Zagato bodies it seems to be between 39 and 42, but there are some discrepancies.  The table below is my compilation of the Alfatross' siblings listed by chassis number, year of production, Zagato body number (where known), year it ran in the Mille Miglia, current owner, country of residence, and most recent date of my information about the car.  You will notice that for the majority of the cars ownership information is quite out of date (1990) so some will have changed hands over the last 20 years. 


 Alfa Romeo 1900 chassis bodied by Zagato 1954-1958.  Information
courtesy ot Peter Marshall and Michele Marchiano.

The table reveals some interesting details.  The U.S. has 7 cars, more than any other country.  Most of the cars were produced in 1954 (21), another 14 were produced in 1955, only 3 or 4 were produced in 1956, none in 1957, and 1 or 2 in 1958.  Curiously, chassis no. 01931 is listed as an entrant in the 1955 Mille Miglia, but is not listed in Zagato's records as one of its cars. Chassis 01844 is notable for having run in the '55, '56  and '57 Mille Miglia.  I also notice that its Zagato body number, 1254, is strangely out of sequence when compared to the other Zagato body numbers that are known.  Numbers 40 and 42 are listed as "spyder SSZ," apparently prototypes built for car shows.  Sr. Marchiano writes "It seems that both of these cars have disappeared."



These cars were built to race, and race they did!

Unlike the Alfa Romeo chassis and engine numbers, which are indelibly stamped into steel, the Zagato number is unceremoniously scrawled in pencil on the back side of a plywood trim piece above the windshield.  It is very easily lost, so these cars tend to be differentiated by their Alfa Romeo chassis numbers rather than their Zagato numbers, even though the Zagato bodies are what make them unique.

The Zagato body number for my car.  Written in pencil, almost as an afterthought, it says "Alfa No 1209."

A car with verified racing history is usually valued higher, all things being equal.  When I compared the list of chassis numbers bodied by Zagato with cars known to have entered the Mille Miglia, the most famous road race of all time, between '54 and '57 there were only five, but the actual number is likely to be a higher.  Mille Miglia records for those years show a lot of entries listed simply as "1900 SSZ," without chassis numbers given.  In addition to the 5 known 1900 SSZs entered in 1955 there were 3 listed as "1900Z."  In 1956 there were 3 cars listed as "1900 SSZ" and in 1957 there were 4 listed the same way in addition to remarkable car 01844 that ran all three years. 



At the starting line of the XXII Mille Miglia.  The 1900 SSZ driven by Galluzzi
with Ippocampo as navigator.

Significantly, only one car, no. 01908, is known to have been destroyed. If the two spyders have disappeared that leaves 39 cars unless number 01931 is the result of a mistake made by Mille Miglia record-keepers, in which case we are downto 38. Fourteen cars have no information available other than that they were bodied by Zagato. Are they still in existence? How many real cars are left? My list shows that only 28 cars are known to exist, but I expect there are others. If anyone out there can help fill in the blanks, I'm sure all legitimate owners would appreciate it. I say legitimate because some say there are a number of "copies" now on the market (see http://www.ar1900reg.org/index.cfm.) known collectively as "fauxgatos."

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?


Another 1900 SSZ at speed.  Unknown event.

Inside Story (Post # 20)

I'm still waiting for the next shipment of soda to arrive so I can continue cleaning the Alfatross, so now is a good time to consider the strategy for one of the other major tasks: what to do about the interior.  The first question is how original was the Alfatross' interior when I bought it 14 years and 6 owners after it rolled off the factory floor? Every indication is that the only modifications to its original interior were the addition of the Jaeger chronometer and a few badges to the dashboard, the "Dynometer" slung under the dash, lap belts for the front seats, and replacement of the floor covering with an inappropriate grade of carpeting. 

A faded Polaroid photo of the Alfatross' interior in 1965.  It looks more like the
stripped-down cockpit of a racer than that of a grand touring car.

The Alfatross' original interior was Spartan, to say the least, and in keeping with its intended purpose as a race car. The materials used were "economical": naugahyde for the seats, interior panels, and headliner, and some kind of thin synthetic carpeting on the floor. Restoration to original specification would be fairly simple and relatively inexpensive, but is that the way to go? 

Originality vs. Renovation

A few years ago I had the opportunity to examine two of the Alfatross' siblings at a car show back East. One was an unrestored "barn find" and the other was an achingly beautiful restored example. The barn find's interior was similar to the Alfatross' in its simplicity, but there were differences that made me wonder how much of it was original.

The "barn find" 1900 SSZ's interior differs from the Alfatross' in that the seats
are much larger and more refined.  The shifter is on the column rather than on
the transmission hump.  The dash is flat (no bulge for the instrument cluster)
and the glove box has no lid.  The steering wheel is wrapped with some sort
of cord.

The barn find's interior is remarkably fresh-looking with little
 signs of wear.  This is possible if was never used much and was
stored indoors for most or all of its life. 

Almost a twin of the Alfatross, the restored 1900C SSZ sported an interior that was faithful to original appearance, but finished in upscale materials.  The seats and headliner were done in fine leather with contrasting piping.   The carpeting was similarly perfectly fitted and tastefully matched.  It seemed to me to be a good compromise between originality, improved creature comforts and appearance.

The interior of the Alfatross' restored twin: beautiful, functional, and faithful
 to the original design. 

Is this nice or what?

A sympathetic restoration of the Alfatross' seats
would look like this.

Another "barn find" 1900 SSZ manufactured in the same year as the Alfatross turned up in the last few months: http://www.kidston.com/kidston-cars/2425/1955-Alfa-Romeo-1900#.  Although its interior is in poor condition it is clear that the light-weight, small seats are similar to those of the Alfatross and the restored car mentioned above, but the upholstery is different.  The basic layout elements are the same but like the other barn find example the glove box is open, and the instruments are laid out differently due to the flat dash top.

Barn Find car #2.  Is that the remains of carpeting on the floor?

Barn find car #2.  Note the flat dash, open glove box pleated
 seat upholstery, Alfa steering wheel and unidentifiable floor
 covering.

We know that there was little standardization on either the inside or outside of these cars.  Being hand-made, each has its own unique character.  So how do you establish things like authenticity and originality, particularly after the passage of almost 60 years?  Where is the yardstick to measure them by?  

My choices for the Alfatross seem to be:

1. Keep everything original no matter how shabby.  Just wipe it down and put it back, or . . .
2. reupholster the seats and interior fabric panels with new materials that are a perfect match with the originals, or . . .
3. reupholster and re-carpet the interior with higher grade materials more in keeping with the rest of the car and with the restored Nardi wheel, Veglia gauges, and chrome and polished aluminum hardware, or . . . what?

Anybody out there have any advice? 

Soda Blasting the Alfatross (Post # 19)

Many years ago I started using paint remover t chemically strip the Alfatross. It may have been due to a defect in the way it was repainted in 1965 or 1966, but something was causing the paint to separate from the metal in big flakes.  It was hard work and I didn't like breathing the solvents that are in paint removers.  After doing most of the exterior I could see that cleaning the bottom, interior, and engine room would be just about impossible.  So I put it aside until a better option presented itself.  The advent of soda blasting was the answer to my prayers--and Dave bought one for his shop!

A section of peeling paint on the Alfatross's hood.  There is a clean separation
 between the aluminum body and primer--repainting was mandatory!

Turn Up the Volume!

We got the Alfatross up on the rotisserie last Monday evening.  On Tuesday I was still examining my options for procuring a compressor that could provide the necessary volume and pressure.  Soda blasting is not a job for your average shop compressor--and mine is pretty wimpy anyway.  According to the soda blaster manual you could need as much as 50 CFM at 90 PSI depending on what size orifice and restrictor combination you use.  You would spend $8,000 or more to buy a compressor with those specifications.  It's more than I want to spend for something I use only occasionally.

The solution was to rent a trailer-mounted, diesel-driven compressor like the kind used to power jackhammers.  The local United Rentals let me have one for $200/day or $600/week. All I had to do was cobble together the proper connections. Piece of cake.

Blasting with sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is like blasting with any other type of media, but it has special properties that make it desirable. It won't scratch hard metals like chrome and it usually won't damage rubber or glass.  But compared to sand and other more common types of media it is somewhat pricey.  A 50 lb bag of the formula I like costs $80 by the time you factor in shipping--and you can go through a couple of pounds per minute!  Dave's soda blaster can be used with water jets if desired, but I am electing to go with just soda for the time being.

The Alfatross mounted on the rotisserie BEFORE soda blasting.  Note the patches
of paint and primer still left on the surface after chemical stripping.

At the risk of spoiling the suspense, here's the Alfatross after just 3.1hrs of
actual compressor time (spread out over 8 hrs of fiddling around and setting up).

I was doing a lot of new things at the same time, experimenting to find out which soda formula worked the best, which pressure I should use, whether I should use a restrictor to reduce the amount of media being used, how to turn the Alfatross on the rotisserie safely, etc., so I didn't spend that much time actually blasting.  Still, I used the 150 lbs of media I had on hand in only 3.1 hours of actually compressor time.

The rented diesel-powered 160+ CFM compressor.  The perfect solution to high-volume,
low pressure requirements.  It delivers air at 140 PSI but the regulator on the
soda blaster reduced the pressure to 87 PSI.



The soda blaster and some of the paraphernalia needed.  Clean up was much
easier than I expected.

Rotating the Alfatross on its rotisserie enables me to get to all the difficult
 places.  Note the difference between the places that have been blasted and
those on the roof that have not.

The bottom of the chassis is going to take a lot of time and perhaps a different
blast media.  I'll experiment with the three types offered by Eastwood Automotive
 to see which ones work the best. 

Yes, it is a dusty job best done on a day with a gentle breeze!

Thanks!

I want to compliment the Car Museum guys, particularly Rich Heinrich and Jean-Marc Freslon for coming up with the unique solution to how to mount an Alfa 1900 Zagato on a rotisserie. They saved Dave and I an enormous amount of time and effort. If you guys are reading this, how about commenting on how you came up with the idea?

From the time spent so far soda blasting the Alfatross, I can tell that I am going to need a lot more soda, so I've ordered another 7 bags (350 lbs).  In order to maximize efficiency I'm going to wait until that order arrives before renting the compressor again.  In the meantime I'll get back to the numerous other sub-assemblies needing attention.

The Day of Reckoning (Post # 18)

Last night we skewered the Alfatross. 

Much to my surprise, it took only a couple of hours and nothing went wrong.  Was it good preparation and planning, or just dumb luck?  Probably a mix of both, but we're going with the prep and planning explanation. If you've been following the posts up to this point you were probably wondering why it was taking so long.  Well, "measure twice, cut once." 

Dave and I knew we would need some more hands so we asked around and got three enthusiastic volunteers without even twisting any arms.  Brian Williams, collision repair estimation specialist at Auto Right and Jeff Kramer, retired Alfa enthusiast, have been following this blog so they were up to speed on what we needed to do.  Dr. Toni Carrell (Dave's Mom) volunteered to shoot the photos.   

The Alfatross resting on its trolley, prepared for skewering and mounting
on the rotisserie.

  

The gun sight.  Looking past the wooden grill opening protector bolted
to the 2 X 4 front "bumper" to line up the front and rear brackets.
Clearances are minimal.

The first thing we did was  to change the plan.  Jeff observed that it might be easier to feed the axle pipe through the car starting at the trunk opening rather than at the grill opening.  It was a better idea, even though it meant that we would have to raise the 200 lb axle pipe to head height to accommodate the angle.  An engine hoist volunteered to do that part for us. 

The axle is 17 ft. long and weighs at least 200 lbs.  We're going to use the engine hoist in the background to help us thread it
through the body, firewall,  and brackets.

Feeding the axle though the body, firewall and support brackets turned out to be a piece of cake, but clearances were very tight, particularly at the lower end of the grill opening.



Here you can see how close the axle comes to the bottom of the grill opening. There is less than half an inch of clearance on either side.

Pinch bolts on the brackets lock the axle to the chassis.  The axle turns in the rotisserie sockets at either end

The step that took the longest was mating one end of the axle to the rotisserie frame.  Some drilling,
hammering, reaming and cursing encouraged it to fit.

The Alfatross breathes a sigh of relief as Brian and Jeff unbolt and remove the trolley it sat on for the last 10 years.

The last step was to attach the alignment bar to the rotisserie supports at either end. 

My accomplices.   Left to right: Brian Williams, Dave Carrell, me, and Jeff Kramer. 

The next major task is going to be soda blasting the body and chassis.  I'm going to try renting a trailer-mounted diesel-powered compressor and start that job later this week.  But first I have to round up some fittings to make the blaster and compressor compatible.  I have about 200 lb of soda on hand, but it might not last very long once I get started.  I want to experiment with different grades for different purposes (rust removal vs. paint removal, for example) so I just placed an order with Eastwood.  Anyone contemplating a major soda blasting job shoul be aware that the shipping charge effectively doubles the cost of the soda!

Rotisserie Brackets and Zagato's Zagato (Post # 17)

In the Shop

Dave and I had to get back to our "day jobs" for a while, but we're back at it again now and it looks like there will be a lot of time during the  next several weeks to get things done on the Alfa. Last night Dave tack welded the front and rear brackets for the rotisserie shaft after making sure the alignment was good.  Then we unbolted them and he took them to his shop for final gas welding of the heavy steel joints.



Tack welding the transverse beam for the rear bracket to the plates that
bolt to the tops of the rear shock towers.



Long stretch to tack weld the feet of the front bracket to the engine mounts. 
The PVC pipe is for alignment of the steel rotisserie shaft.

We hope to bolt in the finished brackets this weekend.  Then all we have to do is round up about 4 more strong backs to help us carefully thread the heavy rotisserie shaft through the grill opening, then through the front and rear brackets and out the trunk opening, level it so the ends can be mounted on the rotisserie frames, remove the trolley, insert the lower rotisserie horizontal member, align everything, and see if it works. 

What could possibly go wrong?

Networking

This blog isn't attracting much in the way of  public comments, but every now and then I get feedback through e-mail.  Sr. Matteo Bosisio of  Route Borrani sent me an e-mail last week about a very special 1900C SSZ he saw in a show in Milan recently: an "original and unrestored" car owned by the Zagato family and Sr. Rivolta, a brother-in-law.  Evidently, it is for sale, but Mr. Bosisio says it is going for "crazy money."  One of those "If you have to ask . . . ." items, I guess. 

Anyway, this is an important member of the Alfatross's small family.  I suspect that it is one of the last cars build because it has characteristics that I have never seen on other family members.  Many thanks to Sr. Bosisio for these photos!

I call this car "Zagato's Zagato" for obvious reasons.  Not the double bubble roof line and the sharp, forward-leaning nose.  Image by Matteo Bosisio.

Note the "A. Zagato" and "M. Rivolta" driver and co-driver names on the fender.  Also note the somewhat unusual single "Z" just below the names.  Zagato used a variety of logos over the years.  Sometimes it was just the Z and sometimes the whole name was spelled out.  Image by Matteo Bosisio

View from the rear quarter.  Note the rectangular taillights and bulge above the license plate light housing on the trunk.  I have never seen these on any other member of the family.  Image by Matteo Bosisio.

Research 

I have an old Auto Capital Italian car magazine from May/June 1981 that has an article about the history of the Zagato carrozzeria.  It features a couple of photos of a 1900C SSZ and a caption that says, "un'Alfa 1900 SS speciale costruita da Zagato in un solo esemplare, ora completamente restaurata dal carrozzeriere milanese: di tutta la sua produzione, la Zagato ha conservato questo modello e una Lancia Flaminia Sport."

I think it says that the featured car (a member of the 1900 Zagato family)--now completely restored--is one of only two cars produced by Zagato that the Zagato family retained.  But I can't tell from the photos if it is the same car as the one Matteo photographed.  Point is, even after about 90 years of producing some of the most beautiful cars ever made, the Zagatos are particularly fond of their Alfa 1900s.

The Curse of the Alfatross (Post # 16)

At some point I want to elaborate on my experiences with sub-contractors as a way of illustrating why you need to be very careful about letting bits and pieces of your car out of sight.  But this post is just for fun.  I don't believe in curses in the paranormal sense.  But I do believe in coincidences--that  might look like a curse--if you were inclined to believe in them.  They are seared in my memory because they always slowed down progress.  It was only after the "coincidences" began to accumulate that I started to wonder about the curse thing. 

• Ten years ago I paid $175 to have a specialty spring made.  Not a big, impressive suspension spring but a tiny, intricate one that opens the louvers in front of the radiator.  When I went to pick it up, the company was out of business. 
• When I contacted the guy who was restoring the wheels to find out what was taking so long he said he had to go in for a hernia operation and would be out of action for a few months. 
• A pattern maker who was supposed to cast a part for me sent it back because his foundry-man retired suddenly. 
• The guy I sent the engine to for a rebuild was injured when his shop caught fire.  Then he had the Alfatross engine for 8 years, always just about to start on it again.  I was lucky to get it back at all. 
• The mechanic who was inspecting the differential didn't come back to work one day and was never seen again. 

After moving to Santa Fe, things seemed to be going much better, until . . . .

The Sky Is Falling!

As I mentioned in the very first post, the Alfatross's "final resting place" is a brand new, purpose-built, well-insluated, high-ceilinged, heated workshop in the mountains of New Mexico.  It must have been quite a relief for the Alfatross, after spending years in the rain, snow, heat and humidity of South Texas, North Carolina, Michigan, the hold of a ship, and northern Italy to have at long last an appropriately safe and stable place to live.  An so it was for about 18 months until . . . the Curse of the Alfatross returned!



The Alfatross during a period of outdoor storage in central Texas.

Part of the workshop is a cozy office where my wife, Toni, works.  One cold, dark, snowy February day in 2011 she noticed a dusting of sheet rock fragments on the floor.  I was out of town and no one had been in the shop for a few days.  She looked up and to her horror realized that the ceiling had split open in a long, ragged crack.  Toni didn't need a crystal ball to know that an indoor avalanche was on its way.  I would like to have heard what she said to the builder over the phone.  Whatever it was the response was immediate and dramatic.  A framing crew was there the next morning, shoring up the ceiling and trying to determine what happened.  The verdict was that the roof joists were 50% undersized.  Collapse was imminent. 

It could have been a lot worse.  The builder stepped up.  He said yes, mistakes were made.  Now we're going to fix them.  There will be no charge for the work.  We will figure out how to move and store your cars.  We will move everything out of the shop and into a container that we will deliver to your property.  We will clean up afterward.  We will make it right.

The solution was to install full-size joists next to the half-size ones.  All we had to do was move the cars and everything somewhere else while they tore out the lights, wiring, sheet rock, and insulation to get to the joists.  But what about the Alfatross?  The builder came up with the perfect solution: with the 12 ft ceilings in the shop we could build a bomb-shelter, roll the Alfatross inside,and let the work go on around it!


Only Toni's quick action averted Death From Above when the roof began to
collapse under the weight of snow and ice in the winter of 2011.  Everything
had to be removed from the shop in order to replace the roof joists, insulation,
wiring, sheet rock, and lighting.

Everything except the Alfatross, that is.  We built a strong house around it for
protection and sealed it up inside the shop.

. . . for a long winter's nap.

It took quite a few weeks to do all this in the dead of winter, but in the end the shop came back together, the Alfatross emerged unscathed, and now our roof is 50% stonger than the engineering calls for. 

Maybe I'll put a deck up there one day . . . .