So now we come to the lowly exhaust system. Usually virtually invisible and unappreciated, exhaust pipes and mufflers--and the sounds they produce--often receive extra attention from the designers and builders of bespoke cars like The Alfatross. Stephen Bayley once wrote, "In the designers' endless quest for more to work on, what goes out the back has come to the fore."
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| The exhaust system as a styling cue. Zagato chose to recess the resonators in the rear bodywork on the driver's side (left in this photo), and create an asymmetric bulge on the opposite side for the spare tire. (bottom of the trunk panels have been removed in this shot.) |
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| Another view of the exhaust recess on Arturo Keller's beautifully restored 1955 1900C SSZ. *02056*. Tim Marinos. |
They are also one of the components most prone to failure for cars built in the 50s. Aft of the headers, the tubing and mufflers were usually made of mild steel which, due to their location and exposure to heat, acid, and water vapor, rapidly succumbed to corrosion. The Alfatross was no exception. One of the reasons I quit driving The Alfatross in 1970 was because it was virtually un-muffled--and LOUD!
The car had a lot of other, more urgent needs so I didn't do anything about the exhaust until 25 years later. It all started in the Spring of 1994 when Peter Marshall notified me that some 1900 owners were getting together to order a batch of exhaust systems for their cars. I had removed what I took to be the original exhaust system some time before that and discovered that it was in un-restorable condition. It was heavily rusted and shot through with holes.
At the time, Joost Gompels was Peter's US counterpart with respect to accumulating information about Alfa 1900s and their owners. so I arranged with him to purchase one of the systems, which were being fabricated in Great Britain. Joost contacted me before actual fabrication began to find out if I had any information about the original exhaust system on The Alfatross thinking, perhaps, that it might have been somewhat different from the more run-of-the-mill models.
Fortunately, I had made a measured sketch of the surviving components of the exhaust system that were on the car when I bought it. But unfortunately, the rear section of the system had been removed--or maybe even just dropped off--before I got the car. I sent the sketch to Joost who again wrote to ask if I had recorded other critical dimensions such as the rise and length of the exhaust pipes between the "Siamesed" mufflers and the headers. I had not. And by that time the engine was out of the car so I couldn't even mock up the exhaust system to re-create the space that had to be bridged.
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| My sketch of the exhaust system on The Alfatross when I bought it. I have no way of knowing if it was original, but the system was in the kind of condition you would expect for a 14 year-old unprotected mild steel exhaust. Also, the first stage mufflers were conjoined ("Siamesed") and had the look of pinch-welded production units rather than off-the-shelf replacements. The engine is to the right in this sketch. |
Evidently, the information I was able to supply helped, because Joost wrote in a 1994 issue of the Mostly 1900 Irregular Newsletter:
"Peter commissioned another batch of stainless steel exhaust systems with Peter Gough incorporating small adjustments (and hopefully) improvements as a result of our experience with the first batch. Mostly took two and fortuitously found two ready takers almost immediately in Don Keith (*02160*-Z) and Ben Jones. Those who might like to be in on the next batch please let us know."
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| The "new" exhaust system, fabricated in 1994-5 at a cost of $1070, still hanging on the wall in my shop. The fabricator made two sets of secondary cylindrical mufflers, one is appropriate for an Alfa-bodied 1900, the other is a guess at what The Alfatross' Zagato bodywork might require. We won't know how well it all fits together until the engine and chassis are once again re-united. |
One unusual aspect of the 1900C SSZ exhaust system is the
location of the after section. I have a
copy of a long letter from Joost to Bennett Jones (evidently the owner of an Alfa 1900 Type III) dated
8/8/95 in which he discusses the fabrication of a replacement exhaust system
for a Type III 1900. One of the main
concerns is whether the after part of the exhaust system ran above or below the
rear axle. there appears to be evidence to support both possibilities. This is of interest to me
because the Alfatross was missing that part of its exhaust system when I bought
it in 1969. From the letter it seems
that Mr. Jones sent photos to Joost of a Type III that has the exhaust passing over
the rear axle. Joost says,
“It looks
very similar (but can’t be ) to a picture of another believed original system
in Illinois. I cannot tell whether the
rear pipes, in that case rose in a hump or went sideways.”
Gompels favors a configuration that passes
beneath the rear axle, and goes on to say,
“The pipes take a jog to the right (looking aft)
after the radius rod hanger, lie next to the gas tank and then jog to the
right again to the rear of the car, centering neatly in the oval shaped cut-out
on the body. I cannot imagine how one
can get a solidly welded one piece system in place without a connecting flange
or joint for the rear section, (or perhaps dropping the rear axle to mount the
exhaust system?) and I cannot see how it clears the rear springs without more
contortion than a simple hump."
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| The location of the after section of the exhaust system on the Arturo Keller Car below the rear axle. On this car there is a third set of resonators in the rear bodywork recess just ahead of the tail pipes. Tim Marinos. |
Further evidence supporting the below-the-axle contention was supplied by the above photo taken a couple of weeks ago by Time Marinos, who is restoring The Alfatross' chassis and body. Miraculously, while in Monterey Tim was able to view three of The Alfatross' brethren, *01845*, *02056*, and *01947*, which which means that we have now been able to personally inspect about 25% of the surviving 1900 Zagatos! More on that in the next post . . . .
