All's Well That Ends Well (Post #164)

Things are tight in the engine room!

With the radiator leaks and starter problems behind us, I thought we would be doing shake-down drives by now. But The Alfatross’ engine suddenly became difficult to start and maintain idle leading to the suspicion that there must be a problem with the fuel supply system. 

It has two fuel pumps. One is electrical mounted under the chassis near the fuel tank. The other is mechanical and mounted on the block.

The shielded electric fuel pump

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I assumed having two pumps was normal for 1900s until conferring with Dan Allen. He pointed out that although both pumps appear in the Alfa factory parts manual for 1900s, it does not mean the cars had both types of pumps--only that they had one or the other. So this is another anomaly in The Alfatross' DNA, like the presence of two coils, the floor mounted shifter, the Jaeger chronometer, the strange brake reservoir, and the air horn. Had it been prepared for racing at some point?

That can't be right!

I traced the fuel path from the tank through the fuel filter and electric fuel pump on to the mechanical fuel pump and all the way to the twin Solex 40P II carburetors. Everything seemed to be shipshape at first, but after removing various bits and pieces in the engine bay to expose the mechanical pump I found the proverbial "smoking gun", a shiny steel pin protruding grotesquely from the pump’s back side.

Although this diagram is not quite right, the axle pin is no. 5. Pump arm is no. 2

The pump showing the-arm-to diaphragm linkage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at the exploded diagram of the mechanical pump it was apparent that the pin is the axle for the long pump arm that engages with a cam on the cam chain drive gear inside the block to create pressure by working the pump's diaphragm up and down. I saw no sign of any mechanism to hold the pin in place. It had simply worked its way almost completely out of the pump body over time, rendering the pump inoperable.  I could see no way to fix it without taking the pump off because the pin had to be realigned with the arm, its connecting plates, and the two sides of the pump body.

It turned out to be one of those jobs where the actual repair took less than one minute and no new parts were needed. A dab of JB Weld over each end of the pin on the outside of the pump will prevent it from working loose again.

This reminded me of the kinds of simple things that make restorations expensive and lengthy. It's not the parts but the labor. Removing the air cleaner, hoses, and horns just to gain access, to the afflicted part, then removing the old gasket material, making new gaskets, and putting it all back together again took the better part of a day.

But that's one day closer to completion! 

 

Rep-lic-a-phobia (Post #163)

English dictionaries get fatter every day. You can easily invent a word, like Carchaeologist that people immediately understand and start using, and in short order it becomes a real word. It first appeared in The Alfatross blog in Post #001--January 1, 2013. Replicaphobia is the latest new term to be introduced in The Alfatross blog. It is inspired by recent articles in Octane, Magneto, Sports Car Market, and Linkage magazines regarding serious international legal developments over what makes a car “real”.

 

1953 C-Type Jaguar continuation--get 'em while they're hot!

“Will Your Replica be Destroyed?” was the headline of the Legal Files column in the May 2021 issue of Sports Car Market. The author, John Draneas, stated “The collector-car world was recently stunned by the news that a Swedish court awarded judgement to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in its copyright infringement case against Karl and Ann-Christine Magnusson who were building a replica of an early ‘50s Jaguar C-Type.” The replica was ordered to be destroyed and the Swedish builders now face damages and legal fees. No matter how this and other similar cases are resolved, they demonstrate that automotive manufacturers are increasingly concerned about preserving the intellectual-property rights of the cars they produced decades ago.

The court case attracted The Alfatross’ attention because she is a stakeholder in the debate over “real” and “replica” cars. Is it good news for her or the death knell for a lively and legitimate—even essential—industry? Until now, replicaphobia has been primarily a concern for owners of original cars who believe that the creation of replicas adversely affects the values of originals.  

If a car is both rare and achingly beautiful, occupies an important place in automotive history, is connected to a legendary marque or carrozoria—or all of the above—then it is collectible and valuable. The value factor often produces a conflict for owners who decide it is too risky to drive their cars on the open road, and an opportunity for other entities to produce replicas that can offer a similar driving experience without risking financially disastrous consequences.

A 1900 SSZ forgery.

The Alfatross has approximately two dozen siblings still in existence, and another 14 or so that are thought to be illegitimate replicas. These  range from out-and-out forgeries difficult to distinguish from originals to clumsily-executed abominations that the rest of the family detests.  An article in the first issue of Linkage magazine, “Real or Replica—Does it Matter?”, the opinions offered by four collector-car authorities seem to agree that replicas have a useful place in the car world, but they cannot offer the same driving experience and should never be represented as or confused with originals.  

Real or replica? If only it were that simple! A range of terms are used to nuance the differences between original and copycat cars: “replicas”, “tool room replicas”, “reproductions”, “tributes”, “continuations”, “recreations”, “in the style of”, “evocations”, “revivals”, “forgeries”, “imitations”, or just plain “copies”. Actually, I cannot recall anyone advertising their car as being a forgery, imitation, or copy, but the other classifications are used frequently, if inconsistently.

The spectrum of replica authenticity runs the gamut from the sublime to the ridiculous. At the sublime end are “tool room copies” that are as good as or better than the originals. A good example is Jaguar’s plans to build 8 “continuation” 1953 period C-Type Jaguars to celebrate 70 years of race successes. Prospective buyers can configure their car online by selecting from various color and trim options. In other words, Jaguar is now effectively building replicas of its own cars!

"honest replica" DP214 Aston Martin.

 

Another article in Magneto, “When Copies Become Classics” is about a collection of three Aston Martins carefully reproduced by various shops in the ‘80s and ‘90s that are coming up for auction on April 23. These “honest replicas” have been around so long and are so well-known that they are expected to sell collectively for several million dollars. 

 A heavily-modified 1900 SSZ replica.

 

Some of The Alfatross’ legitimate siblings have been heavily modified over the decades, which tends to arouse suspicion over its authenticity. If a car is purported to be a decades old original, and a participant in famous races, how can that be verified? Even the very word “original” needs clarification. Race cars are rode hard and put away wet. Engines and other parts are replaced. Entire bodies are replaced after accidents. Serial numbers can be altered. Records are often incomplete or non-existent. Human memory is notoriously unreliable. Conflicting claims are rife. A third article in the same issue of Magneto cited above, Examining History pertains to the forensic research techniques modern science provides to ascertain a car’s originality such as chemical analyses, optical emission spectroscopy and metallographic examination. Such techniques, combined with more conventional archival and previous owner research, make forgeries easier to detect.

Original? Replica? Forgery? Tribute?

 

One reason for keeping this blog is to establish The Alfatross’ originality beyond the shadow of a doubt. What would happen if Alfa and Zagato got together and decided to build a limited run of 1900 SSZs and offer them for sale? Would that lessen The Alfatross’ value? I doubt it. The market for “continuations” is completely different from that for originals, and the kind of suitors The Alfatross is likely to attract are probably already . . .  replicaphobes!

The Alfatross, the author, and Andrea Zagato.

NB—The art collector world is obsessed with the difficulty of establishing what is real and what is suspect. The inspiration for this blog came from seeing the movie The Last Vermeer: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+last+vermeer+movie&docid=608016607258633019&mid=1D57A8854535275F24231D57A8854535275F2423&view=detail&FORM=VIREHT