Unrestored, Restored, and Re-restored--Part 1 (Post # 112)

Since I got serious about restoring The Alfatross on January 1st 2013 I've also been paying attention to what its siblings have been up to. Disappointingly, as far as I am aware none of the 12 cars I listed as "existence uncertain" or "destroyed" have turned up. But several of the Alfatross' known siblings have attracted considerable attention in one way or another. They seem to fall naturally into three distinct categories: cars recently "discovered" and left unrestored, cars that changed hands and were--or are in the process of being--restored, and cars that are undergoing re-restoration.

Unrestored

The car that produced the most publicity, chassis *01845*, was dragged out into the light of day in 2012 after 40 years of peaceful slumber in its modern-day Roman car catacomb. The notoriety it received subsequently resulted from the new owner's claim that it was "the most original 1900 Super Sprint Zagato in the world" and his vow that it would not be restored.

*01845* makes its debut in 2013 with much fanfare and hyperbole. 

But the necessity to change original things to make a car roadworthy and the urge to "fix things up a bit" are hard to resist. When *01845* won the Best in Post-War Preservation Class at Pebble Beach in 2014 we could not help but notice some new paint in the engine room, repairs to the driving lights, and that its (non-original) pipe bumpers had been removed. 

As to the the "most original" claim, that is difficult to substantiate due to the facts that (1) all of The Alfatross' siblings are different, and (2) after 61 years, special preparations for racing, damage repairs, and multiple ownership, all of them have been modified to one extent or another. So what do you compare it to?  Who's to say what is "original" and what isn't? In the words of Carl Sagan, "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence".  In this case I don't see it.

*01845*'s most recent publicity splash is that it is up for sale again!  The price is not advertised on the Kidston SA Web site, but rumors put it at well north of $2 M! If it sells for that, it will establish that the highest price paid for an Alfa 1900 SSZ is for an unrestored, tattered example with few desirable features and little race history.  Go figure. 

*01845* as seen at Pebble Beach in 2014. Kidston .com

Restored

We are most familiar with cars in the "restored or undergoing restoration" category because we have been able to exchange information with their owners about details of originality.  In fact, through extensive communication and collaboration, I think we might be establishing the "baseline" for originality questions when it comes to Alfa 1900 SSZs.

One of the most interesting restoration stories in recent years surrounds chassis *01947* which went on auction at the 2014 Gooding and Co. Pebble Beach sale. The car was in very rough shape but the aluminum body was intact. The auction turned out to be pretty exciting as the bidding sailed past the upper estimate, coming down to two bidders who were determined to own it. In the end, Mr. David Smith won with a bid of $1,012,000. Many observers opined that he paid too much for the car, given that its condition mandated an extensive and expensive nuts and bolts restoration, but the car came with a lot of spare parts, including three engines.  Recent historical research has filled out the car's unique history complete with interviews with the car's original Italian owner and early photographs!  

Given Mr. Smith's exhaustive knowledge of Italian sports cars, and that this is his 18th restoration project, it looks like this car is in the right hands.  It has been The Alfatross' pleasure to supply sibling *01947* with photos, measurements, and other information to assist with its restoration. In exchange *01947*'s owner has generously reciprocated by providing us with a wealth of historical and technical knowledge and hard-to-find parts for which The Alfatross will always be grateful. 

*01947* at the Gooding and Co. auction in 2014.  

Like unrestored car *01845*, *01931* came out of retirement in 2012 after decades of inactivity and neglect. Despite its condition it was desirable due to its participation in the 1955 Mille Miglia where it placed 19th overall. It was brought back to the US that same year and ended up in deep storage until 2012 when it was sold through Kidston SA to a Swiss collector and given a three-year restoration including a return to its original eye-catching two tone paint scheme. Photos of the restored car show that the red-and-white paint scheme is carried through to the interior and that the restoration was completed to a high standard.

Also like car *01845*, *01931* is once again up for sale with Kidston SA--for the second time in 4 years!  As all the restoration work was done in Europe the only thing we know about the car is the sales pitch and photos that appeared on the Kidston.com site.

*01931* as found in 2012. Kidston.com.

*01931* in 2015 following restoration . Kidston.com.

Re-Restored

Late last year I contacted Dustin Wetmore at Motion Products Inc., in Wisconsin to inquire if he could identify the mysterious brake reservoir on The Alfatross. This led to conversations not only about the reservoir but also to questions MPI had about one of The Alfatross' siblings, *01844*, presently undergoing re-restoration at their shop. Having been entered in three successive Mille Miglias back in the 1950s and used a lot since then, *01844* still looked great, but had been modified and was in rough shape following an earlier restoration. We were able to help Dustin with a number of questions about the driving lights, seats, trunk area and the insulating bellypan between the exhaust system and the floor under the driver's seat. 

*01844* under restoration at Motion Products. This  is the 
only sibling known to have entered the 1955, 56, and 57
Mille Miglias.  MPI.

The good news about a documented racing history is that it enriches the car's story and lends it more respect.  The bad news is that there is a likelihood of extensive damage and modifications to the car's fabric, thereby compromising both its originality and driveability.

My understanding is that *01844* is not going to be offered for sale like  of the cars above. Rather, its long-time owners decided it was time to give it the kind of attention it needed and deserved so that they could continue to use it.

Imponderables

One wonders what the future might hold for *01845* after it changes hands again. Who will be willing to pay $2 M for a not very attractive, unrestored car with no racing history? A sale at that price would affirm that originality (and great marketing) trumps both racing history and fine restoration. 

Will David Smith's restoration of *01947* not only prove that he saw a great restoration candidate where others saw only wrack and ruin, but also raise the bar for how a proper restoration of an Alfa 1900C SSZ should be done?  

Was the sale, restoration, and re-sale of *01931* in 4 years just an exercise in asset acquisition and liquidation? 

Does *01844* represent what lies ahead for The Alfatross and all it siblings: Long-term residence in a stable collection where they are cared for and used regularly . . . and eventually treated to re-restorations when appropriate?  Will that make them immortal?

Keep on Rolling (Post # 111)

The abrasions on the inside of the Borrani wire wheel rims
show as dots where the brake drums come closest to the
wheel rims. 

The front brake drum profile. Note the four distinct facets

that mimic contours inside the wheel rim. The "furrow"

 shows on the fins of the middle facet.

After putting about 5 km on The Alfatross in preparation for the Arizona Concours d'Elegance I noticed some abrasions on the inside of the front Borrani wheel rims that seemed to be the result of the rims lightly touching the finned drums in some places. There was no interference problems between the rear drums and wheels because the drums there are much smaller in diameter. 

I checked the fins on the drums and observed that every fin on one of the four facets on the perimeter of the drums has a shallow “furrow” in it corresponding to the place on the wheel where the abrasions appear. But the furrow was not caused by contact with the wheel.  It appears to have been evenly and professionally machined into the fins before I got the car, so it may even be a “pre-existing condition”.  


But what was causing the problem and how do I fix it? Time to contact the Alfa 1900 Brain Trust members and Cork Adams, the guy who restored the wheels, for advice. 

Cork opined in an e-mail "It appears to be a wheel that has slightly too much positive off-set and might require some minor adjustment to pull the hub inward. I assume a quarter of an inch should not move the rim outward enough to rub on the fender." (Groan).

Giuseppe Maranghi suggested that I test-fit the car's other wheels to see if perhaps the wheels and drums are supposed to be paired specifically  If not, I should get in contact with Matteo Bosisio at Borrani to get his take on what the problem might be--after all, they are literally the ones who "invented the wheel"!  Then Joost Gompels sent me what appears to be a period Borrani shop drawing with dimensions so I could check my wheels against it and added hopefully, "I will be interested in what you find out."

Design drawing with dimensions for a Borrani wire wheel .  Joost Gompels.

Suddenly, not only did I have a new, totally unanticipated problem, but it was starting to look like it could take a lot of time and money to fix. 

It seemed like the advice and observations I was getting boiled down to only three possible causes:

1. The wheel hub is centered too far to the outside of the wheel rim. If so, the wheels were assembled wrong during their restoration.
2. Some kind of spacer or shim is missing somewhere on the hub. But there aren't any parts left over or any reference to shims in the design drawings and no place to add a spacer anyway. 
3. Wheel hub isn’t tight enough on the spindle. But how do you estimate how much torque you are putting on the knock-off "wing nuts" when all you can do is hit them with a hammer?

The splined spindle that mates with the hub of the
Borrani wire wheel.  Note the dark abrasion around the
tapered base of the spindle indicating a loose fit.

Because possible cause no. 3 was the easiest to address, I decided to start there, just looking for things that . . . didn't look right. Abrasions on the splined front wheel spindles matched wear marks on the insides of the wheel hubs where they made contact, suggesting that they weren't mating properly, so I sanded and polished both surfaces until I was satisfied that all burrs and refinishing residues were removed.  

But the question of how do you achieve the optimum wing-nut torque, preferably without beating them with a lead hammer, remained.  Beating with a hammer--how barbaric! I used to think that you could find the answer to any question on the Internet if you spent enough time.  I don't anymore.  Try to find the "correct" torque values for knock-off wing nuts on line.  You find everything from "hand tight and then 3 good whacks with the hammer" to "250 to 350 Nm" (184.39-258.15 ft/lb). In the end, I decided to just come up with something I could use that would get the damn wheels seated good and tight on their spindles without hammering the wing nuts to death in the process.  

Precisely at that moment, my neighbor Wyatt Fenn showed up with a 6-pack of pretty good micro brew and time to kill.  As I told my predicament while crying in one of his beers he mentioned that he used to be in prototype manufacturing and promptly sketched a simple wing-nut wrench that could be made of  no. 810-A7 nylon stock. Uh, sorry, Wyatt I'm fresh out of 810--but I do have some heavy plywood . . . .  No problem, plywood works too! 

Rube Goldberg "Proof of concept" wing nut wrench.  Note the finely-crafted plywood workmanship, the profligate use of sheetrock screws, the hand-routed recess for the wing nut, and the clever hole in one arm for easy hanging storage.  Wyatt Fenn design.

A couple of hours later the 6-pack was gone and we had our "proof of concept" wing nut wrench.  I used it for several days tightening and loosening the wheels and it proved three things:  First, that it was vastly superior to the hammer technique and, along with cleaning the mating surfaces, solved the problem completely; second, that all it cost was Wyatt's 6-pack and third, that it could be better.  

More searching on the Internet led eventually to Herr Michael Kirchgassler at Oldtimertools (mk@oldtimertools.de) and his product FMB 42-2. It accomplished the same things that Wyatt's proof of concept did, but more elegantly.  Its compact size eliminated the problems created by the long arms of the proof-of-concept design having only a few degrees of movement before contacting the car body, and its hard plastic wing-gripping toggles were even less injurious to the wing nuts.

The Oldtimertools wing nut socket: What it lacks in 
affordability it makes up for in beautifully engineered 
German manufacturing.   No more guessing at how much 
torque you put on your wing nuts!  

So in the end it was a relatively easy problem to solve. The front wheels were restored properly and no shims or spacers were needed.  The wheels just weren't tight enough on their spindles.  A more experienced restorer could have figured that out in a heartbeat,  but in the end I sure learned a lot and acquired new respect for the deceptively simple-looking wire wheel--and the indispensability of a prototype manufacturing neighbor with a 6-pack of pretty good microbrew!

Weights and Measures (Post # 110)

How does The Alfatross compare to its siblings and other cars of the period, following restoration?  Did it gain or lose any weight, change its dimensions or balance?  Does it run as well as it did when new--or better?  Well, it's early days yet, but we can answer some of these questions.

To put things in the proper perspective we need to start with an historical review of the different variants of the 1900 series. The 1900 model type started in 1950 with 5 cars, chassis numbers 1900 00001- 1900 00006, all Berlinas (enclosed 4-door sedans). Powered by the model 1306 1884 cc engine. 

The next year Alfa added the Sprint model (1st Series) to their lineup but only 6 examples were made.  These were sportier with a shortened chassis and more powerful engine, the 1308 1975 cc engine.

The 4-wheel drive "Matta" version incorporating
Alfa 1900 mechanicals. Millenove, H.-J. Dohren.

Between its original appearance in 1950 and the end of production in '59, a total of 21,304 1900s were built. Naturally, over such a long production run, there were many modifications and variants, including sub-models 1900C, 1900L, AR51, TI, and AR52.  The AR models were "Jeepish" military utility vehicles with 1900 DNA, but not on the same limb of the family tree as the road cars.

The Alfatross was created on a 1900C chassis in 1955.  In that year Alfa produced four variants, the 1900 Super, 1900 TI Super, 1900 Sprint 2nd Series, and 1900 Super Sprint. The C suffix stood for "corto"--the short, 2 door chassis--and was stamped into the firewall after the 1900 designation.

Chassis *01955* was originally created with a flat roof.
Now it has a double bubble roof.  John de Boer.

How Rare is The Alfatross?

According to Gonzalo Alvarez Garcia's research in his book Alfa Romeo 1900 Sprint, as a sub-set of overall Alfa 1900 production, the Zagato-bodied cars turned out in 1955 is microscopic:

21,304=Total type 1900 
854 =Total Super Sprint 
248= Total Super Sprint in 1955  
14= Total 1955 Sprint and Super Sprint Zagatos

The engine of chassis *01955* is extensively modified.
John de Boer.

Of the original 14 Sprint and SS Zagatos two of them, chassis numbers *01964* and *10095*, seem to have disappeared.  The remaining 12 have been or are being restored. Photographs are available at http://www.alfacompanion.com/alfa1900/stories2/extant_zagatos/index.html.  


Although they were produced in the same year, each of these cars is different.  After 61 years of use, abuse, and "personalization" the differences between them are even greater.  One car, *01955*, started life with a "normal" flat roof, but was given a "double bubble" roof treatment later.

Performance Check

The 1900 owner's manual gives the following performance figures for maximum horsepower at corresponding rpm (no torque values are offered): 

1900 Super 90 HP @ 4000 rpm1900 TI Super 115 HP @ 5000 rpm1900 Super Sprint 115 HP @ 5000 rpm

Following the rebuild of The Alfatross' original engine, during which new cams, pistons, valves, guides, and rods were produced, horsepower and torque figures improved significantly.  

The horsepower and torque figures for The Alfatross as determined during several dyno runs.  

Longacre Accuset computer scales model no. 72594.

Weights and Measures

I wonder how many of The Alfatross' siblings know how much they weigh or how that weight is distributed? According to the owner's manual, an Alfa 1900C SS coupe in running order should weigh 1000 kg. (2200 lb) while the cabriolet should weigh 1150 kg. (2530 lb)  No figures are given for weight distribution.

After weighing The Alfatross "in running order" with about one quarter tank of gas using a Longacre Accuset 4-wheel scale we came up with a total of 1002 kg. (2204 lb).  This is puzzling because we expected it to be considerably less than the Alfa 1900C SS with its production body and interior. We weighed the car several times with the same result.  

There were other surprises as well.  The weight distribution was a nose-heavy 59% front (595 kg./1308 lb) vs. 41% rear (407 kg./895 lb).  While the rear wheel readings differed by only 4 kg. (9 lb), there was 25 kg. (55 lb) more weight on the left front wheel than on the right front wheel.  This difference seems excessive so we will have to have another weight-in at a later date to re-test it.

Jeff Kramer examines the 4 scale weight readings.

Monkey Wrenches (Post # 109)

By now there must be some people out there wondering "If it was good enough to place third in the "Coachwork by Zagato" class at the Arizona Concours d'Elegance in January, why are you still working on The Alfatross?"  My excuse is that it really doesn't take that much to put a car on the lawn: If it is a rare "Italian Exotic", runs well enough to cover a mile or two, has a shiny new coat of paint, fresh upholstery, and been under the same ownership for the last 47 years--that's good enough.  But not as good as it can be.  What we're doing now is making The Alfatross as good as it can be, and that takes a lot more work.

Who Knows Where the Time Goes?

I do, at least when it comes to the restoration of this particular vehicle!  The superb paint and bodywork done by Tim Marinos of Vintage Autocraft was finished 8 months ago. The excellent interior work done by Derrick Dunbar at Paul Russell and Co. was finished 6 months ago. We got the engine back from DeWayne Samuels at Samuels Speed Technologies 4 months ago.  Those three operations probably consumed on the order of 3,000 hours of other people's time and the results were well worth it. Ever since the body, interior, and engine were reunited at The Shed in January it has been up to us to get all those elements to fit together, and it hasn't been easy. Many of the things we did to get the car ready for the Arizona Concours have been undone and redone several times to achieve a better fit and finish.

Why Things Don't Fit

It appears that there are at least three different reasons why, even after a careful restoration, things don't fit:

1. They never fit in the first place (quality control didn't exist in 1955),

2. Original parts that did fit originally got bent, worn, or corroded over the last 61 years (imagine that!), and

3. The process of restoration interfered with the original fit (unintended consequences).

Welcome to My World

The hole for the toggle switch on the far right was made
too close to the lip on the underside of the dash, preventing
it from being oriented to match the others.  Now they look
the way they are supposed to. 

Here are three examples of where the time goes as a result of things not fitting:

Switches

The Alfatross has 6 toggle switches mounted under the dash where it turns from vertical to horizontal. Four of them fit so that the toggles are oriented to be "on" when their toggles are in the "up" position.  The mounting holes for the other two switches were drilled a couple of millimeters too close to the upward turning lip at the back of the dashboard so they sit cockeyed and look glaringly "wrong". This was the way they came from the Zagato factory. For the Arizona Concours we reinstalled them crooked to save time. Now that we are taking the time to do things right, I shaved a couple of millimeters off the backs of the two recalcitrant switches to make them fit the way they were supposed to 61 years ago. I don't think Ugo Zagato would disapprove.

Brake Lines

The Alfatross was taken off the road in 1971 when one of the metal brake lines rusted through and let all the fluid out. But the rest of the lines looked good after cleaning them inside and out and re-tapping the old flare connections. Deducing that it would be faster and more authentic to reuse as many of the old brake lines and flare connections as possible, I decided to replace all the small metal brake lines on the backs of the front wheels and on top of the rear axle, but to keep the larger diameter lines from the reservoir to the master cylinder and from the master cylinder to the front wheels and rear axle. 

Bad decision: This tiny hole in the longest brake line on
the car resulted in hours of additional, unnecessary work.

Bad decision.  I should have just replaced all the lines and connections with new ones.  After installing the original line from the master cylinder to the rear axle--the longest brake line on the car--it leaked, necessitating cleaning up a big mess, making another line, and buying two more bottles of fluid! 

It's the little things: The dash warning light that indicates
the heater fan is operating did not work until I realized
that paint was keeping its housing from grounding  inside
the hole it fits into.

Electrical Gremlins

The Alfatross has a new electrical harness made by YnZ Yesterday's Parts. It is supposedly a copy of the original harness which I removed and sent to them. Even though The Alfatross' electrical system is about as simple as one can get, wires can get crossed, labels can fall off, and ground wires can fail to make contact with the chassis due to the buildup of primer and paint. Getting the wiring right can be a hit-or-miss proposition.

YnZ's harness came with numbered wires and 3 sheets of instructions describing what the wires connected to, but there were problems, including the fact that some of the wires mentioned in the instructions didn't exist.  Fortunately, I also had the Alfa factory wiring schematics and a beautiful set of 9 drawings by Hans Josefsson, (owner of chassis 01977) segregating the circuits by function (starting, charging, lights, signalling, service, etc.).  

So rewiring The Alfatross should be a slam dunk . . . except that the schematics don't agree on a lot of important details.  Add to that the fact that the Alfatross has some extra circuits  not mentioned in any of the schematics. Given the simplicity of the car's electrical system, none of this is a big problem, it just means that some circuits have to be modified, eliminated, or added.  And that takes a lot of time.

The simple drawing accompanying YnZ 's replicated wiring harness shows  wires that don't exist in the instructions and the instructions mention wires and connections that don't show in the drawing.!

The answer to the question of why is it taking so long is that putting a 61 year-old, hand-made, unique Italian Exotic back together is not like putting a new, mass-produced, cloned, modern car together. There's a surprise around every corner. How long is it supposed to take?  Nobody knows.  They're all different . . . .

If You Build It, They Will Come (Post # 108)

It may look deserted here, but for one day a year this 60 mile stretch of Texas Highway 285 is the scene of  the "most challenging  road race in the world".  Richard Coberly.

A funny thing happened in New Guinea after World War II. Airplane effigies made from sticks and grass began appearing in clearings in the jungle. Investigators discovered that local tribesmen made the clearings and built the "airplanes" in the mistaken belief that they would bring back the halcyon days of WWII when airstrips built by the combatants supplied them with tons of "cargo"--their first taste of foodstuffs and luxuries from the outside world. Anthropologists called them "cargo cults", but you can think of it as the belief that "If you build it, they will come."  

Cargo cult, New Guinea  style.  

A Car-Go Cult Thrives in the Desert

About 20 years ago some folks in the vast, empty expanse of West Texas south of I-10 decided to establish their own "car-go" cult.  They arranged to have a 60 mile stretch of highway 285 between Ft. Stockton and Sanderson closed to traffic for a day and invited people to see how fast they could cover the 120 mile distance there and back. It worked! People came from all over and have kept coming ever since. Today it is billed as "The most challenging road race in the world."

Car-Go Cult, West Texas style.

The Alfatross and its siblings were created to be Grand Touring cars that you could drive all week and race on the weekends. As such, they all aspired to run in the most famous endurance road race of the period, the Mille Miglia (MM), one lap over a 1,000 mile course over Italian public highways. In fact, Alfa Romeo won more of these races than any other manufacturer. In 1956, the first year The Alfatross was eligible to run in the MM, 23 Alfa 1900s and 3 1900 Zagatos were entered.  Sadly, The Alfatross was not among them. Discontinued in 1957, there has been nothing like the MM since then (the modern MM is a completely different time/speed/distance rally) for classic and vintage cars built before 1957. 

Tech inspection takes 2 days.  They're looking for safety
rule compliance mainly because race classes are based on
target speed, not engine type, displacement or vehicle
modifications.

But what was the REAL MM like in?  To find the answer to that question we packed ourselves off to Ft. Stockton last weekend on the 60th anniversary of the 1956 MM to savor the 2016 Big Bend Open Road Race (BBORR), one of only four such races in the United States. 

Most entries were road-registered and driven to
the BBORR by their owners.  Others, like this example, were
trailered.

OK, I admit that it's kind of a stretch to compare the original 1,000 mile 1950s Italian national event with the little-known 120 mile race in Texas in 2016, and I doubt if any of the contestants we met made the a connection with the MM, but I saw some revealing parallels.

I was surprised at how few Italian exotics were present.
American supercars such as late-model Corvettes, Vipers,
Cobra replicas, and Chargers were the weapons of choice. 

At least two of these Radicals showed up.  I never found 
out how they did.

First of all, the MM was apparently open to the public, subject to an entry fee and some kind of inspection. None of the sources I consulted even mentioned how the organizers made the cut back then, but I do know that 534 cars divided into 12 classes made it to the starting line for the 1955 MM. 

Sure, some of them were factory entries, but most were probably driven by their owners who were wannabe racer gearheads. Given the length of the race, navigators were allowed in addition to the drivers. The vehicles ranged from the sublime, like the Mercedes 300 SLR driven by winner Stirling Moss, to the ridiculous, like the Fiat 600 of Osvaldo Pierie that finished 273rd. Cars were released at one minute intervals to lessen congestion on the roads. The simple goal was was to get to the finish line as fast as possible.

What I observed at the BBORR was essentially the same thing: Open to the public, entry fee, inspection, a limit on the number of entrants, wide disparity between vehicle and driver capabilities, navigators allowed, and cars released one at a time in sequence with the fastest cars going first. In 2015, the last year for which results are published, there were 158 cars divided into 16 classes. For cars in the "Unlimited" class the race was just like the MM: no upper speed limit, just cover the distance as fast as possible. The other classes, Super Sport, Grand Sport, Grand Touring, Touring, and Street Rod, were not defined by type of vehicle or engine displacement, but on the maintenance of a target speed ranging from 85 to 130 mph. For those classes it was more of a time/distance/speed rally than a race against the clock.

During the MM the course was lined by hundreds of thousands of spectators in towns and roadsides along the route cheering the cars as they blasted by. The BBORR has none of that. Unless you are driving or navigating there isn't much to see of the actual race. Public safety concerns killed the MM following a bad accident involving spectators in 1957, and the BBORR organizers are not taking any chances on suffering the same fate. Highway 285 is closed to traffic during the race and the only people who get to see the cars at speed are the official roadside monitors who note the passing of each car, record speeds, and deal with breakdowns.

In 1955, the year The Alfatross was produced, Stirling Moss set the all-time record covering the 1,000 miles  with an average speed of 157.650 kph (97.96 mph).  In 2015 Larry Robinson won the BBORR with an average speed of 250.543 kph--155.680 mph!

The rest of us have to be content gawking at the cars and schmoozing with the entrants during the tech inspections and car shows held in Ft. Stockton's Rooney Park before and after the race.  And you can drive the course all you want the other 364 days a year and dream about what it would be like to do it at 155 mph!

This race is for REAL!  In the 1956 MM there were 13 accidents, 3 of which were fatal.  Modern safety equipment and the absence of spectators meant the driver of this vehicle walked away with nothing worse than a bruised wallet.

Having driven her entry all the way from Santa Fe Toni was shocked when it was disqualified over safety concerns.   

What's in a Name? (Post # 107)

This is an Alfa Romeo 1900C SS.
Fantasyjunction.com.

. . . and so is this!

Does a car need a name? Apparently all the automobile manufacturers think so because they have created hundreds of them, so it must be right. But what about a specific car? Why does a specific, unique car like The Alfatross need a specific, unique name when it already has the perfectly descriptive, if not particularly attractive or memorable name "Alfa Romeo 1900C SS? 


An argument in favor of the latter is that it is so much more descriptive, including the name of the manufacturer, the general model type, the general engine type, the fact that the chassis is shortened, and that the engine is souped up. The argument for the former is that the oh-so-descriptive technical name is not actually as accurate as you might assume. 

Ford Thunderbird. boldride.com.

If you Google "alfatross" you will find out why--and end up right back here on this page!  Alfa Romeo made 21,304  1900s throughout the 1950s. 

Zagato bodied about 40 of them.  

But there  is only one "Alfatross". 

Pontiac Sunbird.  car.mitula.us.

Birds and Cars

The whimsical naming of automobile models after different types of birds is an idea that has been around a long time. Manufacturers hope that the name they give a particular model will convey something appropriate about the car . . . or at least make it attractive to buyers.


"Thunderbird" conjures up the image of a powerful, attention-getting vehicle.

"Roadrunner" is obviously not a sedate sedan. It captures the essence of Route 66.

"Talon" suggests something aggressive, a bird of prey. 

At the other end of the spectrum is the friendly "Bluebird", often associated with happiness. "Sunbird" is more middle-of-the-road, a compromise, but invokes the image of wind-in-your-hair and sun on your face.  

The three-wheeled Reliant "Robin" seems appropriately named, making no pretensions to power, speed, handling, style, or . . . anything else.

Ford Falcon.

American Motors Eagle. blog.nwautos.com.

And then there are the complete misnomers: the Ford Falcon was certainly a disappointment in the areas that the bird species is noted for: high speed and maneuverability. 

Aston Martin's diminutive "Cygnet" bore no resemblance whatsoever to a young swan, other than being white. 
Unlike its avian namesake, the American Motors "Eagle" was not large and impressive or particularly noteworthy. 

The various cars named "Blackhawk" over the decades range from swoopingly menacing black touring cars to ridiculous, chrome and gold 1970s abominations. 

Stutz Blackhawk, first generation.
SimeoneMuseum.org.

Stutz Blackhawk second generation.
camerachemist.wordpress.com

And the Point Is . . .

Which brings us back to "The Alfatross". Recently, a reader of this blog wrote to suggest that it might be time to drop the name "Alfatross" on the grounds that it is no longer appropriate now that the car is largely restored to its original glory. This post is about why I beg to differ.

For those readers who don't get his complaint, he is referring to the belief among seafarers that killing an albatross brings enormous misfortune. This superstition would have disappeared long ago were it not for the epic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner (see what a college education can do for you?). Obviously, The Alfatross' name is a joke on several levels, and at the same time completely appropriate. From the moment when my friend KC Wordsmith first uttered the phrase "It's your Albatross!" I realized the perfection of the name.

In the first place, "albatross" is one of the most recognizable of all bird names, and  perfect for an awe-inspiring, rare and beautiful car designed to cover long distances with seeming effortlessness.  Not surprisingly, the name has been used by at least three erstwhile car manufacturers: the French "Albatros" (1912-12), the English "Albatros" (1922-24), and the American Albatross (1939-39). Disappointingly, association with the albatross did little to promote the success of these companies, each of which went the way of the "Dodo".  

And that's not all: The inventors of the first human-powered aircraft to cross the English Channel called it the "Gossamer Albatross" for obvious reasons.  In 1968 the rock band Fleetwood Mac released the hauntingly beautiful "Albatross", said to be one of the greatest instrumental tracks of all time.


Other birds may flit about cheerfully, sing enchantingly, dive daringly, or swoop menacingly, but only the albatross soars serenely over the oceans of the world for thousands of miles, returning to earth only to mate and raise its young (some species mate for life). Combining mystique with majesty, it has the longest wing span of any living bird--11 feet or more- and for such a large bird, a supernaturally long lifespan--50 years. 

So the name is appropriate. In the Rime of the Ancient Mariner I can relate to the ancient mariner who killed the albatross, and to the car as the albatross.  It died 47 years ago and I've  wore it around my neck ever since as a kind of penance, but little by little I came to see the seemingly insurmountable difficulties of its restoration as revitalizing challenges to embrace.  The writhing mass of brake lines under the transmission used to dismay me but now I see their innate beauty and harmony.

After 47 years of its stewardship The Alfatross will always be The Alfatross to me.