When Is "Not Right" Better Than Right? (Post #161)

The original starter that started all this originally, mounted on The Alfatross' anomalous engine. 

If you are a car, no matter how good you look, how much horsepower you have, or how many bells and whistles you can claim, you’re not going anywhere without starting the engine first.

Funny how “high tech” continues to further separate the driver from any understanding of how cars actually work.  Starters.  We take them for granted.  You turn the key and the car comes to life. Or these days all you have to do is have the “key” (a low frequency radio ID transmitter) in your pocket and press a button. No more need to hold the key in a certain position, listen for the sounds of the Bendix drive  engaging  the teeth on the flywheel, then the starter motor turning over the engine, then recognizing when the engine is running on its own, and knowing when to let go so you don’t grind the gears.

In my great-grandfather’s day a motorist had to literally “fire up” the boiler for the engine in his Stanley Steamer before he could hit the road. Ever wonder where the word “chauffeur” came from? It’s French for “stoker”, which is what you had to do to get your steam powered car going in 1896. If you are interested in watching a video of how this is done, have a look at this: 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+start+a+steam+powered+car+video&docid=608040561039247140&mid=FDE6C800930549E9C7D7FDE6C800930549E9C7D7&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

 

Typical Model T engine crank and "holster" on left.

In my grandfather's day you had to hand turn a crank attached to the engine of your Model T Ford.  If things went wrong the engine could backfire and break your arm, which is one reason why, at least in the US, electric and steam-powered cars outsold gasoline powered ones until the invention and refinement of the electric starter.

Given the simple, but essential role the starter plays in the life of any car, it is hard to explain how The Alfatross ended up with one that was “not right”—in more ways than one!

The problem that put the Bosch starter in the trunk.

When I acquired The Alfatross, 51 years ago, it came with two starters, one on the engine and another used one relegated to a box in the trunk.  The reason was easy to see: the collar holding the solenoid to the starter case was broken. Even though it was inoperable and made by Bosch instead of Marelli or Scintilla and I was suspicious it did not even belong to The Alfatross, I kept it anyway, just in case.

 

The Bosch starter. Note brackets 85 and 86, upper left.

 

 

Decades later after I acquired a copy of the official Alfa parts catalog I discovered that 1900 engines were fitted with no less than 4 different starters made by Magneti Marelli, Scintilla, and Bosch. But the Bosch unit was distinctly different from the others. It was designed to be attached to two studs on a special boss cast into the side of the engine block in addition to the normal two studs in the bell housing. Because The Alfatross’ engine has that boss, I inferred that the Bosch starter in the trunk was probably original equipment. Throughout the restoration I have tried to restore old parts whenever possible, even when replacing them would be cheaper and easier, so I asked DeWayne Samuels to repair and install it.

 

The holes in these brackets match the studs on the block.

 

The repaired starter was good enough to let The Alfatross participate in a couple of concours, but “not right”. Sometimes it would work just fine and other times it would spin, but not engage the flywheel. Other times it would engage but not disengage! I hoped it just needed “breaking in” but instead it got progressively worse. 

 

My “go to” guy for arcane problems with The Alfatross is Dan Allen. With decades of experience, a warehouse full of parts, and encyclopedic knowledge of Alfa 1900s, he is one of a handful of true “hands on” (as opposed to “textbook”) authorities. When I described the Bosch starter and my supposition about its originality, he came back with some good news and some shockingly bad news: The starter is “right” for your engine, but your engine is "not right" for your car!   

Dan's conclusion was based on the conventional wisdom that 1900C SS Zagatos were fitted with high performance "1308" engines that have a specific set of distinct physical characteristics like various attachment points cast into the engine block for attaching the generator and starter.  But these cars were produced over a 3-year period during which they were constantly evolving. The Alfatross' engine's serial number seemed to be later than would be expected for the year the car was produced, leading to the conclusion that it was not the original engine but a later replacement.  

1981 letter from Raimondo Corsi verifying matching numbers.

 How could this be? The Alfatross' chassis, engine, and Zagato serial numbers were verified decades ago by the Secretary of the Registro Italiano Alfa Romeo. In the collector car world those that have their original engines are usually more valuable and sought-after than those that don’t. Consequently, there can be an incentive to “misrepresent”—or even forge—serial numbers, so they receive a great deal of scrutiny.

Following the evidence trail, Dan worked out a logical explanation for how The Alfatross could have come in possession of its seemingly anachronistic engine:

"We usually associate chassis numbers with engine numbers but not production dates as much.  BUT sometimes a chassis was produced but not completed right away, sometimes months later.  At first glance the timeline on your car appears to be mixed up, but it's not taking that into account.  Your chassis was produced, along with its sister Zagato (*02014*) in the summer.  The two sit in the corner [of the Alfa factory] for maybe 6 months!  In November the cars get an engine and are sent to Zagato for completion.  There are no Zagato records to compare to but the cars have nearly consecutive Zagato body numbers!  By November, the first of the new engines are available, although not widely used until the post-10000 serial number cars [1956-57].   The two Zagatos were side by side until sold, the chassis serial numbers (*02014* and *02016*), engine numbers (*01536* and *01541*) and body numbers (1207 and 1209) are all very close indicating all steps being done on the same day!!  I am now of the opinion your car is indisputably a matching number car."

After all that the end of the story is anticlimactic. Rather than trying to re-restore the original Bosch starter I went on ebay and, much to my astonishment, found an exact match from BNR Parts within 5 minutes! It arrived, I replaced the original, it ran perfectly, and The Alfatross lived happily ever-after. 

The takeaways from this experience are:

1. Sometimes it IS better to replace old parts rather than restore original ones. 

2. Mechanical things that are “not right” usually do not get better on their own.

3. Conventional Wisdom is not always “right” and can become “not right” when new information emerges. 

 

Pity the Poor Bumper (Post # 160)

One of The Alfatross' siblings with the original front bumper.

 

Having previously posted on the importance of styling (“form”) this one is about the compromises imposed by “function”. I made the decision a long time ago (Posts 38 and 41) to delete the bumpers on The Alfatross. My reasoning was (a) these cars look better without bumpers, particularly the one in front and (b) The Alfatross did not have its original bumpers anyway when I got it so restoration was never an option, only replication.

 

The Alfatross, sans bumpers.

Another sibling with deleted rear bumper and sockets

The designer of the Alfa 1900C SSZ, Elio Zagato, realizing bumpers are a compromise between form and function, made them as unobtrusive as possible but—at least in my eye—they still mar the car’s lines. Apparently other people agree. The vast majority of The Alfatross’ siblings no longer have them, their original bumpers having been removed long ago, like “docking” the tails of Dobermans at an early age. I count 7 with and 23 without, but a few have “sockets” in the bodywork so that bumpers can be reattached depending on the occasion.

 

 Cars have bumpers for a reason. Actually, many reasons. They were a part of every car’s essential equipment almost from the beginning (1897). The challenge for designers and builders was to make them attractive as well as functional.  Having OD’d on massive chrome extravagances in the 50s, designers began to realize that smaller, lighter, less ostentatious bumpers are both more practical and sensible.  Besides, the world was running out of chrome!

1957 Thunderbird: every sports car needs a 200 lb bumper!

Look Ma! No bumpers!  Elio would be proud!

 

 

Then, safety regulators and insurance companies got involved and bumpers started to disappear in the 1980s, or rather morph into energy-absorbing structures hidden behind flimsy plastic bumper covers conforming to body shape. So now bumpers on The Alfatross’ descendants, like the Alfa 4C, are present, but invisible—the best of both worlds.  

 

 

What I have discovered is that The Alfatross may look better without its bumpers, but now there is no handy place to tie the car down, push it, tow it, or even hang the original Italian front license plate!

That is a realization I came to recently due to considerations pertaining to getting the car on the road. In a recent Sports Car Market Reader Forum the question readers were asked to address was “What one thing are you most concerned about when you think about taking your collector car out of the garage?”

Responses varied including safety, inattentive other drivers, putting miles on the odometer, wear and tear, etc., but by far the most common concern was reliability and breakdowns. This is one of my biggest concerns for The Alfatross right now as we get ready for road-testing without bumpers. For trailering, the car can be secured using ratcheting “bonnets” over the tires attached to tracks fixed to the trailer’s floor, but what if something goes wrong on a drive and I can’t get the Alfatross home under her own power?  

Because this was not one of the concerns expressed in the Reader Forum now I am wondering if I am too paranoid (a little paranoia is a good thing). The normal recourse would be to call for a piggyback ride aboard a flatbed tow truck. Unfortunately, that won’t work for The Alfatross because the chassis is low anyway and the body wraps under the car front and rear—by several feet—and will be damaged if winched by a cable at anything more than a very low angle! 

Yeah, but what is there to tie onto?  Run the ropes through the open windows?

 

Oh the joys of old Italian exotic car ownership! How much can a Chinook lift and what do they charge to rescue a damsel in distress?

 

 

 

We Be Stylin' (Post #159)

Zagato: Top coachbuilder for more than 100 years.

 

Like a lot of us, I subscribe to a few  magazines specializing in “collector cars”. The Winter 2020 issue of Magneto carried a feature article by Richard Heseltine called The Top 50 Coachbuilders “From Allemano to Zagato, we celebrate the best of the best carrozzerie those styling geniuses and craftspeople who elevated car design to an art form in the golden age of the bespoke automobile.” Somewhat to my surprise, the Zagato styling studio was at the top: Number One. There are a lot of reasons for this, not the least of which is the fact that it is still around 100 years after it was founded by Ugo Zagato in 1920 and still family-owned! 

 

 

Andrea Zagato with some of his family's creations.

 

 

 

Almost simultaneously, in its December issue Octane magazine featured an article by Massimo Delbò titled “The Z Factor” in which Andrea Zagato, Ugo’s grandson, chooses the most significant designs from his company’s century-long history.  Disappointingly for The Alfatross, the Alfa Romeo 1955 1900C SS Zagato is not among the 13 designs mentioned, but the very similar-looking 1953 Fiat 8V is.  In fact, Andrea says “This was my father’s favourite car.” 

 

The 3 BAT cars styled by Bertone based on Alfa Romeo1900 chassis sold for $14.8M.

 And the third coincidence was the just-arrived January 2021 issue of Sports Car Market featuring a cover story by Simon Kidston titled "Artistic Drive" about the 3 legendary, outlandish (some would say bizarre)  Alfa Romeos bodied by Bertone known as the BAT (Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica) cars.  What do they have to do with The Alfatross? Nothing about their styling would lead the innocent observer to suspect that they are The Alfatross’ contemporary close relatives—sharing the same Alfa 1900 chassis, engine, and running gear! But no one ever talks about what’s under the skin of those 3 cars and you will never see a photo of their engine bays

Together, the three articles underscore the significance of styling in the creation of automobiles. There are hundreds of millions of cars out there. Mere commodities, most of them.  They get old, used up, and are swiftly forgotten.  But a very few others seem to be imbued with an inexplicable visual magnetism. 

In 1960 Henry Ford purportedly said, "We’ve got the capability to set up a production line anywhere in the world and to successfully market a car anywhere, but can’t seem to be able to come up with a car like those put out by Italian designers. There are only about a dozen of them, but sooner or later we’ll be all knocking at their doors."  And that's what they have been doing for the last sixty years.

The Alfatross, the author, and Andrea Zagato.  Can you tell which one has no style?