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?

 

Questioni di Famiglia [Family Matters] (Post # 158)

I’m taking time out to pay attention to an important element of any restoration—what has been happening with other members of The Alfatross’ family while she has been permitting me to restore her . . . slowly. Luckily, it’s a pretty small family, but once I started looking into it I realized it is surrounded by a lot of uncertainty, mystery and intrigue—just as there often is with Italian and other human families.

Chassis *01944* competed in the Mille Miglia in '55, '56, and '57. Still going strong!

Chassis *01955* was hot-rodded and re-roofed!.

*01955* no frills cockpit heavily modified for racing.

 

From the first time I laid eyes on The Alfatross I was painfully aware of her rarity. I say painfully because in those days, decades before the Internet, no one knew anything about it—not even how to pronounce Alfa Romeo. On the rare occasion when I did run into someone who was familiar with the Alfa name, they would ask if it was a Giulia or a Giulietta. When I said, no, it’s a 1900, all I got was a blank stare.

Following Post #21 from 2013, I thought now would be good time to update the list I started back then and elaborate on what The Alfatross' brothers and sisters have been up to over the last 7 years. At least 9 of them have changed hands since 2014 (exact figures are unknown). As far as I am aware, the US is home to 13, followed by Italy and Switzerland with 4 each. Spain has 2 while France, the Netherlands, England and Belgium have 1 each for a total of 27—but the numbers are constantly changing. Back in 2013 I was under the impression that around 41 Alfa Romeo 1900 SSZs were produced between 1954 and 1957. Those numbers come from lists published in books such as H-J. Dohren’s Millenove and Michele Marchiano’s Le Zagato citing figures derived from legitimate “official” sources such as Alfa and Zagato factory and PRA (Public Register of Automobiles) records.

A 1900 SSZ "impersonator", one of many!

Since 2013, thanks to the Internet and other sources, I have learned of at least 15 “questionable” cars claiming AR 1900C SSZ DNA. Are they really The Alfatross’ relatives or something else? What is the difference?

How many AR 1900C SSZs were made and how many originals exist?  Big question.  Short answer: nobody knows.  You can look at the Alfa 1900 Companion site http://www.alfacompanion.com/alfa1900/ and see photos of cars claiming original serial numbers, but are they "real"?  And what about the all-important "numbers matching" question?  How many of them have their original engines? They were built to race, and race they did.  Racing has a tendency to take a toll on a vehicle.  Off track excursions, rubbing fenders, over-revving engines in the heat of battle, overwhelming simple water and oil cooling systems in summer's heat, putting victory ahead of the car's well-being . . . there are many reasons why matching numbers cars are rare. 

Chassis *01909*, badly damaged in Venezuela, discarded and resurrected.

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to me that The Alfatross’ family is not that different from a human one. At the risk of over-anthropomorphizing, L’Albatro (The Alfatross) is an offspring of the matrimonio di passione between what are now known as the Zagato and Alfa Romeo Famiglie Reali. It is a very private, almost secretive, family. Official birth and death records exist, but some are suspect. Marriage records even more so. Rumors of bambini illegittimi are rife. The Alfatross’ padre, Duca Alfa Romeo, had several dozen liaisons with what contemporaries described as a very seductive, but perhaps somewhat promiscuous, young bella donna known as Za-Za. Because she belonged to the Gatto family, people called her Zagato. Born in the middle of her generation, called Tipo Due, and baptized Esse Esse Zed (SS Zagato), L’Albatro has brothers and sisters but despite considerable effort by automotive genealogists no one knows exactly how many, what they look like, where they are, or even if they still exist. Only a handful of them seem to have stayed in Italy while over the years a great many immigrated to the US.

Sequestered in an Italian dungeon for decades, *01845* is now sympathetically restored.

Regardless of being born into nobility, the family motto seems to have been vivere velocemente e morire giovane (live fast and die young). Encouraged from birth to compete, they travelled widely often participating in a family feud with their half-siblings and arch competitors, il Otto Vu, sharing the same Za-Za Gatto mother but fathered by Duca Fiat. Some ended up in unhappy, abusive relationships, died in obscurity, and were lost to history. Others were better cared for but over the years suffered injuries and endured complicated reconstructive procedures including even heart surgery and extensive skin grafts, sometimes altering the family resemblance. 

Still others had near-death experiences but were resurrected. Some resurrections did not go well and they became Zagato Zombies. Over the decades, pretenders seeking to cash in on the pedigree of L’Albatro and her siblings emerged from the shadows, mistakenly or falsely claiming Esse Esse Zed heritage. Sorting them out has become very difficult. In the prima serie (1^st Series) of 1900 SSZs there are 14 known “impersonators” using chassis numbers that, at least at one time, were legitimate.

Automotive genealogists attempting to establish the actual identities of 1900 SSZs must tread a fine line between science, legalities, privacy, and diplomacy. SSZ DNA is not complicated arrangements of AGTC but numbers stamped on their firewalls and engines, certain signature shapes and curves of their bodies, and above all, the svelte, sexy physiques they inherited from their mother, gli Zagato. Yes, there is a strong family resemblance—but with notable exceptions. Nose profiles started to droop as time went on, and fenders morphed into “buns of steel”.  Some people liked that, but when doppie bolla (double bubble) roofs appeared it became lust at first sight (automotive historians have pondered where that inspiration came from—perhaps Sophia Loren’s popularity at the time?).

No chassis number.  Inspiration for doppie bolla roof style?

 

*01855*(?)  In period photo of a proud 1900 SSZ owner with his customized car.

It appears that each AR 1900 C SSZ was a custom order. With body color, interior features such as upholstery type and color combination, seat configuration, dashboard shape, shifter location, roof profile, and even number of hood scoops all specified by the buyer. Some cars have had at least 8 successive owners, each of which had a chance to indulge in the natural inclination to modify them further with little or no regard for “preserving originality”.

In addition to recognizing the natural and legitimate changes in 1900 SSZ body shape that occurred at the Zagato factory between 1954 and 1957, automotive genealogists must recognize and categorize all the ways in which original cars can change over time. The Alfatross' siblings include 28 chassis numbers that are fairly well-known and verifiable.  Another 16 are thought to have existed at one time but are now "missing in action".  Finally, there and about 15 “fakes”, some with seemingly legitimate chassis numbers. 

The word “fake” needs nuancing. It implies intention to deceive. My guess is while that is undoubtedly the case in some (many?) instances, in others it may be more benign, as with the now common practice of building “continuation” and “tribute” replicas. I’d like to sort that out for 1900 SSZs, differentiating between outright “fraud” examples (those that bear false chassis and/or engine stampings), largely “original” but damaged or worn out cars, and those that have been “sympathetically restored” and returned to use. It would be a good real life example of the Ship of Theseus thought experiment (Post #45) . . . but that's for a later post--this one is too long already!