The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Story and photos by Mary Ann Dickinson unless otherwise noted
At the annual convention of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club held in Toronto, the TZ3 Stradale was lovingly presented by Andrea Zagato, third generation CEO of the renowned Italian car design company, Zagato. [Read more…] about The TZ3 Stradale: The First American Alfa Romeo?
Jack Clark's McLaren MP4 12C holds off the Ferrari 458 Italia of Patrice Groueslard.
Story and Photos by Graham Gauld
I took myself off to the Paul Ricard circuit in the South of France last weekend for the round of the Blancpain Endurance Series which brought together an enormous 56 car entry of top quality GT cars. The rise in GT racing has been steady over the past two or three years and it is now not only attracting some top drivers but also some of the leading manufacturers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, McLaren, Audi etc. [Read more…] about Gauld at the Blancpain GT Endurance
The reason I have chosen this shot is because I like the symbolism. You could not pick a more British make than Lotus but Lotus has always relied on the co-operation of others for success whether that be Ford of Britain, Coventry Climax, Renault or as it is now, Toyota.
Photos and captions by Jonathan Sharp
Jonathan caught our attention..not an easy task these days…when he sent along a few B&W images of the Bugattis at Prescott. [Read more…] about Presenting Jonathan Sharp
The winner of the Fuller Brush Phil Hill Catalog was Donald Sawhill. Denise McCluggage will sign this rare find for Mr. Sawhill. Congratulations!
This week in VeloceToday, Brandes Elitch continues his Constant Search, Hugues Vanhoolandt does Het Loo, Roberto Motta on WRC New Zealand and the Editor recaps the European Grand Prix in Valencia.
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Alfasud Extravaganza!
Six articles on the Alfasud; TI Trofeo in English and Italian by Roberto Motta, two original brochures, a full history of the models and eight things the Editor forgot about the Sud. Plus Brandes Elitch on car magazines and Philippe Defechereux on Red Bull and Vettel in New Jersey. Enjoy and Subscribe!
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Early 1.3 model, note the small rear lights. Nearly all 1.3's have gone from British roads now.
Story and Photos by Hugh Doran
The Alfasud, virtually unknown in the U.S., was very popular in Great Britain and today is considered an up and coming classic. Our thanks to Hugh Doran who originally sent this story to us in 2006.
We here in Great Britain heard a lot about the north-south divide back in the late 1970s and early 80s, only no one ever seemed to state exactly where the border between the two was. You could be forgiven for thinking that the south had all the yuppies and the north of Britain was unemployed. Thus most people in the south considered it to be “grim up north”. Things are different these days.
Italy too, had a north-south divide. The only difference was that it was the north that was industrialized and rich and “Il relativo giù del sud torvo” – it was grim down south. The Italian government wanted to readdress the balance some what and came up with a scheme whereby companies would be given grants to set up in the south. Now, at the time Alfa Romeo, was still partly a state owned company so they were more or less obliged to do something in the south.
It just so happened that the company owned some land at Pomigliano d’Arco on the outskirts of Naples, where they manufactured aero engines. But what the company really wanted to do in Naples was manufacture cars. The matter in question was should they move one of the existing assembly lines south, and if so which one, or should they build a completely new product. The decision was taken to start from scratch with a new car. A car that would be known as the Alfasud – Alfa south.
[Read more…] about The Alfasud Story, U.K. Style
Once upon a time for a brief and shining moment, the editor owned the only Alfasud in the U.S., as they were illegal aliens here. But while he remembers the car very well, there are a few things he had long forgotten or simply never knew about the Alfa from Naples…
By Pete Vack
1. How to adjust the valves. Since the 1930s, Alfa Romeo has had only a few different ways to adjust the valve lash. The first was Jano’s unique but complex notch type method. The Giulietta featured removable inserts under the cup which came in a variety of thicknesses.
But the Alfasud had a handy way of adjusting the valve clearances. The camshaft had two lobes per valve, and one could insert a special tool between the cam lobes to reach an adjustable cups located on the top of the valve. Not having to remove the cams to adjust the valves was a nice feature.
Valve Adjustment on the Alfasud.
We all remember the 1959 Fuller Brush catalog that brought Phil Hill and Ferrari into our homes. Here’s a chance to win an original! Robert F. Pauley wraps up the Savonuzzi memoir, Roberto Motta brings us the Coppa Intereuropa, and we sound off on a degrading issue in F1.
Inset of Savonuzzi courtesy Alberta Savonuzzi.
For 25 years Robert Pauley worked as a design engineer for Chrysler’s Research Department and spent many years on the gas turbine program. What follows are some remembrances of the time he spent on the Chrysler turbine program with the Italian engineer and designer Giovanni Savonuzzi.
Part 1 describes meeting Savonuzzi at Chrysler and the circumstances surrounding Savonuzzi’s position and his idea for a gas turbine-powered Indy car.
In
Part 2, Savonuzzi designs the Chrysler Indy car and talks about naming “Gilda”.
In the final episode below Savonuzzi engineers a safety car for Chrysler before returning to Italy and Fiat.
Savonuzzi Safety Car
Around 1963 or thereabouts the work load began to taper off at the Greenfield plant. All fifty of the Ghia cars had been assembled in that plant and were being prepared for the evaluation program and the short production line pit had been covered over. Many of the people who had been involved with that phase of the program had been transferred back to Highland Park and there was not much design work required except for some occasional changes.
