the step-nose logic

[<JHertzman@xxxxxxx>]

Dana Loomis, discussing the phasing-out of the 'step-nose' design associated
with the 1600 coupes and the phasing in of the 'smooth-nose' design associated
with the 1750 and 2000 coupes, writes:

"The junior variant of the production GT didn't receive the new sheet metal
treatment until later, however.  I believe this occurred in 1972, with the
introduction the 2000. At that point, the body and interior of the junior
variants, which included a 1600 as well as the 1300 by that time, were
homogenized with the "big" GTV."

But Fusi on the 1300 Junior, p.639-640, contrasts the versione 1966 with the
versione 1971, which shows the flush nose. On p.642 Fusi shows the interiors
of the versione 1966 and the versione 1971, with a 1750-style dash but no
console. Fusi does not mention the sheet-metal changes, but does list a group
of improvements which were introduced in 1969- sound-proofing, instruments and
instrument panel, steering-wheel lock, various mechanical changes, suggesting
that in a great many respects changes were made in one fell swoop. My spell on
an assembly line (albeit not an Italian one) would suggest it would be
extremely unlikely that two sets of front-end sheet metal would be handled on
a production body-line unless there was a compelling reason to do so. 

Dana goes on to say: 

"The racing coupes were updated, or not, according to different logic.  The
1750 GT Am, which was homologated in 1969, had the same sheet metal as the
production 1750.  On the other hand, the 1600 GTA was never built in the
flush-nose configuration.  The GTA 1300 junior, which was homologated in
1967, appears to have never gotten updated sheet metal, either, although
GTA juniors continued to be built past the year when the production 1300 GT
junior was updated.  The racing cars were much more variable and not as
well documented, but in looking through a large number of photos I could
only find GTA juniors with the old-style nose, although some of them were
clearly late cars, and the photos were taken in the '70s."  

But there is little to suggest which of the photos taken in the '70s were of
freshly minted cars. Fusi's table of special and competition cars gives 1968
as the only date for "coupe GTA 1300 Junior (Elab. Autodelta) n.200 con
carbur- 100 ad iniezione". His tables of production numbers gives, for the GTA
1300 Junior, 320 in 1968, 82 in 1969, 8 in 1970, 22 in 1971, and 15 in 1972,
for a total of 447, which is what he lists elsewhere. Similarly for the GTA he
lists 356 lhd and 50 rhd in 1965, 21 in 1966, 61 in 1967, and 12 in 1969.

On the distinction that the 1750 GT Am (for which Fusi gives 1970, not 1969)
had the same sheet metal as the production 1750, I believe that the GT Am had
a steel hull, which could have and I assume probably would have come down the
same conveyor as the standard 1750, while the GTA Junior 1300 would have
shared with the GTA the light-alloy paneling riveted to the steel
understructure, which might have started down the same conveyor but probably
would have been finished elsewhere; it is unlikely that a second set of
workers would have been stocking, handling and riveting alloy panels in an
assembly area laid-out for the primary assemblers who would have been spot-
welding the steel panels, especially in the years when they were producing
eight of this and fifteen of that. I expect that the small batches of late
GTAs and GTA Juniors would have been assembled from a generous existing stock
of early alloy panels. If they had built a few late cars from scratch, making
new panels, it is unlikely that they would have gone out of their way to use a
conspicuously archaic form.

This is all guesswork at my end, but I would guess it incorrect that "the GT's
original step-nose design "went away" in stages". I would guess that all the
alloy-bodied cars were built with panels pressed in 1966, (with perhaps an
additional batch later, say 1968) and all the steel-bodied cars were built on
one assembly line with one set of current panels. If you are setting up a
press for a small production run it makes sense to do all you are ever likely
to want, plus a few extra, and scrap the eventual surplus rather than burp a
few this month and a few more the month after next.

D'Amico-Tabucchi gives production dates of '1965-1967 e 1968' for the GTA,
matching Fusi (They also suffer here as elsewhere from hasty preparation,
showing as "A GTA on the Balocco test track in a recent photo" a Spider
Quadrifoglio, and referring to the valve cover as a rocker cover, quibble-
quibble).They identify the paneling as Peraluman, "a very light alloy of
aluminum, zinc and titanium that had been used for some time by Zagato". For
the GTA 1300 Junior they give 1968-73 production dates in their table of
characteristics, but in the text say that "due to its significant commercial
success, this model was produced until 1975". An average of fifteen cars a
year over three years is "significant commercial success"? Again there are
further signs of hasty preparation; the chassis and engine numbers table for
the 1300 GTA Juniors covers cars built in 1950, 1951, 1952, and 1953. They
give 488 cars built, against Fusi's 447, close enough.

Most of my books, like Dana's, are elsewhere, but his last line-"The last GTA
junior will likely be the last example of the step-nose GT" seems probably
correct, although I assume that the production logics of steel bodies and
alloy bodies governed the transition without any concurrent production of a
single technology in two forms for some other reason.

John

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End of alfa-digest V7 #22
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