putty & panelfits

[<JHertzman@xxxxxxx>]

In AD7-030 Scott Fisher effectively counters my skepticism about the up-to-
quarter-inch filler which he found on his '67 GT Junior. I had thought he was
referring to more widespread problems of panel fit. Something decidedly odd
must have been going on, which I don't understand, but that happens. His
descriptions in the first post and the more recent one may have led me astray;
initially, the paint had, in many places, been applied over rather thick layer
of body filler, in places nearly 1/4" thick, applied to get various bits of
the car to line up properly, but now "these gave every appearance of being
proper panels, fitted correctly, but just a bit off the spec" in one area on
each side between the doors and the fender-arches. Same thing, but different
emphasis.

My reference to the then-new Arese facility as "every bit as up-to-date as
anything in Stuttgart, Munich or Turin" was not to Porsche (which Scott
discusses) but to Mercedes, BMW, and of course Fiat. I don't know anything
about Porsche's production volumes, but I believe they were relatively small,
and the technology I would have expected of them in the sixties would have
been less capital-intensive and more labor-intensive than that of an aspiring
volume producer. The only time I have seriously considered either a Mercedes
or a BMW was in 1969, when I had my '67 Giulia Super and took a really hard
look at a 2002 (1600? Whatever. That body.) as a potential replacement for a
couple of years in Europe, and came away even more impressed by the Giulia. In
any case, I believe that the new plant at Arese was a serious attempt to give
the company at least industry-standard competence in panel-forming, assembly,
and finishing of volume-produced car bodies. Everything I have seen leads me
to believe that they generally succeeded. Evidently they were having some kind
of problem when Scott's car came down the line. I am glad they got it fixed
before my well-fitted and filler-free '71 coupe was built.

In an earlier post Scott speaks of his alloy wheels, saying "They're *not*
original to this car -- in fact, they're the Stil-Auto MI (or could it be M1?)
style used on the Zagato Junior Z.  For those without Web browsers, these
wheels are reminiscent of the traditional Spider five-spoked star wheels, but
they are six-spokers." The wheels in all of the photos of the Junior Z in both
Fusi and d'Amico-Tabucchi (Fusi, three on the 1300 and one on the 1600; d'A-T,
again three on the 1300 and one on the 1600) show what appears to be the
standard fourteen-hole steel wheel in its later hubcapless-look iteration;
alloys had not yet become de rigueur. Apart from Fred Di Matteo's car, which
has the early (or 'proper') version of the 'Daytona' five spoker, the Junior
Zs I can remember seeing all seemed to have Minilites or Minilite clones. If I
had one I would be tempted to fit the steels; Ooh! Sexy Wheels! is not the
point of this car. To me, anyhow. 

Finally, Scott refers to me as "indefatigable". That is, at most, an illusion.
I am as defatigable as anyone. Perhaps more so.

Cordially,

John 

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