Re::"Subject: '67 2600 Berlina - from John"

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

In AD7-294 Scott Shadle wrote in detail on :"Subject: '67 2600 Berlina - from
John". I searched my files for the antecedent, and didn't find it; sometimes I
jump the gun on deleting a posting which seem unlikely to be useful to me. Bad
habit.

Scott's second paragraph begins:
>>First, there are not any "regular production" '67 2600 Berlinas.  According
to Fusi and several other resources that I queried when I owned mine (in
1975-1976), including Don Black, production ceased in calendar 1965 (I believe
it was  sometime after mid-year).  However, mine was reportedly built in 1966,
and the DC registration that I was given when I bought the car said it was a
'67.  According to the resources mentioned above, the serial number for my car
did not exist; it was much too high, several hundred above what was supposed
to be the "last one built."<<

The very last person I would dispute on sixties Alfa lore is Don Black, Luigi
Fusi second, factory records third, and messers d'Amico and Tabucchi someplace
well downhill from there. However, Fusi (my copy, anyhow) says 2600 Berlina
production, while never large enough to qualify as "regular production" by
Giulia standards, was more properly described as "declining" than "ceased" in
1965. 

Saith Fusi: (skipping the CKD and Guida destra cars for simplicity)
1963, 382 vetture, autotelaio dal 800671 al 801053
1964, 102 vetture, autotelaio dal 801054 al 801155
1965, 226 vetture, autotelaio dal 801156 al 801381
1966, 73 vetture, autotelaio dal 801382 al 801454
1967, 30 vetture, autotelaio dal 801455 al 801485
1968, 26 vetture, autotelaio dal 801486 al 801511
1969, 4 vetture, autotelaio (not listed, prob. ends at 801515

D'Amico-Tabucci gives the period of production 1962-1969. Their chassis number
tabulations are vastly more complex than Fusi's, with lots of "tranne"
(except) and notes on cars produced in years other than those assigned, but
for what it is worth their listings for the years after 1965 were:

1966, da 801520 a 801580 
1967, da 801581 a 801610 
1968, da 801611 a 801637 
1969, da 801638 a 801640

Perhaps relevant to Scott Shadle's statement that "production ceased in
calendar 1965 (I believe it was  sometime after mid-year)" is d'A-T's terminal
date of July 1965 for the right-hand-drive version 106.07. Scott also mentions
that "According to the resources mentioned above, the serial number for my car
did not exist; it was much too high, several hundred above what was supposed
to be the "last one built." The serial numbers for the right-hand drive cars
start 5000 above those for the LHD cars. If Scott's was an LHD car, possibly
it might have started as a UK embassy car which was converted when shunted off
to the provinces; who knows? But something like that could contribute to
confusion.

Scott also mentions "Also, somewhere I recall seeing information about some
custom bodied 2600 Berlinas that were built after the factory cars went out of
production.  But, if your friend recognized the car from photos of a regular
one, that is unlikely since the photos of the custom cars that I've seen show
very distinctive cars with very sleek (at least compared to a regular 2600
Berlina) 4-door."

These would be the 2600 De Luxe tipo 106.16 built in a short series by OSI
(Officina Stampaggi Industriale) of Turin, one of the many presswork-and-
assembly contractors which built "Touring" or "Bertone" bodies which were
beyond the small coachbuilders' actual technical capacities, and which still
build small-production cars (like the Fiat Barchetta and Coupe) which the big
companies can't waste time on. The OSI was early in the 2600 run, 1963-66, and
Fusi says just 54 were built. The only person I know who has had experience
with them says they were quite flimsy, which is suggested by the numbers; the
weights for the various 2600s were 1380 kg for the standard Berlina, 1280 kg
for the Bertone Sprint, 1220 kg for the Spider, 1140 kg for the Sprint Zagato,
and the same 1140 kg for the OSI De Luxe four-door. Admittedly the 2600 SZ was
steel-bodied, but even in steel for a short-wheelbase coupe by weight-
conscious Zagato to be matched by an opulent four-door luxury sedan is a
stretch. For another benchmark, the stripped and alloy-paneled GTA was 205 kg
lighter that the original Sprint GT, while the luxury OSI was 240 kg lighter
than the standard bodied and equipped Berlina. For another such comparison,
the big OSI was 130 kg lighter than a Montreal.

Cordially, 

John H. 

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