Late 2600 Berlina's (very long)

["Eric Harrison" <eharrison@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Apologies for the late input into this discussion but I was away on
leave last week sitting in front of a hot computer writing the next
Club magazine. I was intrigued by the recent postings from Scott
Shadle about the late 2600 Berlina's and the reply from John Hertzman,
so far as I am aware they were produced up to 1969 but there was such
a stockpile that was unsold that they were actually still available
new from the factory until late 1969 or early 1970 (the cars having
been manufactured some considerable time earlier). There were a number
of different options for interior trim (plain cloth or a mix of
cloth/imitation leather (plastic) was available in a number of
different patterns depending on whether the car was early or late).
Exterior trim also varied with the chrome side trim spears appearing
and getting longer later in the cars life. There were probably also
different options available for the CKD (Completely Knocked Down)
cars. The latest chassis numbers I know about are 801641 (LHD) and
850402 (RHD) and both of these numbers are outside of Fusi's numbers
and the LHD car is just outside D'Amico-Tabucci, I know of a number of
cars outside of Fusi's listings so perhaps D'A-T are more accurate
than Fusi on this occasion. The 2600 Berlina seems to have suffered
considerably at the hands of the dreaded rust virus and this combined
with limited desirability (remember those lovely down-draught Solex
carbs and 400mm wheels combined with its high original purchase price
(You could have bought an E-type cheaper)) appears to have been its
downfall. I currently know the whereabouts of twenty-two 2600
Berlina's world-wide out of the original total of 1513 made and quite
a few of them seem to have been ex-Embassy cars from around the world.
(There are probably a lot more left in Italy but because of tax
reasons we rarely get much information about the Italian owned cars).
The current market value for a 2600 Berlina is about 3,500 GBPounds
for one in good condition. Spare parts for the Berlina are
considerably rarer (box loads of bits emerge every now and again
either when garages close down or owners "shuffle off this mortal
coil") than for the 2600 Sprint or Spider where virtually everything
except bare shells or new complete wings (repair panels are currently
being made by Erik Van Cauwenbergh in Belgium) are still available new
at a price, somewhere in the world (You just have to think global
rather than local). The Australians have a strange fascination for 
the Berlina and a large percentage of our Club members who have 2600
Berlina's reside in Australia. 
The 5 speed column change was supposed
to have been replaced by a floor shift however I have an Alfa Romeo
(GB)  1962 RHD brochure, an Autocar July 1963 RHD road test and a
September 1965 RHD road test from "The Times" all with a floor shift
but December 1964 LHD Tech data sheet with column shift, this is
superceded by the Jewish Chronicle road test of March 1966 which has a
RHD car with a column shift. Both the Italian 1962 LHD and Italian
1965 LHD colour brochures have column shifts and the only 2600 Berlina
in England (currently for sale around 1000 GBPounds from Ian Williams
on 01934 644744) that I know of is one of the later 1965 (chassis no
801205) LHD floor mounted shift models. The parts manual does not have
any change over numbers and based on the above it would appear that
either column or floor mounted shift levers were available throughout
the cars life. 
The sleek cars that Scott mentions could have been the
OSI De-Luxe or it could have included any number of the many show cars
built on 2600/2000 chassis like the "Sole" or "Luce" examples or even
the Vignale models (although these cars only have two doors unlike the
OSI), I would need to see pictures to identify them. Scott, can you
have a look at our Club's homepage at
freespace.virgin.net/andrew.mcinerney/2600main.htm then select
"gallery" then "2000/2600 Others - The rare and exotic" and let me
know if any of those cars are the ones you were referring to ?. The
brochure for the OSI that I have a copy of, shows that the car has the
same carburettors as the 2600 Berlina but disc brakes all round. It
has a distinctive wooden dash not shared with any other 2600's. There
were a number of options available for the car, these included air
conditioning unit (the Alfa Museum car is fitted with this option),
electrical window regulators, windshield with light green athermic
upper part, light green athermic rear window, radio set and metallized
paint. The OSI brochure gives a dry weight of 1380 Kg for the De-Luxe
whilst the official Carrozzeria Zagato S.p.A. brochure (the brochure
has actually been stamped by the Zagato factory) for the 2600SZ gives
a weight of 1140Kg and the official Alfa Romeo brochure comparing the
2600SZ attributes with those of the 2600 Sprint gives a weight of 1220
Kg. (The same brochure gives a weight of 1340 Kg for the 2600 Sprint,
this is somewhat heavier than the weight Fusi gives at 1280 Kg). The
weight of the 2600SZ is probably heavier than the figures given by
Zagato due to its steel body and virtually standard mechanicals (Not
every 2600SZ had the optional Weber carbs, ram-flow manifold and
Borrani 400mm alloys) but the original prototype that was shown at the
1962 Turin Show was even slower than the final production cars. When
the ever-present Guido Moroni (the Zagato test driver) took the
original prototype into the hills for high-speed testing he was unable
to obtain the top speeds that Zagato had promised the world (210 Kph)
so they played around with the length of the Kamm-tail and the body
was significantly modified, the rebodied car was then shown at the
Geneva show in 1963. (I believe that chassis 856001 which is the
yellow 2600 Zagato at the Alfa Museum was originally the silvery-blue
car shown at Turin in late1962 (chassis 856001 has a delivery date of
30-Oct-1962 according to Zagato) then it was rebodied and painted "a
hideous green" for display at the Geneva show in March of the
following year (does anybody have colour photo's of the car in its
green paint job at the Geneva show ?) before being repainted bright
yellow in the early seventies when the bonnet "nostrils" were added to
cure overheating problems - I haven't actually got round to proving
this unsubstantiated theory of mine due to lack of spare time. Zagato
claim a second chassis was requested by Alfa Romeo (856002) "with
lowered bodywork for aerodynamic purposes" and delivered to Alfa early
in 1964 and that this is the Alfa museum chassis, however there is a
small problem with this claim, as Antonio Magro (Museum Manager) at
the Alfa Museum states definitively that their chassis in the yellow
car is number 856001. As well as this, Dean Hokanson now has chassis
856002 in the States fitted with normal looking bodywork (856002 was a
prototype but the only difference from the standard 2600SZ is that his
car is fitted with wider than normal seats).
 A quick final mention that Tony Stevens at Alfastop now has new top 
trailing arm bushes for 2600's in stock at 19.25 GBPounds. He also 
has most 2600/2000 brake (including front wheel cylinders for the 
late 2000 cars) and most clutch parts available, he can be contacted 
on 01773 8222514 or Fax 01773 821900. (Usual disclaimers etc. apply). 
Regards 
Eric Harrison
Club Alfa Romeo 2600/2000 International Bookshop 
1962 2600 Sprint 
1964 2600 Sprint (now decapitated) 
1988 75 TwinSpark

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End of alfa-digest V7 #311
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