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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