The Italian Car Registry (The Etceterini Register)

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

In AD 7-345 Tim Carrico asks about the 'Registry of Italian Cars' that was
published in 1994 by John de Boer- "It says in the Introduction that updates
would be issued, but I haven't been able to find anything." At the risk of
undue repetition I am reposting a note I posted in AD7-236. If Tim missed it,
others probably did also, and the Registry is a remarkable asset which should
be more widely known around the Italian car community.
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In my reply to the question about the Conrero "Supersonica" I mentioned John
de Boer and the Etceterini Register. Since then I retrieved my copy of the
last edition from the stacks at the Biblioteca Shade Tree, and also retrieved
a note on the forthcoming next edition, due in 1999.

The last edition I have is 350 pages of small type covering car manufacturers
from Abarth to Zust (a Milanese manufacturer founded in 1899 which, on April
30 1918 became a part of O.M., a competitor of Alfa's which became a part of
Fiat in 1933) and Carrozzeria from Accossato to Zanetti, plus informative
sections on things like component manufacturers. A section on radiators may
demonstrate his attitude: it is headed with a sentence "I do not yet have a
clear idea of what these numbers will tell us, but I am interested anyway, so
if you find a radiator with an ID plate please make a note and send it to me."

Flipping through the extensive Alfa section I came across two items to
interest the improvers- one a 6C 2500SS Touring Superleggera Coupe which had
been heavily modified in appearance including a Mercedes grill, the other an
Alfa 1900 engine which had been swapped into a Pegaso. 

The Register is not rigorously limited to Italian cars- it includes Pegaso,
which was built by Italian engineers in Spain and can properly be considered
an Alfa under another name, and it includes production numbers for the
"Bergantin" cars built by IKA (Industria Kaiser Argentina) in the early
sixties with Alfa Romeo 1900 tooling; and it includes eight Shelby Cobras, two
of them Ghia Spiders and the rest Daytona Coupes which were built by
Carrozzeria Gran Sport of Milano. There are eight Cadillacs - four Ghia
bodies, three Pinin Farina, and one Zagato, three Scagliatti-bodied Corvettes,
a whole page of Chryslers starting with a 1929 Ghia Coupe de Ville, and a
couple of Zagato-bodied Volvos. 

A new edition is in the works, in three volumes: Abarth through Excalibur, the
F cars, and Galassi through Zust. Volume one is immanent, and a last-call is
out for input. De Boer welcomes input of practically any data which would not
be predictable or available from a predictable source. His Email address is
ICAR@domain.elided, if you have information or want to get on the subscription
list.

No connection, just delight-

John H.

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