Re: GTV-6 Gran/Grand Prix variants, Maratonas, dates-

[Jaap Bouma <j.h.bouma@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

More developments on the build date etc. front: I went to my local AR
dealer yesterday to pick up a timing belt, and mentioned the trouble I had
getting info from the Centro Documentazione Storica. To which he casually
replied that they could get that sort of information online from Italy.
Darn! But I gave the bloke my chassisnumber, or rather the chassis number
of my car (ZAR116C0000020558), and he obligingly set to work. 15 minutes,
lots of headscratchings, unintelligible mutterings and consultation of
various colleagues later he announced that the ZAR116 bit was causing
problems, as that number is now used for the 156 chassis numbers.
Apparently, ARI switched to a different system of numbering several years
ago, and to get info from Italy on the older types, the type identification
of the new numbering system had to be applied to the old chassis number.
Guess what, he didn't have the new type identification for the GTV6. It's a
conspiracy, I'm sure of it now. Long from now, years after the rev limiter
in the car has been reset by the arrival of Y2K, I will still be sending
faxes to Italy and pestering fellow alfisti to give me their chassisnumbers
so I can narrow down the build date of my car.


At 05:04 PM 1/12/99 -0500, John H. wrote:
>After wandering in the photo-galleries Jaap Bouma kindly referred me to I
>withdraw my suggestion that the GTV-6 Gran/Grand Prix variant might be
related
>to the "Maratona" edition sold in the USA. The Maratona apparently is unique,
>quite without parallel, for which both Maratona owners and the rest of us may

>be thankful.

I couldn't agree more! Although the Grand Prix package is quite radical
too, I feel that it doesn't look as much an afterthought as the fender
flares etc of the Maratona. With regard to the rear window louvres, well,
they really speak for themselves, don't they? If I have just offended a
considerable number of Maratona owners, let's just say every man to his taste.


>Jaap Bouma suggested that I might compare the on-line photos of GTV-6
>Gran/Grand Prix/Serpent kits with the 1981 Grand Prix illustrated in both the
>David Owen and Fabrizzio Ferrari books. Done; there is no connection at all.
>There is nothing about the 1981 Grand Prix other than paint and striping
which
>appears to differ from the standard second series.
The chief mechanic at my dealer confirmed this. He recalled both the rear
spoiler/striping thing in the early eighties, and the much more extensive
package for the GTV6 in '86.

>about build dates and nominal model years. We in the United States have for
>many years had a plastic plate pop-riveted to the driver's door post which
>included the build-date. 
Lucky you! No such luck over here I'm afraid.

>9/68. My Milano, titled as a 1987, had a build-date of 11/86. My wife's 164,
>titled as a 1991, has a build-date of 6/90. There are discrepancies between
Which makes it quite likely that my "1987" car is actually from sometime
during '86.

>US as 1979 Sport Sedans and returned when unsold, is any indication. The VIN
>number may offer a clue; the tenth digit is supposed to designate the model
>year; E= 1984, F= 1985, G=1986, H= 1987, J= 1988 and so on until (presumably)
>Z= 1904 when motor-vehicles will be disinvented. If the same system prevails
>in the rest of the world it should be easy to find out how common "H" GTV-6s
>are.
Well, that would make my car a 1982! Which it cannot be, not with that
GrandPrix package, isostatic linkage, Brembo front brakes, removable
crossmember below the driveshaft, cat conv etcetera. So I guess that the
numbering here _is_ different. Incidentally, is the VIN number the same as
the chassisnumber? Or perhaps the Letter=Year system applies to the new
numbering system used by AR?

>
>Enough!
>
Not quite! If the above-mentioned discrepancies apply to my car as well, it
would seem likely that it is from late '86, i.e. from the last months of
production. But, I remember reading in a British classic car magazine
(Classic Cars, I think) in the staff car saga section that the final run of
GTV6's got the injected 3.0 liter engine from the 75/Milano. On the Models
faq page at www.gtv6.org there is a quote by Al Bowers mentioning the same.
True or untrue? If true, does that mean that my 2.5 can only be an early
'86 at best? (Boy, would I like to find out that my GTV6 2.5 is actually a
3 liter! <g>)

Ohh, the uncertainty! (sigh....)



Best, Jaap Bouma (Netherlands)
'87 GTV6 2.5 Grand Prix

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