TZ or not TZ, zat is ze question

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

The queries about the TZ replicar keep coming up-

Don Ereminas did indeed do the original, taking a cast off a Tubolare owned by
George Pezold, the AROC legal counsel, in exchange for having an excellent
paint job done on George's car at Don's expense. Don and his son did the
chassis frame, which was a loose copy of the original Tubolare frame, with
both minor and major detail changes. The tubes were rectangular section rather
than round, (which simplifies fitting), the rear framing was totally different
to accommodate a standard donor car rear suspension rather than the unique IRS
of the TZ, the steering was an Alfetta rack and pinion mounted forward of the
engine, (resulting in the car turning left when you meant to go right, until
they found a different R&P-), and other details were altered to simplify-
fitting an Alfetta gas tank, for example. 

The project was at some point turned over to Don's son and named the "Argento
Vivo" (Quicksilver); every account I have seen (and there have been many)
referred to the original, not to further production examples; I suspect that
there may only have been one. brian shorey remembers the price as $22,000; the
figure I was quoted was $25,000. Add to that the donor car ($500? for a
clapped-out GTV) and appropriate mechanical refurbishment, paint, and
upholstery of worthy quality and you hit $40,000 or more pretty quickly, for a
car which doesn't even have a DeDion rear end, which may explain why there are
more people who would like to have one than there are cash customers. Forty
grand is still an appreciable sum, and although you may be able to float a
home-equity loan you aren't likely to get a $40,000 car loan for a kit unless
your credit is real good. 

If anyone knows of a second one, or more, after the prototype, I would be glad
to hear it. Ereminas is a nice guy who deserves better than a dry hole.

A related project is a Lancia Stratos replica kit out of England; the one
person I met who had built one said it was a lot of work and all too easy to
get into serious money, (he mentioned $50,000) and in the end you have an
attractive fake.

"Cobras" of course abound; anyone can take a mold of somebody else's copy, the
frame can be quite simple, big V-8s and the technology to get big horses out
of them flourish, and there are enough kitbuilders that a flourishing support
market for windshields, instruments, seats, Halibrand alloys etcetera has
developed. I haven't priced either, but I would bet that a convincing set of
"Halibrands" for a "Cobra" cost a good bit less than the Tecnomagnesios for
the "TZ". And a "Cobra" sates the power lust of the kinds of people who might
want to stuff a Chevvy in their "TZ". (And you know who you are-)

And then there are tires- are the people who want to put 255/35-17 tires on a
GTV-6 going to be satisfied with buying 155-15 tires from Coker for their
"TZ"? I doubt it.

I have long felt exactly as Will Owen did in his 7-447 post; a Sprint Zagato
knockoff shell would have dropped onto the platform of a decrepit Giulietta
Spider back when they were cheap enough (my last Giulietta cost me $100) and a
slightly stretched version would still fit on a 115 Spider platform. It could
be a minimalist body making the most out of a simple foundation, rather than a
more pretentious body on a somewhat compromised chassis. I once toyed with the
idea of using the roof, glass, gaskets, and door/doorpost inner structure of a
Karman Ghia together with a zagatoish below-the-waistline fiberglass shell on
a 115 platform; it would take care of some of the harder (and more expensive)
parts at a minimal cost. Price a Zagato windshield lately?

In AD7-451 Jay Mackro, picking up on both Will and Keith Martin, suggested
that "Even today, you can order a fresh SZ body from Galbiati, and in a few
months it will arrive. - - Just find a rough Giulietta Sprint, order a new
body (hmm, wonder what they go for - anyone have an idea?), and you're on your
way."

FIRST, look up some photos of Sprint Zagatos under construction. there is a
pretty elaborate armature of formed steel sections for all of the panel
perimeters, all welded to the stripped platform. When I was fortunate enough
to tag along with Fred on a visit to Galbiati in 1961 a Sprint Zagato was
under restoration. They had already stripped the old aluminum skin and made-up
a complete new skin on the old armature; now the new aluminum shell was
sitting above the office while they built the new steel armature and most of
the Sprint platform. What was left of the original car was the all-important
paper; the resulting car would have a verifiable provenance going back to its
1957 build-date.

Jay Mackro asks "(hmm, wonder what they go for - anyone have an idea?)" My
guess is probably not a lot less than a new one-off Ferrari, less a bit for
the engine only having four cylinders. If you have to ask, you can't afford
it.

Back to "replicas"- The sad aspect of all this is that it is the diametric
opposite of the native genius of the Italian "special' builders. They started
with relatively mundane hardware from Fiats, and turned it into Cisitalias and
Siatas and Abarths; we start with Corvettes and turn them into copies of
Ferrari Daytonas. There have been a few Alfa-based "specials" here, like the
Asardo, and a few successful Alfa-based hot-rods, like Calvin Smith's Milano
Verde-powered roadster which took an F/MOD record at El Mirage dry lake, but
they are few and far between.

One could probably try to draw conclusions, but perhaps best not to.

Cheers,

John H.

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