Re: Lottery Sprints and Giulia Speciales

[JHertzman@domain.elided]

If I misunderstood either or both of Tony Stevens' questions, I'm sorry.

My understanding is that among the cars which were built by outside 
contractors, rather than at Portello or Arese, the differences between the 
Giuliettas and Giulias were far more far more modest than, say, the 
differences between the 1750 and 2000 Berlinas and GT Veloces. How the Giulia 
Sprint Speciale "came about" should be no more perplexing than how the Giulia 
Sprint or the Giulia Spider "came about."  Photos of the assembly lines at 
Bertone's plant at Grugliasco show Giulia Sprints, Giulia Sprint Speciales, 
and 2600 Sprints moving down the same lines at the same time, presumably on a 
demand basis, which would leave little room for the hypothetical leftovers. 
Body assembly, paint, and trim were done by Bertone and the other suppliers, 
and the hulls were then transferred to Arese where the engines and drivelines 
were installed. The production drop in 1962 to roughly one third of the 
number of cars built in 1961, 1963 and 1964 could easily be a result of 
allocation of production resources at either Grugliasco or Arese, or to 
external factors in the Italian economy. Unless there is documentary evidence 
of a plan to drop the Speciale, I see no reason, in the production figures, 
to believe that there was one. 

On the "Lottery Sprint", I would question whether any cars configured like 
the 1954 Turin show hatchback ever reached the public. The two Bertone 
Scaglione Spiders on chassis 00002 and 00004, the sidecurtain Farina Spiders 
on chassis 00001 and 00003, the column-shift "Dagmar" Spider 00007, are so 
well known, with every detail of variation noted, that it is hard to believe 
that two or three or four Sprints prior to the definitive production version 
could be rusting in barns, or scrapped, without having left a well-known and 
verifiable trace.

Tony goes on the mention the "Russian Steel" legend: "Another titbit of 
rumour/history, it seems that body corrosion became a real problem (!) in 
italian cars built fron mid/late 1964 onwards, when the first consignments of 
Russian scrap metal may have started arriving in Italy as payment in kind to 
Fiat for the Lada car project. Fiat & Lancia owner comments have also backed 
this up. Maybe just another rumour?"

I wonder. There are so many things which affect a propensity to rust-  
prepping before assembly, prepping before paint, pre-delivery care, climate, 
owner's attitudes, de-icing practices, acid rain, designed-in mud-traps or 
paint-scratching trim clips, the list goes on. In many localities car-wash 
facilities recycle filtered, but not desalted, water, so regular washing can 
be a regular salt-bath. My experience is as anecdotal as the next person's, 
but I have had unrusted and severely rusted pairs- same model, same year, 
hard to blame it on the Russians. I would think that more convincing evidence 
of wretched steel quality would lie in gear teeth falling off, suspension 
forgings breaking, connecting rods bending, crankshaft journals wearing 
unevenly- places where the environment and cosmetics would have less bearing.

John H.
Raleigh, N.C.

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