105 air cleaners, left and right

[JHertzman@domain.elided]

In AD7-844 Ken Lee writes "My first 1750 GTV (69 Canadian) had the aluminum 
air filter box on the side opposite the carbs. It appeared from the design to 
be trying to get cool air from outside.  My current 1969 1750GTV (slightly 
later build) has the cigar shaped air cleaner mounted on the carbs which 
seems to get it's air supply from the hot engine. Does anyone know why this 
was changed? Is the earlier setup more efficient?"

The early 1750 inherited its air-cleaner arrangement from the 1600s; a 
two-piece cast airbox at the carbs with a hose across the camcover to an 
aircleaner drum on the left, which had a nosepiece on the bottom drawing 
unheated air from a hole in the bulkhead next to the radiator. Later 1750s 
had one of two types of cylindrical air cleaners mounted directly to the 
carbs. One of the two had a nosepiece at the front drawing unheated air from 
a hole in the bulkhead on the other side of the radiator. The other, missing 
the nosepiece, is what Ken has, getting its air supply within the engine bay. 
The type with the nosepiece was (judging from its part number prefix) first 
used on the Berlina; Fusi suggests that the nosepiece was for ram effect also 
("filtro aria e presa dinamica").

If my parts books are correct (which they are usually, but not always) the 
switch from the type without nosepiece to with nosepiece occurred in mid- 
1971 for the GT Veloce. For the 2000 Berlina the book says that the nosepiece 
was used on LHD cars but not on RHD cars, a difference I can't understand.

Ken asks why the change was made from filter-on-left to filter-on-right. I 
can't say whether it was part of the reason, or an unrelated coincidence, but 
the filter-on-left nearly killed me. I had downshifted the Giulia Super and 
pulled out to pass, with "enough" room against a truck coming the other way, 
when the engine strangled. The rubber lining of the flexible duct had 
delaminated and collapsed, shutting off the air supply. It happened early 
enough in the pass that I was able to tuck back in, but it made a lasting 
impression on me. The car (and duct) was about three years old, and it was 
about the time that Alfa switched from the transverse flexible ducting to the 
all-metal, all-on-one-side air cleaner, a design which I greatly prefer. 
There may well have been other good reasons for the switch, but the 
collapsing hose was a good enough reason for me.

John H. 
Raleigh, N.C.

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