Spica/Weber history: Correction

[Scott Fisher <sefisher@domain.elided>]

Some of the more scholarly members of the Digest have pointed out to me
privately that the source from which I derived the March 1968 date for
Spica use in Alfa competition cars is known to be incomplete and
sometimes contradictory.  I'd like to set things straight.

There *were* Alfa GTA derivatives built with Spica, but far from all. 
The most reliable sources (in particular Fusi, but more embarrasingly,
another book in my own library) state that 100 GTA Juniors were built
with Spica.  Since the GTA Junior was announced in June of 1968, these
cars simply could not have competed in March of that year.  So the March
1968 date is wrong, according to the production records.

Additionally, the 40 GTAm cars of 1970-71 used Spica injection, though
it was removed from at least some of them later in favor of Weber
carburetion.  It is further suggested that the July 1969 date in the FIA
homologation papers may be the date at which 1000 roadgoing 1750 GTVs
had been produced with Spica, thereby homologating it for use in the
racing cars.  (Furthermore, I *completely* forgot that the 33 was a
105-series car -- and while it *was* fuel injected, it used the Lucas PI
system.)

So... my statement that "All Autodelta 105 racing coupes after March
1968 used Spica" is clearly wrong on at least two counts -- the date and
the "all" -- and I apologize to the Digest.  No more than 100 GTA
Juniors and 40 GTAms used Spica, no earlier than June 1968 for the 1300s
(and my own books hint that the Spica-fed 1300s were a later
development, but don't say when).  That leaves the other 857 GTA
variants (500 GTA 1600s, 200 racing 1300s, 147 roadgoing 1300s, and 10
supercharged GTA SAs, to make the list complete) with carburetors.

I hate being wrong, but I hate *staying* wrong worse.  My genuine thanks
to those who set me straight, and my apologies to the Digest for my
error.

- --Scott Fisher
  Sunnyvale, CA

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