re: the lightest spider

[Dana Loomis <dloomis@domain.elided>]

Alex Csank described several cost (and weight) saving features of the
Spider 1300 Junior and concluded "the fastest, quickest and lightest Spider
(in street clothes) would be a '69 Spider 1300 Junior with a well-modified
larger engine."  

People interested in racing sometimes apply the same thought process to the
105 coupes, which have been taken more seriously than the spiders as
competition cars.  In stock form, the GT 1300 Junior seems to weigh
significantly less than the 1750 or 2000 GT Veloce, although how much less
is difficult to determine from published data, because Fusi, D'Amico &
Tabucchi, Alfa Romeo SpA, and other sources tend not to give weights in a
consistent manner (some are dry, some are "in ordine di marcia" with fluids
aboard, and so on).  The idea is that you start with a Junior body shell,
but in, say, a 2 liter engine, and end up with a car that is quicker than a
similarly prepared 2000 GTV because of the Junior's lower weight.  

Frankly, I can't see how using a Junior body could offer any advantage in
racing classes that allow the car to be stripped of the interior, sound
insulation, and other roadgoing amenities that the stock Junior lacked and
the more upmarket models had.  But, if there was a race class somewhere
that required retaining the interior, etc, but allowed engine swaps, then
the Junior would clearly have something of an advantage.

Dana Loomis  

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