re: While we're on the subject of brakes . . . .

[Dana Loomis <dloomis@domain.elided>]

Bill Bain asked: 
>Can a Milano caliper be used on a Spider and would
>there be any advantage? 

The Milano front caliper has the same bolt spacing as the front of early
1600 105s and 1300/1600 "juniors" through at least 1971 and can be
installed directly onto the steering knuckle of these cars.  This
facilitaties a good, cost-effective upgrade for Duettos and Spider Juniors,
as well as Giulia Sprint GTs and other 1600 and 1300 cars.  Compared to the
small Ate brakes that came on these cars from the factory, the Milano
caliper has about 30% greater pad area and significantly lighter weight.   

I put Milano calipers on my '71 Giulia Super and have been very happy with
the improvement in braking performance.  Although the caliper fits, the
conversion goes beyond simply bolting them on.  I'd be glad to give details
to anyone interested.

For later 105s like Bill Bain's Bosch Spider, it's more complicated.  The
piston size and pad area of the Milano caliper are about the same size as
the stock Ate (but they don't use the same pad--Hawk is wrong about that),
so the main advantage is lighter weight.  The caliper bolt spacing of 1750
and 2000-series cars is not the same as the Milano's so installation is
significantly more complicated.  Vintage racers have been known to swap the
spindles from an early 105 and install Milano calipers with custom vented
rotors.  It's a nice setup, but the need for it is debatable, even for
racing.  I'd seriously doubt whether there would be any useful advantage in
a street-driven Spider.  

Dana Loomis 
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