Re: random changes and ill-defined or non-existent quality control

[TJCallahan@domain.elided]

In AD v8n48, Mr. Hertzman made observations on some of my subject comments 
and generally took issue with the assertion I seemed to be making that my 
Alfetta GT was built less well than other autos of the era due to Alfa's well 
documented (again, my apparent assertion) lack of quality control and/or 
coherent and systematic model changes.

I found myself curious over his response and reread my post. To my surprise, 
I found that what I had sent was shorter than needed and subsequently 
conveyed less information about my position than I intended. And, due to the 
too little information, my post made it appear that I was ranting about poor 
Alfa quality and how predictable that was.

My "rant" began when I responded to a post by dug advising my rear seatback 
was held in differently than how he described his. I further advised that my 
Alfetta had no shock mounting nut access holes in the rear bulkhead (the 
subject of a thread many months ago) and whined about how difficult it is to 
change the shocks. I apparently used both of those instances as a springboard 
in my leap to poor quality and configuration control.

Mr. Hertzman remarked that he might allow there were lapses on occasion (am I 
being too PC here?) at some of the coachbuilder's locations, which couldn't 
really be considered production lines, but Alfa (nord) was above reproach 
concerning the quality of fit, finish, and configuration control when 
compared to its peers, especially around the time of my Alfetta GT 
manufacture and later. He also would take no issue with cars that had been 
through multiple owners and subsequently may have had wrong parts installed 
along the way.

My background with Alfas is from the 750/101 cars (my '63 Giulia spider) and 
with the Alfetta GT. The randomness of parts installation is a well 
documented condition with the 750/101 cars, Alfa/Pininfarina/etc. really 
seemed to use parts bins and multiple suppliers when assembling some of these 
cars. On the 750/101 list, we have had owners of 750/101 cars which were 
close on the production line advise parts configurations were one way on a 
first car, different but similar on the second, and back to the first 
configuration for the third in a series. Identifying the exact model of 
750/101 one has is sometimes no better than an educated guess. Records were 
not well kept and model changes were not limited to calendar year cycles 
during this time. This experience has helped colour my opinion, even though 
this practice was more the norm than not amongst auto manufacturers in the 
750/101 era.

Further, on my Alfetta, I have had difficulty following the repair manual on 
occasion when it suggests use of access holes that are not now, and never 
were, in the car. I know the history of this particular car, I am owner 
number three. Owner number one took meticulous care, records abound and the 
quality of care is easily observable. Owner number two was just as 
predictable in part installations but for a rather different reason, they 
seem to have done very little in the way of maintenance and upkeep. No 
maintenance = no incorrect part installations.

What I did find, however, upon closer examination is that the directions I 
was following for the shock replacement was out of the aftermarket manual I 
have for the Alfetta, not one of Alfa's official publications. One can only 
guess what vehicle was used as the mule for that rebuild, they have photos of 
the access holes in the book.

When I commented that we (the collective digestive) had discussed Alfa's 
build quality before, I meant to impress on all that, since build quality has 
been the frequent topic of posts, rehashing it once again was unnecessary. I 
seem to have successfully made an impression on people, I just missed the 
target a little on what kind of impression I made ...

The point to all of this (and there really is one) is that there were 
circumstances where Alfa, or one of its agents, was relaxed about where or 
what parts changes were introduced and that one should trust the official 
factory publications the most (but not indescriminently) when working on 
Alfas.

We are in apparent agreement, Mr. Hertzman. Thank you for your most thorough 
analysis'.

Tom
Seattle
10123
11615

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