Picky, picky (was: Alfetta engine sizes)

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@domain.elided>]

In AD8-0247 John Fielding writes:

"A common thread running around about Alfetta motor sizes often erroneously
refers to a "1750" motor.  The 1750cc motor was never used in the Alfetta."

Yes, but - - there is a distinction without a difference. The 1750 (actually
1752 cc) went out of production in 1932. The 1967-1972 1779 cc engine used in
the 105 cars called 1750s is the same size as the 1779 cc engine used in the
116 cars; whether one calls it a "1750" or a "1.8" is a quibble about
marketing hype.

He goes on to write "There were only three different motor sizes offered in
the Alfetta."

Oooh, quibble quibble. There were in fact five different engine sizes used in
the Alfetta; the 1570 cc "1.6", the 1779 cc "1.8", the 1962 cc "2000" (ah,
consistency! 2000, not 2.0 - - ), the 1995 cc "2.0 TurboDiesel", and the 2393
cc "2.4 Turbo Diesel". Both of the TD units were produced by VM, a
Finmeccanica subsidiary; the earlier one, an adaptation of an existing marine
engine, was the first turbodiesel used in an Italian production car.

 It may be easy for we twin-cam, alloy-block admirers to ignore the
iron-block, pushrod workhorses, but there were more Alfetta Turbo Diesels
built (201,225) than the total number of 105 1750s (154,069) or of Giuliettas
of all types (174,613) and almost as many as the total number of 105 /115
2000s (217,176), a number which was somewhat artificially inflated by nearly
twenty years of dragged-out production for the mainly USA Spider market. The
Alfasuds and 33s were the only models to beat the Alfetta TD production
numbers; the Alfetta 1.8 (189,483) and 2000 (178,928) were not too far
behind.

 I suspect, but don't know, that a large proportion of the diesels were
taxi-cabs.

 On a side-issue, John refers to the last two-liter, Motronic-engined (motore
tipo 01713) version as the Alfetta 159i, a name evidently referring to the
last version of the incomparable 158/159 GP cars of the fifties. I have never
seen the "159" reference before - perhaps it was a South African model name -
but it would seem to have matched the forthcoming "GTA" designations in
effrontery.

 Cordially,

John H.

Raleigh, N.C.

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