various: wiring diagrams, codes, longevity, values, etc

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

Friend Will writes "It completely baffles me that a whole class of documents
whose readership consists largely of middle-aged (and therefore presbyopic)
men should typically be reproduced in such tiny dimensions."

Well, baffle on. Here we are bitching about the small type on wiring diagrams
which were printed way back when Fred, but few others of us, might have been
considered middle aged. Fred's eyes are now, unfortunately, acting their
advanced age, but my blessed trifocals give no problems with the terminal
markings on the Duetto wiring diagram, or even on the 2000 wiring diagrams
which are a lot more cluttered.

While I'm at it, an opinion on the big issue of wiring terminal markings?
Many, but not all, of the terminal code markings which gave Biba his
conniption fit are present on the 1600/1750/2000 wiring diagrams I have, from
the Giulia T.I. on up. They are completely absent from the Giulietta and 1900
wiring diagrams I have from the early fifties. Count your blessings, young
whippersnappers. There was some interesting logic apparently operating. The
wiring diagrams of the late sixties/early seventies had meticulously rendered
clear drawings of the various devices, and if one could tell up from down,
left from right, and position in a sequence one usually didn't need terminal
codes; where one did, they were given, where one didn't they weren't. On the
1900 and 750 wiring diagrams the pictograms were more rudimentary outline
drawings, but apparently relied on the same basic ability of a mechanic to
read a picture, rather than an ability to read the numbers on the much more
abstract symbols of the coded schematics which are so necessary on our much
more complex cars today.

The DIN codes list which I copied to the digest dated from 1983, not 1970, and
the system was of German origin, not Italian, which was implicit in the last
listed items where Italian equivalents of some of the DIN codes were given. As
Biba noted, the 1983 list was not much use on the car he was working on. It
may be of more use on the cars of the eighties, and perhaps occasionally
useful when devices from the eighties have been retrofitted to cars of the
sixties. There will certainly be problems with cars which have had thirty
years of ad-hoc fixes by random assortments of mechanics, "mechanics",
restorers, "restorers", and owners, but after all the cars were designed and
built to remain serviceable at least until they were out of warranty. I'm glad
they, and the diagrams, are as good as they are.

While I'm in the mood, in AD8-937 Tim Hancock writes and asks "How have prices
fallen, there is a 94, 24v 164 in 'good condition' on Autotrader for
#995.($1500) Doesn't say how many miles on it. Is it worth rebuilding mine
when the bits alone will cost a lot more than that?.There is Some serious soul
searching going on here. I would Like to rebuild mine as I think it is
fundamentally OK, but there comes a point when you might well be tipping money
down an open pit and still end up with a vehicle worth very little. Its a
throw away society and I don't really like it!"

Meaning no disrespect, it's a throw away society only if you chose to play
that game. Most old Alfas have passed, some several times, through the point
on the depreciation curve at which it made no economic sense to spend money on
the engine or on bodywork repairs or paint, and many progress to the stage at
which it makes no economic sense to wash them or change the oil filter. It's a
beater, pour some used oil in to get to next spring and buy another beater to
last another six months. Eventually the last beater will be gone, and the
remaining great cars will be those few which were valued for what they were by
their owners with a complete disregard for their market value. My bought-new
'87 Milano has a market value (according to the book the tax assessor uses) of
$1,760, and since I have no intention of selling it I see no reason why those
numbers should affect what I would spend to keep it as nice as I want a car to
be, or why they should lead me to consider dumping the car to buy a $1,500
Verde.

 Enjoy yours, if you do.

 John H.
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