Alfa's In Trans Am

[smestas]

Awesome photos!!

Thank you for taking the time to post them for all of us to enjoy.

[PAUGNUT1275]

Hi
Tell me if you get sick of my posting too many pics. I feel like I'm hogging up the thread. Here is some automotive archaeology. This is the original Autodelta modified trunk lid. It shows several layers of paint, rivet holes for the original humped cover for the Monza filler, rivet holes from cover plates, when they went to a fuel cell, accident damage, the hood pin hole, etc. It was originally white from the factory, Tri-color with Knauz, then red with Prutton, red, then yellow with Wilbur Pickett, then black with Mecca.
Keith

[GTA # 14]

Keith, I don't think you need to worry about posting too many pictures of the of the GTA race cars.Images like yours are a welcome tool to help us unravel the past. Thanks again,
Cheers

[martinue]

Harry T.
The white Harry-T.-GTA is LHD (see post 280), whereas the later used green one is RHD.
The white car could have been #613151, sold to Filipo Theodoli, New York, according to "Alleggerita". Harry T. showed up with Theodoli for the 1966 Sebring TransAm race, race no. 37, a Theodoli entry (not sure if it was a white car); later Theodoracopulos drove a white car (with race no. 37) throughout the season without Theodoli. In 1967 the same white GTA got race no. 82, 37 was mostly used by Jim Baker in a yellow one (see post 278). The last pic I saw of the white car was at Lime Rock 19680530. Harry won a 1968 North-East Championship, it is said to be the ex Kwech one transformed to GTAJ, but the first pic of that green car with Harry T. is from Michigan 19690511.

Since the GTAJ was introduced in mid 1968 and did not run in FIA group 2 (T1.3) before 19690201, I am not sure if the american equivalent CSedan saw GTAJs in 1968. Harry T and the others should have converted their GTAs to 1300 cc not before 1969 (and Harry raced both BS and CS in 1969). For 1970 the FIA banned the GTAs to group 4 (GTS1.6, similar to the Porsche911), that is why many GTAs were converted to GTAJ to race the standard touring car class. Since the TransAm rules saw only two classes (from 1966 to 1970 O2/U2, in 1971 and 1972 Championship and 2.5Challenge) the CSedan and BSedan were in the same class and it is not sure which car got a new engine.

Knauz
In the late 1960s you could have ordered a complete GTA body from Alfa Romeo (according to the spare parts catalogue), but I do not know if they had a VIN stamped.

Knauz is known to have got GTA #752648 in February? 1966 (before the Sebring race), #752573 in March 1967 and #752536 in July 1967. Interestingly the highest VIN was the earliest one delivered to him; and #752536 was built 19650722 to an unknown source, two years before it had been delivered to Knauz. GTA #752536 should be the car instead of the destroyed Winkler no. 62. So what was the second car they did enter at Sebring 1967? #752648 was already sold before to John Martino.

Monty Winkler was together with Horst Kwech in one car at Riverside TransAm 1967, the other Knauz car was driven by Del Russo Taylor. The next TransAm race at Las Vegas saw Kwech in a Knauz car, possibly Del Taylor in a second, Winkler is not mentioned. And the last race at Kent had Kwech and Taylor mentioned, but not sure about their cars.
There was a Bill Taylor with Robert Pratt in the 1967 Mont Tremblant race and with Gaston Andrey at Lime Rock Park TramsAm, not sure if it is Del Russo Taylor or another guy.

[Alleggerita]

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinue In the late 1960s you could have ordered a complete GTA body from Alfa Romeo (according to the spare parts catalogue), but I do not know if they had a VIN stamped.

[GTA # 14]

The #17 Joe Locario RHD GTA Corsa I have is also currently Blank on the firewall,however 10504/A can still be seen on the boot rail edge.
When I spoke to one of the past owners (Jon Norman) he informed me the GTA had it's firewall replaced when they shunted at Sears Point in 1970.
I wonder if Alfa has any records showing what Vin # was raced by Joe Lacario (Southwest Motors in Texas)
(drivers Russ Simon and Bill Steel) at the 1966 VIR Trans-Am.
anyone know where # 525 and #642 are?
Alfa rcords show G.D. (RHD) cars produced have Vins between 752501 and 752550.
Cheers,

[kengta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alleggerita To my knowledge all the spare parts shells were unnumbered, but the distributor usually had tools to put a replacement # in (same is true for replacement blocks). There is at least one ex-Bobcor GTA running around that has an unnumbered body.

[PAUGNUT1275]

Hi all,
Thanks Martin for the clarification on the Harry T. cars. I have the photos, but you supplied much more of the story.
I have scanned in the identification photos out of the Mecca SCCA log book.
This log book begins in in the summer of 1974, when Jack Evans wife, Bonnie, went to drivers school. She raced it 8 times in 1974-5, ending in a crash at LimeRock in Sept 1975. Spare body work from the Roger Lewis GTA was used to repair the body damage. The log book takes up again in 1978 with Jim Crittenden driving. He drove in SCCA races every year until Oct,1983. The car was parked and Mecca switched over to a GT-1 Camaro. Jack Evans told me that it was also run at the first ever IMSA race at Bridgehampton, NY, being driven by Peter Schuster, who usually drove a BMW 2002 in Trans-Am.

[rogerracer]

Since bob kindly mentioned my art website and photo I though I'd root around and see what else I had in the way of photos, so here goes.

Roger Blanchard

[PAUGNUT1275]

Hi
Dumb question!! Aren't the captions backwards? I think that Winkler/VanderVate typically ran #27. I think that there 66 car is now owned by Scott Gray and should be LHD. If so, is the #32 really Richards/Alderman and where did it go?
Is it for instance the Baker&Hein car from Vt that later became the Gaston Andrey car,which would make it Ken G's 752507?? I'm the new guy, so don't pick on me if I'm wrong!
Keith

[CanAmBob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerracer Since bob kindly mentioned my art website and photo I though I'd root around and see what else I had in the way of photos, so here goes. Roger BlanchardAttachment 90012 Attachment 90014

[italcarguy]

Roger,

Welcome to the site. Bob has told me many great things about your work. It's nice to finally see it. Thank you for posting those pictures.

[PAUGNUT1275]

Hi
I just noticed that the #32 car in the latest photo contribution has the quick lift rear bumper jacking system. This is a rare factory item pictured in the FIA papers. I've never seen one on a car here in the US. I would guess that this car is a former factory team car, from Sebring or Daytona perhaps.
KG

[PAUGNUT1275]

Hi All,
News Flash!! I've just been sent Xerox copies of some 67 Riverside Tran-Am photos featuring the TriColor GTAs. I am purchasing the originals, but couldn't wait to post one of the Xerox copies. It's the the Kwech #3 car, slammed in the tail and rolled over. The results show Kwech/Winkler sharing a car in the race, so this may have happened in practice. My guess is that a bigger car hit it under braking for the previous corner. I'm going to quiz Kwech and Ron Neal when I get the originals. Was anyone there at this race? It was late in the season and Winkler doesn't show up in the results for Las Vegas or Kent. Perhaps Kwech finished out the season in the other car. Eventually we will stir up enough info to answer all these questions.
Keith

[RossoGTV4Me]

These pics make me smile. Can some one confirm on the #32 Winkler/Van der Vate car what t