[alfa] Universal-jointed steering boxes, and matched or mismatched timing covers

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Diverse opinions have been posted about the universal-jointed steering columns and when (and why) they first appeared, linking them to 1974 models, USA safety regulations, phasing-in of Alfetta parts, and whatnot. All I can add is that the Sprint Speciale and Sprint Zagato both had U-jointed columns from their inception in 1958 and 1959 respectively, and that all versions of the 102 2000 and 106 2600 had U-jointed columns from 1958 on, albeit with different shafts and joints on the Berlinas than on the Sprints and Spiders. USA safety regulation mandates cannot account for this. A more plausible argument might be that jointed columns may have been considered the ideal, "the right way to do it", in the Portello design office at the time, and that the joints had been omitted from the first Giulietta Berlinas as an economy simplification when Alfa took the plunge into the mass market with a comparative economy car. But that is idle speculation; I don't claim to know this.
 
On the timing cover question, parts which depend on a critical matched fit are normally supplied in matched sets. A standard example is the cylinder head, listed with cam-caps as an assembly  "Testa dei cilindri, con capelli", with the cam caps not listed separately. Cylinder blocks are listed with main bearing caps, but the main caps were available separately. The timing covers were listed by themselves. If you ordered a block, head, and timing cover the stock picker would have pulled a block with main caps from one rack or bin, a head with cam caps from another, and a timing cover from a third. I do not find "block with timing cover" listed as a matched set. That seems to me like a slam-dunk Q.E.D.
 
Cheers
 
John H.
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