[alfa] original 66 GT Veloce Paint and Interior

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Carl Liebold asks several good questions about standard color combinations, including upholstery and carpets, on the 1966 GT Veloce, and Dean Frye adds "Which brings up a question - What is the general consensus on the accuracy of the information from Elvira?" (To which I add a curmudgeonish churl: why is she the only person in the Alfa pantheon who we all first-name-only? Given her status, generation and the culture, she might deserve the implicit respect of a surname  even if our familiarity is intended as a token of our respect and affection.)
 
Rant aside, AR 303 is indeed the same as AR 501 (and at least four other numbers: all Ditzler 71297, which is to my thinking the most useful number, if I wanted "Alfa Red".)
 
On upholstery, the parts-book listings may be useful. The GT Veloce upholsteries included two leathers, not offered in the US market as far as I know- dark brown and red; two bicolor cloth/vinyl combinations, also not offered in the US market as far as I know- grey cloth w/black vinyl and fawn cloth with "leather color" vinyl; and just two vinyls, lampblack and "leather-color". I do not have chip-charts earlier than the 1750, but my 1750 chipchart shows black as the only interior on AR 501 coupes and sedans. Since that agrees with the information Carl Liebold received from Elvira Ruocco, and seems agreeable to his tastes, it should be quite safe enough.
 
On carpet colors, the only two colors listed for the 1600 GT Veloce are red and black. I have no information on which combinations would have used red carpets; the three Alfas of the sixties and early seventies which I bought all had black or near-black carpets. (I would chose black.)
 
On the accuracy of the information from Elvira Ruocco, I would assume that it is an absolutely reliable reflection of information which was recorded, and possibly transcribed, from the time of production. She is a scholar, an archivist, a meticulous and serious person, working with old data which undoubtedly includes some errors  perhaps transposed digits, placing correct colors on an incorrect serial number. Give her full credit, but don't assume biblical infalability in her source material. Further, the factory record shows the distributor as the buyer of the car (not the person who bought the car from a dealer) and the distributor did what it wished- installed a sunroof, perhaps, or its own choice of an alloy wheel, or an aftermarket radio with an "Alfa Romeo" logo, and adding its own model name  all "factory" to the consumer. The distributor then sold the car to a dealer, whose core interest was in moving merchandise. Undoubtedly most cars reached the consumer as they had left the factory, but certainly not all; e.g. Fred bought a carpet set which a major New England dealer had replaced with a different color for a customer who had other preferences. Thirty years later it is easy to "know" that it was a factory option, but it wasn't necessarily.
 
Color choices are usually subjective; convenience and resale value support original colors, association may support others, practicality still others. My '71 GTV was available in nine colors (in the USA, more elsewhere), all popular enough in '71, but how many coupes do you see in Desert Beige? Red rules, probably because of the racing associations, but the most popular Alfa color on my first visits to Italy was a light blue. Owner's choices; my choices? Not red. People own Alfas for various reasons; the company's corporate character, the designer's creative vision, the builder's skills, the owner's individual sensibilities. Was Giugiaro about redness? I don't think so. Am I about redness? The 'elegance' of a concours was about the designer's creative vision and the owner's tastes and sensibilities, none of which are necessarily best served by the national racing colors of a particular past period. "Concours correct" can mean very different things, including period fidelity, but I would rather not risk having the color get in the way of seeing the car beyond the color.
 
Personal choices. Enjoy yours,
 
John H.
Raleigh, N.C.
164 (Gray)
Milano (black)
MBz C 230 K (German racing white)(!)
GT Veloce (Verde Oliva, eventually I hope Giallo Ocra)
Berlna (Champagne, eventually I hope Biancospino)
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