The Alfa Romeo Fleron (1967) painting created by world renowned artist Vladimir Pajevic uniquely for "Autodelta Golden Years"
Welcome to the
"Autodelta Golden Years" Heritage Site
Established February 2014
Original art of Ing. Carlo Chiti's accomplishments provided the courtesy of Italian artist Mr. Giorgio Alisi.
Over239,000"page views" since February 1, 2014.
Site last updated with new material November 14, 2024.
Thank you for your visit!
I hope you enjoy this serialized glimpse into "Autodelta Golden Years" and this truly remarkable Autodelta organization, looking inside the tremendous life of Alfa Romeo Director / Engineer Carlo Chiti and his team of highly skilled and dedicated men. Contributors to this historical collection include:
Ing. Don Black, Vladimir Pajevic, Toine Hezemans, Albert Ponno, Gian Luigi Picchi, Ing. Gianni Arosio, Italian motorsports journalist Roberto Motta and many others who were
closely associated with Autodelta and Ing. Carlo Chiti as drivers, engineers, associates, personal friends and other historical figures.
This is your Tradition and History to preserve. Pass it along
Sincerely,
Robert Little and the "Autodelta Golden Years" Team
Senior Historian Vladimir Pajevic
Paralegal123@duck.com
.
.
A Brief Word about our Senior Historians / Curators on this Site:
Vladimir Pajevic and Roberto Motta.
It has been the unwavering policy of this Autodelta historical site to utilize first person narratives concerning the times and events of the Autodelta 'dynasty'. Using only first person historian reporting from our 'Team Manager' and our two distinguished Historians / Curators and the numerous other individuals who built the racing cars or who where there 'on the ground' so to speak...this Autodelta Golden Years site is by far the most authoritative, complete and carefully curated such site in the world of historic auto racing reporting. Two individuals stand out among those whose factual reporting for us is truly superlative: Vladimir Pajevic and Roberto Motta.
Mr. Pajevic was living in Milano as a young man... affiliated with friends who built an Alfa Romeo team in the late 1960's designed to provide new Alfa Romeo racing automobiles to those desirious of renting such cars for weekend competitions.
Through his associations he came to form a rare friendship with Autodelta Director Generale Ing. Carlo Chiti, Ignazio Giunti, Gian Luigi Picchi, Allbert Ponno and other Autodelta drivers and workers with whom he enjoyed a close relationship. Thereafter, Mr. Pajevic turned some of his attention to his world class artistry skills while maintaining close contact with his own friends. When an opportunity arose to contribute his decades of Alfa Romeo knowledge and first hand experience to Autodelta Golden Years in early 2014, he started his prolific writing. His latest book is "Alfa Romeo GTA" co-written with Gian Luigi Picchi, published in Torino by Liberia Automotoclub Storico Italiano Torino.
Over the decades, Roberto Motta has reported on the world of international motorsport for a dozen well-known Italian newspapers and magazines. His travels have shared with our readers of the Golden Years of Autodelta the wisdom of the past... offering precise and in-depth knowledge in motorsports of the best teams.
He has maintained a very close personal relationship with the factory racing public relations personnel, well-known race car drivers of the past and with factory museum officials to ensure the accuracy of his reporting. He is currently a collaborator and photographer for the magazines "Cruisin”, “Auto d'Epoca”, “TuttoPorsche” "VeloceToday.com" and “In Moto”.
Among his latest achievements for the Golden Years of Autodelta has been his magnificent historical review of all of the seasons of Alfa Romeo of Formula 1 since 1970 to the present day... a massive effort in reporting racing team performance unmatched by anyone in motorsports.
Lately he has dedicated himself to the history and technique of motorcycles and cars, mainly racing from the 1960’s to the early 1990’s.
.
.
.
.
.
Once Upon A Time ...
Via Enrico Fermi 7, Settimo Milanese
Headquarters of Autodelta, S.p.A.
All stories must inevitably begin somewhere and this one opens with a view of the rural countryside chosen by Alfa Romeo S.p.A. for it’s walled compound located in what was at the time a farming community in Settimo Milanese in 1965...a nearby suburb of Milano.
As many as about 200 people at the high point of Autodelta fortunes earned their livelihood engineering, fabricating, assembling, overhauling, testing and modifying engines, transmissions, chassis components for T-33 series, GTA and GTA Juniors, rally GTVs, Alfasud and Alfetta vehicles and Formula One cars in the 1970's and 1980's.
You'll observe Directore Generale Ingegnere Carlo Chiti's office windows on the left and the three white exhaust stacks emanating from his dynamometers just above the walled section. Just out of sight are two iron gates where all incoming and outgoing personnel and materiel would pass inspection, carefully screened by security guards who restricted passage to anyone carrying any type of photographic equipment.
The photographs you are about to see are the only images known to privately or publically exist of the inside of Autodelta taken since 1967 ....not even the factory or the Alfa Romeo Museo Storico has any period images inside the high walls of the Autodelta factory.
.
My completely unfettered open access to photograph was a personal courtesy extended to me by Ing. Chiti for my service to Autodelta.
.
Feel free to leave your own comments or stories of your personal feelings about the site as presented.
Are you excited? Lets begin.
The agrarian surroundings of Settimo Milanese as taken from the neighboring village of Baggio in April 1972.
Via Enrico Fermi served as a busy passageway for local farmers tending their flocks while passing the employee parking lot of Autodelta in the 1960s and 1970s.
The formal address of the top secret Autodelta factory was # 7 .
Years of political struggle in Italy between the Communist Party, Socialists, Democratic Libertarians and the strong labor union movement caused labor strife throughout the country but did not seem to affect the production of Autodelta and it's relatively highly-paid workers...who would see freshly painted political slogans and 'manifesti' on the outer walls.
The Autodelta compound is shown to the right side of the small tubular fabrication shop "Aletti" visible on the extreme left.
Observe the three white dynomometer exhaust stacks near the center of the photograph and Ing. Chiti's office windows on the extreme left side.
The Main Hall
Notice the Le Mans tail section on #33 behind the new 116.00 series Alfetta Berlina.
Once inside the visitor appreciates the spacious aircraft hanger construction and the variety of chassis and construction years of the various cars. Some are set aside in subassemblies for eventual reconstruction / restoration and sale to museums, racing teams and wealthy patrons of the marque....a practiced industry method over the decades used to recover costs.
You will notice the first Alfetta chassis elaborated by Autodelta and an early aerodynamic 1972 LeMans test design car #33 parked directly behind it. T-33's from 1970 are stored on the lifts, including a 4 litre car that slinked around relatively unnoticed at various American circuits in the early 1970s. Later images to follow will show the ultimate development of those highly finned tail sections necessary for high speed stability on the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans.
Behind and to the right side of the image is the tool and spare parts shop.
The 1968 "Daytona" 2 litre is shown in the foreground undergoing restoration for the eventual sale abroad.
My temporary accommodations in the Infirmaria is shown at the extreme rear left of the scene with the employee cafeteria visible in the rear center. Each workday morning at noon a Colli wagen from Arese would drive in with a mouthwatering selection of fresh hot and cold food made in the central cucina there.
Beverages, breads and desserts were also available for the payment of a mensa coin...purchased at some point by each employee. I benefited from the generosity of the domestic staff who saved meals for my dinner and weekend meals.
Production Vehicles Area
The 'birthplace' of the Autodelta GTA series. Right here on this spot. In the right side over the partition is the cylinder head machining area.
The attentive observer will notice a few interesting GTA parts in the background....such as a 110 litre fuel tank... ;>)
The first elaborated Autodelta Montreal V-8 Spica Injected.
The GTA and GTA Jr. fabrication area was relatively small area with a single lift, a walk-down undercarriage workspace and one flat parking stall...occupied by what you may notice to be the ill-fated Bobcor Montreal being elaborated here for the first time.
The chassis on the right has been completely stripped of all subassembies by Autodeltisti working in another area of the building normally reserved for Group 2 road and rally car repair and fabrication prior to the "body in white" being wheeled into the Main Hall.
.
You will tour that area in my Part Three to follow.
Constructing the World Famous 33TT12
The 33TT12 chassis in 1972...in it's basic form...was fabricated by independent tube-welding and sheet metal fabricator "Aletti" at its factory next door to Autodelta. Sharing a common wall with Autodelta, when a tubular frame was completed several men would merely peal away a large flap on the wall just out of sight on the left and carry the frame to this assembly point where it would stay for a month or more while fiberglass, electrical, hydraulic passages and other components would be installed.
.
The chassis would be moved once again to the main hall for final assembly of the engine/transmission and suspension.
.
The paint bake oven is visible in the background and to the far right a fiberglass tail section drying in its mold is in partial view.
.
These chassis' were to be the very first twelve cylinder cars produced by Autodelta.
.
The first series of T33 vehicles designed in-house at Portello by Ing. Satta and Ing. Busso in 1965 had employed an unusual "H" shaped tubular thick sheet metal frame designed to house a rubber bladder for the equal weight distribution of fuel. That initial vehicle sported a four cylinder GTZ engine soon to be replaced by a new Autodelta two liter V-8 that won its initial public test at the Fleron Belgian hill climb on March 12, 1967 in the capable hands of test-driver Teodoro Zeccoli.
.
By the end of the 1968 season Autodelta had built a total of 28 T33/3 cars, allowing for the homologation of the car as a Group 4 Sports car for the 1969 season...according to M.L. Twite in his book "The World's Racing Cars", 1970.
.
The tubular "H" frame evolved from that point forward to the design shown above.
Mr. Podavita Venanzio
Mr. Parisi, senior metalworker
Chassis of the Stradale and the first T-33 two liter prototype car of 1967.
Courtesy of Centro Documentazione Alfa Romeo, Arese
Fuel was stored in an "H" - shaped rubber bladder packaged inside this chassis design. Using this unique design, fuel weight remains balanced and equalized around the perimeter of the chassis at all fuel levels.
This is the end of Part One of the historical series "Autodelta Golden Years".
You are also cordially invited to select the page "Autodelta Assaults LeMans" for another look at that magical decade of Alfa Romeo racing.
Also visit the section entitled "Carlo Chiti Remembered","Autodelta Drivers Speak","Tipo T-33 Chronology" and "Visitor Comments Page"
Thanks for viewing and please feel free to contact us if you have questions that we might answer... Editorial Address: Paralegal123@duck.com
Say "hello" to one of Ing. Chiti's little favorites..."Orbina" ...being guided by Benjamin Taverna. Orbina shared the run of the factory landscape with perhaps 20-30 other animals from time to time over the years.
Policy of this Website in Regard to the Use of Images Whose Ownership is Not Known or is Otherwise Unidentifiable.
AutodeltaGoldenYears.com. and RobertLittle.US contributes collection images where the Website Content is described as having “no known copyright restriction.” The phrase “no known copyright restriction” means that AutodeltaGoldenYears.com and RobertLittle.US has determined, to the best of its ability based on available information and belief, that the Website Content is unlikely to be protected by copyright interests and, in all likelihood, is in the public domain.
However, copyright is often difficult to determine with certainty, so the phrase is intended to say that AutodeltaGoldenYears.com and RobertLittle.US is unaware of any copyright restriction, but such restrictions may still exist.
In addition, even if the Website Content is unrestricted from a copyright standpoint, there may be other considerations that would limit your use, such as “Right of Privacy” or “Right of Publicity” of the individuals featured in the images, or other contractual restrictions.
For these reasons, AutodeltaGoldenYears.com and RobertLittle.US makes its content available for personal and non-commercial educational uses consistent with the principles of “fair use”.
If you decide to use the Website Content for commercial or other purposes without undertaking to clear all rights, you will be responsible if someone else owns the rights and the owner objects to your use.
Of course, the use of images identified as being the copyright property of the named individuals or groups identified on each page or attached to each image… is prohibited and is subject to the penalty of law as provided by the United States Copyright law and The Bern Convention among other relevant laws and protections.
Richtlinie dieser Website in Bezug auf die Verwendung von Bildern, deren Rechteinhaber nicht bekannt oder anderweitig nicht identifizierbar ist:
AutodeltaGoldenYears.com. und RobertLittle.US stellen Abbildungen, insbesondere Fotos, zur Verfügung, die als "keine bekannte Copyright-Beschränkung" bezeichnet werden. Die Formulierung "keine bekannte Copyright-Beschränkung" bedeutet, dass AutodeltaGoldenYears.com und RobertLittle.US. nach bestem Wissen und Gewissen festgestellt haben, dass die Abbildungen/Fotos wahrscheinlich nicht urheberrechtlich geschützt sind und sich aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach in der Public Domain befinden.
Allerdings ist es oft schwierig, das Urheberrecht mit Sicherheit zu bestimmen, so dass der Satz besagt, dass AutodeltaGoldenYears.com und RobertLittle.US keine Kenntnis von urheberrechtlichen Beschränkungen haben, aber solche Beschränkungen dennoch bestehen können.
Darüber hinaus kann es, selbst wenn der Inhalt der Website aus urheberrechtlicher Sicht uneingeschränkt ist, andere Erwägungen geben, die Ihre Nutzung einschränken können, wie z.B. das "Recht auf Privatsphäre" oder das "Recht auf Öffentlichkeit" der auf den Bildern abgebildeten Personen oder andere vertragliche Einschränkungen.
Aus diesen Gründen stellt AutodeltaGoldenYears.com und RobertLittle.US seine Inhalte für persönliche und nicht-kommerzielle Bildungszwecke in Übereinstimmung mit den Grundsätzen des "fair use" zur Verfügung.
Wenn Sie sich entscheiden, den Inhalt der Website für kommerzielle oder andere Zwecke zu nutzen, ohne sich zu verpflichten, alle Rechte zu klären, sind Sie dafür verantwortlich, wenn jemand anderes die Rechte besitzt und der Eigentümer Ihrer Nutzung widerspricht.
Natürlich ist die Verwendung von Bildern, die als urheberrechtliches Eigentum der auf jeder Seite genannten Einzelpersonen oder Gruppen gekennzeichnet sind oder die jedem Bild beigefügt sind, verboten und wird entsprechend dem Urheberrechtsgesetz der USA und der Berner Konvention neben anderen relevanten Gesetzen und Schutzmaßnahmen geahndet.
Politica di questo sito web riguardo l'uso di immagini la cui proprietà non è nota o è altrimenti non identificabile.
AutodeltaGoldenYears.com e RobertLittle.US forniscono immagini, in particolare fotografie, alle quali si fa riferimento come non aventi "nessuna restrizione di copyright nota". La definizione "nessuna restrizione di copyright nota" sta ad indicare che AutodeltaGoldenYears.com e RobertLittle.US hanno determinato, al meglio delle proprie capacità e sulla base delle informazioni e conoscenze disponibili, che è implausibile che le immagini siano protette da copyright, e che pertanto con ogni probabilità sono di dominio pubblico.
Tuttavia il copyright è spesso difficile da determinare con certezza, per cui con tale definizione si intende dire piuttosto che AutodeltaGoldenYears.com e RobertLittle.US non sono a conoscenza di alcuna restrizione sul copyright, sebbene tali restrizioni possano comunque esistere.
Inoltre, anche nei casi in cui il contenuto del sito web sia privo di limitazioni dal punto di vista del copyright, ciò non esclude che possano esserci altre considerazioni che ne limitino l'utilizzo, come il diritto alla privacy o il diritto all’immagine delle persone presenti nelle fotografie, o restrizioni di tipo contrattuale.
Per questi motivi, AutodeltaGoldenYears.com e RobertLittle.US rendono i propri contenuti disponibili per usi educativi personali e non commerciali, in conformità ai principi del "fair use".
Qualora decidessi di usare il contenuto del sito web per scopi commerciali o di altro tipo senza la previa acquisizione di tutti i diritti, sarai responsabile se qualcun altro detiene tali diritti e si oppone al tuo utilizzo.
Naturalmente, l'uso di immagini contrassegnate come protette da copyright di cui sono titolari individui o gruppi identificati in ciascuna pagina o allegati a ciascuna immagine, è proibito ed è soggetto alle sanzioni previste dalla legge sul copyright degli Stati Uniti e dalla Convenzione di Berna, oltre che dalle altre leggi e protezioni pertinenti.