One of the many interesting automotive escapades in the life of Australian rally driver/PR operative/journalist-author/broadcaster/entrepreneur Evan Green was his purchase of an ex-works Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT in 1975.
See here for a wonderful summary of Green’s life – 21/5/1930-16/3/1996 – in this Australian Dictionary of Biography piece written by Andrew Moore: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/green-evan-clifford-27664
Green ran a Leyland P76 V8 with some commercial support from Faberge-Brut – remember that ‘orrible-stench!? – and parlayed that commercial relationship into the purchase of one of the nine Group 2 Alfetta 2-litres built by Autodelta in time for the 1975 season: for competition in the (third) World Rally Championship, European Rally Championship and perhaps a national championship or two.
Engine capacity was increased from 1.8-litres-1779cc to 2-litres-1995cc by increasing the bore, developing around 180 bhp in two-valve spec and 210 bhp with the 16-valve head, Webers/fuel injection and special stainless steel fabricated exhaust.
The gearbox was an Autodelta five-speed transaxle with straight-cut gears and a 50% limited-slip diff. Brakes were Lockheed calipers with ventilated rotors front and rear.
Other details of the Autodelta built Alfettas include a lightened and reinforced body, roll bar, Autodelta branded intercom, wooden gear knob, a window to access the rear shock absorbers, a battery kill-switch, Halda tripmaster, four Carello Megalux additional front headlights, widened guards, magnesium wheels and racing seats with four-point belts.
Of the nine Autodelta Alfetta GTs two survive, but not ‘our car’, however.
The Alfa Romeo team debuted at the Costa Brava rally in February 1975. Evan Green’s machine was delivered either at, or just before the Rallye Antibes held from 21-22 June, 1975, DNF. Whether it was new or ex-works is unclear (on holiday at present, shall consult his book when I get home).
When shipped to Australia the machine was painted still painted red. ‘On the first day it arrived we took it to Middle Head for some photographs. Driving through Mosman with straight-cut gears and the short exhaust got some looks’, wrote Derek Heiler on Facebook.
After being prepared and painted Brut blue, the Alfetta was shipped to New Zealand for the Heatway Rally held between Auckland and Wellington from 8-12 July.
Full results are unavailable but the Green-John Bryson crewed car didn’t finish. A newspaper report recorded that the car became bogged at Tokarua between Rotorua and Napier on the Wednesday night.
John Bryson was one of Australia’s most acclaimed rally navigators, with three Southern Cross Rallies alongside Andrew Cowan to his credit.
He wrote Racing Car News’ pre-1975 Southern Cross piece.
‘As most Racing Car News readers know all about the butterflies involved in doing something a little different, I hope you can understand just how I feel after breaking with a team like the Mitsubishi – and a driver as good as Cowan. As I am the one who thinks Evan is better than Andrew as a driver, and the Alfetta better than the Lancers, guess who is likely to end up with egg on his face trying to prove a point?’
‘But, more importantly, this entry is a mighty breakthrough, in that we (thanks to Endrust, Total, Lloyd Triestino and Faberge-Brut) have actually got a works-prepared Group 2 car competing in Australia. And, believe me, I want more than Japanese domination of our sport.’
‘The Total Southern Cross rally is an international event. So, to make it International, we have obtained what I believe to be the best rally car in the world. There was a fair bit of evaluation in choosing the car. We thought of a Stratos, and we found the Escort wanting. The answer that the best is Alfa Romeo was verified by friends who know in Europe.’
‘No matter what the outcome, the Total Southern Cross Rally is going to gain a lot of publicity for Australia in Europe. If our stars are beaten, then I’ll bet a few European drivers will turn up next year with their own cars, factory standard ones, to the benefit of this sport of ours. Personally, I am hoping the lead will end up as a battle between Evan and Andrew, with the Alfa Romeo coming out on top. But, as they say, the best laid plans of mice and men “aft gang awry”.
Unfortunately, the event was a disaster, Barry Lake reported in Auto Action that ‘the car didn’t make it halfway to Port Macquarie. A stick pierced a hole in a driveshaft universal joint protective boot, the oil leaked out, and the joint broke. It took their service crew over 14 hours to find them deep in the forest at Bulahdelah.’
In 1976 Alfa Romeo withdrew from rallying, having not won a WRC round, and sold the Alfettas into the hands of privateers.
Green and Bryson were 21st in the 1976 Southern Cross and also contested the May 15 Renault Car Club’s Marchal Rally, second round of the Australian Rally Championship.
In another poor run in countryside outside Ballarat, the duo got lost on one stage, then ran out of fuel, ultimately finishing 6th. Ross Dunkerton and Jeff Beaumont won in a Datsun 260Z.
Better was to come in the August North Eastern Rally run out of Maryborough, Victoria in August where the duo finished fourth and were runner-up in the Australian Rally Championship division in a steady, fast performance.
Despite missing most rounds of the championship, Green/Bryson were equal sixth in the ARC together with Hank Kabel and Peter Bainbridge, Mazda RX3, with Dunkerton/Beaumont the winners.
When Tony Edmondson’s ex-John McCormack Chrysler Valiant Charger Repco-Holden became uncompetitive he and Don Elliott engaged Adelaide’s K&A Engineering to build an Alfa Romeo Alfetta sports sedan in 1978.
The Alfetta’s engine and transaxle allowed the disposition of the front mounted Repco-Holden F5000 V8 and mid-rear mounted Hewland DG300 transaxle. The donor shell was the ex-Autodelta-Green car, it isn’t clear to me if the Alfetta was rallied in 1977, if you can add to the car’s history do get in touch.
Tony was on-track to winning the 1979 Australian Sports Sedan Championship until a collision with Phil Ward’s ex-Jane Holden Monaro GTS 350 at Surfers Paradise on August 26 landed Tony in hospital with life threatening burns for three months and utterly destroyed the car.
Edmondson lived to fight another day in Alfetta 2 Chev, but the Evan Green car was no more.
Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTAm…
Competition was an important part of flogging Alfas in Australia from the earliest efforts of Harold Lightburn in the mid-1960s and went up a couple of gears when Alec Mildren got the distribution rights.
Mildrens campaigned two GTAs, a TZ2, various series production Giulia Supers – Giulia Super Ti Sandown successes duly noted – 1600 GTVs and 1750 GTVs, not to forget the 2.5-litre Tipo 33 V8 powered Brabham BT23D and Mildren Yellow Submarine single-seaters.
By the mid-1970s, Alfa pretty much had the two-litre class of the Australian Touring Car Championship and Australian Manufacturers Championship (combined series duly noted) sorted, but the Ford Escort RS2000 was going to rain on the Alfetta’s parade. And it was time to push the new 116 Series Alfettas forward, rather than the 105 Series Coupes, which were no longer sold.
So Alfa Romeo Australia had the factory build 25 Alfetta GTAm’s to homologate a 2-litre, 1962cc Alfetta GT at a time the usual roadies were fitted with the 1.8-litre, 1779cc engine, for Group C racing for which the Bathurst 1000 and other races were held.
Alfa Romeo shipped 25 RHD Alfetta GTs equipped with the nasty, wheezy, Spica injected 2-litre engine calling them – see the FIA homologation documents below – the ‘Alfa Romeo Alfetta G.T. America’. They were essentially RHD versions of American Alfetta GTs devoid of the fugly-big bumpers fitted for that market, and of course later infecting us all..
A number of these Alfetta GTAm’s were converted into racing cars, one, chassis # 11611-0003206, was an Autodelta-built car for our regulations.
Historian/restorer/writer/Alfista Paul Newby wrote that ‘Chassis 3206 is the Group C Alfetta GTAm that belongs to Bill Magoffin, currently in Gil Gordon colours. It was entered by Autodelta (Australia) Pty for Richard Carter/John Leffler at the 1976 Bathurst 1000. It has all the Group 2 Autodelta gear that it raced with in period (gearbox, brakes, adjustable torsion bar, etc).’
‘There were two other GTAm’s at Bathurst that year. The Frank Porter Clemens Alfetta and the Brian Foley entered Alfetta for Marie-Claude Beaumont/Christine Gibson. I’m not sure what became of the Porter car but l’m pretty sure that the Foley car was converted back to road spec and sold on.’
Time was tight as Alfa Australia wanted the cars homologated before the traditional Bathurst curtain raiser, the Sandown 400 – Hang Ten 400 – held on the 10-12 September 1976 weekend.
Anthony Sharp wrote that ‘the last of the 116 GTAm homologation touring spec cars were delivered to their owners at Mascot Airport, Sydney, under CAMS supervision. They then contacted Sandown and allowed the race cars to start practice for the Hang Ten 400.’
It was only one car at Sandown however, Frank Porter’s Clemens Sporting Cars GTAm (authorised Alfa dealer) who finished second in the 2-litre class behind Ron Dickson’s ‘works’-Ron Hodgson Motors Triumph Dolomite Sprint.
At Bathurst in October the Eric Board/Tom Tymons Ford Escort RS2000 Mk1 previled in the 1301-2000cc class from the Phil McDonell/Jim Hunter 2000 GTV with the Alfetta GTAm’s of Frank Power/Tony Roberts and John Leffler/Richard Carter fourth and fifth in the class.
Sticking with Mount Panorama, in 1977 the Brian Foley Derek Bell/Gary Leggatt 2000 GTV won the class with the best GTAm, the Frank Porter/Jim Murcott car third; the best Bathurst result for a 116 GTAm.
I note that the Brian Foley prepared Alfetta GTV 2000 raced by Phil McDonnell/Derek Bell was second in class behind the winning Peter Williamson/Mike Quinn Toyota Celica at Bathurst in 1979. This appears to have been a 2000GTV not a 2000GTAm…
Alfetta GT Group 2 Homologation…
Alfetta G.T. America Homologation…
Credits…
Peter Burley, Lane Louie, Evan Green, Rod Steffanoni, Racing Car News, Auto Action, Colin Pettigrew, Marque Spotlight Series, oldracephotos.com. Various Australian Alfisti historian/enthusiast/restorer/engineers including Vin Sharp, Anthony Sharp and Paul Newby on various Alfa Romeo forums; hopefully I haven’t verballed-you!
Finito…
primotipo... 