ROBERT CATANIA'S HISTORY

On to the engine: I saw the trophies in Clemente's shop to back up the stories I had heard and the pictures I had seen of their killer 2.5 Challenge car and I knew I wanted to have exactly the same type of performance. I was quite surprised when Frank explained that it didn't take much to make the 124 competitive, the Coupe provided a good platform for modifications and the 1608 motor was an exceptional power plant.I installed a pair of 40mm Weber IDFs on an Alquati manifold along with a set of Breda 40/80-80/40 cams. No porting, no valve work. I did however install a set of new 80mm domed pistons measuring 11:1 compression but I did no lightening or balancing to the other internals. I used a block mounted electronic ignition adapted from a Lancia Beta and then finished everything off with an Ansa header; basic bolt on stuff.

The results were better than I had anticipated. The motor made a solid 145hp and revved off the tach. This doesn't sound like much by today's lofty standards of engine output but let's put this in perspective, it was 1983 and there were no 1600s that could come close. In fact, I was eating up a lot of bigger displacement cars, even modified ones. Every now and again I like to bug Joe's older brother Gio about a certain race involving my 1608 and his bad-ass two liter Alfa GTV… dead even! To this day he'll downplay it. But we know... The coolest attribute of that 1608 was what we referred to as "the whistle". Like nothing I ever experienced before or since, the Webers on that 1608 created the most incredible sound. It was a high pitched whine which, people tell me, was most audible when I was coming up behind them at about 8500 rpm. It really rattled a few people; especially dumb V-8 muscle car goons who would ask if I was running a small block with a blower. As I was a rather cocky young Italian, my typical response to these guys was a simple middle-fingered salute as I drove away and laughed.

Cosmetically, the wheels were very appealing and complemented the car's "look-at-me" yellow paint by lending it a sporting but altogether more business like demeanor. The car still lacked something though; a front spoiler. The old school spoiler that Gio had on the car was long gone so I had to shop around. Most Coupes around at this time, assuming they had any spoiler at all, usually sported something adapted from Datsun 510s or VW Sciroccos or worse, really bad homemade items. They looked awful. That said, I realized that a homemade job did not necessarily have to equate to a bad one. So I decided to fabricate my own. My principle design criteria were that the spoiler was to be functional, that it should fit perfectly, mount easily and above all, be aesthetically balanced and pleasing.

It was a hell of a lot of work molding the contours with sheet metal, plastic filler and fiberglass. But in the end it turned out to be a masterpiece. All the edges were clean and the fit was precise. The spoiler's profile presented a natural and uninterrupted progression of curvature integrating nicely into the lower front wheel arch. Not only did the car look classier, but its handling characteristics changed now as well. The car was much more stable at speed and the bit of lip on the spoiler provided sufficient load on the front end to enhance the grip in turns as well.

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