Magneto-Ignition

Vittorio Jano, who succeeded Merosi, began with the P2 then designed the 1800, which latter became the 1750. Various versions of the 1500 were produced; these differed in their engines particularly as to whether or not there was a supercharger, with power ranging from 64 bhp at 4,500 revs without a supercharger, to 102 bhp at 5,000 revs with. The 1500 was produced from 1929 until 1933 in five series. The difference between the third, fourth and fifth series lay mainly in the adjustable mechanism for heating the mixture in the inlet manifold by means of the exhaust gases. A total of 2,579 were built. The 1750 was designed both for use on motorways and minor roads by using a formula based on a combination of a low weight of 2,000 pounds (900 kg( and high performance at speeds between 80-105 mph.
Car : Alfa Romeos 6C 1750 Grand Sport
Year : 1930
Engine : 6 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :65?88 mm
Cylinder capacity : 1752 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 85
Maximum speed : 95 mph
Wheelbase : 9 ft 0 ins (2.74 m)
Suspension : front and rear: semi-elliptic leaf- springs and friction shock absorber

Car : Alfa Romeos 6C 2300 Pescara
Year : 1934
Engine : 6 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :70?100 mm
Cylinder capacity : 2309 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 95
Maximum speed : -
Wheelbase : 9 ft 10 ins (3.3 m)
Suspension : front and rear: semi-elliptic leaf- springs
Another of Jano’s designs was the 8C 2300 which was also built between 1931 and 1934, again in several versions. A special feature of the 8-cylinder engine was that it retained the same bore and stroke as the 6-cylinder 1750. The two extra cylinders raised its capacity to 2336 cc and the power developed ranged from 142 bhp at 5,000 revs to 180 bhp at 5,400 revs. This engine also powerd a Grand Prix twing-seater , the 8C Monza.

The sports versions of the 2300 are amongst the most successful Alfa Romeos. Although it had an unhappy beginning in the 1931 Mille Miglia, Nuvolari then drove on to victory in the 22nd Targa Florio. Birkin won the Irish G.P. driving a 2300, while a 4-seater 8C won the Le Mans 24-Hour race with an all British team (Birkin-Howe). In 1932 the 2300 took firt and second places in both the Mille Miglia (the teams being Borzacchini-Bignami and Trossi-Brivio) and the Targa Florio (Nuvolari and Borzacchini). In 1933 it took the first eight places in the Mille Miglia (won by Nuvolari) and the first three positions in the Le Mans 24-Hour (won by Sommer-Nuvolari). The success gained in the Pescara 24-Hour gave birth to the little sedan that bore the name Pescara, the maximum power being 95 bhp at 4,500 revs.

The 6C 2500 was less important from a technical point of view but was a link between pre- and post-war production. The 2500, production of which resumed at the end of the war, represented a new policy on the part of Alfa Romeo. Whilst not abandoning racing, Alfa were faced with the ever growing need to increase manufacturing. From the beginning the 6C 2500 was produced in three models (Turismo, Sport and Super Sport) and a total of 1,885 cars were produced, Alfa itself building the body of the Turismo.
Car : Alfa Romeos 6C 2500 Turismo
Year : 1939
Engine : 6 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :72?100 mm
Cylinder capacity : 2443 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 105
Maximum speed : -
Wheelbase : 10 ft 8 ins (2.64 m)
Suspension : front :cylinder encased coil springs ; rear: longitudinal torsion bar

Ansaldo 4C
Car : Ansaldo 4C
Year : 1920
Engine :4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :70?120 mm
Cylinder capacity : 1804 cc
Gears : 3 forward
Brake horse power : 36
Maximum speed : 50 mph
Wheelbase : 9 ft 0 ins (2.74 m)
Suspension : front and rear: semi-elliptic leaf- springs
The 4C was the third model to appear on the market in the brief history of Ansaldo. Its overhead camshaft engine made the 4C a very advanced machine for its time. However the new firm’s hopes of opposing Fiat’s dominance was not successful as it could not withstand the political and economic crisis at the end of the First World War.

This company was founded in 1853 by the engineer, Giovanni Ansaldo and was known chiefly for the building of ships and the manufacture of artillery. Ansaldo partially changed over to the production of automobiles at the end of the war when he attempted to find a use for the Transaerea factories at Turin.
The 4C was designed by Guido Soria, an ex-employee of Fiat. The engine had a removable cylinder head, magneto ignition, pumped water-cooling, fan and radiator and single plate clutch. The hand brake acted on the transmission. Its maximum speed was of about 2000 cc entered production.
In 1924 there came a 6-cylinder engine with the same capacity and in 1929 a 3500 cc 8-cylinder engine. In 1928 the 4-cylinder models or types were given a 4-speed gearbox. The Ansaldo gained a strong reputation hill-climbs.

Bianchi 20/30
Car : Bianchi 20/30
Year : 1910
Engine :4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :110?130 mm
Cylinder capacity : 4939 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 30
Maximum speed :0 mph
Wheelbase : 10 ft 6 ins (3.2 m)
Suspension : front and rear: semi-elliptic leaf- springs
Bianchi had a long life as a car manufacturer. It ceased to exist as such in 1955 as the result of an agreement between Fiat and Pirelli. Prior to cars it had been actively involved with bicycles and motorcycles. The company first became associated with cars in 1899 (though this is not historically definite), when its founder, Edoardo Bianchi, built a 4-wheeler powered by a single-cylinder De Dion-Bouton engine. One of Bianchi’s designers was Giuseppe Merosi, who moved on to A.L.F.A. and hence to Alfa Romeo.

Bianchi built simple, solid machines powered by 4-cylinder engines with side valves in T-shaped cylinder heads, with low tension magneto ignition, a steel chassis, a honeycomb radiator and double chain drive. From 1909 onwards, engines with L-shaped cylinder heads, high tension magneto ignition and shaft drive were adopted and all these features are found on the 20/30. When the 20/30 appeared it had chain drive and an engine with a twin block L-shaped cylinder head but it was later modernized and fitted with a monobloc engine and shaft drive. The increase in the bore brought the capacity up to 5700 cc and its

Ceirano Tipo CS
Car : Ceirano Tipo CS
Year : 1921
Engine :4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :75?130 mm
Cylinder capacity : 2166 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 22
Maximum speed : -
Wheelbase : -
Suspension : front and rear: semi-elliptic leaf- springs
The Ceirano Brothers, Giovanni Battista, Giovanni and Matteo, provide one of the best examples of the initiative and vitality of the early car manufacturers. On October 23, 1898, the limited partnership of Ceirano Giovanni Battista & Company was founded in Turin. One of the most significant names in Italian automobile engineering, Aristide Faccioli, was its technical director. Its first vehicle was powered by a 663 cc twin-cylinder engine.

Known as Welleyes this car was almost immediately rechristened Fiat as it was sold together with equipments and patents for a total of L30,000 to a group of Turinese manufacturers who had just founded Fiat (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino). Giovanni Battista himself joined Fiat but in 1901 he went into business for himself again and founded Fratelli Ceirano with his brother Matteo.
In 1905 Giovanni Ceirano founded the firm Scat (Societ? Ceirano Automobili Torino). Giovanni left Scat in 1916 when the shares were sold to a Frenchman called Brasier. However, in the postwar period Scat’s production declined to such an extent that Giovanni was able to reunite it with another company, Giovanni Ceirano Fabbrica Automobile S.A., and the two merged in 1923.
Scat had racing successes and in 1914, Ernesto Ceirano, Giovanni’s son , drove a Scat to victory in the Tour of Sicily. Ernesto also won the 1914 Parma-Piaggio di Berceto hill race driving a Scat.
Giovanni Battista had founded a company with his brother in 1903. It was called G.G. Fratelli but it was a short-lived venture and the two brothers split up. Giovanni Battista went on to found Ceirano & Compagnia. He was also responsible for the company called Star (Societ? Torinese Automobili Rapid).

Ceirano Tipo N 150
Car : Ceirano Tipo N 150
Year : 1925
Engine :4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :65?110 mm
Cylinder capacity : 1460 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 40
Maximum speed : 60 mph
Wheelbase : 8 ft 9 ins (2.97 m)
Suspension : front and rear: semi-elliptic leaf- springs
Matteo’s career was no less complicated. In 1904 he founded Itala which built huge Edwardian cars with overtones of Mercedes. He then moved on to smaller and more conventionally designed cars. In 1906 he founded Spa (Societ? Piemontese Automobili).
The two vehicles illustrated here were Giovanni Ceirano’s products. The CS, from 1921, had a side valve engine and developed 22 bhp at 2,200 revs. This car gave rise to two sporting versions, the Tipo CS 22 and the Tiop SC 4, the latter having a capacity of 2843 cc and a bore and stroke of 65?130 mm. The CS 2 developed 35 bhp at 3,000 revs.

The second car illustrated was nicknamed the Ceiranina because of its engine capacity. The engine also had side valves, but a sports version, the 150 CS, had overhead valves.
The erratic company of Scat and of Ceirano in general came to an end when Fiat, who had become the principal shareholder of Scat, decided in 1932 , that it should be absorbed by Spa of which they had taken control in 1926.
Ceirano was therefore placed in liquidation, its trademark was sold to Scat and all car production was entrusted to Scat. In 1931 Giovanni Battista Ceirano left Scat permanently and in 1933 he founded Fata with his son Ernesto but it did not manufacture cars.

Chiribiri Tipo Milano
Car : Chiribiri Tipo Milano
Year : 1925
Engine :4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :65?112 mm
Cylinder capacity : 1485cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 45
Maximum speed : 75 mph
Wheelbase : –
Suspension : front and rear: semi-elliptic leaf- springs
Antonio Chiribiri, the founder of this make, started in the aircraft industry (Fabbrica Torinese Velivoli Chiribiri & Compagnia). In 1910 the shortage of orders for aircraft forced him to transfer to the car industry. Chiribiri et up a small, efficient team , one of the administrative people being Vittorio Valletta who was later to became the leading figure in Fiat. The car which brought Chiribiri most fame was a 1600 which had the gearbox mounted in with the differential gear on the rear axle.
In 1922 a twin cam shaft model was put into production and this won numerous races with the famous Tazio Nuvolari as driver. The illustration here is of the standard version. The twin cam shaft engine developed 45 bhp at 3,500 revs (65 bhp at 5,000 revs in the racing version). The maximum speed of the former model was 75 mph and of the latter 94 mph. A Grand Prix racer called the Monza was also produced. Another version had a supercharger and the maximum power rose to 93 bhp at 5,700 revs. With a light body, this last car could reach over 110 mph. The economic crisis caused a large drop in sales and Chiribiri went out of existence in September 1928.Its factories were taken over by Lancia.

Diatto 20 A
Car : Diatto 20 A
Year : 1927
Engine :4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :80?100 mm
Cylinder capacity : 1996 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 40
Maximum speed : -
Wheelbase :10 ft 2 ins (3.09 m)
Suspension : front and rear: semi-elliptic leaf- springs
Diatto began in 1835 as Turin coach builders. In 1905 Vittorio and Pietro Diatto made an agreement with the French firm of Clement-Bayard to create an automobile business. A 1884 cc twin-cylinder car and a 3770 cc 4-cylinder car already being produced by Clement-Bayard were chosen. In 1909 Adolphe Clement , who had been chairman of the firm Diatto-A. Clement Vetture Marca Torino, with-drew , leaving the two brothers in full control of Diatto. The company changed its name to Officine Fonderie Frejus Diatto and in 1909 put the first 4-cylinder monobloc into production. In 1915 a body building shop was added to the factory.

The Diatto 20 dates from 1922. It did not originate in the firm but was the work of Veltro of Turin who handed the design over to Diatto. The overhead valves and camshaft classed the 20 as a modern car. The engine of the 20 S developed 75 bhp as opposed to the 40 bhp of the 20 A. In 1923 the company was placed in liquidation and it changed its name once again to Autocostruzioni Diatto S.A. A Grand Prix car also featured again in its program. This was commissioned from Alfieri Maserati and he produced a 2000 cc 8-cylinder vehicle which made its first appearance at the 1925 Italian Grand Prix. Nothing came of this project.