Help to identify an old Alfa Romeo knob

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JohanAlfa
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:36 pm

Help to identify an old Alfa Romeo knob

Post by JohanAlfa »

I´m searching the internet for any information about a knob I bought in Iran at an antiques market.
The knob seems to be made by backlite, but I'm not sure on this! It has an Alfa Romeo logo without the word Milano but with a royal crown above it. Haven't seen anything like it on the web. The knob is of good quality and the logo is molded into the material a few millimeters down, not just av "sticker" put on it after production. The thread sleeve looks like brass to me. Please see pictures.

My thoughts so far after some input I got:
- The material indicates the knob is old, but the word Milano is missing which normally indicates it´s made after 1972...
- If it´s a "fake", not produced by Alfa Romeo, why wouldn't they copy also the word Milano...?
- About the royal crown; Iran was a monarchy until 1979...
- The knob could be a gear shift knob or perhaps some other kind of knob on a car...?

The measures of the knob is: Hight 45 mm, diameter 42 mm.

I would be grateful for any input regarding this so I can solve the mystery! Thanks
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mj2k
Posts: 112
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2019 10:46 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Help to identify an old Alfa Romeo knob

Post by mj2k »

I'm sure there's a bad joke just waiting to be made here, but looks a bit like an Alfa 2600 gear knob to me. Never seen one in the flesh though, so could be completely wrong.

Looks like the Shah was quite a car nut, and rather liked his Italian sportscars so it could have been specially made for him I guess.

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JohanAlfa
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:36 pm

Re: Help to identify an old Alfa Romeo knob

Post by JohanAlfa »

Interesting with the royal track. Would be fun to get info about if Alfa Romeo delivered custom adapted cars for the shah and in that case which model.

If the knob is custom made the shape maybe doesn't necessarily have to be exactly like a series manufactured one?

I think the metal in the logo looks like gold, but I guess it´s not possible to test it since it´s under the surface.

JohanAlfa
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:36 pm

Re: Help to identify an old Alfa Romeo knob

Post by JohanAlfa »

I have continued my search and may now have found the answer; a pull-knob from the dashboard of a Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B – see image. The bigger knob in the left of the picture has the same shape as the knob I have. Alfa manufactured a custom made car of that model in 1937 to the Italian king Vittorio Emmanuel III. That would explain the royal crown above the Alfa logo. The fact that it is made of bakelit would fit with the 1930´s.

I have also found pictures of Alfa 6C 2300 B cars with an Alfa-logo without the word Milano.

Later Mussolini took over the kings car. The car went to decay and was later sold to a Russian museum that will totally renovate it.

I will continue to look this up to verify my theory!
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mj2k
Posts: 112
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2019 10:46 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Help to identify an old Alfa Romeo knob

Post by mj2k »

'Tis plausible, a 1.5" knob, whilst nothing to be proud of, would certainly be a good size for some sort of mechanical mechanism like a choke or whatever.

But if that is the case, how did it end up in Iran?

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