RE: You Know You Want To: Alfa Romeo 33S 1.7i 16v P4

[robemcdonald]

Funk said:

robemcdonald said:

Funk said:

Oh well that changes things enormously then...

You'd have to be mental to drop £2.5k on one of these, no matter how rare.

Lots of far better metal out there for the same money!

Like what?

This for starters: http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

or this: http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

No. Seriously. Like what?

edit: apologies I have applied your logic and it turns out you only need to "drop" just over "a bag of sand" when you "pull the trigger"
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/...

Edited by robemcdonald on Thursday 1st October 08:22

[robemcdonald]

battered said:

robemcdonald said:

battered said:

I had a 33 1.5, it was great fun. After a year I was on first name terms with most of the breakdown services in the N of England. Shortly after that the occasional tapping from the top end turned into a clatter, at which point I decided the engine was scrap and I might as well try to get to Scotch Corner services as at least there I'd be able to drink coffee while I waited for the truck. A little while after that a bang announced the departure of the conrod from the engine block. I still have it on my desk. I sold the remains for £100 to a local Alfa specialist who I knew had an engine. A month later he rang me to say that the new owner had brought the car back complaining that it needed a new gearbox.

Do I want another? No.

Amazing really. You bought a car that had obviously been poorly maintained, but it failed because it was an Alfa.
I have had 4 cars with the boxer in. The one thing I've never had an issue with is the engines. Electrical systems however.....

If this were a ford or vw of similar rarity, condition and vintage it would be priced 10 times higher. If you want a retro hot hatch I don't think you'd find a better one for the money.

Obviously poorly maintained? I'm glad you know the car better than I do. Also interesting that the gearbox failure was down to poor maintenance. What maintenance do you do to your manual gearboxes then?
I did a lot of maintenance on the thing and yes, it failed (a few times, and on non-service items) because it wasn't very well engineered.

Its true that second gear Synchro's weren't the greatest on 33's, but providing its serviced properly it shouldn't fail. Your account tells of you ignoring a tapping, letting it become a clatter and eventually throwing a con-rod. Sounds like mechanical sympathy isn't really your thing. What year and model was your car as a matter of interest?

[TA14]

robemcdonald said:

Funk said:

robemcdonald said:

Funk said:

Oh well that changes things enormously then...

You'd have to be mental to drop £2.5k on one of these, no matter how rare.

Lots of far better metal out there for the same money!

Like what?

This for starters: http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

or this: http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

No. Seriously. Like what?

Each to his own. I wouldn't be interested in the BMWs either since I find them too clinical and boring for starters. Is £2.5K too much for the Alfa? Who knows, but in a world where people regularly pay three times that for an MGB or six times that for a Mk2 Escort it doesn't seem too bad to me.

[crostonian]

I learnt to drive in a 33 1.7ie and subsequently used to drive the P4 which my mother replaced it with, I also owned a 1.5 Ti and 1.7 8V Cloverleaf while I was at Uni. The engines were great particularly the 1.5s, they handled quite well and I liked the looks.

However the P4 was one of the worst cars to be a passenger in, the ride was awful, you could feel the driveline shunt through your arse, the trim rattled, the doors and tailgate rattled in their frames, overall it was a shoddy car and by the early 90s it must have been one of the worst built cars on sale. Yet from the the excellent Recaro driver's seat, holding onto the beautiful Nardi wheel the car was alive, the quad cam flat four sounded amazing, it fizzed and popped and screamed to the red line, there was no torque steer, the steering was full of feel and you never noticed the crap surrounding you!

However my mother's P4 soon became a P2 when the electronics for the diff packed up, the orange 4x4 light on the dash constantly winking accompanying the clunks from below, so the prop was removed and the torque steer returned, it did feel quicker though!

[vantastic]

thanks for comments

[vantastic]

Well its back on the driveway and washed

[Pedrokat1]

Late to the party but what a car! I bought Rob McDonald's modified P4 K216ARD from him in 2000 for £1900 or there abouts. Yes it had problems on the 3 years I had it.... But it had over 120k on clock iirc. All cars need maintainance. .
Only 2 things convinced me to part with it.... the mounts went soft on the viscous coupling so it banged on the floor turning corners which drove me mental, and I struggled to get parts....like a fuel tank...when it rusted out.... but I loved it... the 4wd grip.... how it looked.... handling was great... I replaced it with an integrale evo that I still own 17 years later.... I would have another if I had garage space.... and do still have a boxer.... my sprint 1.5 q.v.... that I drove today.... again... not perfect.... but was ace as my first car and I still loved it 26 years later.... yep there surely is better out there.... but the P4 was brilliant.... I would have kept mine had I had storage.
Cheers
Peter

Edited by Pedrokat1 on Wednesday 18th September 06:24