The Best ///M/Barge/General Rant/Look at this/O/T (Vol XVII)
Discussion
tenfour said:
Yep, I'm imagining it alright:
currently I'm mopping my brow with a paisley cravat as I sit on the hard shoulder of the A71, just south of Bourges; bonnet aloft, coolant trickling into the gutter, tweeting birds just about audible over the inexorable roar of progress as the rest of the world flies by in their wonderfully modern, reliable automobiles that aren't horrible bd creations from the epitome of seventies unionization and west-midlands fecklessness.
Article said :-currently I'm mopping my brow with a paisley cravat as I sit on the hard shoulder of the A71, just south of Bourges; bonnet aloft, coolant trickling into the gutter, tweeting birds just about audible over the inexorable roar of progress as the rest of the world flies by in their wonderfully modern, reliable automobiles that aren't horrible bd creations from the epitome of seventies unionization and west-midlands fecklessness.
Leins said:
I cannot overstate the near-biblical levels of hatred I have for BMWs with replica Alpina wheels though!
Do not worry, Sire! Somewhere in the back of my garden, under a cover, there is a set of beautiful two-piece Alpina Softlines by BBS 18 x 8 and 18 x 9
No idea what I am keeping them for, but I am sure they would look stunning on a E24 or E31
DoctorX said:
Just the job for picking up a 1982-era Rebecca De Mornay.TheRocket said:
Actually, I quite like those Cheburator mk2 said:
Leins said:
I cannot overstate the near-biblical levels of hatred I have for BMWs with replica Alpina wheels though!
Do not worry, Sire! Somewhere in the back of my garden, under a cover, there is a set of beautiful two-piece Alpina Softlines by BBS 18 x 8 and 18 x 9
No idea what I am keeping them for, but I am sure they would look stunning on a E24 or E31
braddo said:
I'd probably be tending towards full comfort (late 60s rolls/bentley) or mini-GT (Giulia Alfa). By the time I sold it my old Alfa would have lapped up the bombing down the autoroute and thereon to the route Napoleon.
That's the dream trip in my Alfa. If even have this on the garage wall as inspiration...joesnow said:
braddo said:
I'd probably be tending towards full comfort (late 60s rolls/bentley) or mini-GT (Giulia Alfa). By the time I sold it my old Alfa would have lapped up the bombing down the autoroute and thereon to the route Napoleon.
That's the dream trip in my Alfa. If even have this on the garage wall as inspiration...The only time the engine in mine got hot was when the radiator was fked. A £140 new radiator fixed that. And the brakes never faded. Ever. Stock discs and pads, with decent modern fluid and braided hoses on the front (don't know if they were any better than stock new hoses, to be honest). Hundreds of miles of track day fun, thousands of miles of thrashing and redlining the thing through town and country - the car had had a top end rebuild and new carbs before I bought it but the bottom end and gearbox were untouched from the factory, 35 years and 80,000 miles ago. The famous Alfa 2nd gear synchro had one foot in the grave though.
The unreliability I had was almost all minor electrical stuff - an ignition coil thingy, an old wire 'twixt battery and starter motor degrading. And it took years to find a driveline vibration that was a duff part on the propshaft. After that, 80-90mph cruise for hours was no problem.
I have a book with a compilation of contemporary road tests and a few of them show brake performance after multiple hard stops - the Giulia is one of the only cars ever tested back then whose brake performance actually improved after multiple stops! But then they complain that the brake pedal is over-servoed. Goes to show how terrible tyres were back then.
Basically, Giulia Alfas are superbly engineered and mechanically very robust. But get ADAC breakdown cover! Les Francais will love you for making the effort - they really appreciate seeing something different from all the horribly boring stuff on their roads.
L100NYY said:
I often have those whimsical thoughts of;
A euro roadtrip, what car...? No time limitations or costs ie fuel etc.
Hmmm.
Unfortunately the inflation rate is probably similar to that of a £23k XJS, but a strong contender for me is a very early Aston V8, DBS?A euro roadtrip, what car...? No time limitations or costs ie fuel etc.
Hmmm.
Eek, this makes me want to cry. I used to dream about buying a manual one of these for £25-30k back in 2001.
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C745895
Back to the Alfa then!
olly755 said:
L100NYY said:
Isn't that lovely.And an Evo V RS for me please.
braddo said:
Do it.
The only time the engine in mine got hot was when the radiator was fked. A £140 new radiator fixed that. And the brakes never faded. Ever. Stock discs and pads, with decent modern fluid and braided hoses on the front (don't know if they were any better than stock new hoses, to be honest). Hundreds of miles of track day fun, thousands of miles of thrashing and redlining the thing through town and country - the car had had a top end rebuild and new carbs before I bought it but the bottom end and gearbox were untouched from the factory, 35 years and 80,000 miles ago. The famous Alfa 2nd gear synchro had one foot in the grave though.
The unreliability I had was almost all minor electrical stuff - an ignition coil thingy, an old wire 'twixt battery and starter motor degrading. And it took years to find a driveline vibration that was a duff part on the propshaft. After that, 80-90mph cruise for hours was no problem.
I have a book with a compilation of contemporary road tests and a few of them show brake performance after multiple hard stops - the Giulia is one of the only cars ever tested back then whose brake performance actually improved after multiple stops! But then they complain that the brake pedal is over-servoed. Goes to show how terrible tyres were back then.
Basically, Giulia Alfas are superbly engineered and mechanically very robust. But get ADAC breakdown cover! Les Francais will love you for making the effort - they really appreciate seeing something different from all the horribly boring stuff on their roads.
Thanks Braddo, sounds like you miss yours.The only time the engine in mine got hot was when the radiator was fked. A £140 new radiator fixed that. And the brakes never faded. Ever. Stock discs and pads, with decent modern fluid and braided hoses on the front (don't know if they were any better than stock new hoses, to be honest). Hundreds of miles of track day fun, thousands of miles of thrashing and redlining the thing through town and country - the car had had a top end rebuild and new carbs before I bought it but the bottom end and gearbox were untouched from the factory, 35 years and 80,000 miles ago. The famous Alfa 2nd gear synchro had one foot in the grave though.
The unreliability I had was almost all minor electrical stuff - an ignition coil thingy, an old wire 'twixt battery and starter motor degrading. And it took years to find a driveline vibration that was a duff part on the propshaft. After that, 80-90mph cruise for hours was no problem.
I have a book with a compilation of contemporary road tests and a few of them show brake performance after multiple hard stops - the Giulia is one of the only cars ever tested back then whose brake performance actually improved after multiple stops! But then they complain that the brake pedal is over-servoed. Goes to show how terrible tyres were back then.
Basically, Giulia Alfas are superbly engineered and mechanically very robust. But get ADAC breakdown cover! Les Francais will love you for making the effort - they really appreciate seeing something different from all the horribly boring stuff on their roads.
I also track my Alfa, and its great fun. I've found its about preservation of momentum and adopting some balls through the corners to chase down Mx5s and low power Elises. It may be that they are just slow drivers, but overtaking them is great fun in an older car, and getting the most out of it is a joyous challenge. Its so cheap to run as well.
Mechanically, it is in fine fettle, with all bushings and rubber bits of the drive train refreshed and suspension uprated too, but you're right on the wiring. I've not had any failures or issues, but the wires have reached that point of case hardening, so I take a small reel and connectors with me just in case there's ever an issue. I'd agree also on the brakes, I have the ATE caliper running DS2500 pads all round on stock disks. After a refurb of the calipers, braking is progressive with no fade. My car had the servo removed previously, so they do need a shove. Even at Donington and stretching the legs, the temps remained half way around their respective dials.
Plenty of Alfaholics bits, including an lsd, exhaust system and liberal use of the Nord tuning book to liberate flow from the 1750 motor result in a car that can keep up with modern traffic most of the time, and giving me a grin whilst doing it too.
Sounds about right for Route Napoleon.
Edited by joesnow on Friday 27th May 13:11
Edited by joesnow on Friday 27th May 13:12
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