Alfa Romeo 145 Cloverleaf

Author
Discussion

DEEMAN1

Original Poster:

17 posts

122 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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Does anyone have any experience of these, apparently they are proper old school fun cars that make a lovely noise.

They go for quite cheap money nowadays if you can find one.

What do you reckon, could they be a future classic as you certainly don't see many around??




k-ink

9,070 posts

178 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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Amazing raw fun for no money. No they will never be a classic as they don't have a vw or ford badge. Enjoy them while you can

robemcdonald

8,715 posts

195 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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I had one for a couple of years. Excellent car. In my opinion as good as contemporary fords, vauxhalls, vws etc.. Although it will never be recognised as such.
Should you be lucky enough to find a decent one things to look at immediately are

1. Cam belt and cam variator. Change both straight away.
2. Wishbone bushes - lower ones wear and cause wear on the inside edge of the tyres. Go for polybushes if you can, although it can be easiest just to change the lower wishbones as getting the bushes out is a right faff.
3. Corrosion on the chassis.

Otherwise enjoy and please post some pictures.

okie592

2,711 posts

166 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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My mum had a lovely blue one, made a great noise and was a great steer, till the floor rusted though and fell out.

Mave

8,208 posts

214 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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I had a series 1 cloverleaf, took it to 137k miles and sold it in 2006- it's still going strong now! Fantastic car, not perfect (weird brakes, rubbish turning circle, hyperactive wipers) but brilliant fun. Made every journey special (especially when the wiper linkage failed whilst overtaking a lorry in torrential rain...)

PhilipAlfa

359 posts

173 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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As above - great fun if you can find a good one. Rust is definitely the main problem with most cars suffering from rotting floorpans.

They are not especially fast , but are great handling cars and with a few tweaks can really be thrown through the bends. I love mine :-)



I can't see them ever being a classic though so don't bank on making your fortune from a 145! The best place I've found on the internet to learn about these cars is http://forum.alfa145.com

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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Bit of blurb here on them tested against some contemporaries

http://www.alfa145.co.uk/downloads/Top_Gear_-_Alfa...

1878

821 posts

162 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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Had a cloverleaf as a loaner for a day while my GT was in for servicing.

Great fun, very checkable and while I've no idea how it compares to the obvious competition I'd happily have a 145 long term. Watch out for the points noted above, watch out for the ones that have been horribly modified, buy it and have fun. Oh and post some pics.

ecotec

404 posts

128 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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just searched the ph classifieds - none, they must have all rusted away!

Jimbo.

3,941 posts

188 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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I had its bigger-bummed sister, the 146ti, for about 8 years. All things considered (parked next to the sea, run on a student/shoestring budget etc), it was a cracking little car. I miss it, still.

i don't think they'll ever get to pukka "classic" status: no "pedigree", no cult status. They'll be in 20 years what an Alfasud is today, perhaps?

velocemitch

3,795 posts

219 months

Tuesday 15th July 2014
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Jimbo. said:
i don't think they'll ever get to pukka "classic" status: no "pedigree", no cult status. They'll be in 20 years what an Alfasud is today, perhaps?
Not sure if I understand that statement, the Sud does have cult status and is pretty legendary in it's reputation, good and bad. The 145 has and will have neither, despite it being a thoroughly competent little Car.

I regularly Rally against a 145 Cloverleaf and I can vouch for just how quickly they can be put down a twisty road, it seems to take punishment well too, though I do believe it regularly breaks wishbones and other bits. I last saw it parked high up in a hedge though, so may be it won't recover from that.

crostonian

2,427 posts

171 months

Tuesday 15th July 2014
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Rust seems to be the big enemy now, I'd love to find an early Series 1 with the alloy cam cover and tubular manifolds, only available in '96 and '97. The Series 1 for me is better looking than the later cars and I much prefer them with cloth seats, saw a couple whilst in Italy a few weeks ago, could be a good source of a rust free example. The other car of a similar ilk that I lust after is the 5 door Tipo Sedicvalvole, even harder to find and arguably a better drive.

k-ink

9,070 posts

178 months

Tuesday 15th July 2014
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I am pretty certain the body was galvanised on the 145. I had two and neither had a single spec of rust.

PhilipAlfa

359 posts

173 months

Tuesday 15th July 2014
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Yes the bodies are generally fine, but the floorpans are not galvanised and often not fully undersealed either, hence they rot away.

Thankfully 'our' car is all OK :-)

k-ink

9,070 posts

178 months

Tuesday 15th July 2014
quotequote all
Haha, I know you will keep her in fine fettle Philip smile

Despite me still swapping to ever more pricey and comfy cars I still have a hankering for some raw basic motoring fun.

Btw, did anyone else spot the 145 for sale some time ago with the V6 conversion? I was not cheap at mid to high teens I teem to recall.

glendon

118 posts

205 months

Tuesday 15th July 2014
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I love the 145QV, currently on my third one!

I had a couple of patches welded on the underside last year but apart from that there is no rust on the body at all, they were well galvanized up top.
Mine has black leather, just been resprayed and has Eibach springs with Bilstein B4 dampers.
Great fun!


RicksAlfas

13,354 posts

243 months

Thursday 17th July 2014
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Can only echo what has been said above. Great fun cars. They'll need some TLC now, and thoroughly check the floors and sills for rust.
I had an early one (1996) and it always seemed to go better than my Phase 2 one (1999). Don't discount the 146Ti either, although it doesn't look as good I don't think.

z06tim

558 posts

185 months

Friday 18th July 2014
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These are great cars.

I had my 1997 model from about 3yrs old until only a couple of years ago. I was very sad to see it go.

Mine was well looked after so the body and paint were still in very good condition. Much better than a lot of expensive similar aged German stuff to be fair! As said above, check the undebody as mine was starting to get a bit crusty. Shame really, as if i'd have undersealed it a few years before, that would probably still be immaculate too. Also, mine lived for a few years in Caithness where winters are particularly harsh.

The only thing that made me sell was the age and trying to keep on top of all the mechanicals that were getting increasingly hard to look after as a main daily driver. In hindsight, if i had the space, i might have kept it, as it was such a fun and now very rare car.


effkay

737 posts

188 months

Friday 18th July 2014
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I'm biased, but I enjoy mine - looking forward to trying the new Bilstein B6's out which i've just fitted biggrin



Nothing much else to add to the above points. Just a shame they didn't galvanise the floor as people have said!

johnvthe2nd

1,285 posts

196 months

Tuesday 22nd July 2014
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just put B6's on my Barchetta and they transformed it .. you're in for a treat.