RE: Shed of the Week | Alfa Romeo 164 V6 Lusso
Discussion
My favourite car I’ve owned, probably. I had a 164 Cloverleaf 24v in black. Had the body kit on it which was sort of grey, I put a stainless exhaust on it that was subtle but made the most of that glorious 3.0, I fitted a massive cone filter too (!). Never has 230bhp been so glorious. Proper engine noise. I remember a Type R Civic and I neck and neck on a private road near the M42 that from 0-100 was even before the 164 started to pull away (or the driver slowed). It was reliable, after I spent £800 on belts and a proper service with an Alfa guy in the Black Country Walsall or Oldbury way I think. Had some pixels missing, but the interior with the Cloverleaf interior was a great place to sit. I remember some non Pistonhead saying they thought it had the finest back seats of any car. That was not a reference to anything else either. Happy, happy memories. No car has taken me quite so much. This was followed by a manual 530i of the e39 variety which was undoubtedly a better car...but not to me... I tried to find a replacement in a 3.0 166 which nearly did it but for an auto gearbox. I tried a 156 2.5 V6 which nearly did it too but not quite! Memories...
My favourite previous car was a late ‘93 164 TS Lusso- crossover model with the newer style headlights.
Ran it from 2000 to 2007. Only paid about $2.6k for it with 60k on the clock.
And was actually quite reliable
Sadly scrapped it when it needed a new steering rack seals (leaking) and other impending work - maybe should have kept it going and spent a chunk getting back into condition.
Some of the most comfortable seats in any car I’ve owned
Ran it from 2000 to 2007. Only paid about $2.6k for it with 60k on the clock.
And was actually quite reliable
Sadly scrapped it when it needed a new steering rack seals (leaking) and other impending work - maybe should have kept it going and spent a chunk getting back into condition.
Some of the most comfortable seats in any car I’ve owned
Of my 10 Alfas three of them were these. 2.0 Arese twin spark with an Autodelta remap, the one i wish I hadn't sold, and two V6s. Burgundy red like one of the pics with cloth seats was first. Originally a directors car for Jet fuels. Still had K444 JET security etching on the glass. K442 CND IIRC. First car I did 150mph in. Only swapped for a black Lusso. Trailered it back from Scotland. Guy was on his way to the garage with timing belt kit in boot for changing, when it let go! I had a pair of heads ready to swap on. Our lass said "Why are you bothering, there's nowt wrong with the red one?" I wanted the black Momo leather and new OE pepperpots.She literally cried when the fella buying drove it away. When the A1 still had roundabouts in Notts remember embarrassing a Boxster away from them.
Brilliant cars, even better engines.
Brilliant cars, even better engines.
I remember as a 12 year old boy, playing with my Matchbox cars on the floor of our hallway when all of a sudden a large red object slowly started to approach our front door, getting larger and larger as it proceeded up the driveway until it was static. I jumped to my feet and ran to the door, opened it and there in its full red shiny glory was an Alfa 164.
I said to my uncle (who had been driving), "is that a 164?" - I had seen pictures of it in CAR magazine, probably a copy my uncle had given me a week or so before. He simply said "get in".
We drove for what seemed like hours. I was comforted by the large tan sumptuous seats, amazed by the noise the engine made and impressed by all the space age buttons that in my fathers Renault 14 seemed twisty and plain. He had said he was test driving it for a friend who owned an Alfa garage - so the fact things like the electric sunroof didn't work was something he would have to relay back!
Whenever I see one it evokes that memory. I have always wanted one. Alas, I have never even owned an Alfa.
I said to my uncle (who had been driving), "is that a 164?" - I had seen pictures of it in CAR magazine, probably a copy my uncle had given me a week or so before. He simply said "get in".
We drove for what seemed like hours. I was comforted by the large tan sumptuous seats, amazed by the noise the engine made and impressed by all the space age buttons that in my fathers Renault 14 seemed twisty and plain. He had said he was test driving it for a friend who owned an Alfa garage - so the fact things like the electric sunroof didn't work was something he would have to relay back!
Whenever I see one it evokes that memory. I have always wanted one. Alas, I have never even owned an Alfa.
Well, "if you could re-buy any one of the cars you've owned in your life and then somehow make it live forever, which one would it be?" In my case it would definitely be the Alfa 164 3.0 Lusso I owned. It was one of the first to come into the UK in early 1988, I bought it at 2 years old and 22,000 miles, and kept it for 14 years, eventually and very reluctantly letting go of it at 185,000 miles.... As Shed says, the 3.0V6 was an absolute jewel of an engine, and whilst I did have the inevitable electrical issues over the years, the engine and manual transmission was still original and going great guns at 185,000 miles. I have had a number of great cars since, including a Ferrari F355, Alfa 166, Jaguar XK8, and my current Jaguar XF V8S, however I still miss my beloved 164, and I am very, very tempted to go after this particular shed....after all, at £1500 its not only a great bargain, but surely an investment!!!! - incurable Alfisti!!!!
One of those cars that looks lovely in profile, but I can't get on with the ends, particularly that sad-eyed nose. Plus, glorious as that V6 may be, it is ultimately mounted sideways across a tarted-up Fiat Croma.
There was a lot of design recycling going on at Pininfarina in those days, too, and as such this is the one I'd have (in 3.0 24v form, naturally)...
There was a lot of design recycling going on at Pininfarina in those days, too, and as such this is the one I'd have (in 3.0 24v form, naturally)...
That's been advertised for a while and I checked the MoT history. My MoT tester prods any metal that looks suspect with a hard, pointy thing. I can't weld.
A PHer in the barge thread posted a link to a Japanese Auction website. I looked a few days ago and there was one 164 on there. It was LHD and had a massive air bagged steering wheel on it. And it was 5-6 times the SoTW limit.
A PHer in the barge thread posted a link to a Japanese Auction website. I looked a few days ago and there was one 164 on there. It was LHD and had a massive air bagged steering wheel on it. And it was 5-6 times the SoTW limit.
RoverP6B said:
One of those cars that looks lovely in profile, but I can't get on with the ends, particularly that sad-eyed nose. Plus, glorious as that V6 may be, it is ultimately mounted sideways across a tarted-up Fiat Croma.
There was a lot of design recycling going on at Pininfarina in those days, too, and as such this is the one I'd have (in 3.0 24v form, naturally)...
Ha! We were forced to accept a 605 on consignment from Peugeot when I worked at a dealership in around 1993. They sent us a white, 2.1 SRDT. It sat for a year (ours was a small dealership) before we eventually registered it as a demo. Lovely thing to drive, in a wafty sort of way, but everyone thought it was a 405. Mind you, my sales manager regularly used to get 700 miles from a tankful...There was a lot of design recycling going on at Pininfarina in those days, too, and as such this is the one I'd have (in 3.0 24v form, naturally)...
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