Alfa Romeo 166 3.0 V6 | Shed of the Week
A manual, Busso-engined Alfa Romeo for shed money? Miracles do happen...
This week it's a right royal blast from the past with this 3.0-litre, Busso-engined Alfa 166. We haven't had a Busso in here since 2019. That was a 1993 164 described at the time by Shed as 'solid looking'. Predictably it was shoved out of the MOT station for the last time three months later with a terminally crusty rear end.
Despite that epic fail, Shed immediately started clacking away on his word processor's keyboard when he saw today's Busso 166, because he isn't expecting it to hang around for very long. Iconic is a much overused word, but it's entirely justified in the case of the 3.0-litre Busso V6. It doesn't even need to be running for you to appreciate what a work of art it is. Turning it on takes you to a different time when manufacturers actually cared about what their engines sounded like and weren't constrained by legislation preventing that from happening.
The newly announced BMW i3 looks like quite a car with its electrically excited motor, decarbonised supply chain and intelligent charging flap - but it will never get your juices flowing like a Busso V6 at full chat. It was as much a musical instrument as a means of moving you along the road. If you've always regretted not keeping up with those piano lessons your mum paid for when you were a kid, ownership of a Busso and a functioning right foot will instantly get you to Grade 7.
Our 166 is a Waiter de Silva-designed pre-2003 facelift car, which, in the eyes of many, is better looking than Gaglione's facelift. UK buyers seemed to think so anyway, because Alfa stopped selling the 166 here two years after that facelift. In its defence it did carry on for another three years in other markets. Early 3.0 engines like the one we've got here were actually more powerful than the 2001-on gen-two 3.0s, offering 226hp at 6,200rpm and 203lb ft at 5,000rpm compared to the later car's 220hp at 6,300rpm and 195lb ft at 5,000rpm. Connected to a six-speed manual, like here, the gen-one's 223hp gave those first 1,510kg saloons a 0-62mph time of 7.8 seconds, which was 0.8 seconds quicker than the new 1,550kg car. It was 4mph faster at the top end, too, at 151mph.
The downside of a big, heavy, naturally aspirated motor from the last century is economy, or the lack of it. In the 3.0 Busso's case, the numbers are challenging at 14mpg urban and 22mpg combined. The accompanying CO2 rating of over 300g/km means you should be paying around £1 million a year for the vehicle tax, but Shed has just sellotaped yet another Gov dot uk document to the side of his Snap On cabinet which tells him that cars registered before 1 March 2001 pay £220 a year if their engines aren't bigger than 1,549cc and £360 if they are, which if true would be some kind of a win.
Who cares about any of that, though, when you've got an engine that sounds this good? Our shed has a Ragazzon exhaust which will sound mint, a bit like this not to mention this or indeed this. Crank your headphones up and wish you were back in those days. Eeeh, what a time to be alive.
Mainly because of rust at the rear where the floorpan joins the sills and/or at the rear belt and rear trailing arm mounting points, 164 Bussos are now incredibly rare in the UK. In fact, if you come from the Forest of Dean or some parts of Norfolk you'll be able to count the cars still registered in the UK on the fingers of one hand. You'd like to hope that a 166 from 2000 will have been better protected than a 1993 164, but a glimpse at this car's MOT history might give you pause. It failed last October's test with excessive structural corrosion and an excessive oil leak. Both of these failures were apparently sorted out in time for a same-day retest and pass. Such speedy salvation might make some suspect foul play, but this car was apparently owned by an Alfa owner's club member and Alfa fans will go to extraordinary lengths to keep the dream alive. It's perfectly possible that the go-ahead was given to get it legal toot sweet with a view to doing the advisories at a later date.
Depending on what action the owner took after that MOT you might have a couple of rear springs to replace, plus maybe a new front exhaust mount and possibly a brake disc or two. You'll pick up springs for £80 a pair and discs are about 285 each. Veloces of Barnet are selling it now and that's good news as they specialise in Alfas and they have a strong reputation to uphold. Take the plunge and you'll have an alluring Alfa that is not just rare in appearance and sound but also in numbers. 166 Bussos aren't quite as thin on the ground as 164s, but we're still talking thin: it's just Lycra-thin instead of cobweb-thin. Shed's interpretation of the 'how many left' website is that the number of 166 Bussos roaring about will be below fifty, and very possibly well below that number.
The old adage that everyone should own an Alfa at some point in their life isn't as true as it used to be but it will be with this one. Even if you only end up experiencing the downsides and disappointments of Alfa life it will have been worth the £1,750 entrance fee just to hear and feel that engine for a day.
Someone needed some wet & dry for those headlights.
The interior is kind of the wrong moment too - in most versions, before little modern conveniences like steering wheel buttons, but not simple and analogue either - a fussy set of panels and buttons. Nothing particularly good about it.
The 156 was a nicer place to sit, IMO.
Incidentally having just bought a Giulia, I have unexpected love for my old 156. On paper a slightly rubbish car, it was engaging and direct. The Giulia is, strangely, a bit too good and refined. It's a nice car and I like it but it kind of makes me appreciate older, ropier cars and I did not see that coming.
Also check for any signs of leakage from the heater matrix such as damp in the passenger footwell.
Driving through a tunnel with the window open is truly glorious.
A fantastic car in every respect made all the better for being the pre facelift version with a manual gearbox. A car to cherish and look after for many years.
I think any car you cherish instantly makes it not a shed.
Facelift improved the front end hugely imho, and also brought with it the 3.2 version of the engine for the manual (but kept the 3.0 for the automatic iirc).
First production car with led rear indicators, trivia fans.
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