Mrs Silverbacks cloverleaf back on the road, pics....
Discussion
Well, firstly thanks to all for the photo's of the under bonnet shots, especially wombat rick, 
The 145 had creamed into a hard thing which required the front nearside wing straightening out, the front bulkhead should we say massaged, a new headlight / indicator, new windscreen, new mirror and glass, new grille, the bumper repairing, and rounding off with the bumper/mirrors and front grille respraying.
A big thanks to 'numbnuts' who's professional premises and expertise I abuse on a regular basis cheers mate.
The only thing that was virtually impossible without a bit of an expense was the bonnet release, hence the clips
very max power indeed....still for £500 you cant go wrong...Its a right fizzy mad little thing as well, not perfect, but not bad for the money..
The 145 had creamed into a hard thing which required the front nearside wing straightening out, the front bulkhead should we say massaged, a new headlight / indicator, new windscreen, new mirror and glass, new grille, the bumper repairing, and rounding off with the bumper/mirrors and front grille respraying.
A big thanks to 'numbnuts' who's professional premises and expertise I abuse on a regular basis
cheers mate. The only thing that was virtually impossible without a bit of an expense was the bonnet release, hence the clips
very max power indeed....still for £500 you cant go wrong...Its a right fizzy mad little thing as well, not perfect, but not bad for the money.. 
Looks good Mike!!
They are really great fun.
I'm on my second one now, and they are a proper hectic hot hatch.
One of the best tales I heard about them was back in 1996 when they were launched, a journalist was using one to follow a classic car rally round some mountain pass. Because the spectator's view was limited, the spectators listened for an exotic engine noise approaching and would get their cameras ready. He was finding that he was hurlting round the bends with big revs on the clock and everyone snapping away at him expecting a 500 Monza or a Birdcage and there he was in his brand new 145QV!!
You might want to think about getting rid of those P6000's though....
They are really great fun.
I'm on my second one now, and they are a proper hectic hot hatch.
One of the best tales I heard about them was back in 1996 when they were launched, a journalist was using one to follow a classic car rally round some mountain pass. Because the spectator's view was limited, the spectators listened for an exotic engine noise approaching and would get their cameras ready. He was finding that he was hurlting round the bends with big revs on the clock and everyone snapping away at him expecting a 500 Monza or a Birdcage and there he was in his brand new 145QV!!
You might want to think about getting rid of those P6000's though....
looking great! well, apart from the bonnet pins, not very suited to the car i'm sure you'll agree. cant complain at that price though.
yours and mine would look great in a photoshoot, 2 facelift QVs, rosso and proteo red, the 2 best colours for the 145!
great cars, still in love with mine, quick rack steering, rolly polly suspension with a driving position which exaggerates this really makes for fun back road blasting!
Dave
yours and mine would look great in a photoshoot, 2 facelift QVs, rosso and proteo red, the 2 best colours for the 145!
great cars, still in love with mine, quick rack steering, rolly polly suspension with a driving position which exaggerates this really makes for fun back road blasting!
Dave
sputnik said:
Nice
Except, is it me, or does the shut line on the bonnet/left front wing look a bit ropey?
Nik
Certainly does, you should have seen it before I beat the dents out and realigned the slam panel and bonnet.
Hence being back on the road after being bought for £500 as a cat D with superficial panel damage. Top bargain. Well, they are certainly quick, and probably feel a bit quicker due to the lovely induction noise and the fact that they really come alive at over 4,000 revs. It's a 2.0 twinspark in a small car after all.
How much, well mine cost £560 plust about £200 in repairs. This was stuff I did myself so obviously cost effective. Essentially I have a V reg cloverleaf with 6 months tax and 12 months MOT for about £800.
I have been keeping an eye on them on ebay, a ball park figure for a V/W reg which is the facelift model is about £1700. They are a hell of a car for that figure. It is our second car which the mrs uses for the work/school run, we can quite easily get an 8 yr old, a 3 year old and various bits and bobs in the boot for journeys. I'm not small, and fit fine. The only slight whinge I have is that I have the seat fully back at the lowest position and my knees are a little more bent than usual....but then again it's an italian car, and known for that.
One thing I will say is that they are one of the few cars around now with character coming out of everywhere, they are an absolute hoot. I went out to it earlier to have a fiddle with the vents and ended up taking it for a mini hoon and couldn't stop smiling afterwards.
Mine is a car with a few scars and dents, hence the rather tongue in cheek bonnet pins that is a no frills second car with bags of go for little outlay.
It gets a thumbup from me thats for sure.
How much, well mine cost £560 plust about £200 in repairs. This was stuff I did myself so obviously cost effective. Essentially I have a V reg cloverleaf with 6 months tax and 12 months MOT for about £800.
I have been keeping an eye on them on ebay, a ball park figure for a V/W reg which is the facelift model is about £1700. They are a hell of a car for that figure. It is our second car which the mrs uses for the work/school run, we can quite easily get an 8 yr old, a 3 year old and various bits and bobs in the boot for journeys. I'm not small, and fit fine. The only slight whinge I have is that I have the seat fully back at the lowest position and my knees are a little more bent than usual....but then again it's an italian car, and known for that.
One thing I will say is that they are one of the few cars around now with character coming out of everywhere, they are an absolute hoot. I went out to it earlier to have a fiddle with the vents and ended up taking it for a mini hoon and couldn't stop smiling afterwards.
Mine is a car with a few scars and dents, hence the rather tongue in cheek bonnet pins that is a no frills second car with bags of go for little outlay.
It gets a thumbup from me thats for sure.
I had a search on the internet, and yes reasonable ones seem to start at about £1,500. They sound great; the only thing is that my Sportwagon is presumably depreciating reasonably quickly and the gap between that and a Cloverleaf will be getting smaller. I presume the running costs aren't goping to be that much less - it's the same engine after all. So if I ever do get that Porsche or Elise or GTVV6, I'd do just as well to keep the Sportwagon, or get a smaller-engined car as no 2. Of course a second alternative is to get a 944 or a 968 which would just about be practical enough to run as an only car - but as good 968s and reasonable 3.2 Carreras now seem to be about the same price, it would seem silly to buy a Porker without the word "Carrera" on the back.
saxmund said:
I had a search on the internet, and yes reasonable ones seem to start at about £1,500. They sound great; the only thing is that my Sportwagon is presumably depreciating reasonably quickly and the gap between that and a Cloverleaf will be getting smaller. I presume the running costs aren't goping to be that much less - it's the same engine after all. So if I ever do get that Porsche or Elise or GTVV6, I'd do just as well to keep the Sportwagon, or get a smaller-engined car as no 2. Of course a second alternative is to get a 944 or a 968 which would just about be practical enough to run as an only car - but as good 968s and reasonable 3.2 Carreras now seem to be about the same price, it would seem silly to buy a Porker without the word "Carrera" on the back.
I liked my sportwagon too, the 145 is a lot more like a go kart although running costs the same. But the design of the sportwagon is absolutely marvellous but I think the 145 handles better, and probably is that bit quicker.
I have had two 944's, they are brilliant all rounders. Don't dismiss them. A 944 turbo was once described as the best all round porker.
I'm in a similar quandry, currently doing up the wedge, after that I'm not sure if I want to sample a 911 or a griff......I've always wanted a griff, but have a nagging 911devil on my shoulder.....ho hum.
Griff 500, must meet up, where in Bristol Paul?
It's amazing what you can fit in them!! If you really need more space, the rear seat cushions undo with a couple of bolts and mean you can load right up to the front seats with a perfectly flat floor. Much more practical load size/shape than the Sportwagon, but then again it does look much more like a van than the 5 door coupe.
dear god silverback mike you got an absolute bargain! i believe facelifts go for £1800+, even for the ropey ones!
with 145s you have to seem to have to pay significantly more for a well looked after one, recently on the 145.com forums a non-facelift 97 with ~50k on the clock, absolute minter, went for £2800 IIRC, however you see ones of similar age on autotrader going for around half that! i believe it really is worth paying the extra, as they can be very costly when they go wrong (i know first hand!), which they will if they havn't been looked after well. a great car for the money though, i love mine to bits, even though i've only had it around 9 months it stands me at around triple its worth... doh...
Dave
>> Edited by Daaaveee on Monday 27th March 16:13
with 145s you have to seem to have to pay significantly more for a well looked after one, recently on the 145.com forums a non-facelift 97 with ~50k on the clock, absolute minter, went for £2800 IIRC, however you see ones of similar age on autotrader going for around half that! i believe it really is worth paying the extra, as they can be very costly when they go wrong (i know first hand!), which they will if they havn't been looked after well. a great car for the money though, i love mine to bits, even though i've only had it around 9 months it stands me at around triple its worth... doh...
Dave
>> Edited by Daaaveee on Monday 27th March 16:13
Hi Saxmund
They are reasonably quick, not seat of your pants quick
I have a black 145 pre-facelift 98 QV with the supposedly better older engine (quite why dont know just lots of alfa people tell me this) I have replaced the exhaust hopefully in a non max power way but I feel this has robbed the car of the great alfa rasp you get.
Top gear mag road test of a 98 model got 0-60 in 7.9s and I think performance car had it to the ton in 21 or therabouts. Enough to see off vts' (just) if driven properly, needs revs to make it go quick though.
They are reasonably quick, not seat of your pants quick
I have a black 145 pre-facelift 98 QV with the supposedly better older engine (quite why dont know just lots of alfa people tell me this) I have replaced the exhaust hopefully in a non max power way but I feel this has robbed the car of the great alfa rasp you get.
Top gear mag road test of a 98 model got 0-60 in 7.9s and I think performance car had it to the ton in 21 or therabouts. Enough to see off vts' (just) if driven properly, needs revs to make it go quick though.
alfa daley said:
Hi Saxmund
They are reasonably quick, not seat of your pants quick
I have a black 145 pre-facelift 98 QV with the supposedly better older engine (quite why dont know just lots of alfa people tell me this) I have replaced the exhaust hopefully in a non max power way but I feel this has robbed the car of the great alfa rasp you get.
Top gear mag road test of a 98 model got 0-60 in 7.9s and I think performance car had it to the ton in 21 or therabouts. Enough to see off vts' (just) if driven properly, needs revs to make it go quick though.
I tend to agree about the older engine, my old 164 has 264k on it, has had no engine work other than routine maintenance. Given the 'snaphappy' tendencies of the newer engine, I think it is a lot more robust.
) - it just 'felt' fast. At those prices, I'd definitely have one as a second runabout now if I were on the right side of the world.
silverback mike said:
[quote=alfa daley]Hi Saxmund
I tend to agree about the older engine, my old 164 has 264k on it, has had no engine work other than routine maintenance. Given the 'snaphappy' tendencies of the newer engine, I think it is a lot more robust.
Different engines I think Mike. The 145QV has always had the Fiat derived iron blocked 2.0 litre 16 valve with belt driven cams. This is the weak spot!
The older 75/155/164 Twin Sparks were all alloy, 8 valve versions of the classic Alfa Nord engine which appeared in the 1950's and was duplex chain driven.
The reference to the earlier 145QVs is their alloy cam covered 150bhp engines which just seemed more responsive and more eager, and were much easier to drive in traffic with less sudden throttle cut offs. The later engines had 155bhp, variable inlet manifolds and plastic cam covers, but they had different ECUs and Motronic to cope with some EU emissions. Usual thing - more power, more technology, less fun.
what's a QV? Gassing Station | Alfa Romeo, Fiat & Lancia | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff