Dad's new toy - 156 Sportwagon 2.0TS

[kamilb1998]

Dad's finally got his first Alfa a 156 Sportwagon 2.0 Twin Spark in Arctic Green.

She's got the optional sports pack with MOMO black leather, and lowered and beefed up suspension & a gorgeous exhaust note above 4k RPM

She's covered 95,000 miles and has FSH and just before we got her, she had pads, discs & tyres all round as well as the front suspension arms and rear shocks and bushes.

What do you lot think of the ol' girl?

[sjg]

Nice. Just needs plates in a legal font...

[kamilb1998]

sjg said:

Nice. Just needs plates in a legal font...

Those plates have gone now - they belong to the previous owner. It's now back on it 2000/W age related plate.

[RicksAlfas]

Looks great. Don't forget to check the oil every weekend and double check when when the belts were last done.
Enjoy it!

[crostonian]

Lovely looking car and great value, don't know if it's just me but I'm beginning to prefer the looks of the Mk1 156 to those that followed plus the interiors seem to last better. The 2 litre Twin Spark is also so much nicer to drive and more reliable than the later JTS.

[kamilb1998]

Dad bought her off a friend but I just found the PH ad for it:-

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2551945.htm

[RicksAlfas]

kamilb1998 said:

Dad bought her off a friend but I just found the PH ad for it:-

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2551945.htm

He's done you out of 15bhp!
I think these early cars were 155.
Certainly 150 anyway.
Someone with a bigger beard than I will confirm I'm sure!

[kamilb1998]

Back on the age related W959 ROU plate

[kamilb1998]

Just fitted these to it, as I think they look better than the factory plain grille...

BEFORE

AFTER

[alfa pint]

Early cars were 150 bhp, later ones 155. Change would have been about 1998 iirc. Must make all of about 0.2 secs difference on a 0-60 time.

[kamilb1998]

She's booked in for the MoT next week on Thursday (7th April), having just been serviced in February by the Previous Owner with new tyres, discs and pads all round as well as having the rear suspension done and the front suspension arms replaced within the last year. She should pass...I think

And some photos of the new aftermarket grille inserts

[RicksAlfas]

kamilb1998 said:

And some photos of the new aftermarket grille inserts

Aye, they don't get any better the more pics you publish.

Good luck with the MOT. Should be fine by the sound of things.

[crostonian]

Yep must admit to being a plain grille man also

[anonymous-user]

At least the badge hadn't faded, I remember that replacing it was a real bugger of a job. As was everything else that needed doing I loved mine to bits though.

[kamilb1998]

Left her at the MoT station this morning, I'll let you all know how it went this evening.

[kamilb1998]

Well the news isn't so good...

[RicksAlfas]

Not the first "modern" Alfa to suffer from rust I'm afraid.
The suspension wear is common too.
Hey ho.

[Reedy156]

TBH all the suspension parts are almost service items on a 156.... not a massive or too expensive job - did both side on the front, top and bottom on a sunny Saturday (well, Dad in law did!) - about 1.5 - 2.0 hours a side including Stella breaks! Part are no more than about £250 using pattern parts, as I did and they are spot on - I used buypartsby.com no problems.... Not sure about the seatbelt anchoring poits - a bit odd that - not heard of it before...

[RicksAlfas]

Reedy156 said:

Part are no more than about £250 using pattern parts,

I've just used these on our 147:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Seemed to be the best price I could find.

The OP needs to get the corrosion sorted first though as it is around the suspension mounts too.

[anonymous-user]

Ouch! I remember a 156 on Alfaowner forum that had an underside like a cheesegrater and the owner set about patching it up. I can accept and deal with any other fault but corrosion of the bodyshell is the one thing that would make me want rid. It's such a shame that everything else looks so sweet. I hope your dad's friend is a true friend and they can sort something out . Now I am worrying my GT, closely related to the 156, is nearing 6 years old I might need to take some preventative action or is it too late?