RE: Shed Of The Week: Alfa 156 Sportwagon
Discussion
I hankered after a Sportwagon for many months, and took the plunge and bought a Sillyspeed model. I love Alfa's have owned several over the years. This one drove me bats
t crazy, ran ok for awhile until one day was overtaking several cars on the A1 and the gearbox stopped working. It would periodically do this with no rhymne or reason. TBH I could have torched it. Left me stranded so many times, I was on first name terms with most of the RAC call centre bods. Fortunately someone ttted it whilst I was parked up overnight. Goodbye Jellyspeed. Promptly bought myself a 2.0 TS 145 wonderful little car.
t crazy, ran ok for awhile until one day was overtaking several cars on the A1 and the gearbox stopped working. It would periodically do this with no rhymne or reason. TBH I could have torched it. Left me stranded so many times, I was on first name terms with most of the RAC call centre bods. Fortunately someone ttted it whilst I was parked up overnight. Goodbye Jellyspeed. Promptly bought myself a 2.0 TS 145 wonderful little car.rodericb said:
u wot m8?
Bmw Smg1 as fitted only to m3 Evo E36 used similar system to automate their 6 speed manual and it was terrible, slow clumsy system and proved to be unreliable ( I had one with 70'000 miles and it was a liability and Bmw didn't know how to fix only replace (quoted silly money). I did find one specialist who could fix these and after selling the car it failed again, not worth the trouble ( that M3 was broken for spares). I have an 05 JTS sportwagon on 130K. All I've done is change the belts at the correct interval and service as normal. Everything still works and its been faultless. Its manual and I've raced it in the Continental street series time attack in Perth. Its the only wagon on the track. Fun to race.
Edited by Hoopsuk on Sunday 4th January 23:53
I spent a lot of time in and under a 156 a couple of years ago after a couple of mates and I bought a V6 manual saloon (even in the same colour as the Shed car) as a runner, but needing a fair bit of work, for £300. Spent about the same again (and a lot of time) getting all the stuff done it needed (gearbox, timing belt, brakes). Got it running beautifully, smoked it about for a few months, then lost interest / time and it's been rotting in a mate's garden for the last year since the MOT expired. An meeting to decide its future has yet to be held, but I suspect it will involve the crusher, or a peanuts spares/repair auction on the 'Bay.
They are fundamentally decent cars that suffer from a few inherent weaknesses. Most serious is a tendency to look tidy at a glance, but be hiding serious, MOT failing rot in floorpans, inner sills, and inner wings. Also, maintenance is tricky not because of any complexity in the mechanicals, but because the designers clearly didn't think about it when laying things out. An air-con pipe that runs directly in front of the sump drain plug, for example. Or an oil filter that you can't see, never mind get to, and which only comes out of the engine bay in one exact direction / angle like some sort of puzzle. Bolt head sizes that seem to follow no logical pattern. None of it is show-stopping or insurmountable (one gearbox bell-housing bolt is, almost), but it's unnecessarily awkward. And if you're paying for labour, it adds £s. Front suspension is also made of cheese, and tends to knock and creak. Not too expensive to sort, but irritating.
To be honest, despite all this, I'd happily have a good V6 manual as a daily driver. They are comfy, quick, great fun to hustle around the lanes, sound like something that costs £100k, and are surprisingly well screwed together. Ours still feels taut and responsive, with a squeak free cabin, and with everything (a/c aside) working as intended. The Busso V6 is also tough as old boots, something which you could never level at the four cylinder Twin Spark units with their chocolate timing belts and variator issues.
As for the Sillyspeed gearbox, no. Just, no. You'd need your head testing.
They are fundamentally decent cars that suffer from a few inherent weaknesses. Most serious is a tendency to look tidy at a glance, but be hiding serious, MOT failing rot in floorpans, inner sills, and inner wings. Also, maintenance is tricky not because of any complexity in the mechanicals, but because the designers clearly didn't think about it when laying things out. An air-con pipe that runs directly in front of the sump drain plug, for example. Or an oil filter that you can't see, never mind get to, and which only comes out of the engine bay in one exact direction / angle like some sort of puzzle. Bolt head sizes that seem to follow no logical pattern. None of it is show-stopping or insurmountable (one gearbox bell-housing bolt is, almost), but it's unnecessarily awkward. And if you're paying for labour, it adds £s. Front suspension is also made of cheese, and tends to knock and creak. Not too expensive to sort, but irritating.
To be honest, despite all this, I'd happily have a good V6 manual as a daily driver. They are comfy, quick, great fun to hustle around the lanes, sound like something that costs £100k, and are surprisingly well screwed together. Ours still feels taut and responsive, with a squeak free cabin, and with everything (a/c aside) working as intended. The Busso V6 is also tough as old boots, something which you could never level at the four cylinder Twin Spark units with their chocolate timing belts and variator issues.
As for the Sillyspeed gearbox, no. Just, no. You'd need your head testing.
If it wasn't for the selespeed I'd be tempted. we ran both a 147 1.6 petrol and 156 1.9jtd for a few years, both were pretty reliable. yes the upper wishbones are basically another consumable but parts are cheap and it is an easy enough job to change them. I found the 156 a pleasant place to be my only criticism was on the basic spec one I had the ride was a bit wallowy,it could have done from a damper upgrade, the 147 on the other hand was great to drive. Given they are fundamentally the same chassis it was obviously just down to the spring damper combo on the 156. As it had well north of 100k on it I never spent the money to upgrade.
Floor pans do rust though, I would want a good root around underneath before buying another.
As an estate thought the boot space on the 156 is pretty poor, still could swallow a bike though with the seats down.
Floor pans do rust though, I would want a good root around underneath before buying another.
As an estate thought the boot space on the 156 is pretty poor, still could swallow a bike though with the seats down.
Love these, and at shed money it's really not worth thinking what could go wrong. It survived over a decade, your odds of keeping it another two years are pretty good I think.
But, I really, really would want that tan interior.
In which case, if it goes bang, you should make a very nice leather sofa out of it. While you're at it, go all Top Gear on it and make a coffee table out of the V6. <£1000 is for free then
But, I really, really would want that tan interior.
In which case, if it goes bang, you should make a very nice leather sofa out of it. While you're at it, go all Top Gear on it and make a coffee table out of the V6. <£1000 is for free then
DamienB said:
They've been trying to shift that for weeks. And Sportwagons with roof rails are fairly rare and sought-after... I have assumed there's something desperately wrong with it for it not to have moved for so long. Shame, nice colour...
Could it be something to do with GF51WMX being registered as a 156 JTD SPORTWAGON that happens to have a 1970cc PETROL engine. Shome mishtake, shurely? Howmanyleft reveals a few JTDs running on petrol.I have a 156 2.5 V6 manual as a second car and it is the most charismatic car I have ever driven.
Silky smooth at low revs and pretty manic power delivery past 4k with an exhaust note to die for (especially with a supersprint exhaust), best way to describe it is like a more muscular V-tec. Gear shift has a bit of a long throw but is very satisfying. Interior still looks special now, if a bit dated with its cheap black plastics (by todays standards). Steering has a wonderful weighting to it, not to heavy, not too light.
I bought mine in poor mechanical condition and threw a few hundred quid at it before taking it across Europe on the Screwball Rally. 2,500 miles around Europe led to me falling for it, so I then proceeded to lavish money on it (man maths at its finest) sorting most of the mechanical issues.
I hardly drive it now as it is isn't exactly client friendly, in the obligatory Alfa red with the massive spoiler on the back, but on a weekend given the choice I reach for the keys to the Alfa over my Z4 Coupe every time, despite the latter being the better car in every measurable way.
Silky smooth at low revs and pretty manic power delivery past 4k with an exhaust note to die for (especially with a supersprint exhaust), best way to describe it is like a more muscular V-tec. Gear shift has a bit of a long throw but is very satisfying. Interior still looks special now, if a bit dated with its cheap black plastics (by todays standards). Steering has a wonderful weighting to it, not to heavy, not too light.
I bought mine in poor mechanical condition and threw a few hundred quid at it before taking it across Europe on the Screwball Rally. 2,500 miles around Europe led to me falling for it, so I then proceeded to lavish money on it (man maths at its finest) sorting most of the mechanical issues.
I hardly drive it now as it is isn't exactly client friendly, in the obligatory Alfa red with the massive spoiler on the back, but on a weekend given the choice I reach for the keys to the Alfa over my Z4 Coupe every time, despite the latter being the better car in every measurable way.
Had a Selepseed (or even Sillyspeed) for 4 years and the only problem I had with it was a when someone did a U-turn in to the path of me and the garage that repaired it didn't do the electrics right. I insisted that it went to an Alfa specialist after that which the insurance company agreed to and it was fine. No issues whatsoever but like any car there are always lemons. It's just with Alfa people quickly jump on the bandwagon even if they've never owned one (I had an Alfa, well a friend of a friend of a friend down the pub did and said...).
Had a 147GTA after that and in 5 years never had a problem although running costs weren't cheap. Miss the GTA every day. So much more entertaining than most German cars.
Had a 147GTA after that and in 5 years never had a problem although running costs weren't cheap. Miss the GTA every day. So much more entertaining than most German cars.
s m said:
defblade said:
The 2.0 TS has been known to seize on #3 as the exhaust cuts through the sump under that big end and can cook the oil out of it when parked, if the oil used is cheap stuff or if it has been left to run low/out at any point (for example, by the immediate previous owner). Sadly, there's little way of telling if this might be the case until it goes bang.
Go on, ask me how I know
Blimey!Go on, ask me how I know
Interesting info
Lovely car, lovely engine. Made of cheese coated in very expensive stuff to make up for the lack of strength in the underlying cheese. Whole front end removed to replace the crank and bottom end bearings. Left with owt forward of the firewall but two front quarter panels and load of electrical and hydraulic arteries dangling hopelessly from it. I thought it was going to topple backwards of the hoist.
Edited by Reardy Mister on Tuesday 6th January 05:56
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