RE: Alfa Romeo Alfasud | Spotted
Discussion
2xChevrons said:
This was Dad's after the restoration:
Just a 1.5 Super (single twin-choke carb, 5-speed manual, four-doors, cloth seats), so it had to be worked very hard on all the West Country hills but all the dynamic sparkle and sensory overload was there. It genuinely drives and handles like a slow and grippy Lotus Elan.
He ended up with a load of spares including the 1.3 twin-carb engine from a Sprint and some Ti interior bits, so the Super ended up with a Ti dashboard. We vacillated endlessly on whether to rebuild the Sprint engine or to swap all the external bits over and turn the 1.5 into a 'Veloce' spec unit but in the end decided to leave it standard.
The interesting thing was when the time came to sell it...tumbleweeds. It turns out that there aren't that many people who want Alfasuds out there in the world, and of those very few want a 'standard' one - 'Sud fans all want a Ti, a QV, a Sprint etc. It took ages to shift and even when he got interest it was all from people hemming and hawwing about "oh, I really wanted a Ti but this one is in such good condition...but I really want a Ti so, no thanks, I'll pass...". He finally sold it to seemingly the only person in the British Isles who liked Alfasuds of all sorts, having slashed the asking price several times and leaving himself thousands of pounds out of pocket for the restoration costs (but he never does a project for the money - it's his hobby and, as he is fond of saying, even when he loses money it's actually fairly cheap compared to what some people spend in their free time and it keeps him happily employed at home).
Some cars are just not desirable except to a small band of nutters (and I don't think there are any cars out there that don't have an enthusiast following of some sort). I suppose the dodgy image of the 'Sud and the appalling survival rate mean that it just doesn't cross most people's radars.
I remember seeing that one on the Late Brake Show on YouTube.Just a 1.5 Super (single twin-choke carb, 5-speed manual, four-doors, cloth seats), so it had to be worked very hard on all the West Country hills but all the dynamic sparkle and sensory overload was there. It genuinely drives and handles like a slow and grippy Lotus Elan.
He ended up with a load of spares including the 1.3 twin-carb engine from a Sprint and some Ti interior bits, so the Super ended up with a Ti dashboard. We vacillated endlessly on whether to rebuild the Sprint engine or to swap all the external bits over and turn the 1.5 into a 'Veloce' spec unit but in the end decided to leave it standard.
The interesting thing was when the time came to sell it...tumbleweeds. It turns out that there aren't that many people who want Alfasuds out there in the world, and of those very few want a 'standard' one - 'Sud fans all want a Ti, a QV, a Sprint etc. It took ages to shift and even when he got interest it was all from people hemming and hawwing about "oh, I really wanted a Ti but this one is in such good condition...but I really want a Ti so, no thanks, I'll pass...". He finally sold it to seemingly the only person in the British Isles who liked Alfasuds of all sorts, having slashed the asking price several times and leaving himself thousands of pounds out of pocket for the restoration costs (but he never does a project for the money - it's his hobby and, as he is fond of saying, even when he loses money it's actually fairly cheap compared to what some people spend in their free time and it keeps him happily employed at home).
Some cars are just not desirable except to a small band of nutters (and I don't think there are any cars out there that don't have an enthusiast following of some sort). I suppose the dodgy image of the 'Sud and the appalling survival rate mean that it just doesn't cross most people's radars.
robemcdonald said:
wpa1975 said:
robemcdonald said:
Market prices on cars like this are irrelevant.
If you want one you’re going to have to pay the price. It’s not like there is a massive choice and you can simply go and find another “round the corner”
You would have to be nuts to pay £20k for an Alfa SudIf you want one you’re going to have to pay the price. It’s not like there is a massive choice and you can simply go and find another “round the corner”
If it was an early mk1 or a Sprint yes maybe it would be worth more, not a chance this is a £20k car even 5 years from it would never be worth that.
And not all my posts have been ignorant, I actually like the early Sud's they were advanced for the time with lots of nice design touches.
I owned two 1350 Tis in period . The earlier car - which I had until it was nearly 5 years old - featured the inconvenient truth of being both almost totally reliable and entirely rust free . It was sublime and apart from in acceleration , it was better than the Mk1 Golf GTi which replaced it in every way . Brakes , steering , ride , handling , noise and comfort were streets ahead .
My second was a very late car I bought new in early 1984 .It looks similar to the featured car . It was the hatch and it was pretty awful compared to its predecessor . Build quality was abysmal but far , far worse was that the entire character of the car had been destroyed by overgearing. The earlier car had close ratios , with even fifth being very low geared by modern standards , and was wonderfully willing at any speed . Not so the later car - it couldn't get out of its own way in fifth and fourth was not much better . Add in simply disgraceful service from Alfa dealers and that was the end of the affair .
But that first Ti ..I adored it . If you'd grown up driving sundry bargain BL , Vauxhall and Ford rubbish , as I had , the Sud was so far advanced that it was like a car from the future.
My second was a very late car I bought new in early 1984 .It looks similar to the featured car . It was the hatch and it was pretty awful compared to its predecessor . Build quality was abysmal but far , far worse was that the entire character of the car had been destroyed by overgearing. The earlier car had close ratios , with even fifth being very low geared by modern standards , and was wonderfully willing at any speed . Not so the later car - it couldn't get out of its own way in fifth and fourth was not much better . Add in simply disgraceful service from Alfa dealers and that was the end of the affair .
But that first Ti ..I adored it . If you'd grown up driving sundry bargain BL , Vauxhall and Ford rubbish , as I had , the Sud was so far advanced that it was like a car from the future.
Went to buy a 2 year old Alfasud for the wife. She loved it but it had a large crack in the windscreen & was filthy inside & out. The dealer couldn't give a date when it would be properly prepared & ready to collect so we passed.
When I had my first company Cortina I used to do a handbrake turn from the narrow road onto our driveway. A friend tried the same in his Alfasud and the handbrake operating on the front wheels sent him across next door's front lawn.
When I had my first company Cortina I used to do a handbrake turn from the narrow road onto our driveway. A friend tried the same in his Alfasud and the handbrake operating on the front wheels sent him across next door's front lawn.
coppice said:
I owned two 1350 Tis in period . The earlier car - which I had until it was nearly 5 years old - featured the inconvenient truth of being both almost totally reliable and entirely rust free . It was sublime and apart from in acceleration , it was better than the Mk1 Golf GTi which replaced it in every way . Brakes , steering , ride , handling , noise and comfort were streets ahead .
My second was a very late car I bought new in early 1984 .It looks similar to the featured car . It was the hatch and it was pretty awful compared to its predecessor . Build quality was abysmal but far , far worse was that the entire character of the car had been destroyed by overgearing. The earlier car had close ratios , with even fifth being very low geared by modern standards , and was wonderfully willing at any speed . Not so the later car - it couldn't get out of its own way in fifth and fourth was not much better . Add in simply disgraceful service from Alfa dealers and that was the end of the affair .
But that first Ti ..I adored it . If you'd grown up driving sundry bargain BL , Vauxhall and Ford rubbish , as I had , the Sud was so far advanced that it was like a car from the future.
That last point nails it. In the UK back in the 70's and early 80's we were surrounded by a sea of cheaply engineered and deeply mediocre mainstream stuff. The Sud co-existed with the Escort Mk1, the Cortina Mk3, the Viva HC, the Austin 1100 and so on. My second was a very late car I bought new in early 1984 .It looks similar to the featured car . It was the hatch and it was pretty awful compared to its predecessor . Build quality was abysmal but far , far worse was that the entire character of the car had been destroyed by overgearing. The earlier car had close ratios , with even fifth being very low geared by modern standards , and was wonderfully willing at any speed . Not so the later car - it couldn't get out of its own way in fifth and fourth was not much better . Add in simply disgraceful service from Alfa dealers and that was the end of the affair .
But that first Ti ..I adored it . If you'd grown up driving sundry bargain BL , Vauxhall and Ford rubbish , as I had , the Sud was so far advanced that it was like a car from the future.
It was light years ahead of anything else mainstream.
An Alfasud 1.5 Ti is all I need to complete my (small) car collection. However, it must be a 2 door hatchback with twin round headlights and the naff little black spoiler on the tailgate.
Will I end up paying £20K for one - possibly.
Will I pay £20K for one with square headlights - never in a million years.
Unlike others on here, I prefer the look of the Sud to that of the Sprint.
Will I end up paying £20K for one - possibly.
Will I pay £20K for one with square headlights - never in a million years.
Unlike others on here, I prefer the look of the Sud to that of the Sprint.
2xChevrons said:
soxboy said:
I remember seeing that one on the Late Brake Show on YouTube.
Well that's a nice surprise - I don't assiduously follow Jonny Smith's output so hadn't seen that episode before. I'll have to send the link to Dad and let him know his Alfa is now a YouTube celebrity!omniflow said:
An Alfasud 1.5 Ti is all I need to complete my (small) car collection. However, it must be a 2 door hatchback with twin round headlights and the naff little black spoiler on the tailgate.
Will I end up paying £20K for one - possibly.
Will I pay £20K for one with square headlights - never in a million years.
Unlike others on here, I prefer the look of the Sud to that of the Sprint.
Of all the derivatives, Sud Ti's and Green Cloverleafs look great to me. My personal overall favourite being, narrowly, the GC.Will I end up paying £20K for one - possibly.
Will I pay £20K for one with square headlights - never in a million years.
Unlike others on here, I prefer the look of the Sud to that of the Sprint.
wpa1975 said:
Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNeIGJuj76M
I had already tracked it down, but thanks 
Good to see that the 'Sud is clearly loved and being looked after while being put to good use. I do now vaguely remember Dad saying something about the buyer specifically wanting a 4-door because his father had one.
It did rather confuse me when there's an editing mix-up and they lift the bonnet on the 'Sud and there's a shot of the engine bay of the chap's M3 - I thought for a second that he'd put some sort of weird throttle-body Megasquirt system on it!
2xChevrons said:
wpa1975 said:
Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNeIGJuj76M
I had already tracked it down, but thanks Good to see that the 'Sud is clearly loved and being looked after while being put to good use. I do now vaguely remember Dad saying something about the buyer specifically wanting a 4-door because his father had one.
It did rather confuse me when there's an editing mix-up and they lift the bonnet on the 'Sud and there's a shot of the engine bay of the chap's M3 - I thought for a second that he'd put some sort of weird throttle-body Megasquirt system on it!
My ‘sud story; on a camping holiday to France in 1977, there was one parked at the tent opposite ours. Every morning it would take 5 mins of cranking before spluttering into life, my dads mk1 Capri started 1st turn of the key.
My dad, being a car mechanic, would sit there chuckling to himself.
I remember the later one’s being in the same insurance group as a Capri 3.0; too expensive for me, so I got an Escort RS2000 instead. I probably should have got the Alfa tbh. Ah well.
My dad, being a car mechanic, would sit there chuckling to himself.
I remember the later one’s being in the same insurance group as a Capri 3.0; too expensive for me, so I got an Escort RS2000 instead. I probably should have got the Alfa tbh. Ah well.
£20k is pristine Strada 130TC money, which is where my money would be going (if I had a heated double (or larger) garage). I was never a fan of the Alfasud, and always thought they looked dated (even though in the meantime I am also dated), from an era where Alfa were pretty much bankrupt. I prefer a good 33 (the mid 80's one, not the original!).
A German colleague told me a story of how he bought a new Alfasud, and got pissed up on a works night out & decided to show all his Golf-loving colleagues how good it was by standing in the middle of the roof (because that's a measure?). Anyhow the roof collapsed under his hefty weight, so the car got written off!
Speaking of write-offs, wasn't there a UK car insurance ad that showed an Alfasud disappearing off a cliff, with a "if your 1 year old car is written off, we will replace it with a new car" slogan? Anyone?
A German colleague told me a story of how he bought a new Alfasud, and got pissed up on a works night out & decided to show all his Golf-loving colleagues how good it was by standing in the middle of the roof (because that's a measure?). Anyhow the roof collapsed under his hefty weight, so the car got written off!
Speaking of write-offs, wasn't there a UK car insurance ad that showed an Alfasud disappearing off a cliff, with a "if your 1 year old car is written off, we will replace it with a new car" slogan? Anyone?
- found it*: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiH91F0IrGg
BFleming said:
£20k is pristine Strada 130TC money, which is where my money would be going (if I had a heated double (or larger) garage).
Love the 130TC. Pretty much the last Italian hot hatch challenger. I'm excluding the Integrale as that's a fair bit more exotic.Having said that, I did like the Volumex Beta Coupe that I saw on Harry's Garage a few months ago. I think it's aged really well.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff