Alfa GT 3.2 it's rough, it's cheap but god the Busso's sweet
Discussion
Looks great. I love the Ducati Course alloys on it.
Looks like it's orginally a press car, I must look back at old copies of Auto Italia from 2004 and see if your car is in any of them.
Seeing all your work I really must knuckle down in the new year and get all the jobs done on my Giulietta Cloverleaf and Brera TBI.
Looks like it's orginally a press car, I must look back at old copies of Auto Italia from 2004 and see if your car is in any of them.
Seeing all your work I really must knuckle down in the new year and get all the jobs done on my Giulietta Cloverleaf and Brera TBI.
Court_S said:
That looks fab now; the wheels really, really suit it.
Any more details on the issues along the way (just being nosey)? Are you pleased with how it’s turned out?
2 broken gearboxes, clutch, engine immobiliser, lots of hidden rust, lots of suspension parts, wrong calipers fitted, wrong cam cover fitted, leaky backbox, key fob issue. Probably forgotten some. I'm please with how it looks and drives and I feel I'd recoup a lot more than I paid now but confidence has been knocked somewhat as you can imagine.Any more details on the issues along the way (just being nosey)? Are you pleased with how it’s turned out?
Notanotherturbo said:
Court_S said:
That looks fab now; the wheels really, really suit it.
Any more details on the issues along the way (just being nosey)? Are you pleased with how it’s turned out?
2 broken gearboxes, clutch, engine immobiliser, lots of hidden rust, lots of suspension parts, wrong calipers fitted, wrong cam cover fitted, leaky backbox, key fob issue. Probably forgotten some. I'm please with how it looks and drives and I feel I'd recoup a lot more than I paid now but confidence has been knocked somewhat as you can imagine.Any more details on the issues along the way (just being nosey)? Are you pleased with how it’s turned out?
Notanotherturbo said:
A thing of beauty there, looks pristine, maybe nicer than when off the production line.Great work, making me feel lazy for wanting to wait for better weather before I get cleaning and tinkering.
AJB88 said:
Looks excellent, I do really fancy giving a Busso a try.
It's such a nice engine to drive, the sound, the torque, did I mention the sound It's got a nice but quiet idle but then as you get through the rev range it really sings and none of the pops and bangs that tend to annoy. Tough ole engine too, 162K miles and about 15 tracks days and still going strong, did have a new gasket in 2010 at 80K miles. I wish I it was easy to take engines along with you when buying a newer (larger) car
Great looking car. Are they based on the 156?
I ended up with one a couple of months ago. A 2.0 TS. 2001 with only 23k on the clock, it looks like new inside and out as the very elderly owner garaged it and only did a few hundred miles a year.
I had to fit a new alternator and battery, and a new cambelt is next.
The handling of the car is superb and seems far superior to my old 3 series E36 but.....
As you mentioned earlier before you upgraded the suspension, the drive was crashy on poor surfaces (most London streets).
I think I've read this in reviews when they were new. Maybe why they handle so well when on good tarmac and at speed.
My e36 was fine on bad roads, larger OE profile tyres helped and was great on the smooth stuff but nowhere near as précise as the Alfa.
Anyway your car looks absolutely brilliant. Enjoy.
I ended up with one a couple of months ago. A 2.0 TS. 2001 with only 23k on the clock, it looks like new inside and out as the very elderly owner garaged it and only did a few hundred miles a year.
I had to fit a new alternator and battery, and a new cambelt is next.
The handling of the car is superb and seems far superior to my old 3 series E36 but.....
As you mentioned earlier before you upgraded the suspension, the drive was crashy on poor surfaces (most London streets).
I think I've read this in reviews when they were new. Maybe why they handle so well when on good tarmac and at speed.
My e36 was fine on bad roads, larger OE profile tyres helped and was great on the smooth stuff but nowhere near as précise as the Alfa.
Anyway your car looks absolutely brilliant. Enjoy.
croyde said:
Great looking car. Are they based on the 156?
I ended up with one a couple of months ago. A 2.0 TS. 2001 with only 23k on the clock, it looks like new inside and out as the very elderly owner garaged it and only did a few hundred miles a year.
I had to fit a new alternator and battery, and a new cambelt is next.
The handling of the car is superb and seems far superior to my old 3 series E36 but.....
As you mentioned earlier before you upgraded the suspension, the drive was crashy on poor surfaces (most London streets).
I think I've read this in reviews when they were new. Maybe why they handle so well when on good tarmac and at speed.
My e36 was fine on bad roads, larger OE profile tyres helped and was great on the smooth stuff but nowhere near as précise as the Alfa.
Anyway your car looks absolutely brilliant. Enjoy.
They are a weird amalgam of 147 (at the front) and 156 Station wagon (at the rear). Have to say grip and cornering is fantastic with the Q2 diff and the PS4s would put many a modern hot hatch to shame.I ended up with one a couple of months ago. A 2.0 TS. 2001 with only 23k on the clock, it looks like new inside and out as the very elderly owner garaged it and only did a few hundred miles a year.
I had to fit a new alternator and battery, and a new cambelt is next.
The handling of the car is superb and seems far superior to my old 3 series E36 but.....
As you mentioned earlier before you upgraded the suspension, the drive was crashy on poor surfaces (most London streets).
I think I've read this in reviews when they were new. Maybe why they handle so well when on good tarmac and at speed.
My e36 was fine on bad roads, larger OE profile tyres helped and was great on the smooth stuff but nowhere near as précise as the Alfa.
Anyway your car looks absolutely brilliant. Enjoy.
croyde said:
Great looking car. Are they based on the 156?
I ended up with one a couple of months ago. A 2.0 TS. 2001 with only 23k on the clock, it looks like new inside and out as the very elderly owner garaged it and only did a few hundred miles a year.
I had to fit a new alternator and battery, and a new cambelt is next.
The handling of the car is superb and seems far superior to my old 3 series E36 but.....
As you mentioned earlier before you upgraded the suspension, the drive was crashy on poor surfaces (most London streets).
I think I've read this in reviews when they were new. Maybe why they handle so well when on good tarmac and at speed.
My e36 was fine on bad roads, larger OE profile tyres helped and was great on the smooth stuff but nowhere near as précise as the Alfa.
Anyway your car looks absolutely brilliant. Enjoy.
IIRC that era are based loosely on the Fiat Tipo floor pan, so the 147/156/Coupe all share a similar architecture - the Coupe is more closely aligned with the 147, than the 156, though.I ended up with one a couple of months ago. A 2.0 TS. 2001 with only 23k on the clock, it looks like new inside and out as the very elderly owner garaged it and only did a few hundred miles a year.
I had to fit a new alternator and battery, and a new cambelt is next.
The handling of the car is superb and seems far superior to my old 3 series E36 but.....
As you mentioned earlier before you upgraded the suspension, the drive was crashy on poor surfaces (most London streets).
I think I've read this in reviews when they were new. Maybe why they handle so well when on good tarmac and at speed.
My e36 was fine on bad roads, larger OE profile tyres helped and was great on the smooth stuff but nowhere near as précise as the Alfa.
Anyway your car looks absolutely brilliant. Enjoy.
We ran a 156 GTA alongside an e36 M3 Evo: I'd say the handling wasn't quite on a par, but the Alfa could be described as more exciting at sensible progressive pace. In the BMW you arrive somewhere earlier than you thought you would, mildly increased heart rate & a smile on your face; in the Alfa, you arrived roughly when you expected, sweating a bit & grinning ear to ear, but a little bit relieved you're not picking bits of hedge out of your teeth...
Notanotherturbo said:
Court_S said:
That looks fab now; the wheels really, really suit it.
Any more details on the issues along the way (just being nosey)? Are you pleased with how it’s turned out?
2 broken gearboxes, clutch, engine immobiliser, lots of hidden rust, lots of suspension parts, wrong calipers fitted, wrong cam cover fitted, leaky backbox, key fob issue. Probably forgotten some. I'm please with how it looks and drives and I feel I'd recoup a lot more than I paid now but confidence has been knocked somewhat as you can imagine.Any more details on the issues along the way (just being nosey)? Are you pleased with how it’s turned out?
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