Alfa GT 3.2 it's rough, it's cheap but god the Busso's sweet

[Alfahorn]

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.

[caiss4]

^^^Another thumbs up to Autolusso Bournemouth. Kept my Spider in tip-top condition for the past 7 years.

[Court_S]

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?

[Notanotherturbo]

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.

[MarkwG]

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.

It'll be superb now, & how you want it to be: Laurence & his guys are the best, they looked after our GTA, & other assorted mechanical money sponges

[AJB88]

Looks excellent, I do really fancy giving a Busso a try.

[Cambs_Stuart]

That looks amazing. Good work getting it to that condition.

[Jhonno]

I forgot how good these look.. Love it! Colour is lovely too, and the wheels and stance work perfectly.

[V6Nelo]

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

[MrVert]

Lovely looking car OP

[croyde]

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.

[Notanotherturbo]

AJB88 said:

Looks excellent, I do really fancy giving a Busso a try.

Couldn't recommend it highly enough, I've had loads of 6 cylinder cars over the years and the Busso is 100% the best one I've had. Noise is fantastic, low down torque is strong, revs well.

[Notanotherturbo]

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.

[MarkwG]

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.

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...

[MarkwG]

Notanotherturbo said:

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.

beat me to it , & agree about the diff & tyres.

[Court_S]

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.

Ouch! Sounds like it’s been a real task getting to ready, but it looks well worth it.