Alfa 33 - yes or no?
Discussion
I would have loved an Alfa Sud but scarcity and rocketing prices for survivors mean as wouldn’t love one *that* much.
A 33 seems a good compromise. Ideally I’d like an early 1.5 Green Cloverleaf but I don’t know that there are enough around to be fussy. What do people think of them and are there any obvious watch-outs when buying?
A 33 seems a good compromise. Ideally I’d like an early 1.5 Green Cloverleaf but I don’t know that there are enough around to be fussy. What do people think of them and are there any obvious watch-outs when buying?
I can only give you my opinion.
I also love Alfasuds - back in the day I had 3 - a 1.5 Super, a 1.5 Sprint and then a 1.5 Ti. When it was time to move on from the 1.5 Ti (which I should never have done) I just couldn't face buying a 33 - it was just too ugly compared to the Sud and I had zero want for one.
Moving on to today - the car I want is a Sud 1.5 TiX - I don't want a Sprint and I don't want a 33.
It's a No from me.
I also love Alfasuds - back in the day I had 3 - a 1.5 Super, a 1.5 Sprint and then a 1.5 Ti. When it was time to move on from the 1.5 Ti (which I should never have done) I just couldn't face buying a 33 - it was just too ugly compared to the Sud and I had zero want for one.
Moving on to today - the car I want is a Sud 1.5 TiX - I don't want a Sprint and I don't want a 33.
It's a No from me.
I know what you mean. I live in this deluded fantasy world where, by word of mouth, I will hear of a Black series 2 Sud 1.5 Ti of about 1982 vintage sitting in the heated motorhouse of a retired Major who has owned it from new and who meticulously mothballed it when he gave up driving twenty years ago.
As solid as a rock and pin-sharp beneath its protective wax, it needs only straightforward mechanical recommissioning after its 30k miles of light use in the run-up to its hibernation.
He’s selling it for a song of course because all he cares about is that it goes to the right sort of chap...
Back in the real world, thanks for the view. I actually don’t mind the look of the pre-facelift 33s but just don’t know what they’re like to live with
As solid as a rock and pin-sharp beneath its protective wax, it needs only straightforward mechanical recommissioning after its 30k miles of light use in the run-up to its hibernation.
He’s selling it for a song of course because all he cares about is that it goes to the right sort of chap...
Back in the real world, thanks for the view. I actually don’t mind the look of the pre-facelift 33s but just don’t know what they’re like to live with
I drove an Alfasud about 10 years ago - it was too tatty, so I didn't buy it. However, the one thing that stuck out for me was how heavy the steering was. It might just have been worn out / mis-aligned, or maybe the tyres needed some air - but after 20+ years of driving cars with power steering it was a real shock.
I don't know when PAS came to the 33 - I suspect it was after fuel injection.
I don't know when PAS came to the 33 - I suspect it was after fuel injection.
Back in the day I had an Alfa Sprint which I loved until some aged idiot decided to overtake a tractor and hit me head on as I was coming the other way. It had its fair share of rust issues and electrical gremlins but I loved it.
Later I raced one belonging to an a friend and I also owned a race 33 for a while. It handled fantastically well - the boxer engine and light weight helps obviously but so did a very stiff roll cage.
I doubt there are many for sale but as Suds and Sprints become more expensive so will 33s follow. Go for it, but be prepared to be good at diy or get to know a specialist who can source parts for you, maybe in the racing world?
Later I raced one belonging to an a friend and I also owned a race 33 for a while. It handled fantastically well - the boxer engine and light weight helps obviously but so did a very stiff roll cage.
I doubt there are many for sale but as Suds and Sprints become more expensive so will 33s follow. Go for it, but be prepared to be good at diy or get to know a specialist who can source parts for you, maybe in the racing world?
I had a couple of Suds and a 1.7 carburettored 33. The 33 is not as pretty, but I'd say it's easier to live with - for one thing, the handbrake works and the outboard front discs/rear drums are much less grief than the inboard front discs of the Sud. Frankly I'd expect any cars of this era to be very rare and very rusty. The 33 was always fun to drive; although it understeered it had a low centre of gravity and more grip than the Sud. Steering was heavy at low speeds and torque steer was prodigious - if you floored it away from traffic lights it would move a metre to the right, helpful for overtaking. Sounds bad but actually it had a lot of character.
Loved my 33's!
Had a 1.5Ti and a 16v Sportwagon.
Can't compare to a Sud but for me the carbed 1.5 was the best. It lost a fair bit of character when the injection was introduced.
No problems at all with the Ti but had head gasket issues with the 16v.
If you can find a good one then go for it, I think now and again of hunting one down.
Had a 1.5Ti and a 16v Sportwagon.
Can't compare to a Sud but for me the carbed 1.5 was the best. It lost a fair bit of character when the injection was introduced.
No problems at all with the Ti but had head gasket issues with the 16v.
If you can find a good one then go for it, I think now and again of hunting one down.
I had both back in the day. IMHO my pre-facelift 33 1.5 GC looked much more modern inside & out than the Sud SC & the Sprint that I had before.
BUT the brakes & steering weren't as good on the 33. I guess it was a combo of a cheaper rear axle, a less rigid shell, cheaper brakes & fatter low-profile tyres. It all added up to subtract some of the Sud's magic. I still drove mine all over the Scottish Highlands & borders and took it to the south of France.
Of all the 33's I still like the look of the pre-facelift GC most. In red.
Of all the Sud-related cars, though, I'd love a 1.5 GC Sud the most for some reason. I mate of mine had one in black and it just looked right to me.
Any of them will of course feel incredibly torque-free and slow today, but I'd bet a Sud would still be great barrelling down a B road.
The other old Alfa I'd love (maybe a bit more) would be a 1750 or 2.0 Bertone GTV. But that's maybe because that's the one that got away. I had a Spider with the same chassis but am not a fan of convertibles and always hankered after a tin top version.
Lateral thought; I have also had a hankering for a Beta Coupe Volumex after having seen a fully restored one recently on Harry;s Garage. He loved it.
BUT the brakes & steering weren't as good on the 33. I guess it was a combo of a cheaper rear axle, a less rigid shell, cheaper brakes & fatter low-profile tyres. It all added up to subtract some of the Sud's magic. I still drove mine all over the Scottish Highlands & borders and took it to the south of France.
Of all the 33's I still like the look of the pre-facelift GC most. In red.
Of all the Sud-related cars, though, I'd love a 1.5 GC Sud the most for some reason. I mate of mine had one in black and it just looked right to me.
Any of them will of course feel incredibly torque-free and slow today, but I'd bet a Sud would still be great barrelling down a B road.
The other old Alfa I'd love (maybe a bit more) would be a 1750 or 2.0 Bertone GTV. But that's maybe because that's the one that got away. I had a Spider with the same chassis but am not a fan of convertibles and always hankered after a tin top version.
Lateral thought; I have also had a hankering for a Beta Coupe Volumex after having seen a fully restored one recently on Harry;s Garage. He loved it.
craigjm said:
I wish I never sold my 75. I would have one of those over a 33
I'd have loved a 75 instead of getting forced out of my 33 into a company Cavalier (groan).I never drove a 75 but loved the same chassis in various earlier iterations - a GT1.8, a couple of GTV 2.0's, A GTV & a Giulietta.
And the extra power & torque. And the way they felt nailed in fast sweepers. Needed good gearchange linkages, mind....
I used to live in Clapham and bought a 33 Permanent (Ha!) 4 from the trader at the Triangle on Clapham Common - he's gone now. It was certainly an unlucky car and remains to this day the worst car I have owned. Apart from everything else, which included epic unreliability, they were very hard to parallel park.
I keep my cars a long time and am on my 5th Alfa but it's no to the 33 from me.
I keep my cars a long time and am on my 5th Alfa but it's no to the 33 from me.
lockhart flawse said:
I used to live in Clapham and bought a 33 Permanent (Ha!) 4 from the trader at the Triangle on Clapham Common - he's gone now. It was certainly an unlucky car and remains to this day the worst car I have owned. Apart from everything else, which included epic unreliability, they were very hard to parallel park.
I keep my cars a long time and am on my 5th Alfa but it's no to the 33 from me.
Crikey - that was a long time ago; that - very dodgy - car lot has been gone for the best part of 25 years. They had a tie up with the Citroen dealership on the High Road where the gym now is to sell all their dodgy trade-ins.I keep my cars a long time and am on my 5th Alfa but it's no to the 33 from me.
You may also recall that Moxley Frankl, the architects practice on the High Road in the old swimming baths building, used to have a number of Alfa 33s as company cars
Indeed - they were the previous owners of my car.
I got it inspected by a supposed Alfa specialist towards Brixton who gave it a clean bill of health but the 4 x 4 system never worked properly.
I flogged it 12 months later and bought a 164 from Ramponi Rockell which is one of the best cars I ever owned and the only one I would like to own again.
I got it inspected by a supposed Alfa specialist towards Brixton who gave it a clean bill of health but the 4 x 4 system never worked properly.
I flogged it 12 months later and bought a 164 from Ramponi Rockell which is one of the best cars I ever owned and the only one I would like to own again.
lockhart flawse said:
Indeed - they were the previous owners of my car.
I got it inspected by a supposed Alfa specialist towards Brixton who gave it a clean bill of health but the 4 x 4 system never worked properly.
I flogged it 12 months later and bought a 164 from Ramponi Rockell which is one of the best cars I ever owned and the only one I would like to own again.
Ramponi used to look after my brother's 164 back in the day!I got it inspected by a supposed Alfa specialist towards Brixton who gave it a clean bill of health but the 4 x 4 system never worked properly.
I flogged it 12 months later and bought a 164 from Ramponi Rockell which is one of the best cars I ever owned and the only one I would like to own again.
Presumably the Alfa 'specialist' was that odd place in what looked like an old stable on Acre Lane? They were real cowboys who f
ked up the handbrake drum on my Fulvia.I think they only survived because Martin Buckley used to take all his Italian cars there
ClaphamGT3 said:
lockhart flawse said:
Indeed - they were the previous owners of my car.
I got it inspected by a supposed Alfa specialist towards Brixton who gave it a clean bill of health but the 4 x 4 system never worked properly.
I flogged it 12 months later and bought a 164 from Ramponi Rockell which is one of the best cars I ever owned and the only one I would like to own again.
Ramponi used to look after my brother's 164 back in the day!I got it inspected by a supposed Alfa specialist towards Brixton who gave it a clean bill of health but the 4 x 4 system never worked properly.
I flogged it 12 months later and bought a 164 from Ramponi Rockell which is one of the best cars I ever owned and the only one I would like to own again.
Presumably the Alfa 'specialist' was that odd place in what looked like an old stable on Acre Lane? They were real cowboys who f
ked up the handbrake drum on my Fulvia.I think they only survived because Martin Buckley used to take all his Italian cars there
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