Alfa 156 2.5 V6
Discussion
Hi guys,
Thought I would share my latest acquisition with you - an Alfa 156 V6 2.5.
I first came across this car when John at MVC in Sale lent it me for a week whilst doing the clutch and DMF on my Spider which had a few complications. He had bought the 156 off of a customer who was struggling to part ex it against something newer.
The car looked as though it had been stood for about a year and first impressions were not great. It was covered in filth, the interior was gross and stunk and there was plant life growing in the door seals. However, a couple of miles driving home was all it took to realise that underneath all the s
t, was a car that seemed pretty good mechanically. The V6 engine was a delight, with smooth power delivery and a lovely exhaust note.
So when I got her home I took her for a valet, and sure enough underneath the filth was a car in pretty good nick. I opened up all the doors back home and spent an hour cleaning out the plant life from the window sills, which left her looking like this:
I really enjoyed running the car for the week I had her and was quite disappointed to give her back to John when my Spider was ready to collect. So a few months later when he decided to put her up for sale, he gave me first refusal and for the trifling sum of £900 I couldn't refuse.
Even better, since I had borrowed the car a few months earlier, John had put a set of 166 replica wheels on and fitted a Supersprint exhaust. He also included a fresh MOT, oil and filter change and stripped the brakes down and rebuilt them. The car came with a huge wedge of documents and has only covered 68k, verified by all old MOT certificates, which is amazing considering it is a 1998 plate.
With some further extensive valeting, polishing and fettling, she now looks like this:
I absolutely love the car - it is so sweet to drive with a real jekyl and hyde personality. At low revs when just driving normally it is smooth and refined, yet if you pin the throttle and hang on to the gears is absolutely howls as it rockets toward the redline, piling on speed at a fair old pace. The steering is beautifully weighted in a way that modern cars seem to have lost and the car handles really well. The only let down are the brakes which are a bit weedy, but I guess this is more a sign of the cars age.
I am loving driving the car so much I have entered it in the Screwball Rally later this month, so going to spend a week driving it around Europe.
All in all this is a great example of how an older car bought for buttons can give so much pleasure and a refreshing antidote to the 'disposable car culture' we seem to have fallen into, where people consider a car old and worn out once it is more than a few years old!
I will be sure to post some more pics up once she is stickered up for the rally and in the meantime, thanks for taking the time to have a read of my thread and check out my new addition!
Thought I would share my latest acquisition with you - an Alfa 156 V6 2.5.
I first came across this car when John at MVC in Sale lent it me for a week whilst doing the clutch and DMF on my Spider which had a few complications. He had bought the 156 off of a customer who was struggling to part ex it against something newer.
The car looked as though it had been stood for about a year and first impressions were not great. It was covered in filth, the interior was gross and stunk and there was plant life growing in the door seals. However, a couple of miles driving home was all it took to realise that underneath all the s
t, was a car that seemed pretty good mechanically. The V6 engine was a delight, with smooth power delivery and a lovely exhaust note.So when I got her home I took her for a valet, and sure enough underneath the filth was a car in pretty good nick. I opened up all the doors back home and spent an hour cleaning out the plant life from the window sills, which left her looking like this:
I really enjoyed running the car for the week I had her and was quite disappointed to give her back to John when my Spider was ready to collect. So a few months later when he decided to put her up for sale, he gave me first refusal and for the trifling sum of £900 I couldn't refuse.
Even better, since I had borrowed the car a few months earlier, John had put a set of 166 replica wheels on and fitted a Supersprint exhaust. He also included a fresh MOT, oil and filter change and stripped the brakes down and rebuilt them. The car came with a huge wedge of documents and has only covered 68k, verified by all old MOT certificates, which is amazing considering it is a 1998 plate.
With some further extensive valeting, polishing and fettling, she now looks like this:
I absolutely love the car - it is so sweet to drive with a real jekyl and hyde personality. At low revs when just driving normally it is smooth and refined, yet if you pin the throttle and hang on to the gears is absolutely howls as it rockets toward the redline, piling on speed at a fair old pace. The steering is beautifully weighted in a way that modern cars seem to have lost and the car handles really well. The only let down are the brakes which are a bit weedy, but I guess this is more a sign of the cars age.
I am loving driving the car so much I have entered it in the Screwball Rally later this month, so going to spend a week driving it around Europe.
All in all this is a great example of how an older car bought for buttons can give so much pleasure and a refreshing antidote to the 'disposable car culture' we seem to have fallen into, where people consider a car old and worn out once it is more than a few years old!
I will be sure to post some more pics up once she is stickered up for the rally and in the meantime, thanks for taking the time to have a read of my thread and check out my new addition!
Edited by Alfa159Ti on Tuesday 20th May 23:05
Hi guys,
Thanks for your interest and positive comments.
I am delighted that the daft spoiler is provoking a marmite response and is such a talking point. I will certainly keep it for now. At the very least it might provide a makeshift ironing board whilst on the Screwball Rally...
Yes a GTA certainly has appeal, but at a fifth of the price, this little cracker still has enough oomph to put a grin on your face; a GTA-lite if you will.
I will have to try and get a sound clip up, it really does sound ridiculously good under load.
Thanks for your interest and positive comments.
I am delighted that the daft spoiler is provoking a marmite response and is such a talking point. I will certainly keep it for now. At the very least it might provide a makeshift ironing board whilst on the Screwball Rally...
Yes a GTA certainly has appeal, but at a fifth of the price, this little cracker still has enough oomph to put a grin on your face; a GTA-lite if you will.
I will have to try and get a sound clip up, it really does sound ridiculously good under load.
Alfa159Ti said:
I am delighted that the daft spoiler is provoking a marmite response and is such a talking point. I will certainly keep it for now. At the very least it might provide a makeshift ironing board whilst on the Screwball Rally...
Couple of my friends are doing the Screwball rally in a 166 V6 (I was supposed to go but due to work commitments I can't).He owns a Fiat/Alfa garage so you'll be in good hands if something goes wrong.
Can't say I'm a fan of that big wing. I picked my '98 V6 three years ago for £1,000; 42k miles and one not so careful owner. The car carried a few urban scars and will never clean up like yours.
Mine has the more discrete Veloce spoiler which I prefer.
20K+ miles later I still love this car and my dilemma is that it really could do with a suspension overhaul and a new exhaust is imminent (still running the original). I'm truly torn about shoving a few hundred quid into a car with a market value well less than £1000. Someone talk me in or out of the idea!
Mine has the more discrete Veloce spoiler which I prefer.
20K+ miles later I still love this car and my dilemma is that it really could do with a suspension overhaul and a new exhaust is imminent (still running the original). I'm truly torn about shoving a few hundred quid into a car with a market value well less than £1000. Someone talk me in or out of the idea!
MonkeyBusiness said:
Couple of my friends are doing the Screwball rally in a 166 V6 (I was supposed to go but due to work commitments I can't).
He owns a Fiat/Alfa garage so you'll be in good hands if something goes wrong.
Excellent news! Well I mean about your Alfisti friends being on board for the rally, not about you not being able to go. Sorry to hear you won't be coming along mate.He owns a Fiat/Alfa garage so you'll be in good hands if something goes wrong.
Please tell them to get onto the 'Screwball Rally 2011' group on Facebook and get some pics up.
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