http://www.pistonheads.com/news/defa...?storyId=26815
Was sat behind one of these last night and I think I'm starting to understand why people like Alfa's It didn't sound all that fruity as it still had the stock exhaust and was driving in traffic but it did look really nice and a little special. Seems to have aged very well compared to it's rivals. I'm not sure I'd ever hand over money for one but I'd love to have a drive.
I was, and still am to some extent, seriously tempted to buy one of these. As you say they really look the part with the wide stance and big teledials. Power is isn't too shabby either. This combined with the exclusivity make it pretty tempting. Funnily enough I'm looking for a decent condition Alfa 145 Cloverleaf as a bit of a project / daily at the mo so have been doing some homework on Alfas of late. I was actually watching Alfa vids on YT today and watched this was one of them
Was it only me who noticed the bird in the white top? Great waps!!
Agreed, the 147 GTA is a lovely car, OK, so it didn't review greatly, but it looks good inside & out and sounds lovely! Thing is, last time I looked they were still quite pricey.
Mr G - 145 Cloverleaf you say? Just bought one myself as a track project, always liked them back in the day and we were looking for something a bit leftfield. Driving position is a bit upright, but nice revvy engine with a bit of a snarl! Feels a bit soft out of the box, but we can sort that.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1344981
Love the sound and looks, that's it.
Having worked on one they are rust boxes and built extremely badly. Every job is complicated on it and bolts seem to seize more than a 200
Hallsy! Excellent project - just read your thread and will keep checking back for updates! I think they look awesome and like you said, it's something a bit leftfield. I'm scanning the classifieds like 4 times a day and the ones that come up eithr seem to be miles away or silver (has to red right?!).
Quick for what they are, water pumps fail, so replace with cambelt straight away, clutch change are a shit of a job, and they do go heavy on a lot, Front lower ball joints wear, upper wishbones wear and creak and front anti roll bar bushes are shit and won't be long before they knock, rear arm bushes are also common and the rear arms are weak being made of alloy, but the noise and interior are awesome and for an NA is pretty fun
Sorry to bump an old thread but I decided to buy one of these a few weeks back. The itch got unbearable, I just had to own one. In the few weeks I've owned it it's cost me a small fortune but that's what Italian cars do right? It pulls like a frickin' train and sounds awesome with the quad silencers. It's not perfect and needs a bit of work to bring it up to level I'm happy with. The main thing is that it has the Q2 diff so my tyres might last more than 1000 miles. Stay tuned for updates!
That looks soooo nice. I wish I was brave enough to make such a purchase!
Hats off to you sir
Cool ride!
There is something about Alfa's. That 147 is lovely.
That is absolutely lovely!!
Ever since seeing one on the M25 many years ago, I've always had a strong itch for an Alfa Sportwagon GTA.
Maybe it was because I'd never seen one before, but it just felt, cool.
Thanks all, yeah the Sportwagons are super-cool aren't they! I was the same a few years back when a 156 GTA wafted past I was like, what the hell is that?!! I thought it looked fantastic and have fancied one ever since. After looking at various cars this was the only thing that really got my juices flowing!!
Good work Sir!
I'd really like a 159 Sportwagan as the next daily, but the buggers have appriciated like mad over the last 2 years and I can barely consider the 1.9 diseaseal now
Very nice Mr G, very nice. Any plans for it? I reckon going darker on the wheels would nicely bring it up to date. Bolt gun metal/graphite metallic would look sweet!
Love Italian cars, they have character that other stuff doesnt, they are a real event to drive
Also been tempted by a 147 GTA, and Id literally kill a man to find a 159 3.2 Q4 Sportwagon
Originally Posted by scimmy ben
I get the feeling that this would only work if we could pursuade Ernest Borgnine to drive the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth hovercraft.
Stuff I've done so far:
- Replaced the Koni FSD's with Bilstein B6's. One of them exploded when I hit a pothole
- New Meile ARB droplinks.
- New rear disks.
- Had both flexi's replaced. The exhausts hang low at the front on these so that's why I want to try and raise it a little.
- Installed an aluminium engine undertray as mine didn't have one.
- Replaced the driver's side door strap as it was clicking when opening / closing. You can see in the pics that the new part has a larger plastic arm that doesn't dig into the metal roller like the old one did.
- New DAB Stereo with steering wheel controls.
- Aircon regassed.
In the pics of the flexi's you can see the rusty braces that run down the length of the car. I'm going to get these powder coated. I have it booked in at this place in January for a full underbody rust removal / protection. Check out some of the cars he's worked on on his FB page. Loving the Nova sill repair!
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Last edited by Mr G; 04-11-2015 at 19:26.
Nice car, nice work
I just went through all of that JR Classics guy's photos - he's like a magician!
1993 [L] RS13 200SX
2003 [53] MX-5 Angels
2004 [04] E63 645i
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Update! Ahead of it's rust removal / proofing I had a few parts powdercoated and while it was off the road it made sense to get a few manky fasteners plated. Note helpful arrows pointing to rusty parts!
Before
After
Cool. How's the rest of it going?
I think you will find that bit of plastic breaks up and falls off.
[*]Replaced the driver's side door strap as it was clicking when opening / closing. You can see in the pics that the new part has a larger plastic arm that doesn't dig into the metal roller like the old one did.
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