Motoring Discussion > Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!)
Thread Author: DP	Replies: 33

New Mon 29 Jul 13 13:15   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

I have touched on this briefly in Fenlander's thread on his 156, but thought it was about time our rather less salubrious example had a thread of its own. I apologise for the rather poor quality of some of the images. They were taken on a phone that I was trying not to cover in grease and oil, hence, holding with fingertips and not exactly achieving a stable shot. For the past 5 months or so, a couple of like-minded chums and I have been working on a project in our spare time. We acquired a tidy-ish 156 2.5 V6 on eBay as a runner, with tax and test, and more service history than any car I've bought in my entire life, for £300. The downside was a gearbox that was about to grenade itself. Here she is after the 50 mile schlep home from picking her up. The weather was best described as foul, but she completed the trip without incident, despite a noise from the transmission that made us cringe: dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/Alfa1.jpg dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/Alfa2.jpg dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/Alfa3.jpg In the boot was a secondhand gearbox that we'd negotiated from the seller for an extra £90 although we only had his "belief" that it was good. We decided to take the chance. The trip back up the motorway suggested this dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/Alfa4.jpg was in good health, running smoothly and at bang on 90 degrees indicated temperature. We couldn't test the power as the 'box would certainly have quit there and then, but the noise these Busso V6s make even at low revs and light throttle are something a bit special. That said, it slurped a visible chunk of the £30 worth of Unleaded we put in to cover those 50 gently driven miles reminding us diesel drivers how frugal our daily drivers are. The car sat idle for a month or two while we accumulated funds and found the time to start work. First step was definitely to get that gearbox out and install the replacement. We also decided it would be stupid not to put a new clutch in at the same time, and we were very fortuitous to win a new Valeo 3 part clutch kit on eBay for £80 which was duly delivered and sat with the replacement 'box awaiting fitment. When it came to it, the job, being completely honest, was a total pig. One of the gearbox bolts required us to fabricate a tool to get it out, and the clearance to get the gearbox off the crankshaft and down out of the car is best described as marginal. There were also a whole host of stupid, illogical bits of design that added 20 mins here, 30 mins there, and which explain in a nutshell why professional maintenance on these cars becomes unrealistic in cost terms when they get down to sub £1k in value. It took us a whole Sunday and about 2/3 of the following one to finish it. Here are some pics: dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/20130413_105845.jpg dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/20130406_130035.jpg dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/20130413_131646.jpg (much cheering at this one) dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/20130413_140838.jpg And the new 'box ready to fit: dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/20130413_141908.jpg Once it was all back together, it was time to gingerly start her up and move her up the drive. To our collective delight, the new clutch felt superb, and the replacement 'box was indeed OK, and worked in silence. After a quick check of levels and fluids, and letting her get up to temperature it was time to take her for a blast around the farm roads where she is currently living: dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/24618_571476836230916_1580155459_n.jpg Two things struck. That engine is a masterpiece. I've been driving diesels for so long, I'd completely forgotten what it was like to have an engine that climbs on cam and then pulls harder and harder as the revs build. And the noise makes all the hairs on your neck do funny things. Most V6s sound good, but there's a tune to the Alfa engine that is magical. There is significantly more performance on tap than in my 320d, albeit you have to work a bit harder to access it. We also reconfirmed the suspension operated silently, the brakes were shocking (disuse partly to blame), and the steering nice and direct, with little freeplay. We parked it up for the night happy and retired to the pub for some well earned celebratory beers. A few days later, my mate had some time free, and thought it would be wise to check the condition of the timing belt, given it was about due for a change. That proved to be the single most fortuitous action of the entire project: dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/34990_571469246231675_1289219810_n.jpg So, the next job. Full timing belt kit, and a new water pump while we were in there. Alfas suffer from the VAG problem of the penny pinching specification of plastic impeller water pumps. Sure enough, ours was starting to crack. A good aftermarket metal impeller pump was bought, together with a Gates belt kit and a complete set of idlers and tensioners. On starting this, it was evident that the reason for the shocking state of the belt was caused by the so-called professional mechanic who had fitted it doing the job incorrectly, and with no small amount of bodgery. Instead of locking the cams with the correct tools and tensioning the belt with the pulleys loose, he'd clearly marked the pulleys with paint, and just slipped the belt on "as is". The result was this: dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/1017100_597386103639989_1485182034_n.jpg dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/2013-06-15%2013.19.45.jpg On the tensioner side, the belt was as tight as a drum. On the other side, it was so slack it didn't even sit on the crank pulley correctly. It had been riding off the idler, and clumping the cover, hence all the tears and cracks. The whole lot was binned, and the job done correctly with the proper jigs and the new parts. On the plus side we found an immaculate top end which had clearly never wanted for clean oil in its life. Jigs in place on rear bank: dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/988658_597603100284956_1511014018_n.jpg And front: dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/1017249_597603166951616_1699212054_n.jpg Pulleys off as per correct procedure. Shiny new water pump just visible below. dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/190031_597603410284925_498248728_n.jpg And all done with new belt and idlers: dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/2013-06-15%2019.28.32.jpg All back together and she fired first time. Unfortunately, the idle was all over the place which immediately made us panic. Then we discovered we'd forgotten to plug the throttle body wiring connector in. :-) This fixed the issue. A quick road test, and our faces fell. The engine was fine. Gutsy and powerful as ever. But a metallic rattle appeared which disappeared with the slightest touch of the clutch pedal. Fearing the prospect of having to take the 'box out again, we parked her up in disgrace and went off and sulked for a while. A few days later, some initial poking about discovered a slight weep from the clutch slave cylinder which we noted was slightly manky looking when we changed the gearbox. £26 netted a Delphi unit from eBay which we fitted, and the noise has gone. dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13162748/1011520_616533135058619_2054373238_n.jpg We also treated her to an oil and filter change which again showed how utterly moronic some aspects of the car's design are. Most notably that air con pipes prohibit both removal of the oil filter from the engine bay, and socket access to the sump plug! The air-con doesn't work anyway, so will be removed as part of the lightening process covered a little later on. And that, ladies and gentlemen is where we are. I insured her yesterday for the three of us, and my mate is taxing her on the 1st. Then we will use her locally for a few months and make sure she's fit and healthy. The plan going forward is to strip out everything that isn't necessary and use her as a trackday toy. She owes us about £800 collectively, which isn't a terrific amount of money for a 192 bhp car with a glorious V6 that is now mechanically sound, and which we've already gained a lot of enjoyment from. There is a sense that we've saved her from the crusher, which is pretty much where she was headed. Few people would have been prepared to invest the time or professional labour costs to get her up to scratch, especially as a road car. A very long post, but it's been a long process so far. I will keep you informed how the first on-road drives go, probably this weekend. Hopefully not from a breakdown truck en route home :-D Cheers DP Reply to this message | Report message       7

New Tue 30 Jul 13 07:28   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - paulb

What a cracking project. Wish I was sufficiently mechanically-minded to undertake such things... Look forward to further updates as you progress! Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 30 Jul 13 07:45   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - PR

Great story. I got one of the first 156s in 1999, and still drive one now (a 9 1/2 year old GTA). Still love it, 135k miles and still going strong. www.alfaowner.com is a mine of information should you ever need it.... Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 30 Jul 13 07:56   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - TeeCee

>> When it came to it, the job, being completely honest, was a total pig. >> One of the gearbox bolts required us to fabricate a tool to get it out, >> and the clearance to get the gearbox off the crankshaft and down >> out of the car is best described as marginal. You should thank all that's holy that this can be accomplished at all without first: 1) Disconnecting all the engine mounts and supporting the lump with an engine steady or winch. 2) Removing the exhaust. 3) ....and most of the front suspension. 4) then dropping the front subframe. All too common these days as, in many FWD cars, the "bottom up" assembly process of ramming the entire engine, 'box and front subframe/suspension upwards into the thing means that nothing can come out in any direction other than downwards and then only after removing the subframe. For added fun, getting the subframe back in exactly the same place is critical to the suspension geometry and handling. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 30 Jul 13 07:59   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - R.P.

Thereby finishes the first lesson - I have a car change itch - Scratch the Alfa off the list :-) I really want one though, really..! Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 30 Jul 13 11:05   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

>> Thereby finishes the first lesson - I have a car change itch - Scratch the >> Alfa off the list :-) I really want one though, really..! I reckon if you spent £1500, you could easily find a nice one with all this stuff done. This is the other problem - ours is not a desirable spec (cloth, smaller alloys) , and it's a bit tatty here and there, so on a good day with a favourable wind, we might just get back what we've spent, but I wouldn't bank on it when they are available for a grand or so in much better nick and with the all important leather. We didn't care as the interior is coming out, and this was never about an investment. Just three blokes having a bit of a laugh and exercising some mechanical skills that were rapidly turning rusty. :-) Thanks all for the comments and also the links. I will check them out. Oh, and TeeCee, 1-4 were all necessary in this case, although we got away with moving the subframe rather than dropping it completely. :-) Cheers DP Last edited by: DP on Tue 30 Jul 13 at 11:06 Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 30 Jul 13 12:44   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - TeeCee

>> Oh, and TeeCee, 1-4 were all necessary in this case, although we got away with >> moving the subframe rather than dropping it completely. :-) >> In that case, a hat tip to you. I'd happily take that on with a lift, but not on the floor with jack / axle stands. Then again, underneath I can still do, it's bending over an engine bay for extended periods I've had to give up on. Back problems. How did you relocate the subframe? I'm a fan of spraying strategic points with a spot of grey primer or similar and then lining up to the "shadows" on reassembly. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 30 Jul 13 13:37   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

>> How did you relocate the subframe? I'm a fan of spraying strategic points with a >> spot of grey primer or similar and then lining up to the "shadows" on reassembly. We marked a couple of areas with a scribe, but mostly just used surface rust and dirt outlines. To be honest, the permissable movement on these subframes with the bolts started is virtually nothing. Unlike say, a Mondeo which requires a special set of tools to line everything up properly. The car tracks nice and straight, so I don't think we were too far out, if at all. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 31 Jul 13 19:00   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - MJW1994

Not seen one of those before, looks an interesting project. Bet that shifts with that engine! Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 31 Jul 13 20:55   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - R.P.

Have you thought of sourcing a leather interior ? www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alfa-romeo-tan-leather-interior-156-t-spark-/261251535662?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cd3ce132e Last edited by: R.P. on Wed 31 Jul 13 at 20:59 Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 31 Jul 13 23:07   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - Zero

I suspect by the time they have finished the interior will consist of a recaro seat, a momo steering wheel, a race harness and a roll over cage. Last edited by: Zero on Wed 31 Jul 13 at 23:08 Reply to this message | Report message       5

New Thu 1 Aug 13 07:56   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - corax

>> I suspect by the time they have finished the interior will consist of a recaro >> seat, a momo steering wheel, a race harness and a roll over cage. And a fire extinguisher. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 1 Aug 13 09:18   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

Zero is quite correct. The interior is eventually coming out. It's a shame ours isn't leather, as it would still be worth a couple of hundred quid on eBay which would have got us a decent pair of secondhand race seats, or made a decent contribution to ongoing costs. This is very much a budget project, so will be done as far as possible with secondhand, fabricated, or bargain eBay bits. The idea at the moment is to fabricate the seat mounts for whatever seats we end up with, using donor bits from our existing seats. Thankfully one of the team (not me, I hasten to add) is quite handy with a MIG welder. All road legal from today, so this is when it gets interesting. 15 yr old Italian engineering and a good 8 months of disuse......what can possibly go wrong ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 2 Aug 13 09:52   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - hawkeye

Really enjoyed reading all that. Good project. Well done DP. I hope you enjoy your track miles. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 2 Aug 13 17:08   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

First road drive last night. 53 miles split roughly equally between two of us. It actually drives really rather nicely. There's a little drone from a rear wheel bearing that will need sorting soon (easy and cheap), but otherwise remarkably little to report in terms of faults. It managed all 53 miles without so much as a misfire. The experience is dominated, perhaps not surprisingly by the engine. This 4-valve, short stroke (68mm), version of the famous Alfa "Busso" V6 is incredibly revvy, and just eggs you on constantly. It is surprisingly fluffy in its responses low down, and frankly after years of driving torquey diesels, I'd even describe it as a tad gutless, but get it over 3000 RPM and it starts to feel alive. At 5000 RPM there's a lovely resonance from the induction system followed by a lovely V6 howl, and all hell breaks loose. Between 5000 and 7000 RPM it feels genuinely quick, and the noise....oh God, the noise. It just makes you grin. We'll skate over the fact we did according to the gauge, considerable damage to £40 worth of Unleaded in 53 miles. Put it this way, given the same again, I would expect the light to be on. Although once warm, we were giving it some stick. :-) Handling in as far as we pushed it seems a little soft, but the car has nice balance. The steering is lovely - fast, accurate, and with a level of feel of the road surface that the 320d just lacks. Brakes are shocking, the new clutch is light and progressive, and the replacement gearbox has an easy change quality. So, a few more weeks of this to check for problems, and then we start removing the interior. The plan is to weigh everything we take out or off so that we can work out what we save in total. The goal, including the air-con is 200kg so let's see how close we get :-) Last edited by: DP on Fri 2 Aug 13 at 17:09 Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 2 Aug 13 21:05   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - ....

Nice project and looks a decent car from the off for the money paid and the issues fixed. I remember a bloke near me in Sheffield in the late 90's had an R reg with the most enormous rear spoiler similar to this: i54.tinypic.com/288b4lv.jpg Good to see you have taste and avoided. Enjoy and don't have too many beers or fast food to offset the weight saved in the strip out. Looks like something every petrol head should do when they've retired gracefully from two wheels ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 3 Aug 13 08:28   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - Dog

An excellent report DP, about the most thorough I've seen here or anywhere else come to that. I cringed though when I saw the state of the timing belt - what if you'd got the gearbox fitted and the engine blew up! I hearby present you with a C4P medal, well, a green thumb anyway ;) Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 6 Aug 13 09:15   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

150 miles up now. Still nothing broken or fallen off. It worries me that despite its thirst, age, creakiness and all round complete superfluousness I'm falling just ever so slightly in love with it. It's a lovely old thing with more character in its wheel nuts than the Golf and BMW have between them. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 6 Aug 13 15:29   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - Fenlander

Been away on hols so nearly missed this. Excellent report with the images DP. Reminds me of the years I spent doing similar things to older Citroens then writing up the methods and attaching images for the benefit of others taking on the same tasks. I was interested in your driving impressions... ***Handling in as far as we pushed it seems a little soft, but the car has nice balance. The steering is lovely - fast, accurate, and with a level of feel of the road surface that the 320d just lacks. Brakes are shocking*** My Veloce is far from soft but with the same delightful quick steering and lovely balance. Mrs F borrowed it yesterday and remarked how good it was in the wet. There is some argument on the forums about 156 brakes but the simple fact is that they are well behind a modern performance car in terms of effortless stopping power even when in tip top condition. ***It worries me that despite its thirst, age, creakiness and all round complete superfluousness I'm falling just ever so slightly in love with it*** The dilemma is even more acute with mine. It doesn't feel old or creaky, all the kit like Bose hi-fi, dual zone climate, info display etc etc works perfectly and it is returning almost 50mpg. I could put £15k to it and not get any more driving pleasure. I do keep looking at late 156 or 159 estates in red though...... Last edited by: Fenlander on Tue 6 Aug 13 at 15:31 Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 6 Aug 13 21:43   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

I have visions of landing another job with a short commute and buying a nice mint V6 on which to lavish love and attention. This car with leather and in mint condition would be a thoroughly lovely thing. Gave her a scrub up tonight. Zymol shampoo and a coat of Auto Glym Super Resin. Oh, and taught the youngest some basic car care ;-) db.tt/GAH3Cq6S db.tt/3P7TuKjw db.tt/QflbUrwa Cheers DP Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 6 Aug 13 22:26   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - R.P.

Damn it - it looks good... Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 6 Aug 13 22:55   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - Fenlander

Yep looks very good in those images DP. In truth I prefer the flat red for colour but I've noticed on mine and others the flat red paint seems harder to match than their metallics and evey small repaired panel is so obvious as the cars age. I looked at several metallic petrol cars early on in my search and even cars with rough mechanics seemed to have mint bodywork and paint. I'm happy not to have leather on this car but I would try and get it if there is a next one. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 7 Aug 13 09:16   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

Thanks both :-) I am not normally a fan of leather interiors, but the Italians seem to do it rather better than most. I remember accompanying a mate who test drove a facelift 156 Veloce a few years back with leather, and the texture and smell lifted the whole interior to a new level. The embossed Alfa logos are a nice touch as well. This is most definitely a ten yard car. Get any closer than this and you spot all the dinks and scrapes. There's rust starting to bubble on the leading edge of the roof, and one particularly nasty scuff along the nearside front quarter. What surprised me was how the paint shone up though. For something that's basically been sitting around outside in all weathers for the past 6 months, it came up rather well. Going to try the 40 mile round trip commute on Friday, and then a 120 mile round trip to see my parents on Saturday. I'm hoping some longer runs will improve on the currently sub-20mpg fuel consumption. :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 7 Aug 13 10:43   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - PR

If you try, you should be able to get 30-35mpg on a run. I get between 28-32 from my 3.2 usually. Of course this is difficult because of the noise it makes! :) Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 7 Aug 13 10:46   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

This is the problem I am having. :-) That induction noise and howl at high revs. Just delightful. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 7 Aug 13 10:54   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - R.P.

This is the very problem with the 3 Series - driven normally, it will return between 35 to 40 on a good run, but you try driving it normally with that straight six. There's 3 lane hill on the way home form work - nuff' said. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 8 Aug 13 13:48   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

Brought it into work today. Managed 20 miles without visible movement of the fuel gauge which suggests, albeit unscientifically, that it's not quite as frighteningly thirsty on a motorway run. Nice tractable engine. It's not especially torquey, but it is happy to be in 4th at 30 mph (sub 2000 RPM), and accelerate cleanly. Beautifully smooth engine too, and very hushed under 3000 RPM. Last edited by: DP on Thu 8 Aug 13 at 13:50 Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 14 Aug 13 08:42   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

Brakes now done. Both front calipers rusted, and one was seized. After cleaning away all the surface rust, we managed to free the sticking piston and work it in and out a few times. Reassembled, bled through with clean fluid and the stoppers now feel as they should. 364 trouble free miles now. Done £100 worth of fuel though. It does like a drink! :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 22 Oct 13 13:46   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

Another update. Little progress on the track prep, none in fact, since August. It's effectively been sitting at mine where I've been using it as a third vehicle. I've taken it to work a few times, and been out for the odd blast. Still has yet to so much as misfire, which, when you consider it's sitting idle for a few weeks at a time between blasts, is quite impressive. The MOT expired last week, and my VW tech mate (and friendly MOT tester) put it up on the ramps to give it a pre-test once over. As predicted, it would fail a test as it stands today, but the good news is it's nothing too drastic or expensive, and well worth doing. Needs new front discs (due to corrosion - braking effort was a comfortable pass), a couple of bits of welding, a repair to one of the exhaust downpipes and a CV gaiter. Oh, and one of the rear bumper reflectors has fallen off :-). The noisy wheel bearing is apparently not bad enough to fail - an advisory would be issued. An emissions check was not done due to the blowing downpipe, so there is always the possibility that something is amiss there, but given the engine starts, runs and performs so well, I'd be surprised. Thankfully nothing needed is big money. A cursory scout of ECP priced up the front pads and discs, and the gaiter at just over £90, using decent (Pagid) brake parts. Having an accomplished welder in our group means that, apart from a bit of wire and CO2, the structural stuff is time only. The good news is the car will live to fight another day. Now we just need to find the time to do the work. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 22 Oct 13 16:17   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - Fenlander

Sounds like an easyish set of jobs to keep it on the road. Where's the welding... front floor? Mine will go for an MOT a few weeks early (actually due early Dec) to see what's what before I consider its future. If there is nothing else drawn to my attention it too will need front discs, last year I put new pads in but left the discs until I knew it was at least a medium term keeper. I do have a similar age estate I'm watching on Ebay as I really need the room now but I'm worried the next one might not be so good.... and its in the far reaches of Dog land! If it was local I'd have been all over it by now. Last edited by: Fenlander on Tue 22 Oct 13 at 16:18 Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 22 Oct 13 16:32   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - DP

Welding is needed on the nearside outer sill at its aft end, just ahead of the rear wheel arch, and on the offside inner wheel arch right next to the mounting bracket for the brake pipe. I think we might need to fabricate a new mounting bracket which might be a little tricky, but it's do-able. Rear floor has been patched previously. Front floor looks OK. What I would say is these 156s hide their rust very well. There's none of the obvious scabby arches or door bottoms that you used to see on rusty cars, but get it up in the air, and it's a different story. If anything, it's good to know once and for all that the car isn't "too good" for what we have planned for it. Whatever happens , it is going to be staring down the MOT tester's shotgun barrel every year from this point, basically and it won't be many years before it's just too far gone. I suspect the engine will be just run in by that point :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 23 Oct 13 14:28   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - Mapmaker

Always buy on condition. ;) This one needed: New front discs. New gearbox. New clutch cylinder. A bunch of welding (and it's been welded previously) Wheel bearing CV Exhaust Cambelt change Oil change Brave fellows, you lot! Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 23 Oct 13 14:46   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - Fenlander

>>>Always buy on condition. ;) This one needed: Well DP says it was a £300 fun project between friends so the work seems about right. Of course mine was *much* more expensive at a lofty £700 as I needed a totally reliable family car... which it has been. With faith comes reward! Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 23 Oct 13 19:39   Alfa Romeo 156 - Introducing our project (bit long, sorry!) - MJW1994

£300 is only about twice its scrap value so can't go wrong really. Reply to this message | Report message