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Anyone know of an Alfa Specialist in the North West - asking for a friend - honest.
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Here is one in North Wales, just round the corner from you your friend
www.italianspecialist.com
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It's an 07 159 - being malicious with its new custodian...
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That's closer to me and Rattle than RP :-)
I know RP said NW... so it's in the right area for what he asked.
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On the A50 at Allostock, just south of Knutsford....
www.mangoletsi.com/service.html
Ted
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www.ferdisgarage.co.uk
Lytham St Annes.
Member of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club
Time served Alfa, Maserati, Mechanic.
A hidden gem, i have used them, and there good.Plus you get a day out at the seaside.
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>> It's an 07 159 - being malicious with its new custodian...
>>
I am firmly of the opinion that the 159 is a stunning car. One of very, very few that I'm happy to just sit and look at (and everything else in that category is rather more exotic). Unusually, it actually looks better in estate guise, the saloon's not quite "right" in the 3/4 area.
I reckon I could forgive one quite a lot of maliciousness in exchange for being able to look at it on the drive.
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I think it is very likely I'll need an estate before too long, the saloon boot is hopeless for even a modest size box of "stuff".
If nothing alters my opinion before I make a change I will get another Alfa as I'm still enjoying the 156 (possibly a bit too much at times).
A 159 estate is the obvious move but the price jump over a 156 might not be worth it so I may just look for a last facelift 156 variant with the slim headlights. Also I'd like to keep to the same 10V 2.4 engine as I have now... read there are some extra potential issues with the 20V in the 159.
BTW I need an estate but don't like the look from the rear as much as a 159 saloon which I reckon uplifted the look of the 156 perfectly while keeping the undoubted old fashioned style.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Wed 5 Jun 13 at 10:28
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Fenlander, don't know if you are aware but the facelift 156 2.4 JTD uses the 20v 2.4 engine. It's rated at 175 bhp (instead of 200 in the 159)
I've been in a 156 20v JTD as a passenger, 4-up. They go like stink!
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No I didn't... interesting to know. Oh well just have to risk the extra potential for issues which is probably worth it for that lovely headlamp area facelift.
Going a little newer to something like this would be nice but hard to justify at the moment...
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201304306525561
Red body and tan leather always appealed to me.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Wed 5 Jun 13 at 11:51
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That's a swizz. The one I test drove a few years ago had engine-turning on the metal dash panels, which looked rather nicer IMHO.
Also didn't have that acreage of grey plastic, double-din stereo unit.
I reckon the metallic / pearlescent finishes really suit the car better than the flat colours. Highlights the lovely combination of curves and edges it's got going for it. There's a deep metallic red that looks marvellous, although I reckon the sort of greeny-gold and the purple are the best.
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Yes, it's very pretty Fenlander, and spotless too. But nearly £7,000 for a 127,000 mile car seems a bit steep even if it turns out to be a bargain in the end. Of course you have to remember that I still think leather shoes should cost a tenner...
Alfa Romeos should have wood-rimmed steering wheels ideally.
:o}
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>> Alfa Romeos should have wood-rimmed steering wheels ideally.
>>
It's already jumped the shark good 'n proper by having an oil-burning lump in it.....;-)
Now. We really need to stop talking about these things. I'll shortly be in the market for an estate with the vile work of Satan's agricultural division providing the motive power and these things are a bit more than I was planning to spend.......
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It was just an example for looks not value really AC. Tan or cream leather on a red or dark green car has always done it for me.
This on the other hand is very very .... blue
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201304216383506
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>>>It's already jumped the shark good 'n proper by having an oil-burning lump in it.....;-)
I have to say, and not because of any faults, my Alfa's 2.4 JTD has a very crude sound from outside... say when reflected from the McDonalds drive-through window at idle.
However in the car the diesel never really intrudes with an offensive oil burner noise... just the amazing exhaust/engine note around 2000-3000rpm... no-one who's been in it can understand how they got that out of a diesel.
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Don't get me wrong Fenlander, I test drove a derv-equipped 159 and very nice it was too.
It's just that years of being stuck behind diesels in traffic have earned them my undying hatred. I don't mind petrol exhaust fumes (in fact I actually rather like the oily / unburned fuel smell from the tailpipe of an older car) but diesel exhaust turns me green around the gills very quickly.
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>> Alfa Romeos should have wood-rimmed steering wheels ideally.
Ours does: :-)
tinyurl.com/b9ody6r
Not bad for £300
Although it now owes us more than twice that.
And we're not done yet.
Love Alfas :-)
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>>>Although it now owes us more than twice that. And we're not done yet.
What you been doing to it?
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>> What you been doing to it?
Gearbox was on the verge of grenading. Done that (S/H box £100 and a weekend to fit - it was a total pig). Fitted a new clutch while we were in there. Drives nicely now.
However, we've since discovered the cambelt is hanging by a thread (literally). An eye watering £200 for a belt kit, £50 for a new water pump, and about the same again for the cam locking tools which in our case are being made up by some bloke in a shed who is taking weeks.
There's also a leak from one of the bottom radiator hoses which needs attention.
Nice long MOT on it, but the tax has just run out
Last edited by: DP on Wed 5 Jun 13 at 16:58
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I wondered if the box might be a struggle to do... still at least you won't have to go there again with a new clutch sorted as well.
Timing belt could be pivotal for my 156 in the sell/keep decision. Not due this year but if it continues to delight as it has so far I will still own it when the time comes. I guess I'll put it to a specialist for around £350 unless I sell before.
Have you bought the timing belt ket yet?
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>> Have you bought the timing belt ket yet?
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Yes. A whisker over £200 for a Gates belt/SKF tensioner kit online. One very big belt that does all four cams and winds its way across both banks. One tensioner and two idler pulleys to replace as well.
The hold up is the cam setting tool, which has been delayed. It's typically unconventional, and replaces one of the cam bearing caps, with one of the cam lobes fitting snugly inside it when it's in the correct position. This of course means it is almost impossible to do without it, given the cam pulleys are not keyed, and there are no other reference marks anywhere to work from.
The box was difficult primarily for two reasons. The first was one of the bellhousing bolts that was almost impossible to see, let alone reach. Much colourful language all over the internet about this one. The second was trying to engage a release bearing with a pull clutch, something none of us had done before. Needed a "special tool" - a 6ft length of 4x2 (I kid you not!) :-)
Last edited by: DP on Thu 6 Jun 13 at 13:45
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Almost forgot the best bit
tinyurl.com/d4ayulc
Sounds even better than it looks. :-)
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I think its got rats nesting in there...
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>> I think its got rats nesting in there...
Indeed. Weasels too I shouldn't wonder. Definitely my kind of car, if I still had the energy, time and some sort of roof to do it under. Now I would have to pay someone to do the cobbling for me.
Gets through front tyres at a fair rate does it DP? I bet you don't care though.
:o}
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>> Gets through front tyres at a fair rate does it DP? I bet you don't
>> care though.
>>
>> :o}
To be completely honest with you, AC, apart from a quick blast around the farm tracks where it is being kept, I haven't had the pleasure of driving it yet. After that we found the cambelt issue and haven't started it since (belt will be done the weekend after next. But I suspect yes, it will chew them :-)
We bought it a couple of months ago as a project to keep three mechanically minded mates occupied over the odd weekend. Semi-drunken plans have since hatched to get it all sorted and then use it as a track day toy, which strikes me as an excellent use for something that was almost certainly heading for the scrapper before we took it on.
Mechanically it's as fit as a fiddle. Would blow my 320d into the weeds. Pulls like a train, and really wakes up over 5,000 RPM. Also, it was sitting for about 5 weeks in all that cold, sleet and torrential rain we had through April and early May, and it fired up first touch of the key. :-)
And that engine bay is getting detailed to within an inch of its life once everything is sorted. I have the Autosol ready! :-)
Last edited by: DP on Wed 5 Jun 13 at 17:19
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Thanks all - he's going to the one in Wrexham - the car's information system is speaking in tongues - it came at the right moment for me...put me off Alfas again
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>> the car's information system is speaking in tongues
Yelling at your mate to get a move on, cazzo! cattivo! mamma mia, piú veloce PIU VELOCE! in Italian? I like to think so.
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He is a press on driver AC....even give you a run for your money in Sarf London I'd wager
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Very happy to hear it Rob. A lot of people go faster than I do these days. I seldom feel the need to switch to full press-on mode, and have rather lost the habit.
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>> >> Alfa Romeos should have wood-rimmed steering wheels ideally.
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>> Ours does: :-)
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That looks very, very nice.
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Alfa Romeo 159 - Alfa Specialist North West... - Zero
