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Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 8:42 am
by C J Murray
This post puts a smile on my face. I was lucky enough to go through an "Alfa Period". My wife and I owned a series of 4 Alfas that we used for daily transportation over many years. First, while I still had a Dana Corp company car and we had no kids, we bought a 1982 Spider with very low miles. That was the first year for Bosch engine management and it was great fun to drive. Unfortunately my wife had a 45 mile each way commute so one winter in that car was enough and we bought her a new VW GTI, also a fun car. Then Alfa started selling the Milano and that became her new ride for the next 110k miles. Great car! My company car was gone and I wanted to drive an Alfa too so I bought a used GTV-6 which I found out was not treated very well by its first owner. I drove it for a year or two and then the Alfa/Ferrari dealer had one last Milano Gold in blue metallic at a drastic discount so I bought that and enjoyed 100k fun miles driving that. I did look at the 194 as a possible replacement but I didn't really like that cat. There are a number of classic Alfas that I would love to own but somehow that has not happened. Anybody have a Sprint Speciale for sale cheap?
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Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:16 am
by ray nelson
Oh my CJ
First the devil's invention, motor bikes and then Alfas? Well I suppose great minds think alike.
When I worked in DC I bought a used '87 metallic blue Milano Gold to blast around the back roads of Maryland and Virginia. The poor thing had been badly cared for and the winters had taken their toll on the body. Fortunately, there was an Alfa mechanic in Gaithersburg that did his best to keep it running but as you know Alfas are fairly needy for attention. Even so when i moved back to Florida I drove it down I-95 keeping the speed at the sweet spot where the driveshaft didn't shake too badly.
With no Alfa mechanics and parts supplies all but non existent in Florida it spiralled to the point of not being driven, at that point it was parked and replaced with a new '98 Mustang GT.
Well, sadly the poor thing is still in my possession and everytime I see it I get a twinge of guilt for treating it so badly. They were great fun little cars but I fear that Lee Iacocca had too much influence with the cost cutting Detroit mentality and combine that with the, let's just say, unique Italian electrics, there was always something to fix.
I haven't succumbed to stopping at a dealer to see the new Alfas for fear of being seduced by the new Giulias but they look soooo tempting, kinda like Italian actresses! :wink:
Ray

Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 12:07 pm
by Adam Wright
ray nelson wrote:Oh my CJ
First the devil's invention, motor bikes and then Alfas? Well I suppose great minds think alike.
When I worked in DC I bought a used '87 metallic blue Milano Gold to blast around the back roads of Maryland and Virginia. The poor thing had been badly cared for and the winters had taken their toll on the body. Fortunately, there was an Alfa mechanic in Gaithersburg that did his best to keep it running but as you know Alfas are fairly needy for attention. Even so when i moved back to Florida I drove it down I-95 keeping the speed at the sweet spot where the driveshaft didn't shake too badly.
With no Alfa mechanics and parts supplies all but non existent in Florida it spiralled to the point of not being driven, at that point it was parked and replaced with a new '98 Mustang GT.
Well, sadly the poor thing is still in my possession and everytime I see it I get a twinge of guilt for treating it so badly. They were great fun little cars but I fear that Lee Iacocca had too much influence with the cost cutting Detroit mentality and combine that with the, let's just say, unique Italian electrics, there was always something to fix.
I haven't succumbed to stopping at a dealer to see the new Alfas for fear of being seduced by the new Giulias but they look soooo tempting, kinda like Italian actresses! :wink:
Ray
My one time I almost bought an Alfa Milano, it ran me over, twice, literally. I drove to PA to look at it and when I arrive at the shop that's selling it the owner sends his girlfriend out to show me the car. She knows nothing about cars, this gets funny in a minute, and shows me where the car is. I pop the hood and am noticing that there is some oil in the water, something I was told to look for. Apparently the head gaskets are a bit of a joke on these cars. As I'm examining this the girls says, "Ill start it up." That's the last thing I heard before I was slammed face first into the engine. She didn't know you had to put in the clutch if the car was in gear, and the car knee-capped me. Right when I was getting my wits about me and finding my feet, she says, "It's not starting" and turns the key again, and again I'm knee capped. I scream, "Get out of the car!!!!!" She looks at me like I'm crazy. I tell her to go get whoever owns the car. She goes inside and says her boyfriend won't come out, he's busy. I drive home, scabby/bruised knees and all.

Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 2:26 pm
by C J Murray
3 out of 4 of our Alfas were basically trouble free. Only the GTV6 was a little problematic but it was not treated well by the first owner. The driveshafts on the Milanos turned at engine speed back to the rear transaxle/DeDion suspension. The factory balanced them very precisely with weights on the bolts at the joints and if a heathen non-believer R&Red the shaft without placing the weights exactly where they belonged then the shaft would vibrate.

Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 8:39 pm
by Jack Walter
The first car I drove was my dad's 1960 Alfa Giulietta so I caught "Alfa Disease" pretty early in life. I owned a couple of Giuliettas in the 1970's and in August while we were out in Pebble Beach I rented the modern car that most reminded me of how those old Alfas drove and felt. We had so much fun diving around the peninsula in a Mexico Blue wrapped 2016 Miata that I wound up buying a 2018 Miata last month. Th south end of Carmel Valley Road is an amazing roller coaster ride for a light nimble car.

Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 9:04 am
by C J Murray
I bought my first Elva Courier by chance. I had just become old enough to race with the SCCA and I was working as a British/Japanese/Italian car mechanic in Paoli PA. One day I drove down the main road through town and there was a car/trailer/race car rig parked along the sidewalk in front of a row of shops. The sign said "for sale". Being full of youthful enthusiasm I made the questionable decision to contact the seller and buy the car and trailer. The car was far from "turn key" so I spent some months building an engine and going through the car mechanically as well as painting the car. I did by SCCA drivers schools at Bridgehampton and Summit Point and then ran a few Regional races. Bob Tulius and his team mates showed up in a giant tractor trailer transporter and crushed my ego. My budget did not allow for even one set of new race tires so I had no hope of developing any driving skills. A couple of years later I sold the car to an accountant from FL and used the money for a partial down payment on our first house. That Elva was actually one of 2 or 3 lightweight race cars the the factory sent to Sebring to race when new in 1964. I wonder where it is today?
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Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 9:11 am
by Vic Skirmants
You should have been able to develop good driving skills especially on old tires. Anyone can be fast with new rubber. :P

Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 9:13 am
by Adam Wright
Vic Skirmants wrote:You should have been able to develop good driving skills especially on old tires. Anyone can be fast with new rubber. :P
What's the saying,
"It's not the fiddle, it's the fiddle player?"

Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 9:41 am
by C J Murray
Vic Skirmants wrote:You should have been able to develop good driving skills especially on old tires. Anyone can be fast with new rubber. :P
Didn't you tell me just yesterday that you were 2.5 seconds slower on tires with 4 heat cycles? :P
Adam Wright wrote:
Vic Skirmants wrote:You should have been able to develop good driving skills especially on old tires. Anyone can be fast with new rubber. :P
What's the saying,
"It's not the fiddle, it's the fiddle player?"
Ok Adam, get out your fiddle! :P

Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 9:58 am
by C J Murray
They say that there's no fool like an old fool. I think some of that is caused by nostalgia. Maybe we shouldn't try to relive our youth? I got the Idea that having an Elva Courier to putt around in would be nice so I bought a total POS thinking it would be an easy restoration. LOL! This car sucked up cash at an alarming rate. Not Porsche rates though but an Elva doesn't have the sales value to justify what I have spent and unlike a Porsche I don't think time will fix the problem. I do like the car a lot though.
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Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 8:33 am
by Vic Skirmants
"Didn't you tell me just yesterday that you were 2.5 seconds slower on tires with 4 heat cycles? :P

No; that was another competitor. I was 2.5 seconds slower on the Dunlops than the Hoosier TDs from 3 years earlier.

Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 1:01 pm
by Greg Bryan
Cliff - looks like you have the height for a lift in your garage. An old guy like you might pull something crawling under a car on jack stands.

Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 1:50 pm
by Greg Bryan
'46 Willys CJ2A - been in the family since '52
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This is what it does best
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Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 2:57 pm
by Dan Kalinski
My High School car from 1970:

Re: Members' Old Cars - (Not 356 Porsche)

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 4:16 pm
by Jack Walter
Greg Bryan wrote:'46 Willys CJ2A - been in the family since '52
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This is what it does best
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That Willy's is very, very cool
I'm doing a frame up restoration of my 1967 Land Rover Series IIA - pictured here in 1974