Re: Dissin' Alfettas

[<BHIGGINS2@xxxxxxx>]

Way to go Kathy Jo!

I love my Alfettas.  I can drive my stock Euro '69 GTV or one of my Spiders
any time I want but I usually opt for one of my Alfettas!  I'm glad no one
likes them as that allows me to buy them dirt cheap.

About this time last year I bought a bought a stock Euro '79 Alfetta GTV from
a real Italian rocket scientist (really - he worked for the European Space
Agency on loan to NASA).  He was the original owner, car had 35,000 miles on
it, didn't leak a drop of oil, twin sidedraft SOLEX carbs, euro bumpers of
course, interior was practically showroom quality, a little cosmetic rust down
low (was easily fixed) and it has factory air conditioning that actually works
good! (even when the temp is 100 degrees).  The car is fast and handles
wonderfully.  I would't part with the car $5000!

Houston is a buyers market for Alfas.  The owner was asking $400-500.  I
gladly gave him $500 and still consider it the best $500 I've ever spent!!
Either my wife or I drive the car everyday and we've put 20,000 trouble free
miles on it and I still love it.

I just picked up a '76 GTV for $650.  The car came with $7,000 of receipts
since 1994 (owned by a check book mechanic).  Rebuilt engine (10.4:1 pistons),
rebuilt transmission, 15x7" Ronal wheels with new Pirelli 195 60 15 tires, new
SPICA pump, Konis all around, new brakes and booster, etc., etc.  The wife can
have her '79 full time now - this baby is mine!!  Is going to get an engine
transplant very shortly - see below.

Earlier in the year some friends of mine picked me up a '76 GT.  Real rusty
but it had a set of Weber 40 DCOEs (SPICA conversion) on it.  Complete running
car for $150.  It had a horribly blown head gasket and upon taking the engine
apart for a rebuild I discovered:  10.4:1 pistons, Shankle 5418 cams, porting
and polishing in the head and intake manifold (SPICA conversion), tubular
header, oversized valves, etc., etc.  The car is fast!

Keep dissin' the Alfettas - cause I'm going to buy them cheap and enjoy the
heck out of them.  By the way, I do all my own mechanic work and haven't come
across anything that is really any harder to replace/fix on an Alfetta than a
105 or 115 car and changing donuts isn't really very tough.

Ben Higgins
Galveston, Texas

'69 Euro GTV
'79 Euro GTV
'75, 76 Spiders
'76 GTV
'71, '18 Spiders (parts cars)
'76 GT (parts car)

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End of alfa-digest V7 #14
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