The $500 one-lap tourist car

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

I have been interested in the various answers to Ben Dixon's proposed three-
month cheap-Alfa vacation in the US. Berlinas, Alfetta sedans and Milanos have
been mentioned, along with a variety of American cars as fall-backs-  80's
Chrysler "K" model, Olds Cutlass, Ford Taurus, Chevys.  

My impression is there would be a vast advantage in staying within familiar
territory, and that the most standard Alfa in Australia is a 116 but
(important!) with Webers, Dellortos or Solex horizontal twin choke carbs.
Appreciably less familiar but still a known quantity would be the Bosch-
injected V-6. By far the least familiar would be a Spica-injected car. This is
critical, as prior knowledge affects coping strategies and expenditures, and
any new skills acquired in the back-country here should preferably be
applicable to possible future situations. A decent Spica system can be
excellent, but a problematical one, to be learned, coped with, and invested in
during a three-month trip in the hinterlands could be a disaster, both time-
consuming and expensive - and you know which is more likely on the $500 car..
A Sport Sedan or Berlina which had been imprudently converted to carbs, and
which is now unable to pass stringent emissions tests in a jurisdiction from
which the visitor would be leaving forthwith, could be a bargain and a joy for
a carburettor-competent Australian. A Sport Sedan, Alfetta coupe, or Berlina
with a sick Spica might be unsalable enough to warrant bringing a familiar
induction system along in one's baggage, if one had the skills and the
inclination to do so.

The Milano has been mentioned a couple of times as a possibility, but I do not
recall mention of the GTV6. The two cars are mechanically similar, but the
Milano has appreciably more sophisticated (read: potentially troublesome)
electrics. There are other areas where the Milano is more technologically
advanced in ways which make it less of a shadetree car; any radiator shop can
fix a tin-and-solder GTV6 radiator, but the plastic-tanked Milano is a
different fish. Milano a much nicer car, in many ways, but the coupe- five
years older, rustier, with more ragged upholstery and faded paint, is more
likely to be a bottom-feeder's bargain. 

A fair number of the more irrational Alfa enthusiasts have accumulations of
parts cars which could be put in running condition without great difficulty
(four, in my case, which is certainly not unique). If Ben could contact one
such near his planned port of entry something might be worked out, to use the
car and return it, older and wiser, to mutual advantage. A breaking yard, such
as APE, may have a continual flow of running but unmarketable cars which might
be used on a similar basis. Tom Zat used to provide employees with serviceable
Alfas as a perk, keeping his payroll in line; the car would be just as
valuable to him a year later. There are certainly many runable Alfas here
which do not have the market value to justify paint and upholstery. The trick
will be lining one up without wasting time or buying a prohibitively expensive
problem . For an extended trip a truly cheap Spica car would be something of a
gamble for a person who was not comfortable with that system. A carbureted
Alfetta should be right at home, with a bedraggled GTV-6 as a good option.
Failing one of those, I would go bottom-fishing among the VW Golfs and
Toyotas, shudder. Otherwise, whatever fits one's sense of adventure. Cadillac
hearse?  

Good luck, and enjoy-

John

------------------------------