Using a 164 for towing and hauling?

["David R Johnson" <johnsnd@domain.elided>]

Alfisti, I need your help to persuade my SO into an Alfa!

Well, of course one Alfa is not enough, especially since I probably won't get
my GTV-6 running for another year or two, so I'm working on talking the wife
into replacing her VW with a 164.  (A Milano would not be out of the question
but I doubt it would have enough room, and FWD would be nice for the winter
snow).  I have been on the list long enough to know the basics to look for
(stepper motors, water pump, cam belt etc), and I have checked out the 164
site.  But in order to convince her that we <need> another Alfa, I have to get
past a couple of practical issues.

Her current car is a Passat wagon (estate car), and does duty as a hauler for
the dog (90 lb German Shepherd), child, and miscellaneous junk such as 10 ft
lengths of copper pipe.  So I need to figure out how these tasks could be done
with a 164.  The dog problem can probably be solved by building a simple
platform for half of the rear seat, extending forward over the footwell so he
has room to lie down (Shepherds being large in linear dimensions), and my
daughter can sit in the other rear seat.  For miscellaneous junk, how big is
the trunk in a 164, and how convenient in shape for packing typical family-type
stuff?  And for the 10 ft pipe question, did any of the 164 models come with a
"ski hatch" between the rear seats?

For the less common occasions when we need to haul furniture and such, I plan
to purchase a small trailer.  Can anyone tell me what the towing limits are for
a 164, and if a towing hitch can be fitted without difficulty?  Another
possibility is to use a roof rack or roof box for light but bulky items.  Are
roof racks easily obtainable to fit this car?

It will probably be a little while before I am ready to make the trade, since I
have to fix a number of annoying problems on the VW.  (German quality must be
an oxymoron!  Even my Dad's BMW's seem to have expensive breakdowns).  Part of
my justification for the 164 is that I will actually enjoy working on it,
something I hate on the Passat.  Still, if anyone knows of a good 164 in the
Chicago or Madison areas, I would like to hear about it.  Financially I will be
looking toward the lower end of the 164 scale I think (maybe 6-8K), so I will
probably not be looking at a QV version anytime soon.  Still need to do a
little more homework on the models though.

So please help me to expand our Alfa family!  All inputs (positive and
negative) appreciated.  Thanks in advance,

Dave J.
1982 GTV-6
???? 164?? someday?

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