[alfa] 164 24v Arrives Home at Last!

["Tim Hancock" <timhancock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

After a number of false starts I finally went to pick up the re-engined 24v
today and drove it home very sedately, which was a good thing as the mobile
speed camera units were out in Lincolnshire, and apart from the three fixed
cameras I passed, I passed the mobile van on stake out both on the way there,
and on the way back, but in different places. All in about 40 miles, such is
the demonisation of anyone who wants to travel at more than 60 mph in the UK
today. To be fair they are trying to cut road deaths, but the figures so far
look doubtful..meanwhile back to the car.

Well it seems to go, stop and steer reasonably OK at the modest speeds I was
running, but I have to chase a new radiator fan motor as this one is clearly
jiggered, and the central locking will lock, but not unlock, and the alarm
unit in the trunk/boot chirrups away happily to itself all the time, so there
will be a number of fault hunting forays. This is not bad for a car that has
been immobile in our damp climate for about two years.

I questioned the guys who did the work quite closely about timing belts and
tensioners. They have not experienced problems with the new style tensioner. I
asked about retensioning and they said that it was not necessary. They look
after a lot of alfas, have their own race cars ( a 33 and a 75 V6) and have
been both main dealers and independents over the last twenty years. They do
concur that 50,000miles is the maximum you should take a cam belt to for peace
of mind. Time will tell I suppose, but their reputation is such that I am
content to take their word for it.

What is certainly the case is that it is a very different machine to the 164
Twin Spark I have been driving these past four years. You can feel the extra
300kg up front, but the engine is far smoother with the extra two cylinders,
and the performance is effortless, and keeps on going when the TS has had
enough. That being said, the TS is almost the more 'sporty' feeling of the two
in view of the lesser nose weight, and the comparitive rortiness of the 8
valve four when it is extended. The exhaust on the TS blows a positive rorty
raspberry when you get through about 2,500 revs, and then it quietens down.
You don't quite get that " hang onto the handlebars" feeling when you floor
the TS throttle higher up the rev range, but never fall into the trap of
calling the TS a lesser model as it is always fun to drive.

So here I am with my eleven year old 164TS and my ten year old 164 24v.and
unlike some comments I see, I think they are a credit to whoever built them,
whether it was FIAT or Alfa matters not a jot to me. My standard rejoinder to
anyone who says they are not real Alfas is to agree with them, real Alfas were
often in scrap yards after seven years in this damp salt laden country.

Now I have a spare 24v engine, and the mystery question is "Whats underneath
the rear head". This will have to wait until long after Christmas. I suspect
valve damage of course, but it will be a real irony if there is no damage, as
the person who took the front head off found none there.

Tim Hancock   Boston UK

164 TS
164 Super
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided