Why a Alfa? Share your story

[Vindingo]

I saw my first alfa 7 years ago when my mother bought a 91 164. She picked me up from school the day she got it and all I can remember was the bright yellow interior. One of the kids at school even made fun of me because of the color of the leather. I was 14, had no clue what an alfa was, so I was kind of embarresed. I remember seeing the alfa badge and thinking it was really cool. I found out that the car was from italy and that made it even more exotic. A year later when i was 15 I learned to drive in that car. After a night of burning up the clutch, I was in love. I wanted an alfa and for my 17th birthday I was gona have one. My mothers friend fixed and sold alfas so I went to the lot to see what alfa I wanted. I wasnt aloud to get a spider as my first car because "it would be too dangerous" so when I saw my 84 gtv6 sitting there pink from oxidation and not running i knew i had to have it. My parents didnt believe in buying kids cars so for the next two summers i spent working, saving my money and paying my mothers friend in instalments. Two years and $5000 later she had a rebuilt 88 milano engine, platinum gearbox, ANSA pipes and shining red paint. I have had her from 4 years and love her just as much as the first time I saw her!

[Vindingo]

I have some pics, but they are too large 300kb. Does anyone know how to shrink them so i can post them>?

[dave_fonz_164]

sorry dude, nice story but yellow interior on a 164?????

[Vindingo]

have u ever seen pretty much brand new "tan" seats in a 164.... they look pretty yellow

[Storsav]

Yeah the seats on the 90-93 164's are a yellowish tan color--beautiful!

Okay my story:

When I was eighteen, I'd been driving my parent's 66 Mustang (fun) for two years, but needed my own car. I spied an old tan four-door car in my neigbor's driveway so I went and asked about it...1974 Berlina, tan with rust spots, needed "engine work." He had owned it for several years and owned a GTV6 before that. Price was $550.00 and some help with a house he and his wife were refurbing down the street. SOLD!

Me and my dad got it running real well. Despite my dad being a Flathead Ford type of guy, he's a mechanical genius. He really laughed when we took off the SPICA--Italian Engineering!?

I drove the hell out of this car, taking down Camaros, and every other friend's car along the way. The car was indestructable and had a mean backfire when the fuel mixture was too rich. Sold to my old girlfriend's dad for $600.00 in 1994. (He needed a parts car for his GTV).

I became aware of the 164 a few years ago and after months of looking, found a beautiful 1994 LS 5-speed out in the D.C. area. My friend and I flew to D.C. in July of 2001 and picked her up, then drove through D.C., Gettysburg, Ohio (woohoo!), Chicago for July 4th., St. Louis, Kansas (140Mph on the straights), Mesa Verde, The Grand Canyon, San Bernadino then home to the LBC. What an EPIC trip, that car never let me down, but she was an expensive date...sold to a Lawyer in Texas (he drove it home too).

Now a few months ago my girl's car died after being stolen twice--TOYOTA's!! So I told her I'd "Make a Sacrifice" and loan her my Nissan truck to drive and get something cheap in the meantime...So I picked up an 83 Spider with about 30,000 original miles. I'll tend to her (the spider) for the next few months, then we'll see. I'm on the lookout for a nice 69-74 GTV; aren't we all? Please let me know if you see one near by--Peace.

[claykilla]

As odd as it seems, my wife and I were looking for a Corvette from the mid 60's for a long time but every time it came to writing the check she'd balk bad. She said "can't you find another car we could enjoy without the enormous price tag?"
Well, we had owned a Fiat Spider in '76 that we both loved till it kissed a Buick 225 while she was at the wheel. At that time, I had told her "if I had more money I'd have an Alfa Spider".
Now, instead of a Corvette I found an Alfa Spider on-line, bought it, and drove the 300 hundred miles from Chicago to home. The wife is very happy and I fulfilled the dream of owning an Alfa that I had almost forgot I ever Had. We're now both chompin' at the bit wishin' for spring!

[Squire]

I was going to buy an International Scout V8. Left a deposit with the father after having the truck inspected and the son sold the Scout to his mate. I came to pick up the Scout on a Sunday and it was gone. I started a new job on the Monday and needed transport quick so the father feeling bad lent me his Alfa Sud Ti (Series 1). After a week with it I went back and offered to buy it off him. Since then have had various Fiats, Lancias and Alfas and none of them have given me as much pleasure as that little 1186cc Sud with Konis and 33 mags.

[termoli spider]

My family emigrated to Canada from Italy in 1952. I was born in Montreal and moved with the family to Los Angeles in 1972. While in college I was blessed in spending each summer vacation with my aunts and uncles and cousins in Italy. In 1978 I had the opportunity to drive a 1974 2000 GTV down a traditional italian country lane at 180 kph. Enough said. Google the Italian town of Termoli and you will understand.

[gt601]

I have always been a fan of odd cars since I was a kid. I think my favorite toy car was a Mercedes diesel model. (I know... wierd!) I had a couple of VW's, several MGB GT's, many Volvos and then I became friends with a guy who has a car lot and is into Italian cars. He had an 87 Milano on the lot and asked me if I wanted to drive it. I wasn't really interested but I drove it anyway. I was hooked dammit! It was mine within a couple of days. I had been in a few Italian cars before and was really impressed with a buddy in high schools 1300 GT Junior but had never really given them much thought.
I don't know what I would do now with out an Italian car in my life now. I always have these friggin' cars on my mind now.

All the non Alfas I've had...
2 VW
3 MGB-GT
8 Volvo
1 Mercedes
1 X-1/9
1 74 T-Bird
1 72 Honda 600
1 505 Sti French car
1 2002 German car
1 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara.. sensible car/truck

All the rest are Alfas...out of 28 cars I've had.
I'm almost even on Alfas to crap-boxes. Two more and I've broken even.
Paul

[Bozz]

In 90 I moved to Boston to go to college. Moved in with my sister and her husband. She made me sell my car so I wouldn't be driving all over negleting my studies. My sister had an 88 Spider which I got to take to school (she would take the trolley to work). All though it wasn't my car, I have a lot of memories driving around. Me and one particular friend I met and graduated with on many occasion had a blast. When I noticed the ride in the paper, I couldn't pass it up.

[silverspider]

Hit Atlanta in the mid eighties after a stint in rough trade upper Manhattan: Went from watching my back in a tenement in crack central to living in a somewhat hippy, dilapidated old Victorian home in a historic neighborhood (little five points) in Atlanta in the mid eighties. Culture shock indeed. After an awful experience with an older Mercedes coupe (lovely to look at tho), I noticed a bunch of small convertibles cruising around. Met a cool Afisit/owner of a dedicated Alfa garage, Albert of Auto Delta (who, unfortunately, was paralyzed by a drunk driver some years ago while riding his bike). He convinced me that these cars were roadworthy as daily drivers if well maintained mechanically. I then bought a 75 Spider for 2k and put in another 2k into it. Drove the pi*s out of it for three years amazing years, including an epic cross country stint.

I have never been without a Spider since.

Thanks you Albert, wherever you are.

[AlfaTango1]

Growing up I always drove American Muscle cars, Novas, Impalas,Camaros, Chevelles. I also had a 1966 Cadillac Sedan DeVille which was an awesome car with leather, power everything the smoothest shift tranny ever, wanderbar radio and a big block 425...

But always in the back of my mind I wanted a Ferarri since traveling Europe as a kid. I just thought European cars were so cool, perhaps a 57 TR, 250 SWB or Daytona but who could afford those cars? So when I totalled my 1989 CRX (in 1991) my close friend who had a Lancia Scorpion says "Why don't you buy an Alfa?" there was a 1987 Milano at a dealer that sold German cars and I went there and once I heard the engine sounds (Valves, cams) and the way I could flick the car around I was hooked. I was so used to hearing the roar of the exhaust but now I understood what Italian cars were all about! The mechanical buzzing and whirring of the engine. Ever since then I've had an Italian car in the garage. But I still kept my 1963 Imapala SS too. This will pay for my retirement... Or a 250 SWB someday...

[BlpltGTV]

My Alfa story is a little strange. When I was in 8th grade, I was visiting a family friends winery. Down in one of the barns I stumbled across a pair of Duettos (I think, its been a little while,) and a GTV. My younger brother really liked the Duettos, but I had a thing for the GTV. Time went on, and the image was still stuck in the back of my mind. A dusty,dirty red GTV sitting backed into an inclosed barn near a window. When I turned 16, I didn't have any $ and my parents said "If you are going to learn how to drive, you will pay for the class, your own car, and your insurance." I looked at my $30 in savings and said, I think I'll ride my bike. All through high school, and college. Finially when I was 24, a friend brought one of his dads Datsun roadsters up to San Luis Obispo from LA, to put a stereo in it. Of course we had to go play with it. With no DL, I obviously couldn't drive it, however I wanted one of my own. One day while riding home from class I looked over and saw a pretty tired 69 2000 roadster sitting in a garage. The front end was smashed, and it had some rust. It hadn't moved in years. I payed $650 for it and loaded it up and took it to my friends house. There I learned how to work on a car. The car didn't run, it needed a new cam, valve springs, rocker arms ect. I got that done, and got it running. The following semister I needed a couple filler classes to be eligable to race my bike, so I took a body shop class and an auto painting class. I had a friend drive my car out to class where I stripped it to bare metal, fixed all the dents and rust, and put it back together. With 4 weeks left in the semester, I thought I might be able to paint it. I bought some epoxy primer, sprayed it, blocked it out, and shot the filler primer. I blocked that out and was all set for the last coat of filler primer before the paint. With one day left in the semester, I obviously wasn't going to get any real paint on it. I shot the final coat of primer thinking I was going to spray it the following Fall. Well I never went back to school. I did however finially get my DL at the age of 25 because I wanted to take the car to the Mt Shasta ALL Datsun Meet. 2 weeks before the meet, I borrowed a friends truck and went to take the driving test. I had all of about 1 hour of behind the wheel practice at this point. I ended up getting a perfect score. Then I learned how to drive a classic sports car with a big cam, 10lb flywheel, a tired gear box (I learned how to double clutch very quickly) and no power anything.
Skip forward to 2005. At the Montery Historics and saw a bunch of Alfas sitting near the Datsun corral. I had to go look at the GTVs. I went over an took pictures of all of them thinking it would be sweet to have one of these. In 2006 I did the same thing, although now I had a job that would inable me to perhaps buy one. I started asking questions, and actuially half heartedly looking for one to buy. I found rusty ones, and even rustier ones. Had flash backs to doing the rust repair on the Datsun and said, nope, need more money. A month later while sitting at a stop sign some punk kid who had taken his mothers car rearranged the front of the Datsun for me in a hit and run. The guy was caught, but had no insurance, or DL. I thought it was going to be a total, however I have almost $15000 in recepts. My dad brought his Miata up for me to drive, and wanted to go see our friends with the winery. We drove up and one thing led to another with the guy finially saying "Well, I have an old GTV up in the barn. Its pretty rough, it hasn't moved in 30 years. Come back this weekend and take a look at it. Its yours if you want it. I'm never going to drive it again." Suddenly I had a flash back to when I had last been up at the winery, the first time I saw a GTV. It was the same car.
I brought it home the second weekend of Oct 2006, and had it drivable by the middle of November. The car is nearly rust free (it has a little under the tail lights, nothing major. Just surface rust.) The paint cleaned up nicely, the interior is nice as well. As it turns out, the car was the first fuel injected GTV to come into Steven Griswalds shop. Aparently everyone just looked at it and scratched their heads. (The brother of the guy who gave me the car worked at Griswalds for some time. Unfortunetly he passed away in a freak skiing accident.)
5 months later, I'm still waiting for the Datsun to be completly fixed.

Thats my Alfa story,
Will

[flamebero]

Lets see... this goes way back... I was in kindergarden, and my mom made me play with this weird kid (now one of my best friends) who moved in down the street. His dad had this really sweet car, I had no idea what it was, he also had a a few other cars that didn't catch my eye. I know know them as a 67 MG and a 69? Lincoln Continental. I soon came to know the car I adorred as "the Alfa" and later as an Alfa Romeo Spider. I only got to ride in it once, getting a ride home from a Scoout meeting, we fit four people in it .

Several years later, also on the way home from a Scout meeting, I saw a car, I think it was a red Alfetta/GTV-6 with Alfa Romeo script across the side/hood, this made me remember, I oght to be getting my first car sometime soon, and I had always hoped it would be an Alfa Spider. This was early last summer, I spent the rest of my summer researching, and scouring craigslist. In august I bought my 78 Spider in Seattle. My uncle was kind enough to store it until towing it here to Portland.

The first picture is the 84 Spider that inspired me, second picture is my 78, I took this one right before sealing the deal.

[jmb]

I saw a 70's Fiat spider one day at a dealership and drove it.the thing was horrible though and I just could not see putting money into it.I always wanted a rag top because my Dad owned a 65 sunbeam Alpine.I could not find an Alpine so I remebered the 80's spiders and looked on eBay and found a car that was close.Went to look at it and bought.Excellent cars to drive and no regrets.Just wish I could afford some of the hard tops that I see on these boards.Maybe one of these days.....