03-07-2008, 05:22 AM
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Working in the yard
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Broomfield, Colorado U.S.A
Posts: 3,679
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by Zunige
It also depends on how people take care of their cars... Everyone that I know who actually followed their maintenance manual (or did regular maintenance on their own) has a gorgeous car. Most of those people are odd balls, nonetheless. I have a couple of Alfas that haven't lost their "quality", and they are very competitive at the national concours... 
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03-07-2008, 05:55 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Oakville ON
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In the 60s, everything rusted much more than today's cars, but Alfas seemed to rust more than most. My 69 GTV (in Montreal) was rusted through in large areas and in a lot of places below the belt line by 1971 
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Ken Lee
Oakville, ON
1974 GTV 2000 - Ruby (I'm never selling this one, honest!)
1973 GTV 2000 - Rowdy (or this one I hope)
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03-07-2008, 06:40 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: near Pasadena, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Duk
BTW, 4 wheeled IRS  Indipendant Rear Suspension.....  |
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1966 Giulia Super (current)
1966 Giulia Super (R.I.P.)
1967 GTV (R.I.P.)
1955 1900CSS (R.I.P.)
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03-07-2008, 03:56 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 315
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTV4EVR
In the 60s, everything rusted much more than today's cars, but Alfas seemed to rust more than most. My 69 GTV (in Montreal) was rusted through in large areas and in a lot of places below the belt line by 1971 |
When I started shopping for used cars in 1976, no Fiat earlier than 1974 could be found. Corollas from the same period often used a 2x4 to keep the front strut towers at the proper spacing after a few winters.
The addition of plastic liners in the front wheel wells, gravel guard on the underside and general attention to body design improved things considerably. My father kept a 1976 Fiat running for 10 years, and it kept going for a couple more after that.
Alfas did rust with a capital R, but pretty much everything did. Was it that much worse than other cars?
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03-07-2008, 05:20 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: New York, NY
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ossodiseppia
I'm with you on that one. I think it's all about care and maintenance.
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if you take excellent care of your alfa and do the appropriate maintenance (which most alfa owners who are into their cars are since we are meticulous with it) the car will run great.
when i first saw this post and thought quality - i didnt think only about the mechanics - my first thought was built quality.
alfas squeak, rattle, things becomes loose, etc..
as meticulous owners when we hear or see something that we dont like, we fix it - but the reality is the built quality is lacking compared to most other cars.
if i wanted a "quality" car i would have bought a honda, toyota or even a porsche - but i chose an alfa just for its style and grace.
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1992 alfa romeo spider veloce, 18k miles
2000 saab 9-3 coupe, 19k miles
Last edited by lgbalfa; 03-07-2008 at 05:24 PM.
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03-07-2008, 06:01 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Delaware
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Part of the "quality" issue is in the details. I once had a trans bell housing repaired by a local machine shop. The welder was apparently quite talented (judging by the work he die to repair a corner that cracked off). He made a point of telling me in no uncertain terms how impressed he was with the quality of the alloy that was used (something that a good welder would notice). Part of Alfa's reputation was built on their expertise in the foundry, y'know.
Jim
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62 Giulia Sprint
65 Giulia Spider Veloces (two)
88 Milano 3.0 L
91 Ducati 900 S/S
06 Ducati Paul Smart 1000
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03-07-2008, 06:56 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Southern California, 50 miles North of LA
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Just remember that Alfas from the 60's till 1983 were "biodegradable" only after 84 the rust treatment made the (big) difference :-) )
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03-08-2008, 01:52 AM
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Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
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Yes they were as biodegradable as everything else during that period.
Ironically they were never flimsy in the metal-more heavily built than most, it`s just that the build quality of modern cars is light years ahead of most cars built 10 or more years ago.
Generally cars of today have electrical problems as the most common ailment and I believe from my experience in the motor industry, both as a Euro garage proprietor (also with vast experience with Japanese used imports) and as a new vehicle retailer(Nissan & Toyota/Lexus) that the current crop of new cars won`t last 15yrs-electrical problems and the need for special tools & limited access to componentry without professional workshop facilities will see these cars scrapped as owners down the line won`t be able to afford to maintain them or service them themselves or the electrical componentry will fail as we are finding already on mid -late 90`s models.
Ironically I`m sure most engines will last with proper service 250km without major overhaul, something that most cars, including Alfas wouldn`t without exceptional circumstances.
So whats quality? Is it the ability to give a long useful service life, or is it the lack of rattles, or is it the nature of the materials, or the feel of the car on the road, or the merit of the mechanical design or the aesthetics of the body?
Quality is obviously different to all of us but to me Alfa Romeo have always represented my definition of quality-never perfect nonetheless but tell me the "perfect car" because I know it hasn`t been built yet.
Richard J
`65 Giulia Ti, `69 GT Junior, `74 GTV 2000, `76 Alfetta GTV, `77 Alfetta GTV, `84 GTV6
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03-08-2008, 01:39 PM
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Location: clearwater FL
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Thanks guys, for comments.
Quality? Maybe a good definition is a car that lasts through a period of time during which "things" keep on working the way they were expected from the time of first ownership.
For example, my cheap, and lowly sunbird........153,000miles, and still shifts like heaven. No synchro/first gear problems. Why?
Gearbox hardly leaks. Why?
Motor mounts never sagged. Why?
2L engine (made in Brazil) has plenty of pep, more than my alfa, even without a fancy aluminum engine/multi port fuel inj, just a single throttle body unit, AND get way better mileage. Why?
Fuel tank never smells into the cab, , no fuel system tubing that needs troubleshooting/maintenence. Why?
Clutch pivot hardware never broke. Why?
But I still like my alfa..........and will probably never get rid of it, or my sunbird.......
Last edited by Joe Papa Sr; 03-08-2008 at 01:41 PM.
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03-08-2008, 05:33 PM
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Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
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What`s a Sunbird Joe?
Don`t forget likely as not it is a later designed car capitalising on the huge advance in production technology, mechanical technology, electronics,and oil sealing methods. Plus being an "ordinary" car hasn`t been thrashed and abused like most old performance cars have-bet it`s lead an easier life.
My experience has been over the years that the cheaper more basic cars actually are more "reliable" and often give a longer service life. A Corolla or Fiat Uno or Nissan Pulsar will give greater value than the more upmarket cars such as MB`s, BM`s ,Alfas, Lexus etc. With many on this thread you could argue the small basic cars provide the best quality and also value for money-greater reliabilty, excellent build quality(in that little falls to pieces, drops off , rattles etc) plus great fuel economy and best of all smallest depreciation. Most are fun to drive too.
Richard J
`65 Giulia TI, `69 GT Junior, `74 GTV 2000, `76 Alfetta GTV, `77 Alfetta GTV, `84 GTV6
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03-09-2008, 06:30 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Tallahassee (FSU), FL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alfavirusnz
What`s a Sunbird Joe?
Don`t forget likely as not it is a later designed car capitalising on the huge advance in production technology, mechanical technology, electronics,and oil sealing methods. Plus being an "ordinary" car hasn`t been thrashed and abused like most old performance cars have-bet it`s lead an easier life.
My experience has been over the years that the cheaper more basic cars actually are more "reliable" and often give a longer service life. A Corolla or Fiat Uno or Nissan Pulsar will give greater value than the more upmarket cars such as MB`s, BM`s ,Alfas, Lexus etc. With many on this thread you could argue the small basic cars provide the best quality and also value for money-greater reliabilty, excellent build quality(in that little falls to pieces, drops off , rattles etc) plus great fuel economy and best of all smallest depreciation. Most are fun to drive too.
Richard J
`65 Giulia TI, `69 GT Junior, `74 GTV 2000, `76 Alfetta GTV, `77 Alfetta GTV, `84 GTV6
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Your perspective seems to explain why, in part, alfas are fun to own......
(sory for confusion, I have posted on my son's computer while checking his post for another thread he was on under his screen name......)
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Joe Papa
Clearwater, FL
[COLOR=Red][FONT=Book Antiqua]'87 spider veloce: All dinged up from college parking lots [/FONT][/COLOR]:
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09-15-2008, 12:26 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yvesmontreal
One of our local club members bought both a 250GT Lusso (Pininfarina) and a 3500GT (Touring), both used, in the mid sixties. He got so fed up with the poor build and trim quality of the 250 that he got rid of it after a few months. He still owns the 3500. whcih he says was put together a lot better.
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09-15-2008, 03:27 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Athens Greece
Posts: 491
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The thrill is gone...
Alfa died when it was sold to fiat. Last quality car was the 75.
I'll be blunt and say ,new Alfa Romeos are not Alfa Romeos we're just referring to them as such so as not to anger their misguided owners, in this forum and in every single Alfa club in the world.
I'm really sorry is just how it is. Change will hardly come...
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09-15-2008, 03:36 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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GTV-GR is right. The modern Alfa Romeos (aka badged-up Fiats) have front-wheel drive, and even IRON BLOCKS, only the heads are aluminum. A proper Alfa Romeo has an all-alloy engine, with rear-wheel-drive. Fiat/Alfa are going to revert to rear-wheel-drive for some models, but I'm betting they'll still have those damned iron blocks.
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