New Alfa

[jimmyboy90]

I recently bought a 1987 Alfa romeo 33 1.7 for a rock bottom price of 70 bucks
of my dads mate.

at the price i paid for i was expecting a few flaws these flaws are as followed

1.hand brake does not work
2.rust around the sunroof
3.loose dash
4.boot(trunk) wont open
5.the car also has an electrical fault somewhere in it the dash lights and brake lights cut on and off and only work well when driving up hill(bad earth somewhere?).

despite all these problems i am in love the the car but would like tips on fixing these problems if possible .

[lenus]

1. Could be anything from broken cables to really bad adjustment, or the cable being disconnected in the drums or worn drum pads... : Remedy check drums, then cables.

2. Rust is rust.

3. ... Tighten it up.. Alfa build quality is notoriously bad though, so your 'loose' might actually be pretty tight, but compared to a german car say it feels loose.

4. I have no idea...

5. Re-wire all the bits that don't work, after checking the earths.

IF the engine and gearbox are in good nick though and it's the carbied version especially, 70 bucks is a steal, the carbies on those engines are worth over 300 bucks on their own.

But if you're in love I doubt seperating for a profit is what you wanna do. My brother had a 33 1.7 and it was a hoot. And I've had a sud with that engine in it, makes for lots and lots of fun.

Enjoy Motoring!

PS. Where in 'the land down under' are you?

[budweiser_sud]

$70 is a bargain for a 1.7 Well done...

Check those carbs though, Alfa sometimes only put on 36IDF Webers on some 1.7's, it can be luck of the draw if you get 40's or the 36's. I guess it just depended on what was available, although I've heard a few dodgy mechanics have swapped 40's over for 36's on unsuspecting 33 owners.

~Benjamin

[dave33]

Gidday Jimmy and congratulations on the bargain !!

Re the brakes, it might be adjustment. My 89's rear brakes don't self adjust too well and I have to adjust the rears manually. If left long enough it might be outside the travel of the handbrake. I'd check that the rears are adjusted properly then look and see if the handbrake cable needs a tighten up (There is an adjusting nut at the rear of the handbrake. Need to take off the handbrake cover/rear ashtray assembly to get to it)


Re the boot, if the cable is not broken, I'd have a look inside the boot near the boot lid catch. The clamp that holds the outer part of the cable there can slip and stop the cable from moving enough to actuate the catch. You might have to try and spring the catch open from the inside to get to it...


Re the dash lights, I had a fuse go on my 33, which knocked out the power to the dash and the fuel gauge etc. Might be worth a check over. The interesting thing was the fuse didn't look blown, it just had a fine crack across the metal strip of the fuse and didn't conduct power any more. From a quick visual check it looked fine, so I'd check the fuses closely !! Bad earths also a possibility ....

As for the rust - in my opinion, bite the bullet and fix it as soon as you can. To quote the Neil Young song "Rust never sleeps !! :-)

If you can get the 33 running well and handling right, you'll have a ball with it - enjoy !

Good luck
David F

[GTVnut]

Where's ya pics?

[jimmyboy90]

thanks for all the replys I am trying to locate a camera so i can show u all pics of the Alfa she runs like a dream cant wait to attempt to fix the problems

[Mark33]

Is this tightening nut at the rear of the handbrake the same system in a late model (1994) Alfa 33ie? I have failed a warrant of fitness (in NZ) on the basis my handbrake needs tightening. Being a bit mechanically ignorant, I was going to pay for the job to be done. But if it's as "easy" as you suggest, I'll give it a go myself. Thanks.