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52 Posts
Alright, so today, my fiance and I had to drive from Pennsylvania to New Jersey to get our first Alfa, a 1991 164 S, that we bought off Ebay last week. Trip was uneventful till we reached the location, a repo/auction place with tons of cars. The guy we bought it from was on lunch, but rushed out in the car to us, explaining that it had to be jumped off to start (not mentioned in the ebay add, interestingly enough). We then discovered that we couldn't drive it straight home, because the guy doesn't do temp plates for folks. So he held it for us while we went to the nearest DMV, which I'd called the day before to ask if they were able to issue temp plates, and had been told they were. We get there, wait in line for an hour, only to find out that they don't give temporary plates to folks from out of state! So, I thought up a dastardly plan. Now, in Pennsylvania, and some of the surrounding states, a car only needs a rear plate to be legal. My truck, on the other hand, still having the Texas plates I brought from home, had one on each end. So I pulled the front plate off my truck, bolted it onto the Alfa, jumped it off (who knew folks could put the battery off a small warship into the trunk of a sports car!) and away we drove, very illegally. About halfway home, the low coolant light came on, and I pulled over, automatically out of habit shutting off the engine, and refilled it from the coolant jug I'd bought just in case (whew). But then I needed to be jumped to get going again! My fiance, meanwhile, had gotten lost in my truck trying to find where I was pulled over at, and then her phone died before I could guide her in. So, there I was, when a nice guy pulled over and jumped me off so I could go. Made it the rest of the way home without trouble, then went out to buy a new Titanic sized battery (literally, the stock replacement battery on hand at Advance Auto Parts said Trucks/Tractors, I lol'ed), took it home, put it in, and about an hour later, my fiance got home, worried sick. So, my first outing involving an Alfa, and it really was an adventure! The girl got me home fine, despite having a squeaky belt when gassing it in first, bleeding coolant like no other, no AC, fading paint, bits o' rust, and the wrong plates. Most fun drive I ever had, possibly excluding some of my off-roading exploits in my Jeep ages ago. And now I need a name for my new baby! Suggestions?
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(note coolant puddle)
Anyway, she cost me $1,375, not counting the gas to go get her, the $108 for a new battery, and roughly 30 bucks worth of coolant so far. Worth every penny in my opinion.
(note coolant puddle)
Anyway, she cost me $1,375, not counting the gas to go get her, the $108 for a new battery, and roughly 30 bucks worth of coolant so far. Worth every penny in my opinion.
