Posts Tagged ‘alfetta’

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Replace your slave cylinder plus bonus Beta update!

July 14, 2009

While messing with the Lancia and knowing I had some upcoming work on the Alfetta, I took the latter down to the garage in exchange for the former, which I took to Custom Alignment for some new tires and then up to Jaan for final resolution on the rough running and lack of power (more on that later). When I got back to the garage a couple of weeks back just to fire the Alfetta up and take it around the block a bit, the clutch dropped straight to the floor. Sure enough, there was a puddle under the rear of the car (transaxle in the back means the slave is back there too). So I continued on my star-crossed seatbelt installation and left the rest for later.

I picked up a new slave from Alfa Parts for about $67. While this is more than some other vendors charge, I’d read some things which led me to doubt the quality of the cheaper parts, plus I’m all about supporting local vendors, especially those that can get a part to me by Friday when I order on Thursday afternoon.

Alfetta - new slave cylinder

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Holy Pistons! 1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT turbo

July 8, 2009

Update, 7/8/09: This car is now available on eBay, with better pictures showing its condition. Still looks like a solid project for that price, and it’s possible this is a period Jafco turbo setup.

As you might know if you’ve looked around elsewhere here, I’m the proud owner of a faded and somewhat rusty, but solid and reliable, 1979 Alfetta GT (sprint veloce). The shape shows some typical design characteristics of its period, and the car is very close in some ways to the contemporary VW Scirocco and Lotus Esprit (start with the trapezoidal windshield), which were all done by Giugiaro. Anyway, I thought I’d post this car to assuage my guilt about not finishing off the Alfetta’s clutch slave cylinder – it’s all hooked up, just needs bleeding and bolting into place to be done.

This sweet-looking car (okay, the flesh-toned paint job is a little weird) has the desirable 5-star Daytona-style wheels, a lip spoiler on the hatch, rollbar, and a large turbo. It is listed for $2500 in Denver, CO. The seller has had the car garaged for years, and has now realized he will never get this non-running car on the road. As you can see in the side shot below, the car has also been lowered:

1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT side

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It’ll Buff Out: 1979 Alfa Romeo Sport Sedan

June 29, 2009

Since buying my spider, my fascination with Alfa Romeo sedans has grown. Aside from usually being the lowest-cost entry into Alfas (well, until recently with Berlinas and Giulia sedans), they’re also appealing in that they’re more usable on a daily basis for longer-distance, high speed travel and are more comfortable to take your friends along in your weirdo car. While some people could consider earlier Alfa sedans to be an acquired taste, the 1978 and 1979 sport sedans are pretty easy on the eye in a late-70s euro way. The subject of today’s post is this 1979 Alfa Romeo Sport Sedan in Albuquerque, NM with bidding started at $200 and no reserve.

On some level, I would argue this should be the most popularly accessible of Alfa Romeo’s sedans (if you ignore the need for smog testing). It’s got a tidy design, a very well-balanced transaxle chassis, the trusty 1962cc four cylinder, and a 5-speed transmission. What’s more is, there’s a lot on this car that’s pretty easy to service, contrary to the myths about these (although I must admit from my own experience, there are some things that can be a pain the first time around). Here’s a front shot of the car – looks pretty clean for a car that’s been out of action for a few years:

1979 Alfa sedan front

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