Italian cars...

mad_machine wrote:

Streetwiseguy wrote: A customer of mine is selling her Pininfarina Spyder 2000. She hit a big puddle a few years back and hydrauliced the motor, so insurance paid us to replace the broken bits, and we freshened the rest... Sounds like something you might need, Doc.

did she try to dunk it in the ocean? These cars have the intake pretty high up

Heavy rain, underpass. The EFI air boxes pull off the bottom of the case.

Being Italian, I have promised myself that at some point in my life, I will bless (or burden) my garage with an Italian car. I almost caved in a few months ago with a really nice Alfa Milano Gold that I found on Craigslist. After starting a thread on here and learning how maintenance-intensive they are, I decided that it wouldn't be financially possible to have one right now. That 164S above is a thing of beauty. Love those.

I am hoping that maybe Alfa will really make it back to the states in a full capacity in time for my next automobile purchase, otherwise I will buy a Dodge Charger R/T or Challenger R/T. They are owned by FIAT now anyway, right? Italian-American, just like me!

I had my GTV-6 for 6 years or so and used it as my DD for 4 of those. The only time it missed a beat was when the 20 year old fuze for the injectors failed other than that it was great. Of all the cars I have owned so far that is the only one I want to get again, though an X1/9 is up high on the list too.

In reply to mad_machine:

I forgot how good the 124's top was. Compared to the other cars in that class at the time, it was simply amazing. It wasn't till the Miata hit the streets that a top that good was available again.

The Exxie's go kart feel is hard to beat. The 1.5 was, IIRC, something like 80 HP so it's not real punchy but man does it wind. A 1.8 DOHC Acura motor with, say, 130 HP would make an Exxie VERY quick without sacrificing that 'high winding' feel that makes it so much fun..

I am going to say that the top on the 124 is better than the miata's.. while the rear window does not unzip... the rear quarter windows (that are glass) that come up with the top make for an almost unimpeded view out the side and rear.. the fact that it is one of the easiest tops to raise and lower just makes it all the better

The Fiat Spider (124/2000) is a great choice...if you are cross shopping other typical vintage 2 seater convertibles. A Miata will kick it's butt in nearly every category otherwise, for the same or less money. That's why I suggested the X1/9. It's a real driver's car, but not everyone fits in one, and you may never buy one again the first time you replace a brake master cylinder.

If I had more to spend, there is only one other choice I'd go for (myself), and that's a GTV6. It is the best way to get that uber-sweet V6 in a sexy package. Milanos are cheap and basically the same, but I can't deal with the styling. The 164 is more of an autobahn cruiser, though a quite capable one. 4 cylinder Alfas don't do much for me unless you're back into the early 1970s, and then you're going to be paying twice what an X1/9 will cost (at least).

Oh, yes indeedy Exxie master cylinders are FUN to replace. Particularly when the big plastic bushing the pedals ride on is stuck to the pedal box because brake fluid made it swell and caused the metal parts to rust.

My '79 was carbed and so did not have the FI to contend with. The '81 did, luckily the only problem with it was a crappy connection at the coil + terminal which is where the ECU gets its power. They both had this panel under the glovebox with two big thumbscrews; turn them 1/4 turn, the panel drops down and you will see a bundle of wires big as your forearm which then splits off into a bewildering array of fuses and relays.

As I said, something was always wrong with the '79 (my Jensen is more reliable overall!) but it never failed to make me grin when driving.

I miss my 1981 Fiat Spider 2000. Great car, but I was 18 and crashed it. Mechanically, it's about as complex as a simple car can get. It's front engine, RWD, and has sufficient room to get your hands in and work. Despite having a DOHC engine with what must have been a space age belt drive system when new, it's pretty simple to keep up. There are idiosyncrasies, to be sure, but when you know what they are they present no real problems.

I don't miss the 1981 Lancia Beta Zagato I bought to replace the Spider. It was a cool car in many ways, and very high tech for its day. However, it was sort of cobbled together from the parts bin. As such, many things are a tight squeeze to work on. The interior was probably also really nice at one point, but had not aged well. Like many cars of the 1970s and 1980s, plastics got really brittle with age.

I have not driven an X1/9, but I want to. They look like really fun cars. I love the idea of putting a 16V turbo twin cam turbo from a late 1980s model Fiat or Lancia into an X1/9. I imagine you could get more than enough power from an injected 1.5L stock engine with Megasquirt and a compression increase to make the car even more fun. It would cost significantly less and take way less time.

First car I ever bought was an Italian car. Had it for 3 years and then sold it because I was getting married. Selling the car was a mistake, getting married has worked out very well.