1 week with a 2005 QP :)

Mr K

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
ChrisNico said:
I was warned by several friends to avoid the duo select version, but to my mind it's the way the car was conceived, and I believe that one day it will be considered the true 'classic' over the auto version. What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Welcome from me too.

DS is the way to go for driver involvement. Being an ex-Alfa man you clearly understand that and have made the right decision. The ZF is good for town driving, but if you do most of your driving in town, you're doing it in the wrong type of car. Again, you're spot on to use something like a Prius for that.

Regarding clutch slip - that shouldn't be happening after only 7k miles, even in London. I doubt you're mistaken, so there must be something wrong - get it along to Voicey (independent specialist in Chiswick - how handy is that?!) to get it checked. The F1 system calculates how worn it is (not necessarily accurate) so that may yield some clues. Who changed the clutch? It needs to be done by a specialist and set up correctly with some very expensive diagnostic kit (also used on Ferraris: SD2/3).
 
C

ChrisNico

Member
Messages
171
Hello Mr K!

Thank you for the welcome and the positive feedback. Is 'Voicey' part of Scuderia Scaglietti? If so, I guess I'll be seeing him tomorrow morning. She's booked in for a diagnostic on the clutch/gearbox. Hopefully they won't find anything too wrong with La Contessa :)

The clutch was done by a specialist. I have the invoice as part of the history. I'll keep you posted.

And you still have an Alfasud?! My first proper car was 1.5 Super 4 door. It was such fun, but sadly rusted away around me...My alfasud racer was based on an early 2 door booted Ti. It was very light and handled beautifully. I actually had pole position at Brands Hatch in my last race - a misfire before the start unfortunately led to me losing 6 places before paddock hill bend. That's racing ;)

Looking back, I also think I miss the 164 3 Lusso more than the 166 3.0 that replaced it. They were both excellent cars though, and amazingly reliable!!

Cheers,

~Chris
 
Mr K

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
ChrisNico said:
Hello Mr K!

Thank you for the welcome and the positive feedback. Is 'Voicey' part of Scuderia Scaglietti? If so, I guess I'll be seeing him tomorrow morning. She's booked in for a diagnostic on the clutch/gearbox. Hopefully they won't find anything too wrong with La Contessa :)

The clutch was done by a specialist. I have the invoice as part of the history. I'll keep you posted.

And you still have an Alfasud?! My first proper car was 1.5 Super 4 door. It was such fun, but sadly rusted away around me...My alfasud racer was based on an early 2 door booted Ti. It was very light and handled beautifully. I actually had pole position at Brands Hatch in my last race - a misfire before the start unfortunately led to me losing 6 places before paddock hill bend. That's racing ;)

Looking back, I also think I miss the 164 3 Lusso more than the 166 3.0 that replaced it. They were both excellent cars though, and amazingly reliable!!

Cheers,

~Chris
Click to expand...

No, this is Voicey's outfit: https://aldousvoice.com/

Yes, I still have my (3rd) Alfasud. One of the last ones, which was wax treated by the importer, as they all were in 83/84. Mine's been garaged most of its life and I did some additional preventative work at 6 years old when I bought it in 1989. That's not a typo! It's rock solid underneath and has sailed through its last 2 MoTs.
 
Navcorr

Navcorr

Member
Messages
3,839
ChrisNico said:
...... I actually had pole position at Brands Hatch in my last race - a misfire before the start unfortunately led to me losing 6 places before paddock hill bend. That's racing ;)

~Chris
Click to expand...

No .... that's a racing excuse ;)

We're not mugs here - you're going to have to come up with something more original than a misfire. :saifi4:
 
C

ChrisNico

Member
Messages
171
Good morning Mr K,

Well done on keeping an Alfasud on the road!! Thanks for the info on Aldous. Unless my brain/eyesight have failed me, there appears to be no address or phone number on his website.

Navcorr, that's the best excuse I could come up with, hahah! Seriously though, it was frustrating having to change up at 4500rpm to avoid the misfire - later traced to a faulty distributor. Too many crazy drivers then decided to overtake in very dangerous ways. It made my decision to 'hang up my helmet' much easier. Now, I stick to Karting :) Far cheaper and more fun!!

~Chris
 
Corranga

Corranga

Member
Messages
1,237
Welcome along. I love the look of the QP V, and your colour combo would be very near the top of my list - they don't fit in my garage though ;)

Loving the old Alfa love too. I was never brave enough for an Alfa when they were 'good' and my first and only is my 159. Beautiful to look at (and gunmetal with tan leather) but the driving experience is, well, nice at best.
 
C

ChrisNico

Member
Messages
171
Corranga said:
Welcome along. I love the look of the QP V, and your colour combo would be very near the top of my list - they don't fit in my garage though ;)

Loving the old Alfa love too. I was never brave enough for an Alfa when they were 'good' and my first and only is my 159. Beautiful to look at (and gunmetal with tan leather) but the driving experience is, well, nice at best.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the welcome! You have a nice collection of toys there. Yes, the 159 never really appealed to me. Overweight and underpowered from what I remember.

~Chris
 
C

ChrisNico

Member
Messages
171
Hi again guys & girls,

So I had Scuderia Scaglietti give the car a diagnostic this morning and the clutch apparently is 'only' 50% worn which is a relief :) Hopefully I'll be able to make it last a few more years if I don't abuse it too badly. Nothing major showed up on the computer which was a big relief! The car needs new door strikers (apparently very cheap!) and the vibration that worried me is apparently due to worn engine mountings. It's not that bad to be honest, so this can wait a while.

I so enjoyed the sound of the V8 this morning - windows down, the sound bouncing from the central barrier - like a muted V8 Ferrari F1 car of old :) Fantastic and worth all the expensive suffering I know will surely come!!

BTW, my car has 18" and 24" wipers, but from what I've read the longer one should be 26". Can someone verify which it should be?

Many thanks in advance,

~Chris
 
safrane

safrane

Member
Messages
16,912
Be cautious with the engine mounts as I was told they are fluid filled and can deteriorate quickly once they start to go.

Good to here you have 1/2 the clutch left...but that did not take that many miles to loose half...be kind to her!
 
C

ChrisNico

Member
Messages
171
I guess increasing vibration will be a good warning sign of impending engine mount implosion!

I will do my best to be kind to the clutch while 'abusing' La Contessa ;)

~C
 
Mr K

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
ChrisNico said:
Well done on keeping an Alfasud on the road!! Thanks for the info on Aldous. Unless my brain/eyesight have failed me, there appears to be no address or phone number on his website.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Nothing wrong with your eyes. I don't think he has to advertise. I suspect preferred contact is via PM (username Voicey) or e-mail, to avoid interrupts from constant calls and random people turning up. Sounds like you're sorted for now, though.
 
C

ChrisNico

Member
Messages
171
Thanks Mr K,

The people at Scuderia Scaglietti were really lovely, and what a fantastic looking reception and workshop! There was a Maserati engine IN the floor and a Ferrari engine ON the floor of the reception area. Very cool :)

Mr K, are you able to confirm the length of the long wiper blade? My car has a 24" but I was told it should be 26". Which is correct?

Thanks,

~Chris
 
C

ChrisNico

Member
Messages
171
Many thanks Mr K! I just ordered the Hill Engineering reverse lever - mine is loose and I'm not prepared to wait until it fails :)

~Chris
 
Mr K

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
ChrisNico said:
Many thanks Mr K! I just ordered the Hill Engineering reverse lever - mine is loose and I'm not prepared to wait until it fails :)

~Chris
Click to expand...

You should have mentioned it. I suffered a loose one on my previous QPV for most of the few months I had it. Decided to take it apart and the fix was to tighten a screw. I'm fixing the one in my current QP at the moment for under £5, I aim to post a guide if successful. Otherwise I'll get the Hill kit. You'll need a T8 scewdriver for the job, by the way.
 
C

ChrisNico

Member
Messages
171
I was going to investigate, but for the sake of £120 to have a decent, permanent repair, it wasn't worth messing around :) Tomorrow I'm going from Chiswick to Croydon. Let's see how La Contessa deals with the traffic. Gulp!

Thank you again, and have an excellent weekend,

~Chris
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,938
My 4200 went the loose screw route. Took me about 30 minutes to fix. Ask Darren if it's permanent

C
 
C

ChrisNico

Member
Messages
171
CatmanV2 said:
My 4200 went the loose screw route. Took me about 30 minutes to fix. Ask Darren if it's permanent
Click to expand...

Seems I have a lot to learn. Well, if nothing is broken when I open it up, I can always return the 'permanent' fix :)

Thank you everyone for the advice and tips. And you have a Sprint 1.7QV? Such a pretty car! Alfa ownership almost appears to be a prerequisite to Maserati ownership from what I'm seeing. I'm clearly in the right place ;)

~Chris
 
You must log in or register to reply here.