Alfa 33 Rebuild

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,547
When undertaking a sharp turn, say pulling out of road junction, or turning into or out of a car parking spot, the central viscous diff would bounce up and down on its rubber mountings. I think it was a case of 'transmission windup' with the 4x4 system, the viscous diff could not cope with extremes of the different rotational speeds between the front and rear when undertaking a tight turn.

Well I never. Thanks for that :)

C


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conaero

Forum Owner
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34,593
So Mike/Dicky which is the best model and series to go for?

1.7ie boxer is a given but is the P4 worth the extra agro?

Also I understand there are 3 series, can anyone give us a run through of the differences in model years?
 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
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9,033
It's 17 years ago when I sold my P4, but really there isn't much choice not many come to market these days. Mine had terrible rust problems starting to appear when I sold mine and it was only 5 years old. Bottom of door skins starting to rust through, main bulkhead covered in surface rust, rear panel below lights (sounds familiar!), fuel tank nearly falling out due to rusted through retaining strap.
Regarding the P4 I think Dicky has mentioned before that some critical spares are obsolete that can put them off the road, so really Dickys model with all the nice Recaro interior and quad cam boxer, without the spares and complexity of the P4, is the best option in my opinion.
 

conaero

Forum Owner
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34,593
5 years and rusting through, blimey!

The Alfa Sud heritage is certainly there.

Was yours a series 1 and did the metal get better towards the end of production of did they just keep flogging it like a dead horse?
 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
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9,033
Being the P4, it was the last series being a 91 H plate.
The last series ones where galvanised apparently...
 

hodroyd

Member
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14,150
Crikey Dicky, you are a well of information on these, you certainly know you're stuff..!!
 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
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9,033
Yes, propshaft couplings on the P4, I had to have the main one replaced on mine at great expense at a main dealer, no one else was interested in doing the job...sold it soon afterwards!
 

conaero

Forum Owner
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34,593
Thanks Dicky so were the cat cars the galvanised cars or did it not work like that.

Go on, show your spod side.....
 

dickyb

Member
Messages
432
Had a couple of days working on the 33 and made a little progress.

Alfa Control panel now sourced and fitted and most of the electrical issues are now sorted, all the lights now work with no erratic stuff going on. One last problem to solve on the electrics, I still have no ignition circuit which I suspect relates to the immobiliser, I don't think it was designed to be tampered with or disconnected so I am thinking it has maybe shut itself down:(. That will be a job for an auto electrician as its too complex for me, lots of wires all the same colour going into a box of electronics....

A/C wiring now all sorted, I have managed to adapt the LHD loom to fit through the holes on the RHD shell, mostly through the engine loom hole, it was a very tight squeeze but everything is now very neat and looks like a factory installation. The connectors for the condensers were different on the wiring loom to those on the condensers themselves so new superseal connectors have been installed.

Wing brackets now installed, you will note that they have been painted Verde Artic which is a tribute to my poor old 145. Its all getting a bit dusty and there are lots of cobwebs everywhere but everything will be thoroughly cleaned once the rebuild is finished.

Washer bottle now installed and all connected up to screen washer jets and headlamp washers.

View attachment 17221

A/C condensers installed and pipework connected up:

View attachment 17222View attachment 17223

Still a long way to go but starting to look like a car again.
 

hodroyd

Member
Messages
14,150
Dicky,
Well done and starting to look the part now. It's amazing once stuff starts to go on how fast they become a real incentive to finish, keep it up..!!
Cheers
R
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
Keep going fella, cant wait to see it and hopefully you will give me a spin round Park Gate in it....several pints in the Taliban will be forthcoming!
 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,033
Looking very good!
From memory the a/c interconnecting condenser pipes are very low and vulnerable to damage from steep drive ways and sleeping policemen. The a/c on mine at the time when I first bought her was not working due to those lines been trashed!
 

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,759
Not another one, I have just escaped the Alfa 155 forum where a mate of mine has been seduced by the 33. He currently has 3 Permanent 4s, 3 Sportwagons & 2 16V versions plus a barn full of spares.

Must admit mad as a fruitcake but I used to love my 1.7 16V Sportwagon, Keep up the good work and if you need any bits i can put you in touch with my mate who is fast becoming an expert on these under-rated Alfas
 

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,759
I stumbled across one of his threads the other day, he's not quite an expert yet, he mentions something about being surprised to find 3 bolt strut tops as he thought that the 16v had 4 bolt strut tops. Doh!!! 3 bolt strut tops are not model specific, they are specific to all cars manufactured after 1993. I think he has much to learn....

Considering 6 months ago he had 4 155 and a 75 only. He now has way too many 33s but at least he has some space and a very understanding wife :)