Classic Alfa Forums

Hi everyone my name is Gary from Milton Keynes
I currently own a Triumph Stag and I seem to have a strong urge to sell it and buy a Alfasud or a Sprint
I quite like the twin headlight sud model to be honest
I don't know too much about them so that is why I have joined
is there anywhere I can download service manuals ect pdfs?
so please be gentle with me lol
cheers
Gaz

Hi Gary, and welcome.

The ti model Sud with the twin headlamp is a great car, either series has it's own plus points.
The Sprint is equally as nice, more coupe styling of course but they drive very similarly and share almost identical mechanicals.
Down to personal preference really.

I'd thoroughly recommend getting hold of Colin's book, a full description on all models plus loads of good pix in there to whet your appetite.
He comes on here a fair bit so he'd be available for any questions, as we all will

viewtopic.php?f=52&t=1745


Funny you mention the Stag, a good mate of mine was round my unit last Wednesday going through a list of cars he fancies getting, the Stag was high on his list....

Hi Gary
Welcome to the mad house
Nice choice of cars . As kev said read up as much as you can and get to know the model you want . Plus there's a wealth of knowledge on here .so your in the right place .good much with your search

KevJTD wrote:Hi Gary, and welcome.

The ti model Sud with the twin headlamp is a great car, either series has it's own plus points.
The Sprint is equally as nice, more coupe styling of course but they drive very similarly and share almost identical mechanicals.
Down to personal preference really.

I'd thoroughly recommend getting hold of Colin's book, a full description on all models plus loads of good pix in there to whet your appetite.
He comes on here a fair bit so he'd be available for any questions, as we all will

viewtopic.php?f=52&t=1745


Funny you mention the Stag, a good mate of mine was round my unit last Wednesday going through a list of cars he fancies getting, the Stag was high on his list....

Here is my Stag
I'm in total 2 minds what to do,but the Alfa urge is strong in this one lol

Welcome Gaz

Lovely stag, and I like the Dolomites / Toledo’s and mk1 2000........however Alfa every time.

The Alfa owners club spring event will be soon, might be worth going and having a good look around.

Obviously very different experience from stag to sud, the sud might even feel modern in comparison. Early chrome bumper sud ti or Sprint are my preference .

A pic to help convince you

He likes the look of twin headlights Tim

Joking apart, welcome to the forum Gary, as Tim says, Spring Alfa Day is on next month at Beaulieu Sunday 14th April. Nearer to you is National Alfa Day at the Heritage center Bicester, but that isn't till June Sunday 30th.
This is also a good starting place,
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alfa-Romeo-A ... SwfTlciOso

Are you looking for something to do up or buy ready to go? It is becoming more tricky to find them now, but as Kev says Colin's book and internet searches may help you decide which model you like.
They do turn up on ebay (two as we speak) and other auction sites, so it is just a matter of keeping an eye out for them.
Good luck with the quest, and as said, there is a wealth of knowledge and interest on here.
When you have some spare time, have a look through some of the threads on here including the race section.

Here's the Dolomite sprint I had for 16 years before I got the Stag a couple of years ago only done 43k miles.....I do miss it
But as a kid I always liked the Sud

What are your views about buying one from Italy or somewhere else in Europe?
Left hand drive doesn't worry me too much
What is the availability of spares like?

https://www.autoscout24.com/offers/alfa ... aign=share

I really like this one
what do you think about the price?
does it look original (I'm a bit of a purist)

Hi Gary
Welcome to the forum . I wish you well in your quest to scratch the “Alfa itch”. That we have all felt at some time in our motoring lives.
I’m sure others have already covered the main bases so I’m probably repeating things. When looking for a car simply buy the best you can afford and would urge you to look at putting decent bodywork at the top of the list when looking at candidates. some panels are still available but they are getting harder and harder to find and as a result panlel prices can be eye watering . To this end your idea of buying from warmer climes is a sound one . Engines are generally strong but Rough running issues from carbs that are not set up correctly is common. (especially the twin carb models) the Boxer engine is great candidate for sensible tuning and can put up with a good thrashing but only IF MAINTAINED PROPERLY !! If not they can suffer from crank problems or worse still ventilated blocks if the car has been run low on oil or been generally neglected.
The Forum is full of members with decades of experience with Alfasuds so If you have any technical questions please don’t hesitate ask. I’m sure you’ll be inundated with help
Lou.

Hi Gary, well if you are a purist this is not a style we had in the UK.
The twin headlights were only on the ti variants of Suds and Sprints across all the three series, and only using two door shells, however, and I stand to be corrected here, I believe in South Africa the ti was built using four door shells. There is a member on here who imported a SA four door ti and also another who saved one but converted it to the single headlight unit so it looked like a normal UK spec car, so maybe other countries had four door models but this one doesn't claim to be a ti so I wonder if it has just been changed to suit someones personal taste. I am sure I am not the only one who put the ti spoilers on an Alfasud saloon in the '80's.
That said, it still looks a tidy, sound car. Seats look correct S3 spec but someone like Colin Metcalfe (Alfamet on here) should be able to shed more information.
As Lou says buy the best you can and if you can not repair yourself , you need to find something with good bodywork, but as you have owned some classics I am sure you know this.

PS. love the look of your old Triumphs, especially the Dolly Sprint


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1982-Alfa-Ro ... %7Ciid%3A1

thanks for all your replies,
whats your thoughts on this little beauty?
https://www.autoscout24.com/offers/alfa ... ?cldtidx=3
its certanly a lot of money,but it looks bloody lovely

Hi Gary. First time I have seen this website that you have shared links of damn you, never seen so many 33s for sale on one website, 98 of them. Got me all excited last night and even got me thinking of another project..... Then I looked at 155s and it all started again. So I might have to block the page or I will see myself making a road trip at some point.
Anyways the cars you are looking at look pretty good to me and you will enjoy the rasp of the boxer engine for sure.
Oh and way back when I first had a 33 in the late 80s, I remember bumping in to a Triumph Dolomite, The 33s front end basically crumpled up and it only put a dent in the rear chrome bumper and broken rear light of the Dolomite, solid cars those.....
Have fun on this site.

The 1.3 SC project went for over £1800 on ebay.

I sold mine, up and running with an MoT for not a lot more, last year!

Gulp!

Hi, I'm a newbie too and spend a fair bit of time searching autoscout for 116 Giuliettas (my plan is to eventually convert one to RHD and stick a Busso in it), so a good choice for your search.

I've heard some pretty unpleasant things about some South African imports (even if they've supposedly been professionally looked over) so probably any from there would need a trip in person or a checkover by someone you knew / trusted, but the shipping costs unbelievably aren't that much different to southern Italy, they're already RHD and generally purchase prices are cheaper, so the South African Gumtree might be another place for a look if you don't mind a bit of a gamble or know someone out that way.

E.g. this project for £800 - https://www.gumtree.co.za/a-cars-bakkie ... 0969706009

I used to have a Triumph 2500S (the facelift one with the Stag looks but without the troublesome fuel injection) - you'll find Alfas an altogether more fun / frenetic drive and the engines are def tougher than a Stag's but generally speaking they're much more tricky to maintain (you'll need some specialist tools rather than being able to fix everything with an adjustable spanner and a brick for a start ) so make sure you track down a good Alfa specialist if you're not planning to maintain it yourself.

Good luck with the search, I get the feeling you'll be enjoying yours long before I've even bought half of mine...

There is a nice sprint on eBay depending on your budget, plus suds needing work on eBay if you want to rebuild one.