Thousand Dollar Supercar

About time for an update! And about time this project thread became two pages so it doesn't take as long to load. Black car: Insurance claim not likely to work without witnesses as backup. Damn Dean Robertson Plastering. So I stripped off the damaged stuff... Bought second hand door frames and front guard, paid panelbeaters to paint them and fix the rear wheel arch area, fitted panels, glass, door trim etc back to car... Reapplied red striping, reattached side skirts with rough-as self-tapping screws, got new tyre and two wheel alignments ($#@! cheap garage afraid of Alfas and incapable of doing their jobs), and car is back to normal! (Well not really, the panels don't fit very well at all. It's only superficially fixed and that's depressing.) Black car has received a kind donation of some 6-inch Infiniti front speakers, which are so fancy and compact they juuuust squeeze in where previously I could only fit the next size down. They look a little bling but they were free. New seatcovers and new thermostat installed - old thermostat was lazy, which I realised after replacing the definitely-faulty one in my grey car. Grey car: Received new cooling system thermostat, new strut pan bearings, an actual radio just like many car manufacturers have taken to equipping their automobiles with these days, speakers formerly from Black car, a ricey chrome exhaust tip and a few tidyings-up. Car was off the road for a few weeks after its dodgy ignition system gave up. It turns out Alfa fitted three different ignition systems to Alfa 33s: Bosch, Bosch and Magneti Marelli. If, like Grey Car, you have the Italian one (Magneti Marelli), it will break and require you to buy a new distributor pickup. But the car's running again and has been traumatising my friends with its rattly, noisy, barely-mobile ways. ^Wheels and grille changed, lower bumper extension added^ ^New radio, speakers, seats, carpet, shift boot, Alfa script on ashtray etc..^ Company car: Unfortunately I now drive one of these as my regular transport every week day: It's like a Camry but with improved looks and handling. Even has the dopey 4-speed auto and bland-sounding motor. Great sound system (band expander excluded), decent pace but no x-factor. Gives me Alfa withdrawl symptoms and is forcing me to consider selling my grey 33.

Me too. And the poll doesn't even have any North Shore burgerfuels! But yeah. Whatever one has parking.

Hmm.. I guess the Honda factor overpowers the dual carbs factor then. Why do they do it that way? Economy? I seem to recall the Comfortable Runabout Vehicle (CRV) is similar pretend-4WD, and maybe the Audi S3 too..

No, a badge saying "PRO"! I would say it's also missing dual carbs, but it's hard to argue with 600km per $55 tank..

No way, does that mean if something's smoking in the engine bay, the cabin gets fumigated? Cam needs to take the shots again with the camera sitting on something stable. At the moment it looks like the Citroen's using its hydraulic powers to ride out an earthquake!

Installed the carpet and front seats from the deceased silver car into the grey car, taking the opportunity to remove all the mouldy soundproofing from under the floor and to secure the centre console better so the ventilation is more controllable. Seats and carpet got well cleaned first, although now the remaining stains on the door cards are more obvious. Old stained carpet and old seat design that sits you too close to the roof to accomodate a helmet New (actually older) black carpet and old carpet side by side The car now smells nice and clean, until you get out after a drive and smell the grease still leaking onto the exhaust from the torn CV boot...

Unfortunately Shortland Street's only one lane in each direction and I did cross partly onto the other side to get around him. The damage to my car (http://www.axys.co.nz/ben/alfa33/accident1.jpg) doesn't really start far enough back to provide indisputable evidence of him hitting me vs me hitting him.

I rang the other guy's insurer again today. The situation is: [*:pi6nietg]My story says he u-turned into me as I passed him [*:pi6nietg]His story says he was waiting in the centre of the road to turn right into a side street, and I drove into him as he started to make this turn. He only then did a u-turn instead to sort out insurance etc [*:pi6nietg]His insurance company say it's my fault, that I can't make assumptions even about drivers not indicating, and that if I want to dispute it they need a statement from me, it'll go to a disputes hearing etc etc It's all a bit debatable. Guess I might just have to call it quits and look at getting the Alfa repaired myself.

Black car: Being left alone as insurance claim progresses slowly. Grey car: Received mags from silver car, and an emergency cash injection of new timing belts, tensioners, a CV boot and 3 new tires. This was to enable it to go to oldschool track day #3 in place of my black car. I quickly fitted my awful vented race bonnet and headed for Taupo, having had no time for checks etc due to work jobs and the derby cars. First race - noticed considerable amounts of smoke in my rear view mirror under hard left-hand cornering. Solution was to tie dipstick down with wire so it wouldn't pop out again and leak oil on the exhaust! Second and third races - car would overheat after the first couple of laps at full throttle, requiring me to coast about the place until it cooled back down. The heater core I'd previously unblocked had plugged itself up again, so I couldn't use this to help cooling. I tried wiring the cooling fan to run constantly, to no avail. Fourth race - an inner CV boot split spilling its grease onto the exhaust. After this I decided that was enough racing for the day! Haven't driven grey car since getting back to Auckland. Strut pan bearings are now noisy and the replacement LHS strut is making the same noises as the old one did. Suspect some aspect of the car is putting strain on it. Silver car: Got stripped out and ready for the demolition derby, complete with company logos, revolving skull head mounted on rear wiper motor, cheesy rocket booster with light inside, and relocated windscreen squirters. Ready to do battle alongside an '89 Galant Go Speed Alfa! http://www.axys.co.nz/ben/alfa33/33profile/DERBY4.JPG Doh! All smashed up... ...and taken away on a truck. Byebye. Despite me trying to extend my derby run by dishonestly bolting a piece of steel under the radiator support infront of the timing belts, I was put out of action when a Falcon reversing into my LHS front corner took out my ignition coil / module. My shortest car ownership period so far! Must remember to get around to changing the ownership and deregistering it.. Last few weeks have been very busy with car stuff. No rest for the wicked though cos black car and grey car both need fixing..

I am now perhaps starting to approach the point at which I could be accused of having too many Alfas. A workmate and I are both entering the Smashfest 2008 jalopy racing and demolition derby. Because I will need some panels and indicators to repair the accident damage on my black car, it made sense for me to buy another 33 to enter in the derby. So I got this: It's a series 1 1.5QV with clear front indicators fitted. It had been stored for a few years, probably because of getting too rusty. It didn't look like the above photo for long, as after a test drive I began stripping and cannibalising it. The alloys, carpet and front seats will all be donated to my grey car for a start. I'll post more pictures as the car gets ready to tear up the track!

I looked through my policy and all I could find was $3000 cover for being hit by an uninsured driver. The guy who hit me reckoned his boss did have insurance, it's just that the boss has yet to answer his phone or return my calls. I got the guy's address today by paying $2.20 at a Post Shop, showing my ID and filling out some little form. Seems like a residential address - the business is probably run out of his house.

Might be the case if I had full insurance cover... Plasterer boss man didn't answer his mobile when I called and hasn't returned my message. Went to see the cops and got a crash/complaint form to fill out. The tyre place that just sold me four new tyres took a look at the sliced tread blocks from the accident and said don't take that on the track, it's dodgy. Get it replaced under the other guy's insurance.

What police? If it could get an outer CV boot and its timing belts and tensioners changed in time. I was hoping to do these myself but I'll have to pay my mechanic if I want to meet the deadline. I don't know whether he'd have all the parts just hanging around either. As for insurance, I only have third party so I have to chase up the plasterer's boss myself and convince him to give me his insurance details. He hasn't responded to txts today, so I'll ring him tomorrow but I'm not liking my chances.

Crash! http://www.axys.co.nz/ben/alfa33/accident5.jpg (Bog? What bog?) So I was running around town this morning in the rain, turned from Queen St into Shortland St and some plasterer's rusty, dented white Toyota van was ahead of me. He wandered over to the left without indicating, his one working brake light going. I figured he was stopping, so I started passing him. But no, he was u-turning, also without indicating! Bam! Side skirts, mudflap etc fly off, brand new tyre tread gets cut, brand new strut likely bent, every panel on the left side of the car deformed to some degree. Front passenger door won't open, and when I do right hand turns the tyre rubs on the guard because of body roll. Two and a half weeks to Track Day. His beat-up Toyota hardly took any damage.

You're not mucking around with all those parts you bought! Holden 5.0 V8s sound cool, an engine like that belongs in those old HQs. Not an Alloytec V6. =|

Black car: One of the new struts I bought was definitely faulty. Took it back out of the car ( ) and found it was responsible for suspension clunking - whenever it changed between compression or extension it had zero damping for a few cm then the damping would come in with a jolt. Got a replacement. Bought some CV boots from Supercheap, took ages and lots of cursing to get the hub, driveshaft etc out and ready to fit the new boot.... but they were the wrong type. Supercheap's supplier put the wrong part in the right box. Got replacements, assembled everything, car's back together but with some damage done due to my mechanical incompetence. Tore a ball joint boot and half stripped the threads in the hub where the strut bolts on. Black car is an oil change away from being an option for the track day - I won't get my planned head swap completed in time though. Grey car: Got a professional tune done. Finally found a 33 at Pick-a-Part and got the right model electric window motor, which is now installed and working. Also grabbed a centre console ashtray (full of cigarette butts, eww!) which this car had been missing. Stuck a silver 'Alfa Romeo' script sticker on it once installed in the grey car. Looks much better than a hole in the dash. Have found that the grey car backfires loudly when running on the choke in the morning. Can't wait to get it all sorted so I can see what it can do.

With no bumpers on, the two exhaust pipes look even more like the defensive barbs you see on the back of some insects. Can't remember which insect just now, but along the lines of this earwig:

Well hurry up and fix your jaguar then! You'll get at least one skid out of that, depending on the strength of the gearbox and diff!

Flatmate missed out on buying the 33 and ended up with a 1981 KA Ford Laser instead. The guy wrecking the 33 had it towed without telling me, before I'd grabbed any parts off it! Black car update: Ordered four tyres (Bridgestone Grid III this time) and a battery, both of which should arrive in a few days. Existing battery will go in the grey car which needs it badly. Installed the custom-made parcel shelf I bought second hand - it's quite nicely made. Bought some Panasonic 6x9s, screwed them into the existing holes, plugged them into the existing wiring (that I ran previously for my own abandoned attempt at such a parcel shelf), sounds sweet! It was so easy I didn't even take a picture. Grey car: Removed faulty electric window motor to replace it, then found replacement motor is a completely different design AND the cable has come off the pulley and jammed up inside it!

Blardy rust repairs. This pretty minor rust at the top of the black car's windscreen had been there for ages but some bits of paint finally came off from people poking at it, and a new WOF place I'd never been to before decided to make me fail. Yeah my 33s are FWD although 4WD was available. The layout is similar to this Subaru diesel boxer: http://www.motorpasion.com/images/2007/03/motor_boxer_diesel_subaru_2.jpg (diesel boxer? A recipe for rattles..) Engine and clutch are infront of the axle line, then somehow the diff squeezes in the middle while the gearbox is out behind.

That part is actually proving more difficult and expensive than I anticipated. I've attempted to come up with a formula to calculate the number of Alfa Romeos a normal full-time employed person can maintain simultaneously, but cosmic alignments are difficult to incorporate. I can tell you the answer seems to be approximately two. Last night I found the grey car's radiator reservoir had mysteriously emptied and that some of the smallest cooling system hoses were blocked with rust.

The black car has had the windscreen rust repaired, a new windscreen fitted, the perishing rear brake hoses replaced, and I think I've finally found the loose connection in the speedo. Solution is to chop off every s**t quality Italian plug you find so you've eliminated them as potential suspects. Re-crimp new connectors on yourself - trust nothing. I still haven't got a new set of tyres (last remaining WOF issue), but I'm feeling a bit poor now so I think I'll have to stick with standard mags again this tyre change. My flatmate has put in an offer on an Alfa 33. If he gets it, we'll be one step closer to Killroy's Morris Marina museum..

My grey car has a dodgy front suspension strut, and nobody was wrecking any 33s so I ordered some brand new struts. I fitted them to my black car in the weekend - the old struts from here will go into the grey car. The replacement in the black car only took me all day. While I had each strut apart I opened the strut pan bearings (the first time unintentionally, and I didn't quite manage to find every one of the ball bearings that fell out) and cleaned and regreased them. These bearings sit under the lower spring seat to allow the lower part of the strut to turn with the steering, and basically they get dirt in them and start to stick. Picture of the two halves of an open bearing prior to reassembly: http://www.axys.co.nz/ben/alfa33/strut_bearing.jpg When I eventually wrestled the whole mess back together (in a hurry to get the spring compressors back to Hirepool by 5pm) and took the car for a drive, its handling was noticeably different. Differences: Steering feels lighter Feedback through steering wheel is more noticeable Steering almost seems to want to turn slightly off centre in either direction, rather than return to dead centre as you'd expect. Possible explanations: Regreased strut pan bearings now turn more freely New struts are Monroe not Alfa and may not be dimensionally identical to the originals - study the arms on each strut in this picture: http://www.axys.co.nz/ben/alfa33/new_and_old.jpg Car might need a wheel alignment Also, I might have put something back together wrong! And now what do I find? Someone is now wrecking a 33 and I could have just grabbed a strut from them to use in my grey car. I'm also slightly suspicious of one of the new struts - it seemed to have much less compression damping, as if maybe the oil inside hadn't sorted itself into the right areas. I should have spent more time comparing everything before reassembling.

"Get that bloody thing out of here! The fumes!" That's what I heard VTNZ Pit Inspection Man say about my grey car. It did not put him in a happy mood. Between a fresh degreasing effort, open crankcase ventilation system and a motor that's really badly in need of a tune, my car was doing its best to gas him to death. And that was after their testing of grey car's lights had sucked the tiny bit of life out of its half-dead battery, stranding the car in the middle of the inspection lane and requiring a jump-start! I also heard Pit Inspection Man grumbling about getting the owner in to push the car out. But after I spent over twice the car's purchase price having basically half the brake system rebuilt (oh the crimes of dodginess that have been committed against that car!), there was nothing VTNZ could do but pass me. WOF, wohoo! They tried to put an end to my Alfa - it took them about twice as long to check it compared to the cars in the next lane, and they checked everything. My Alfa even tried to put an end to itself - on the way to the testing station my new indicator revealed itself to have a loose connection, so I popped the bonnet infront of VTNZ's offices and convinced it to work! But I now have a road-legal car. Just one, mind, because a different garage failed my black car on a bunch of stuff, including rust around the windscreen, worn tires and a speedo that picked that day to pretend not to work.

I love Starions too. This one rocks cos not only does it have a digital dash (always wanted one of those!), it doesn't have the weird burgundy interior.