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Alfa Romeo 164 winter car

Alfa Romeo 164Maintaining a mental inventory of the local Alfa classifieds bears a certain risk.  That risk came to light last winter, when a last-minute cancellation left me in Pennsylvania without a ride or flight back to Michigan.  A simple problem, unless left to my internal problem-solving model.  All models are wrong; some are useful.  And, when I’m left in charge of calibrating the models, they point invariably to Alfa Romeo as the answer.  Cognitive bias, to put it lightly.  I was going to find a cheap Alfa to get me home.

Now, I have a history of rationalizing Alfa purchases.  As my first Milano Verde sat engineless in my apartment garage, I convinced myself to bring home an Alfa 164LS daily driver.  That 164 made it two weeks.  A year later, that same Milano Verde burned down my garage, 3 other emerging European classics, and the majority of my backyard; I was back in a Verde within 45 days.  Then there was the ran when parked Alfetta GTV shipped to my garage from California.  And then the ran when parked GTV-6 we towed home from Indiana.  Necessary, all of them.

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Hindsight: a year after the garage fire

_DSC5411My older brother outbid me on a 190E 2.3-16 three years ago. I’d sent him the link on the last day of bidding.  Shared my reservations about taking in another needy West German export.  At the time, my 91 318is and 84 GTI had no problem converting my free time into bruised hands.  I faltered; my brother won. 

Our dad owned a 2.3-16 for a brief half year 4 years prior to the bidding.  But for reasons unknown, our dad’s heart shrank the fall of my freshman year of college, and he sold both the 2.3-16 and his 73 BMW 3.0CS.323329_10150370300891799_1619460789_o

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Porsche 944 V8 in Motor City

 

DSC_9551Dan grew up in a dry county in Kentucky, home of Bourbon whiskey. Quite a dissonant combination at first thought – a dry county and Bourbon – but nearly 1/3 of Kentucky counties carry forth the torch of prohibition. And, not straying far from his roots, when Dan got around to buying his first sports car during his junior year of engineering school, he chose the dead sober Porsche 944.

Now, I drive a 90 hp VW Rabbit GTI, so believe me when I say that I don’t mind slow cars, but a stock 944 lacks the verve of a slow hot hatch. The ample ratio of grip to power – likely a boon to track performance – smothers the appeal in day-to-day driving. But, boxed fenders aren’t a common sight on modern roadways. And those fenders, along with proper proportions, atone for the antiseptic driving experience, at least in the sub $5k used German sports coupe category.

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Alfa Romeo Milano Verde Part 1: Introduction

Typical position

I can blame my middle school bus route past the import auto shop for the recent deluge of Alfa in my life.  Our dad‘s 73 BMW 3.0 CS sometimes sat outside of the shop there, so in between sightings of the classic E9 coupe began a steady exposure to Alfa Romeo.  It’s necessary to note that the school bus never broke down, which at that point would have been the only opportunity, short of breaking down in an Alfa, for me to associate Alfas with a disregard for forward progress.

One Saturday in 2004, we stopped at the import shop  to check out a meet-up underway.  Some classic British, BMW M, and other Euro noteworthies occupied the lot out front.  Taylor and I made our way to the Alfas near the fence and made the following observations:

1. The Spider shift lever position is exceptional
2. The 164 dash is a vast expanse of buttons
3. The Milano Verde has the coolest seats on earth

Cabin fever: Andrew on autocrossing his E34 BMW 535i (on ice)

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From Andrew:

As part of my New Year’s resolution, I said that I would try to be more organized. I set out in my quest by clearing the clutter off of my computer’s imaginary desktop and shuttling files into various folders with the hope that I can find them later down the road.The usual result is that I come across some folder that I hid away long ago and my productivity jumps off the proverbial cliff in a nostalgic haze.

Today’s efforts resulted landed me within a folder containing pictures from my first winter in the Land of Lincoln. That winter, in an effort to soothe my inner gear head, I registered for a BMWCCA autocross. Let it be known, I have a bad habit of autocrossing cars that have absolutely no place slicing and dicing through bright orange cones at speed, let alone in a competitive manner. My Saab 9000 does one of four things when driven on one of these tortuous parking lot courses: List to port, list to starboard, plow gravel with its front bumper, or frivolously spin away 400Nm of torque through its open differential and one 205 section tire when the turbo comes on cue. Then there is the other car currently in my garage.

Behold! A BMW!

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Fintail and friends

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Drove to Louisville to inspect a 318is candidate. I walked from the 318is, and ended up finding a photogenic 1967 230S sedan. Later on, a 2.3-16 passed me on the highway. Naturally, I spent the rest of the evening on Ebay/Craigslist…

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Sixteen Valve Sunrise: 2.3-16 and 318is

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The M-B 190E 2.3-16 most directly compared to the e30 BMW M3, and rightly so, given the pair’s history of competition in DTM as well as the marketplace.  But, the current market values of these special models has diverged; these days, e30 M3s are priced as high as a new hot hatch, while 2.3-16s can be had for common e30 money.

In light of this shift, the e30 318is presents an interesting alternative to the 2.3-16.  Dual overhead cams, hydraulic lifters, timing chain, forged crank and rods, 10:1 compression, 4 valves per cylinder, and a tubular header from the factory raise the M42 engine in the 318is to the upper echelon occupied by the 2.3-16’s Cosworth-headed lump.  A limited slip differential option further boosts the 318is performance credentials, but with no dog-leg gearbox or ground effects, it lacks the uniqueness integral to the experience of the 2.3-16.

As for driving dynamics, the 2.3-16 is easier to slide, yet slower to react due to its steering box.  The 318is also reacts more quickly to throttle inputs, especially wide-open inputs broken only for shifts at the 6,300 RPM.  Now, the sounds effects of the M42 are plenty satisfying – that is, until you’ve stomped on the 2.3-16.  Wide open throttle in the M-B yields an intoxicating induction growl that is solely to blame for the 50% reduction in fuel economy whenever I drive Taylor’s car.  You’d think the reduced pumping losses at WOT would be on your side…

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Bought an Italian Saab.

164LS

 

 

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And I posed for the iPhone while holding a stereotypical Italian beverage in dorky, Saab-inspired fashion.

How is the Saab-Alfa to drive?

Well, power is just right for the 3,450lb sedan.  Starting at the base LS-spec 211hp, this car adds the Q-spec intake runners and a Squadra chip for a total of 240hp.  So with a power/weight on par with a VW R32, it moves.  The Stebro exhaust is blatant auditory affirmation of any throttle input.

In the curves, it belies its Saab underpinnings, starting neutral, and progressing to lift-throttle oversteer when needed.  This replaces my e30s, and around town, it feels tighter and more alert.

Of course, in true Alfa fashion, it’s currently out of service for what started out as a bad Motronic H20 temp sensor, and progressed to a full-fledged Alfa 24V V6 timing belt job.

In spite of this, I’m smitten with the car.  Ask me about the interior sometime – especially if you have a full afternoon to listen to me waxing about the peanut butter leather and Alfa logos embossed into each seat.  I’m in way too far with Alfas, and I don’t have any reason to believe that I won’t be that guy with 25 Alfa parts cars sprawled in the front yard, say, 5 years from now.

 

 

2.3-16 makes it to Indiana

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We met Taylor in Lousiville, before he headed up to Indiana for a brief visit.  At the end of the weekend, Taylor set off in GTI, and got to experience the elite peril made possible by a set of bald set of Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs in heavy rain.  The sensation is somewhat akin to driving on a rumble strip, but without the ability to change direction.  But he made it back…

Perhaps as an acknowledgment of the danger I exposed Taylor to by lending him my GTI, I installed H&R Sports and Bilstein Sports on the 2.3-16 for him.  The self-leveling rear suspension now resides in a bucket.  Not even a bucket I paid for.  It was free at the Brown County Winery.

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Vert Visit

Heading out

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My girlfriend’s friend, Anna, was in search of a fun convertible this spring, and enlisted our help.  I lived up to my enthusiast standing by recommending an e30, albeit somewhat facetiously. Fortunately, it turned out that she had driven one up until its untimely demise during her high school years, and stocked a strong admiration for the venerable platform.

The scope of our search for her e30 convertible spanned the entire US, as I’m most keen on the idea of a flight to a car followed by a 1,000+ mile return trip.  But, after dredging the usual enthusiast forum listings, a fortuitous Craigslist search resulted in the location of a minty 325i convertible just 75 miles away.  The epic top-down aquisition trip was forfeited, but a thorough inspection of the car left no qualms with the transaction, which is probably more important in the long run.

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