And once again the fleet has been expanded. It's not even been a year since I added a Panhard 24BT (which had a massive engine failure the day after purchase) and a 2nd daily driver (Alpine A110). But then I saw a AlfaSud. Tried to ignore it but when it was still on sale I could not resist.
I've enrolled in the Alfa scene as a friend of mine used to have 155's. At some point that brought me to daily a 156 JTD and I bought my first ever project car which is the 164 that I still own. But even further back into history when my first (gifted) Opel Kadett-E failed its inspection I started looking into a replacement and test drive a base model 33. That one was a poorly repaired crash damage car so I ended up with a Ford Sierra saloon instead (still the only car that died in a crash that was my fault). With the 164 its clear I have a knack for the less stereotypical Alfa. Any big Alfa is always underrated and while I think Alfa makes and made brilliant FWD cars many seem to think it has to be RWD.
Over time I have started to build a collection of cars that are in one way or another underrated and a bit quirky.
Then this video showed up on Youtube. Yes, it is in German (I've worked in Germany so easy for me to understand) but it's fantastic. The love for quirky and some hidden memories of the 33 combined. That's when I knew that if I would ever add another Alfa to my collection it would have to be a first-series AlfaSud.
One day we visited a classic car museum / trader and I spotted one
I think at the time we did not even have the Panhard back from its engine rebuild, I found it a bit expensive, etc. I was able to regard it as an example of what I would want. And it confirmed to me I wanted one with an interior that is not black. This red or beige looks to me much better.
Fast forward a few months later and I was at a classic car show where they had a first series AlfaSud for sale. Out of curiosity, I looked at the price and this was very interesting. I was very interested. My wife saw the signs and said if you really think this is what you want then buy it. But... it had a black interior. Now that is fixable if you really want but also the paint color was a simple grey. Its very nice but not what I want (I skipped on a great NSU Ro80 once because it was white and had a dark-blue interior.. color wise I have preferences).
A former 164 owner turned friend was in the area so we visited the car museum again. And to my surprise the blue AlfaSud was still on sale, with a bit lower price. Now that I was able to compare its condition to the grey one (it had a few flaws) it was also easier to assess.
So arranged for a test drive, negotiated a bit on price and repairs they needed to do (radiator had to be replaced and such) and it turned into a very hard to resist kind of deal. Now some 2 months later I'm preparing some small fine tuning and have collected and confirmed a lot of the history.
Build in August of 1975; identical specifications and colors as in the 1975 brochure. It's the Lusso variant which gave you carpet on the floor, headrests, heated rear window, electric windshield washer and the grey dashboard with extra storage. From the options list they selected the rev counter (yes that was an option) but did not select the 5-speed gearbox. So this means it is a 1.2 liter single carb boxer with 63hp. And as it was a Italian market it got the white indicators in the headlights (not a fixed rule but most exports had orange and domestic had white) and had no outside mirrors.
Only a few days later and some 100km away (inland) from the plant it was delivered to the first owner. The owner resisted the urge to put a radio in but did add a small driver side mirror (which is clamped on instead of drilling holes). The Sud replaced a Fiat 128 which in good Italian tradition was not sold but instead just stored in a barn. In 1992 the Sud was replaced by a 33 and then the Sud was placed in the same barn. The 33 also ended up there many years later.
In 2015 the owner passed away and the family started to clear out the house and barn. A local classic car dealership took on the effort of trying to sell the cars. A dutch (but Italian speaking) guy learned about this and went for a visit and has seen the 128, the Sud and the 33. It was the Sud that he bought. He then arranged that in Italy the wheels would be refurbished, the engine rebuild and serviced and that the sheetmetal underneath the front and the rearbumper (which both had some dents and paint damage and as a result some minor rust) was repaired and repainted.
The Sud came to Netherlands in early 2017. It took some effort before the engine ran nice (some ignition and carburator settings were not correct) and the Sud showed some rust still on the first spot where every first series Sud begins to rot; underneath the top side of the front fender; where it connects to the top mount of the front spring. This issue is caused because Alfa started to apply glued windshields and design wise this was OK but manufacturing procedure was not foolproof. After the first series they went back to windshield in rubber fixing.
Also visible is the sound proofing foam.. which they later learned was an excellent rust enabler.
The rust has been properly repaired on both sides with replacement sections. The front fenders have been repainted in the process.
It took until the summer of 2018 before the Sud was approved and got its Dutch registration. Somehow in the process the authorities misread the (largely handwritten) original Italian registration form from 1975 and as a result, they registered it as being from April 1975. I have that document and I have to say it is indeed very hard to read.
Not knowing at the time I would once own it I spotted this Sud in 2018 at a classic car event. Notice that it got the wooden steering wheel out of a TI, but I do have the original as well.
Some years later the owner decided there were too many unfinished projects and wanted to sell the Sud as this should be easier to sell, being a drivable car. The market for first series Suds is not very big and this is a hate-it-or-love-it color scheme. So it took a while.
So here it is!
It needs very little work or at least that's what I have on my radar right now.
In May its scheduled for a carburetor rebuild and small service/check-up. Rest I hope to work on myself if time allows it.
I've enrolled in the Alfa scene as a friend of mine used to have 155's. At some point that brought me to daily a 156 JTD and I bought my first ever project car which is the 164 that I still own. But even further back into history when my first (gifted) Opel Kadett-E failed its inspection I started looking into a replacement and test drive a base model 33. That one was a poorly repaired crash damage car so I ended up with a Ford Sierra saloon instead (still the only car that died in a crash that was my fault). With the 164 its clear I have a knack for the less stereotypical Alfa. Any big Alfa is always underrated and while I think Alfa makes and made brilliant FWD cars many seem to think it has to be RWD.
Over time I have started to build a collection of cars that are in one way or another underrated and a bit quirky.
Then this video showed up on Youtube. Yes, it is in German (I've worked in Germany so easy for me to understand) but it's fantastic. The love for quirky and some hidden memories of the 33 combined. That's when I knew that if I would ever add another Alfa to my collection it would have to be a first-series AlfaSud.
One day we visited a classic car museum / trader and I spotted one
I think at the time we did not even have the Panhard back from its engine rebuild, I found it a bit expensive, etc. I was able to regard it as an example of what I would want. And it confirmed to me I wanted one with an interior that is not black. This red or beige looks to me much better.
Fast forward a few months later and I was at a classic car show where they had a first series AlfaSud for sale. Out of curiosity, I looked at the price and this was very interesting. I was very interested. My wife saw the signs and said if you really think this is what you want then buy it. But... it had a black interior. Now that is fixable if you really want but also the paint color was a simple grey. Its very nice but not what I want (I skipped on a great NSU Ro80 once because it was white and had a dark-blue interior.. color wise I have preferences).
A former 164 owner turned friend was in the area so we visited the car museum again. And to my surprise the blue AlfaSud was still on sale, with a bit lower price. Now that I was able to compare its condition to the grey one (it had a few flaws) it was also easier to assess.
So arranged for a test drive, negotiated a bit on price and repairs they needed to do (radiator had to be replaced and such) and it turned into a very hard to resist kind of deal. Now some 2 months later I'm preparing some small fine tuning and have collected and confirmed a lot of the history.
Build in August of 1975; identical specifications and colors as in the 1975 brochure. It's the Lusso variant which gave you carpet on the floor, headrests, heated rear window, electric windshield washer and the grey dashboard with extra storage. From the options list they selected the rev counter (yes that was an option) but did not select the 5-speed gearbox. So this means it is a 1.2 liter single carb boxer with 63hp. And as it was a Italian market it got the white indicators in the headlights (not a fixed rule but most exports had orange and domestic had white) and had no outside mirrors.
Only a few days later and some 100km away (inland) from the plant it was delivered to the first owner. The owner resisted the urge to put a radio in but did add a small driver side mirror (which is clamped on instead of drilling holes). The Sud replaced a Fiat 128 which in good Italian tradition was not sold but instead just stored in a barn. In 1992 the Sud was replaced by a 33 and then the Sud was placed in the same barn. The 33 also ended up there many years later.
In 2015 the owner passed away and the family started to clear out the house and barn. A local classic car dealership took on the effort of trying to sell the cars. A dutch (but Italian speaking) guy learned about this and went for a visit and has seen the 128, the Sud and the 33. It was the Sud that he bought. He then arranged that in Italy the wheels would be refurbished, the engine rebuild and serviced and that the sheetmetal underneath the front and the rearbumper (which both had some dents and paint damage and as a result some minor rust) was repaired and repainted.
The Sud came to Netherlands in early 2017. It took some effort before the engine ran nice (some ignition and carburator settings were not correct) and the Sud showed some rust still on the first spot where every first series Sud begins to rot; underneath the top side of the front fender; where it connects to the top mount of the front spring. This issue is caused because Alfa started to apply glued windshields and design wise this was OK but manufacturing procedure was not foolproof. After the first series they went back to windshield in rubber fixing.
Also visible is the sound proofing foam.. which they later learned was an excellent rust enabler.
The rust has been properly repaired on both sides with replacement sections. The front fenders have been repainted in the process.
It took until the summer of 2018 before the Sud was approved and got its Dutch registration. Somehow in the process the authorities misread the (largely handwritten) original Italian registration form from 1975 and as a result, they registered it as being from April 1975. I have that document and I have to say it is indeed very hard to read.
Not knowing at the time I would once own it I spotted this Sud in 2018 at a classic car event. Notice that it got the wooden steering wheel out of a TI, but I do have the original as well.
Some years later the owner decided there were too many unfinished projects and wanted to sell the Sud as this should be easier to sell, being a drivable car. The market for first series Suds is not very big and this is a hate-it-or-love-it color scheme. So it took a while.
So here it is!
It needs very little work or at least that's what I have on my radar right now.
- The fabric on the seat and rear bench has sun damage. The previous owner did not find the right replacement fabric so used seat covers instead. Long term activity.
- The little black line on the bumpers (its some kind of tape) is coming off. Needs to be replaced.
- The hood/bonnet support is unstable and partially broken
- The acceleratorpump on the carburator sometimes drips a bit of fuel
- It has a light hesitation when you floor the accelerator (might be related to point above)
- The exhaust sometimes hits the underfloor in sharp corners
- The gearlever has a little rattle
- Its lacking spare keys
In May its scheduled for a carburetor rebuild and small service/check-up. Rest I hope to work on myself if time allows it.
