Conaero: About me

[conaero]

Well, I suppose I am a newbie too so I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce myself to your all and give you some background on me.

Passing my driving test in 1987 I got lured by a string of Renaults. Yes they broke down but they were cheap and comfortable plus I was cutting my teeth on how to fix cars and how they worked.

First Car, a gold Renault 14, voted worst car ever I think. It was not that bad. It was gold and did have rust starting at 5 years old. It also had central locking and electric windows in the front and a whole host of other features just not found your Fords and Vauxhalls that everyone else had.

Got shot of that and went for a Renault 11 Electronic, (I later found out that Electronic equals agro) it was a 1.7 and certainly shifted plus the interior was a mast piece.

I sold this after a few years and then bought another, again an 11 but the 1.4 Boston, white with lime green graphics, nice hum.

I did also show some taste and indulge myself in something very nice a 1969 Opel GT. I did sell that one but did a restoration project and still have that car to this day.

Anyway, whilst I was mucking around in bag of sh!te Renaults, my eye was getting caught by Alfa 33 P4's but everyone laughed and said not to touch them.

By this time, if was the mid 90's so I started my graphics business and made some money quite quickly so stuck with what I new and bought a new Renault Megane Coupe. This broke down all the time and spend more time in the garage than I had it so chopped it in and bought one of the first Megane Convertibles, that was terrible too. Now by this time I had worked out that I did not mind repairing old Renaults, but new ones, forget it.

At this point my brand loyalty was gone so decided to take the decision to indulge my Alfa passion and bought a brand new 1999 Alfa GTV 2L Twinny. If was fantastic, quick, handled like it was on rails and it was like a light had been switched on.

I sold this and went for 2004 GTV 3.2V6, red with black leather and that was a sublime car.

Around this time I got married and kids ensued so I put my sensible hat on and bought the wife a 156 Sportwagon and me a Maserati 3200 ha ha.

Now, Maserati is the natural progression from an Alfa but Alfa still remains in my heart. I always have on, and after a string of Maseratis, a GranSport (best of the bunch) then a GranTurismo S 4.7 nutter wagon then back to a 2002 Spyder. I have always had a GT JTD as the daily driver which again I love.

Like some others, my love affair with Alfa is on hold at the moment, regarding the new cars. I would buy a 159 SportWagon and a 4c (which I had a deposit on until the ruined the lights, put a piddle engine in it and wanted £55k for the launch edition)

I do think there are some great Alfas just round the corner but for now, I will keep the GT and also I am back on the hunt for a Maserati GranSports and also if a 3.2 GTV comes up at reasonable money and mileage, I will have it.

That's me, now its your turn.....

 

[lisknik]

You kept the Renault bit quiet!!!!!

 

[conaero]

dont worry Nick, no SportsRenault.com on the horizon.

 

[tess]

well.....im Tess, most of you know me as crazy cat lady and a mad mitoisti

i am relatively new to the alfa scene, my first mito 95 arrived in march 09 swiftly followed by a qv then another qv....the grand plan is to eventually have a new spider, whether this happens or not i dont know but i live in hope

i love italian cars, and have made so many friends since buying my first alfa afyer years of fiats and dare i say.....pugs

i joined an alfa forum, became a rep, organising meets locally and regionally, and supporting other reps in their regions and am now here as a mod/rep supporting matt in his new venture

im extremely pleased and honoured to be asked to work on this forum and by the looks of it after day 2 its going to be a nice place to spend some time with mates and car ****

i have to say the guys on sportsmaserati and alfaowner are the best mates [virtual and real life] a girl could have and i thank you all for putting up with my ramblings and nagging

 

[Csr dog]

Hi im Paul, single and looking for that special lady....Ooops wrong site

Hi im Paul, been driving since the early 80's and my first ever car was a 1.6 capri,ran it into the ground for a couple of years then natural progression to the 3.0 gt capri, animal and a widow maker. Sold that after a year and brought a mg metro turbo, loved it and had that for 4 yrs. it then got interesting because my brother impregnated his girlfriend and had to sell his car, i quickly snapped it up, a Fiat Uno Turbo ie, good god that thing was quick and had that for 5 years and spent thousands, scorpion s steel exhaust and alloys, re map, lowered just anything that could be done was. Sold her with great regret but then had a Fiat Strada Abarth, mental and had her for 4 yrs. then got married, had a kid so entered the barren world of family cars. Then divorced and treated my self to a twinnie which i adored and had for 3 yrs, fiat punto after that then back to where i belong, in an alfa gt.

 

[zagatoes30]

God how long have we got.

Well my name is Andy originally from the right side which to you Southerners is the left side of the pennines, the side that eventually won the war of the roses. Spent most of my early life running and selling Mk1 & Mk2 Escorts, everything from 1100s through to both a Mk1 1600 TC and a 1800 BDA MK2 - never got on with those silly pointed MK2 RS2000. Then I moved to a Opel Kadett B Coupe, only 1200cc but handled like nothing I had ever driven, that lead a friend and I into the world of DOT (Dealer Opel team). We originally bought a Kadett 2.0 GTe Coupe, which was then traded for an Ascona 400. At the same time we picked up a Chevette HS and then traded both for a Manta 400 (ex Russell Brooks car). Thats was sold and a Group B Nissan 240RS landed in our laps, lovely car totally misunderstood by most. Like Matt I also dabbled with a Opel 1900 GT for a while.

Around this time my mate who was a mechanic went into business on his own and ended up looking after a 1.5 Ti Alfasud, neither us could believe how this relatively low powered front wheel drive car drove. He got a reputation for looking after Alfas and we went through a few Suds of various types. A brief affair with a 2002 Tii BMW (a reply under-rated car) and then my first rear drive Alfa, a 1972 Giulia Saloon, 1.6 Twin Cam superb band that was it I was sold. It hung around for a while, my job delivered various company cars, 1.6 Nova GTe and then a 2.0 16V GTE Astra.

Various boring company cars followed, non worth a mention, although a couple of Peugeots were interesting a 205 1.6 GTi (much better than the 1.9) and the surprisingly good 405 Mi16 but the mainstay was always my own car. A late 1.5Ti Sud Green Cloverleaf was around for a while to be replaced with a 75 3.0 V6 (Still one of my favourites). Then came marriage and a dog (no not the wife) so the 75 was traded for a 2.9 Sierra 4x4 Estate which was practical but boring. That taught me practical is not always interesting and the time with Alfas began.

The Sierra went and a 1.7 33 Sportwagon became the dog wagon, an immaculate Alfetta GTV 6 with a 3.0 V6 fitted joined it ( the only car I have ever regretted selling). Various 33 came and went, a 2.0 116 Giulietta arrived for a short while. Then a 916 GTV 2.0, followed by a 3.0 GTV and then my only personally bought brand new car a 155 2.0TS 16V, loved it and kept it for over a 100k. At about that time a 1963 2600 Spider joined us in boxes and to be honest never got completed (very long story - I still have bits of it in the garage). Various 33, 145, 155, 156, 166 and 916 Coupes & Spiders followed most bought for nothing and run until MOT or tax ran out and then were sold and replaced (bangernomics I paid nothing and lost nothing).

In 2003 I took early redundancy and went contracting, the best decision I ever made as it paid for my pride and joy. Bought in Sept 2003 a 1991 UK spec Alfa SZ with only 9300 miles on the clock. She is still with me and she always will be. Currently with 53K on the clock she gets used and abused but always cherished. No matter what I have when all else fails it is the car I turn to, she always starts and has often been put into the daily commute due to one of the banger giving up.

One of the bangers I bought was an early narrow body 155 Q4, basically a 155 with Lancia Integrale running gear, it was £500 and there was a reason it was a dog but it did show me how good these could be. A few years later a rare wide body version showed up on eBay and it had to be none (it still is). It has been a pain in the **** but when it's right bugger all can touch it.It currently runs around 300 BHP, sits on coil overs with uprated discs all round. Fragile but fast and is now approaching more of a track day spec.

A drunken night on eBay lead me to owning a 1.8 RS Giulietta. Back in the day I couldn't ensure one so it was always an itch that needed scratching. It is lovely, no power and an acquired handling but née you learn to drive it properly it can get from A to B surprisingly quickly, it is all about planning, read the road ahead, set it up for the corner, commit to a line and carry speed though there corner.

Over recent years the urge for a Maserati has been getting stronger, the boomerang lights of the 3200GT with the plummeting values kept tempting me but everything I read told me this was likely to ruin me financially. I was never brave enough to commit, however a late Quattroporte IV Evoluzione with the same 3.2 Twin Turbo V8 did seduced me. Lovely car with acquired styling but boy does it go, mid range when the turbos kick in there is little that can touch it. As nice as it is, it is fragile and it always feels that it about to throw bits of its mechanicals all over the road. Touchwood it never has done but the risk is always there.

The 3200GT still sat in the back of my mind but the QP warned me that their reputation might be well earned so I decided to follow my head (for once) and look for a 4200. I looked a t a number of coupes but I have the SZ and thought why not be different. So last week a 4200 Spyder CC joined the fleet and I love it. It's shorted wheelbase some how balances the shape better and it gives me the open top alternative and the engine, well it is to die for strong with a glorious sound that just gets better and better as the revs rise. I feel another keeper but only time and running costs will tell.

So in summary, petrol head = yes, Italian cars = yes, passionate = yes hence why I am here

 

[Shant Ole]

My turn now

Im Shant and i live in Cyprus. I am a Cypriot-Armenian and have a crazy passion for Italian cars. I got this madness from my dad as he was a Italian car freak when he was younger just like me.
When i was younger i used to count the years, months and weeks to when i would be able to get my driving license. I started work from the age of 12 at my dads business and i nearly saved all the money i was getting because i wanted to buy a car as soon as i could get my license.
When i turned 17 my dad gave me his Spider as he had promised me he would give it to me since i loved and always took care after it. I restored the car until i was 18 when i was able to get my license. It is a special car for me as i grew up with it and it was bought by my dad. I was 4 when he bought it.
So when i turned 18 i finally bought a car with my own money a 1.2 Fiat 500 which was a very nice car apart from its power. Kept that for 3 years and sold it to buy the car i wanted so much for nearly 3 years. The Abarth 500.

And for those of you who dont know me i like to have fun and i dont like being moody. I always try to do things so we can have a laugh.

 

[EddieGT]

Hello to everybody,
I 'm Philios and I live in Cyprus.
I got infected with the Alfa virus since I was 3-4 years old when my dad got his first Alfa. It was an Alfa Sud TI, then he got an Alfetta 1.8 followed by a Giulietta(116) 1.6. I inherited the Giulietta and kept it for quite a few years. At some point I replaced the 1.6 engine with a 2.0, it was a crazy car! While having the Giulietta I also got a 146 and then sold both cars since I got a brand new GT 1.8. I now also own a 1973 Berlina 2000.
I am a mechanical engineer graduated from Brunel university in Uxbridge and I worked for 3 years as a technical manager for the Alfa/Fiat/Lancia dealership in Cyprus.
Love italian cars & italian food .

 

[alfatan]

Hello, My name is Tania

I could write a book or two about my motoring life! But I will keep this quite brief.

My Dad is a real car fanatic so I guess its been passed onto his daughter .

My first car dare I say it...was a 1.1 Renault 5TL C340 UDD I was a fan of F1 and watched Jean Alesi drive his then Renault and I was smitten, hence the Renault purchase.

Not long after owning my beloved Renault I met Mike my partner of 20 years! He also had a Renault 5 but it was a GT Turbo so I was smitten lol.....anyways Mike had previously owned a string of Italian cars and soon felt the need to return to the Italian fold and he bought a Lancia Delta Turbo Martini.

Well needless to say this was a turning point...I soon bought a Lancia Y10 Turbo which I still have, then I fancied something a little bigger so I bought a Lancia Prisma 1.6 good car but not a Delta if you know what I mean. I sold the Prisma and fell in love with a Lancia Dedra 2.0, this car was amazing we went everywhere in it. I fancied a 156 so I went the whole hog at the time and bought a 2.5 v6, I was really taken by the sound of the busso engine lol, sadly it was written off in an asda car park!! I then had a Fiat Brava 1.2 for a few months, then a 2.0 sportwagon 156 which I loved lots. Then came my dilemma, I managed to buy a 2.5 v6 Q system and an Alfa Spider so I persuaded mike to sell his hack at the time and keep the V6 and I had the 916 Spider which to this day I still own. Now currently..... collectively Mike and I have an Integrale, 159, Y10 and 916 spider.

I hanker for a Maserati but its not a sensible move for me right now so its on hold until further notice.

My Dad..... well that's another story as he got hooked on Italian cars as well!!! lol

 

[Happy Man]

Hello everybody I'll take a turn

My first encounter with Alfa was 8 years ago I fell for a beauty she was a twinny GTV in Proteo Red, but this fool didn't do his homework and found out a few months later the bushes had gone and the rear subframe was worn to the point of collapse

£1700 and two weeks off the road waiting for parts to arrive from Italy she was back on the road but still not fully fit, battery went next then the front wishbones then the clutch slave cylinder guess what, the previous owner hadn't take care of her

So with heavy heart after much nagging from Mrs HM even though we'd just enjoyed a summer holiday blasting round the b roads at Lulworth Cove she had to go

So I bought a Toyota Sillycar and hated it, it was the 2.0 vvti but gutless compared to the twinny and only lasted 5 week and I lost £1100 on the trade in, which Mrs HM still reminds me about today so what was the trade


GTV Cup No 120 and boy did I have some fun with that car, tracked at Aintree and Croft where I disgraced myself and did some grass cutting at sunny out thankfully it wasn't caught on camera and splashed all over you tube, I decided the Cup was a keeper but at the time I was doing Leeds Liverpool every day so I needed a second hand tractor to munch the miles for the daily grind, I bought for the sum of £1000 a Citroen Xantia and named her Space Pig

She got me back for that, the big red STOP warning hydraulic failure warning light came on at 8:00 at night in pitch black in the snow in the middle of winter on the M62 I limped home with Articulated wagons flashing and beeping

Space Pig had to go, but I still had the Cup

I traded Space Pig for another Italian a Fiat Grande Punto 1.1 disease and got £1000 for the trade in didn't loose a penny and I still had the Cup for a weekend toy

Sadly after two years with the Punto and the Cup in the stable the credit crunch bit me and I couldn't afford the running and insurance costs for two cars an I had to part with the Cup and the Punto

I traded them both in for the GT in Dijon Blue a true stunner but the 1.9 didn't compare to the 3.0 V6, so it was time for some mods, custom remap and Tarox sport Japan brake upgrades I was having fun again, shocked some of the V6 boys with the Stealth Tractor

120,000 miles on the clock and while she still had a decent trade in value the Stealth Tractor was traded for my current ride a 2.4 Brera affectionately know as Stingray, why Stingray you ask.

She's sleek pointy at the front big at the back and silver like Stingray, but Stingray was blue and yellow I hear you all say

You should see the inside, Blue and tobacco isn't to everyones taste is all I will say

I also have a passion for Swiss watches and flying RC Helicopters which means my poor bank balance gets a regular battering

 

[alfawestlancashire]

Read this on the tinternet which pretty much sums us up.
I go to my car, stick the key in the door and struggle to unlock it, the door thuds with a glass sounding rattle, I buckle up and put the key in hoping no code errors or faults and start her, she hesitates for a while then reassures me she's all good I sit for a while let her warm up ready for a drive and pull out onto the road. She starts to whistle while sucking in copious amounts of air and I press the loud pedal some more to be pushed back, she wriggles all over the place feeling unsettled.

She's not perfect, but she's all mine and she has me hypnotised.

All I can think of while driving her is but not necessarily in that order though