300,000-mile Alfa 156 to Italy…

Nayf

Member
Messages
2,734
To celebrate 25 years of the Alfa Romeo 156 I tried to take a near 300,000-mile example bought for £156 across the Alps to the Alfa Romeo museum and back - there may have been some fire. It’s in the new Practical Classics, which is out today…
 

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philw696

Member
Messages
25,123
Now that's my kind of adventure.
Would love to know how the car was bought for £156 ?
Taking my £5000 Project 4200 to New Zealand back in 2014 was a little bit more expensive.
 

Motorsport3

Member
Messages
869
To celebrate 25 years of the Alfa Romeo 156 I tried to take a near 300,000-mile example bought for £156 across the Alps to the Alfa Romeo museum and back - there may have been some fire. It’s in the new Practical Classics, which is out today…

Such an elegant looking saloon. I remember the launch as I was pushing my father to swap his VW Golf 3 for an 156 (didn't work). We took one for a test drive that had a beautiful velvet green interior.

Later a friend got one second hand in visually poor shape but mechanically dependable. His was a daily, had done 300k klm and was converted to lpg. Proves that if you use them and service regularly they keep on going.
 

MrRMB

Member
Messages
102
The 156 was a lovely car in it's day. Had 2 sportwagons, the most stylish estate ever made? I cannot understand why they didn't make a Gulia Sportwagon. BMW sell plenty of 3-5 series estates, so not everyone wants an SUV.
 

RoaryRati

Member
Messages
1,584
Overshadows our escaped somewhat - congrats - where are the pics taken, one or two possibly look familiar.
 

Nayf

Member
Messages
2,734
Now that's my kind of adventure.
Would love to know how the car was bought for £156 ?
Taking my £5000 Project 4200 to New Zealand back in 2014 was a little bit more expensive.
There was so much to this tale; originally it was going to be a part series for Modern Classics magazine before it closed.
Essentially, once I’d run out of internet while my wife was in Brazil visiting family, I happened across a 156 on 289,000 miles with one lady owner from new, religiously kept service history (extra entries stapled in). The original idea was to do it up and donate it to the Alfa museum but Alfa doesn’t allow donations for tax reasons. They did offer to make it roadworthy again via the old Alfa press garage. The specialist was Alfa Aid, whom I knew well, and rather than risk selling it on eBay at no reserve, I suggested £156 and they said yes, as the previous owner had moved on to a Giulietta.
sadly Alfa UK kept promising and then not doing anything with the museum and eventually Modern Classics itself was shuttered. Fortunately Practical Classics took it on, though what to do next is the big question…
 

GeoffCapes

Member
Messages
14,000
You don't see many 156's these days, I had a 2.0TS for 3 years and it was a brilliant car. Only needed tyres and a battery in all that time and I did 60,000 miles in it.
Only cost me 700 quid and I bought it blind whilst in a breakdown truck as my Mondeo had blown it's engine up!

I saw one last year the same colour as mine and thought how well they've aged as it looked lovely.

Great cars.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,557
I had two and loved them. 2l TS SP1 and 2.5l SP1. Identical colour and interior. (Although I had to swap the interior of the V6)

Also ran the V6 on LPG.

C
 

midlifecrisis

Member
Messages
16,102
You don't see many 156's these days, I had a 2.0TS for 3 years and it was a brilliant car. Only needed tyres and a battery in all that time and I did 60,000 miles in it.
Only cost me 700 quid and I bought it blind whilst in a breakdown truck as my Mondeo had blown it's engine up!

I saw one last year the same colour as mine and thought how well they've aged as it looked lovely.

Great cars.
Didn't you have to change the brake pads? ;)
 

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,764
They are everywhere here lots seem to be still round but nearly all 1.8 or god forbid 1.6, very few 2.0 and don't think I have ever seen a V6 that is not a smaller model that someone has dropped a 164 or GTV engine in
 

Doohickey

Velociraptor
Messages
2,496
I had a 2.0TS in black with the green interior. Loved it except that it snapped something in the engine one day which took forever to fix. One of those things that Alfa had never seen before so HQ got involved and in the meantime I got a Fiat Bravo diesel to drive round in - now that was a sh!t car. A quick check suggests it was scrapped in 2011 :(
 

MrMickS

Member
Messages
3,951
I had one of the original Selespeeds, buttons instead of paddles. It was great once I got used to it, it did try to kill me before that when I slowed for a roundabout, spotted a gap and put the power down. The Selespeed was mid-change down at the time and took an age to decide to engage the correct gear again. In the meantime I'd gone onto the roundabout revving madly with no drive. Those were the days!

Parted company after a sensor in the Selespeed unit failed. Needed a replacement unit that had to be manufactured because there was no available stock anywhere. I spent the six weeks it took to source a part trying out different cars and moved it on once it was fixed. Slightly tainted my feelings towards Alfa at the time. Not so much the failure, but the fact that it took so long and neither Alfa nor the garage were willing to help with a courtesy car. The feelings didn't last.
 

rs48635

Member
Messages
3,181
There was so much to this tale; originally it was going to be a part series for Modern Classics magazine before it closed.
Essentially, once I’d run out of internet while my wife was in Brazil visiting family, I happened across a 156 on 289,000 miles with one lady owner from new, religiously kept service history (extra entries stapled in). The original idea was to do it up and donate it to the Alfa museum but Alfa doesn’t allow donations for tax reasons. They did offer to make it roadworthy again via the old Alfa press garage. The specialist was Alfa Aid, whom I knew well, and rather than risk selling it on eBay at no reserve, I suggested £156 and they said yes, as the previous owner had moved on to a Giulietta.
sadly Alfa UK kept promising and then not doing anything with the museum and eventually Modern Classics itself was shuttered. Fortunately Practical Classics took it on, though what to do next is the big question…
so did you but it for £156 or did the magazine? Happy to buy Practical Classics to find out.
Surely someone will take on the mega-miler if it survived that long trip? ( unless fire was terminal )
 

Nayf

Member
Messages
2,734
so did you but it for £156 or did the magazine? Happy to buy Practical Classics to find out.
Surely someone will take on the mega-miler if it survived that long trip? ( unless fire was terminal )
I bought it for £156 off my own back, knowing there was a story in it. It was originally for Modern Classics magazine but that shut in 2020; Practical Classics are part of the same media company and own all the previous media rights that tracked the story so made sense to carry on with them.
The car survived; in fact I’m using the replacement aircon compressor as a nightstand.
 

rs48635

Member
Messages
3,181
I bought it for £156 off my own back, knowing there was a story in it. It was originally for Modern Classics magazine but that shut in 2020; Practical Classics are part of the same media company and own all the previous media rights that tracked the story so made sense to carry on with them.
The car survived; in fact I’m using the replacement aircon compressor as a nightstand.
Top work - would love to do something similar. Shame my day job is still occupying so much of my time.
 

spkennyuk

Member
Messages
5,932
Will have to get a copy and have a read.

Has the car been sold on now ?

Ive had three 156's. 1.8ts veloce on an X plate. Followed by 2 x 2.4 jtds 04 and 54 plates and in the middle of the 2.4jtds i also had a 159 2.4ti which i owned the same car twice.

Love the 156 but parts are getting difficult to find.

Funny enough i have a brand new ac compressor in the shed somewhere that i never had fitted as the sent a 2ltr one instead of a 2.4jtd version.
 

alfatwo

Member
Messages
5,517
There was so much to this tale; originally it was going to be a part series for Modern Classics magazine before it closed.
Essentially, once I’d run out of internet while my wife was in Brazil visiting family, I happened across a 156 on 289,000 miles with one lady owner from new, religiously kept service history (extra entries stapled in). The original idea was to do it up and donate it to the Alfa museum but Alfa doesn’t allow donations for tax reasons. They did offer to make it roadworthy again via the old Alfa press garage. The specialist was Alfa Aid, whom I knew well, and rather than risk selling it on eBay at no reserve, I suggested £156 and they said yes, as the previous owner had moved on to a Giulietta.
sadly Alfa UK kept promising and then not doing anything with the museum and eventually Modern Classics itself was shuttered. Fortunately Practical Classics took it on, though what to do next is the big question…
They'd of took a donation if it was in cash :D

Dave
 

Nayf

Member
Messages
2,734
Will have to get a copy and have a read.

Has the car been sold on now ?

Ive had three 156's. 1.8ts veloce on an X plate. Followed by 2 x 2.4 jtds 04 and 54 plates and in the middle of the 2.4jtds i also had a 159 2.4ti which i owned the same car twice.

Love the 156 but parts are getting difficult to find.

Funny enough i have a brand new ac compressor in the shed somewhere that i never had fitted as the sent a 2ltr one instead of a 2.4jtd version.
I still have it, the plan is to break 300,000 and it's on 298,400 at the moment. Been busy with other projects so haven't had chance to fit the ac pump.
The idea is to auction it off no reserve for the Greyhound Trust because I have two greyhounds and it's a grey hound (of a car). Yet to come to a firm decision on what to do as an epic trip, considering it's quite close to the last one. Did think about visiting all The Greyhound pubs in the UK, but that would take years, dropping by a local Trust centre on the way. Might just do East Anglia.