Alfa 155 Q4

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
22,062
As some of you maybe aware I have had an Alfa 155 Q4 for best part of 20 years. For those not in the know the 155 Q4 was the most expensive production 155 at the time and consisted of Alfa shoehorning the engine and running gear from a Lancia 16V Integrale into the 155 shell. This meant 2.0 Turbo 16v engine mated to the Integrale 4WD system. Original production cars were the narrow bodied version of the 155 and were tuned down to 190BHP amd sold as a luxury version rather than and out and out performance version. These cars were all LHD hence not many were sold in the UK by Alfa only 19 of 2300 plus built. When Alfa updated the 155 to the wide body spec they stopped importing them into the UK, in fact they hardly sold any with only 163 WB Q4s bring built.

Mine is one of these rare WB cars, imported into the UK from France, possibly by Veloces who imported 2 Black, 1 Rosso & 1 Proteo from France in 1997 although the car was originally owned in the UK by Tanc Barret so it could be he imported it himself. Needless to say Tanc wasn't happy with 190BHP so he fitted a hybrid turbo and had it remapped to around 240BHP.

I bought it from the guy who bought it from Tanc so only the 3rd owner in the UK and we ran it as the family car when Jamie was born in 2006 only to find the small boot, raised to fit the rear diff, wouldn't take his buggy so it became my daily driver. A few years of various mods, camshafts, free flow exhausts, diff rebuild by Charlie Skinner, and various remaps she was running close to 350BHP but she had become very tempremental. When on song she was awesome but had a habit of blowing head gaskets and coolant pipes so you could never guarantee getting anywhere.

When we moved to Ireland we shipped it over to Paul at A 4 Alfa with the brief to strip and rebuild the engine to a reliable 300BHP spec, fit a decent set of road suspension (she was running on adjustable coilovers) and restore all the other mechanics and bodywork. The fatal words to leave my lips was "no rush, do it in your own time"

So 6 years later the engine is out on the bench, new pistons, camshafts are sitting in their nice new boxes, the hybrid turbo has been rebuilt with all the latest parts, bits have beens sourced like an original airbox from Brasil, a tubular exhaust manifold from Italy, an original Q4 interior from Yorkshire, Original Silverstone spoiler and lift kit incl rubber feet from the Netherlands and a set of Compomotive TH2 wheels sitting in my garage at home.

The car has become a bit of an icon at A4A, sat outside covered in moss with mismatching wheels and an interior full of parts. Paul has had many people asking what's happening to it and could they buy it but progress has stalled.

One of the reasons to come over this week was to sort this out and a plan has been hatched. Paul now has another experienced ex Alfa mechanic working for him, actually the guy who built my Giulietta at Alfa Aid, who is going to pick up the project. Paul will rebuild the engine along with the Fiat Coupe specialists, the body will be sent for restoration and the new mechanic will set about doing all the other mechanicals, brakes, suspension etc.

The car is registered in 1997 which means it is eligible for classic import duty on Jan 1st 2027, so this is the completion date. Monthly visits by a friend in the UK and regular photo updates should hopefully ensure the project runs on schedule fingers crossed
 
Last edited:

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
22,062
Most of the paintwork damage is lacquer peel, something most 90s cars suffer from, but a full strip back to metal repaint was always the plan so this has to go anyway. A bit of corrosion around the screen and a bit in the normal 155 rear wheel arches which will mean inner arches too. The normal Q4 rot around the boot floor is not as bad as some I have seen and there will no doubt be some rot in the front inner arches another 155 weak spot. Surprisingly the sills and floors look in good shape but we won't really know until we pull off the plastic covers and see what;s there.
 

philw696

Member
Messages
27,032
Nice project Andy.
Tanc Barratt and his team really nice guys too.
Looking forward to the following pictures of it's restoration over the following months now.
 

Andyk

Member
Messages
62,636
Great project Andy and just love the 155’s. You could make it look like this one.

IMG_5870.jpegIMG_5871.jpegIMG_5872.jpeg
 

DLax69

Member
Messages
4,950