"505 - morphine not found" (morphine500)
10/15/2013 at 13:51 • Filed to: Alfetta
1
4|
"505 - morphine not found" (morphine500)
10/15/2013 at 13:51 • Filed to: Alfetta | 1
| 4 |
So, lately, I lost my job. And this is an Alfetta here. What's the connection you ask?
Well, i just received my goodbye monies. Let's say, for the purpose of this post, that it's $100. Coincidentally, i just met a proper alfista , who also runs a garage. The credentials are all there, i trust his work. Now he happens to own, and use daily a red Alfetta 2.0, just like pictured. And when i went to visit the garage, he told me she's for sale - let's say, for the purpose of this post, that he would sell it for $80. And now i just happen to have as much on me. But... but i need those monies to buy food and pay rent, until i find a new source of greenies. Yeah, i know i could keep looking, save up as i can, and if i'm good, simply buy the alfetta then, but what if he sells it beforehand...?
And you know, i never wanted an Alfa before, let alone a 30 yo sedan. It's just that I sat in that car for a couple if minutes. I turned the ignition to listen to it, and tried that shifter. Long-throw, but oh so blissfully mechanical. There's wood on the dash. There are all the right smells. Oh man oh man.
What do you say, should i let the kids go hungry? I know they like a good oppo, and i know i can haggle an LSD into the price, so they would love the car, but... i'm the parent, i'm the one who should know better..
* le sigh *
Party-vi
> 505 - morphine not found
10/15/2013 at 13:54 |
|
Bruno Martini
> 505 - morphine not found
10/15/2013 at 13:56 |
|
I say if you dont have other real responsibilities (read wife and kids to take care of) fuck it. Buy it. Drive it and enjoy yourself. The only release I had when I got laid off 2 years ago, was my car. If I didn't have my car I would have been way worse for the wear. The layoff period was the worst 3 months of my life.
BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> 505 - morphine not found
10/15/2013 at 17:04 |
|
Crap. I know it's not cool and runs counter to pretty much every decision I've made in my life thus far, but I wouldn't buy the car just yet.
Still, Alfetta! I really, really like these cars. If I was given the choice of a Giulia GTV, a GTV6, a Montreal and an Alfetta saloon I'd have real difficulty choosing between the Alfetta and the Montreal.
How did that brief experience compare to the 505s? And how are those coming along as well?
|
505 - morphine not found
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
10/16/2013 at 11:02 |
|
I'm yet to drive the Alfetta, maybe that's just as well, given i'm in love with it just after sitting in. The feel of the shifter is much better than in my 505, but i know my gearbox needs looking at, and a good 505 shifter is a good shifter, period, so on even footing this would be an interesting fight.
However, the handling should be an interesting compare. Both have longitudinal i4 engines and RWD, but that's where it ends - given the alfetta has a transaxle and a de dion in the back, as opposed to the trailing arms of the 505. I am very curious.
The 505 project? The body is coming along well, all immediate rust spots are taken care of, although i'm sure there are skeletons hidden under the undercoat, but i don't really care - it'll do for the next couple of years. I used flat black paint and a roller to coat the front fenders and the trunklid. The results.... are interesting :-D
The engine got a servicing, which didn't include the solex carb - the mechanic couldn't get a set of gaskets for it, so the carb isn't ok. Still strats though, and goes, so i cannot really complain, but it could be better. The gearbox needs new sealing and a fill up too, and the rear axle is untouched as yet - the drums need a good work-over, as do the half shafts and i'm changing the diff to a factor LSD unit, which was looked at and pronounced fit for usage. However, the front axle now has good wheel bearings, new shocks (though i don't like them, too soft) and completely renewed brakes- hoses, disks, pads, even the caliper is renewed. So i got brakes on the car finally. Oh, and the exhaust piping is done too, no more smell inside. I use the car every day, but it would still need work to be good - and i dare not spend on it at the mo, for the very same reason as posted above.
My main gripe btw is the handling. I know how good a 505 can be, and this is just not it. So i want it to be lower and a bit stiffer: just today i got a quote for that job from a renown suspension guy here, he would work both on the springs and the shocks, and his credentials make me hope that would help my case, but i just don't want to spend at the moment. Still, there is light at the end of the tunnel!
One thing i wanted to note though: our taste in XJ-C is exactly alike, i too would want one with i6 and tripple webers. I met a white example in the summer, I think it was a V12, wire wheels, tan interior, and it was just as awesome as i imagined by the pictures. I will have one, maybe later, than sooner, but will....