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Thread: Help me decide

  1. #11
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    Re: Help me decide

    There are deffo downsides to a LHD car in Britain. But one upside that nobody mentions is that they're great for kerb-crawling*



    * - this is (supposed to be) a joke

  2. #12
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    Re: Help me decide

    I think I?m going to have to take a flask and sandwiches and have a long sit by the Hawk stand.

    You see I love Urraco and 308s and Merak and Panteras and the iso Lele is a favourite But you just know they are going to be horribly brittle. I?ve been round old Italian cars a long time and they make me wince. Even the ones with the Detroit motors. That?s why I like Alfas, if they aren?t rusty it?s possible to fix them. If they aren?t rusty. To that end as a road car a stradale recreation is fabulous. It beats a 308 (gt4 or gtb)on looks in my view and if I?ve built it I can mend it. Round here there are not many people who can mend stuff so owners of any classic car are on their own. And the Italians just ooze style. That lime green one on petrolicious. With the way my North of England eye does style Id never dream to put washed out lime green with gold wheels and a tan and black interior. But just look at it. But then the rally stratos was always the other Worldly thing when I was growing up. On Rally Cross on TV or in books - that and the 037. How can people like Quattro sports.

    Ill keep thinking.
    Last edited by AndrewF; 16-01-2023 at 01:04.

  3. #13
    SEC Member ChrisCar6's Avatar
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    Re: Help me decide

    Garage door width and trailer-bed widths also need to be considered as appropriate.

  4. #14
    SEC Member Stratos Fear's Avatar
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    Re: Help me decide

    Mine's a Stradale - as I wanted the purity of lines (no stickers or lamp bar) that the original Gandini design delivered in spades - and I am absolutely delighted that it still delivers in that respect (ref. the number of people that give the thumbs up when driving it - and nice comments when at the petrol pumps) - but each to his own !!

  5. #15

    Re: Help me decide

    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisCar6 View Post
    Garage door width and trailer-bed widths also need to be considered as appropriate.
    Good points.

    I built my car in a single garage and having Group 4 arches would've been tight.
    Now, three decades later, I have a double garage but it isn't particularly wide and has two cars in it, so still no space for fat arches on either of those cars!

    Have also seen those that need to trailer their cars around can find difficulties with the wide Group 4 rears. In some cases, they have to fit a set of narrower wheels just to get the car on the trailer. Some others have trailers or transporters that are wide enough.
    Last edited by rutthenut; 16-01-2023 at 16:22.

  6. #16
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    Re: Help me decide

    Quote Originally Posted by rutthenut View Post
    Good points.

    I built my car in a single garage and having Group 4 arches would've been tight.
    Now, three decades later, I have a double garage but it isn't particularly wide and has two cars in it, so still no space for fat arches on either of those cars!

    Have also seen those that need to trailer their cars around can find difficulties with the wide Group 4 rears. In some cases, they have to fit a set of narrower wheels just to get the car on the trailer. Some others have trailers or transporters that are wide enough.
    i have the garage covered. I tell myself as I was hammering into 6ft of hardcore at the weekend this is actually part of my stratos build process. You see for one reason and another I?ve never had good garaging. I built my caterham by torchlight in a small wooden garage at my last house. The garage I have right now can house the Alfasud only plus workshop and I restored my mx5 on a gravel drive - which isn?t very nice but you never ever leave a sud outside. Painting outside is, erm challenging.

    So I have been fairly relaxed about the wait for my kit as last autumn I secured planing permission for a four car two story garage. One of the oak frame ones. This is almost as exciting as the stratos.

  7. #17
    SEC Member hollytree's Avatar
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    Re: Help me decide

    Quote Originally Posted by Stratos Fear View Post
    Mine's a Stradale - as I wanted the purity of lines (no stickers or lamp bar) that the original Gandini design delivered in spades - and I am absolutely delighted that it still delivers in that respect (ref. the number of people that give the thumbs up when driving it - and nice comments when at the petrol pumps) - but each to his own !!
    i guess it's a bit like the Kate Moss, Marilyn Monroe debate (Did Marilyn have any tattoos (stickers?))

  8. #18

    Re: Help me decide

    Quote Originally Posted by AndrewF View Post
    i have the garage covered. I tell myself as I was hammering into 6ft of hardcore at the weekend this is actually part of my stratos build process. You see for one reason and another I?ve never had good garaging. I built my caterham by torchlight in a small wooden garage at my last house. The garage I have right now can house the Alfasud only plus workshop and I restored my mx5 on a gravel drive - which isn?t very nice but you never ever leave a sud outside. Painting outside is, erm challenging.

    So I have been fairly relaxed about the wait for my kit as last autumn I secured planing permission for a four car two story garage. One of the oak frame ones. This is almost as exciting as the stratos.
    An Alfasud!!? - Is it a runner. What model? I had a few back in the day, absolutely loved them all.

  9. #19
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    Re: Help me decide

    Quote Originally Posted by AndyGuyton View Post
    An Alfasud!!? - Is it a runner. What model? I had a few back in the day, absolutely loved them all.

    it?s quite a rare old thing. I understand it was built out of a 1982 shell for hill climbing by Peter West who ran the U.K. of not the worlds leading sud tuning business - Westune. Peter was made a BRDC member for his work on Suds. It was one of his last projects and it was built by him and his daughter who told me the story and who worked in the business at the time.

    To keep weight down it had lots of plastic panels put into it, an early Sud TI close ratio gearbox and a very special 1300 for a class built with split IDF 48s on a special manifold and throttle linkages. His daughter said it was one of his masterpieces.

    I bought it as a non runner with a later bust 1700 33 motor on massive Delortos. Alas I only had a handful of bits left of that legendary motor but I?ve since built / had built a new 1700 had the gearbox rebuilt by Charlie Skinner. It?s a full on competition car that?s just about road legal.

    I may well give it or sell it to a key member of the classic Alfa club or swap it for a 4 door super. That?s a good combo. Suds are great. A superb foil for a Stratos. I will feel blessed if I make that a reality.
    Last edited by AndrewF; 17-01-2023 at 15:31.

  10. #20
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    Re: Help me decide

    Quote Originally Posted by hollytree View Post
    i guess it's a bit like the Kate Moss, Marilyn Monroe debate (Did Marilyn have any tattoos (stickers?))
    We should note Gina Lollobrigida passed today. A greater beauty than even a Stratos and in retort to Sophia Loren describing her as only fit for roles as servant girls she said it was like comparing a beautiful racehorse to a goat.

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