I remember my Mum's 1972 Volvo 164 had a factory rearward facing baby seat in the front passenger seat.  It was mounted via Volvo supplied fittings to the dash somehow.  And no, it wasn't for me!  That was obviously in the days before airbags.  Dunno how Volvo fits baby seats now.

Good idea to find out for other readers info what the recommended minimum age/size/weight for front passenger seat is!

Also, I don't reckon it's possible that US car dealers would have told 156 owners to turn off their airbags...156 were not imported into the USA.  Sorry, unless you mean US Regulations required ALL cars with front airbags to be switched off; which is not a bad idea given kids in the front seat.

I regret to advise that Team Victoree Racing has withdrawn from the Mallala 6 Hour event in South Australia; to be run this Sunday 1st June.

A combination of logistical and personal reasons saw our late cancellation last week.  Our team will make a bigger effort for Winton 6 Hour!

From Victoria, consistent and regular Jeff Smith and his 2 teams of Sprites will wave the Vic flag.

There will be only be two Alfa teams represented, both from the local AROCA SA division. 

Best of luck to these teams!

Dunno if he's back from his honeymoon yet ...

Don't give Damon too big a head!   

Yes, Damon's very respected among Club members and extremely knowledgeable and that's what you want in a Service Manager! 

Let's just say that Club members from afar as Werribee, Toorak, Elwood and Narre Warren (!) take their Alfas to Damon to look after.

If the guys at Zagames are looking after you well, why would you need to change service people?  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Enjoy it! 

I know we do!

Well?  Have you got it yet?   

The inaugural Victorian AROCA - FIATCC Bocce Competition has come and gone.

With AROCA members outnumbering FIATCC members, an AROCA win was a sure certainty??

To be fair and to make up numbers, AROCA members were "volunteered" to play as FIATCC members for the night.

FIATCC established a fast lead winning many games.  At the half way mark, AROCA clawed back and with the finishing line in sight, it was anybody's match!  Unfortunately (for AROCA) the FIATCC crossed the line and won the night by one game!

Congratulations to the FIATCC for their win and to our social secretary Kate and her FIATCC counterpart (sorry, forgot her name) for organising a good fun night.

I hope that this is the first of many future interclub social events!     

Cheers

Victor

Hi All,

As AROCA Vic doesn't have anything on this Sunday, the BMW Car Club needs attendees for a Driver Training Day at Winton this Sunday.  Cost $150.00  Apparently lots of track time will be available    for those who can't wait till our Sandown Day in June!

For more details, contact:

Graeme Bell  0407 186 296
Steve Mattingly  0418 998 493

Oops 

Looked easier on an Alfetta GTV!

Hi Clive,

You picture dosn't look like an Alfetta GTV 2000.  It look likes a more modern GTV...do you mean it's a year 2000 GTV?  If yes, then what I posted earlier may not work as they are different door mechanisms!

However, the same principles should apply. There should be some adjustment on the B Pillar, so undo the bolts, screws, whatever that holds the mechanism onto the B Pillar and move up/down accordingly.

Cheers

Victor

Hi Marco,

WELL DONE and CONGRATULATIONS!   

I am sure you'll be happy with your car.  We are very happy with our 159!  Ahh!  The noise!  It actually sounds better from OUTSIDE of the car!!

You'll also like the extrra gadgets that comes in the 3.2!  Hope you don't have a Samsung mobile as the Alfa bluetooth doesn't link with it as seamlessly as a Nokia phone does.

I haven't activated the Alfa's SMS Text-To-Speech facility yet, so that's another gadget to play with!

Make sure your music on your memory stick (that plugs into the USB port in the glovebox) is in MP3 format and not Apple iPod format.  This is understandable as Alfa has adopted the Microsoft system so therefore won't play Apple formatted songs.

Look forward to seeing it at the next Club night or perhaps at the Club's Bocce night on the 19th if you pick it up earlier!

Congrats again.

Victor

Hi Clive,

Assuming u mean Alfetta GTV? 

I had the same problem on my car...had to slam the door hard to get it to close. 

This should be a DIY job!   

Check the catch alignment on the B pillar:  Put some grease onto the catch and slam the door shut.  Then look at the catch.  Is the grease missing from the top or bottom of the catch?  If top, then that catch has to be moved downwards (and vice versa).  With a hex key (can't remember the size sorry), loosen the catch and move in required direction and tighten again.

I hope that helps!

Victor

Marco,

Now is a good time to buy an Alfa!  There may be some ex-Grand Prix support vehicles at the dealerships.  I understand they represent good value for money (you may be lucky and find one that sat on the trackside and didn't do many kilometres!) and most of them come with the europlate licence plates: V then AR then the 3 digits.

As standard, the "standard" 159s come better equipped then the equivalent "standard" BMW's. 

And as you have mentioned, the front styling of the 159s is superb vs "pig ugly"

Good luck in your test drives, and keep us posted what you get!

Victor

From basic information found on the internet and magazines:

                      RENAULTSPORT CLIO 182               ALFA 159 3.2 (manual)
Engine           16-valve, 4-cylinder                               24-valve, 6 cylinder
Capacity        1998cc                                                    3195cc
Max Output   131kw @ 6,500rpm                               191kw @ 6,200rpm
Max Torque   200Nm @ 5,400rpm                              322Nm @ 4,500rpm
Gearbox         5-speed                                                   6-speed
Drive               Front                                                      All Wheel Drive
0-100kph:       7.1 seconds                                            7.0 seconds
Top speed       222kph                                                   240kph
Brakes Front   280mm                                                   330mm
Brakes Rear    238mm                                                   292mm
Wheels           16-inch Alloys                                        18-inch Alloys
Tyres             205/45 R16                                              235/45 R18
Tare Mass     1009 kg                                                     1680 kg
Length (mm)  3812                                                         4660
Width (mm)   1632                                                         1828
Height (mm)   1417                                                        1422
City                  9.0 L/100km                                          16.9 L/100km           
Highway          6.8 L/100km                                            8.4 L/100km
Combined        8.1 L/100km                                          11.5 L/100lm

From this, I don’t think you can compare the two cars.  One is a hatch and other mid size 4 door sedan. 

Good choice of car though…we’ve got one!   




 

Yes, he does!

Its amazing what a good camera can do....he looks positively 5 years younger!