Wow, that's spectacular. Is it not too expensive to hire the bike + gear? I'm going to have to see some more of those photos when you get back. Like the suspension shots there Simmo, good reporting.
See you guys when you get back!

Mic that's freaking incredible, can't believe you almost passed up the opportunity! I'll definitely have to see the vid you got - was it in car or something? Definitely expensive, but for what you get, that's pretty sweet! Love the pics. So how long did it take you to lap the circuit? Many cars at any one time on the circuit? And the pic with all the Alfas belongs to the "75 experience"? That's a lot of 75s. So many questions... I'll have to wait till you get back!

Oh my god. You are a luck man - Grimsel Pass/Furka Pass looks absolutely incredible. View alone would be worth it let alone the roads... Was it cold? and what bike did you hire? 1098?!

Also, I'm the proud owner of a GSXR600
Suddenly the weekend isn't getting here quick enough. See you when you get back mate.

haha, that's funny. Haven't come across that one before but apparently it first appeared in the Audi forum and some magazine.

Also, this! (Answer to the problem in the 3rd last post)
http://www.tamparacing.com/forums/subaru-tech/455091-possible-blown-engine-need-urgent-help.html

Back on topic, love the red GTV6! Looks in very good condition - having not persued anything other than a mostly stock GTV6 it's interesting to see what can be changed with the gearbox/clutch, although you do get used to the high clutch pedal, but it becomes tricky when you push your seat all the way up to accomodate a passenger behind you! (I have to put the sun visor down so there's more head room - ridiculous? probably).

I haven't been that active in the club lately, but if there's a cruise organised, I'd be up for that!

You clown, now post some details already!! Damn the Stelvio Pass looks fun - it also looks really narrow! DO IT! Also... I may have something to keep up with your R6 now!

Let me know how you go. I couldn't manage it, tried it with no idea what I was doing. I figured out how everything worked, but couldn't get the adjustment correct. I was under the impression you need a special tool for the rear brakes?

haha, RACV total care will pay for itself at some point! Usually it will be something small, but enough to incapacitate the car, which is when you use that free tow!

I'm no expert, but I'll tell you what I use
- BP Ultimate 95% of the time, sometimes Shell Optimax, although people tend not to like this fuel for some reason - they appear to be quite different fuels. I've never had any problems with those fuels.
- If I'm out in the country and no premium around, 95 octane fuels seemed just fine
- Oil, I always use Penrite HPR30, i once tried something thinner, but I didn't think it suited.
- Pretty sure that tyre thing is a myth. I ended up spending around $200 a tyre (from memory - I think), but they're brilliant road tyres with great grip - Bridgestone Potenza G3. I'm sure you can find cheaper tyres to fit if you wanted.
- I regularly take my car to Monza Motors in Bayswater, and have been to Maranello Motors in Brunswick, so I can at least recommend those. But there are several other excellent mechanics in Victoria - check the Alfa Mag or Newsletter for the full list.

So that's one owners perspective! Good luck with the car shopping!
Also have a search on the forum, pretty sure there have been a host of GTV6 questions that have already been answered.

Mick, what on earth!? Where are you now and when are you back in Australia? We'll have to catch up on all this over a ride some time!

Thanks Doug, I'll build up some courage and give it a go - sounds like the solution. I've found a lot of the interior of the car is actually quite fragile, but, I am glad the engine is pretty much unstoppable 

Quick update for anyone out there with heater tap problems - I quite easily managed to brake mine since it was made of the crappy plastic back in the 80s and does not stand the test of time. I now have a metal inline heater tap which has been modified to work with the standard cable/piping, which includes making sure that hot on the dash opens the valve rather than closes it. Some custom copper piping and flexible tubing also required. Hugh at Monza Motors has the know how!

Last post - outtakes from the cheap alfa episode:
http://www.topgear.com/content/videos/videos/158/broadband_wm.html

A mate got me onto another site if you want to download the Alfa segments of top gear only, but you need to create an account. I haven't use this site yet.
http://www.racingflix.com/getvideo.asp?v=2343
http://www.racingflix.com/getvideo.asp?v=2346

There's a website called Final Gear which can send you updates of episodes, outtakes (with the exception of "I was on the internet and found this...") and often links various video segments of the show which appear on the official top gear website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/index.shtml), although at the moment I can't find a link to a video the 8C. Final Gear also covers the show Fifth Gear. It's one of the more prominent fan sites as far as I can tell.

Check this part of the forums out, just stumbled across it, some nice summaries here! Dedicated fans.
http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear/top-gear-guides-and-resources-search-here-first-please-8558/

If you're looking to download the episode *not so legally* try this (download via torrent - you'll need uTorrent or something like that and episode size is 700mb):
http://www.finalgear.com/news/2008/07/14/reminder-you-can-automatically-download-new-episodes/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/finalgeartorrents


And then there was this
http://www.rsportscars.com/eng/articles/batmobile-vs-toyota-formula-1-car
And this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl_1apuVQzA

This week it's the 8C Competizione!