Did Australia officially get any 24V 164s, or only those imported privately (including dealer imports)?
Only privately / dealer imports. Foley's in the main.
Yes I have had quite a few, all mine have been 1993 1994 1995 1996 models imported between 1997 and 2000 all by Brian Foley from Hong Kong, fastest Alfa Romeo I have ever driven :)
anyone have a good engine from one?
Rowan,
There's a wrecking guy in the UK that has one. Not sure what condition it is in but if interested, can pass you his email.
Cheers,
Brian
thanks Brian that would be good
What about the 164QV ? Were these sold new in Oz? I was flicking through my old David Wright book 'Spotlight On Alfa Down Under' and there is a Modern Motor test in the back of the 164QV. I wasn't aware Australia got anything more than the Q. The test is from 1991
The test mentions reprofiled cams from the ES30, revised timing and higher compression, revamped Motronic mapping, larger inlet and exhaust piping, lower engine mounting to better align the driveshafts (I think this was across the range), and return springs on the power steering. It also mentions switchable mode suspension.
So, were there a Q and a QV in Oz, or is this MM test really for the Q?
Did all 164Qs get adjustable suspension?
Also, I had a stock '92 164 auto, but can't recall if it had ABS? Did all 164s get ABS?
QV, Q, and Cloverleaf. It depends what world market the car was sold. I believe the spec is all the same.
:)
A 164Q is a 3L 12V manual gearbox, circa 1991 or 92.
A 164QV is a 3L 24V manual usually circa 1994 there abouts, Were never sold here new, as Alfa had pulled out by then. They are imports from HK.
QV is short for green leaf clover, Quadrifoglio Verde
All 164's have ABS.
I think the QV has adjustable suspension but I could be wrong.
Alfa75GTA will know he has one.
There is a switch on the dashboard for the suspension - two options Sport and Auto.
Thanks Joe, is that on both the Q and QV?
I only have a Q to look at :)
Cheers Joe. So the Aussie Q got adjustable damping.
Does yours still work?
not sure, I'll flick the switch tonight and see if there is any difference.
Wrong Neil, they are all technically called QV 12 or 24 valve, Q is just a slang term that has come about, yes all Australian Alfa Romeo delivered 164 QV 12 valves came with the adjustable suspension, auto or sport, nothing really flash and a fortune to fix when stuffed, I swapped mine over to standard 164 struts :)
Oh No, I am wrong, hanging my head in shame. My apologies.
There is also a 164 Q4 which Aust never got.
And how about the 168's, I have seen a few of these.
VeeSix is correct - they're all called QV, although it was called the 164S in America.
The 168 was what the car was badged in some Asian markets as the numbers '164' translate (loosely) to "Die All The Way". Love to see their marketing campaign using that ;D. Other than market-specific specs it's the same as the 164.
Where do you guys get the data showing all Australian 164Qs were really QVs? The 'Q' terminology may have been slang, but I have been looking through a host of old magazines and even in David Wright's book, and none of the AR Australia advertising calls them anything other than the 164Q.
As I stated previously, there is a Modern Motor test in David Wright's book in which Greg Kable refers to the test car as a QV, but the car seems to be a pre Aust release press car.
Regardless, the designation argument is slightly pedantic. My original question related to the Australian delivered 164 manual transmission cars with a green clover leaf on the boot, but that gets tiresom to type compared to 164Q.............. :)
The brochure I've got for a 12V car says QV. Regardless, as shiny said it's the same car (ie it's not like a 12V QV is a higher version of the 12V Q).
And you're right about the mechanical changes - the Q(V) had the uprated cams although power was rated at 200bhp rather than 210bhp of the ES30. The lower engine was indeed an across-the-range update to quell torque-steer, and the adjustable dampers were introduced. Another little-known change that had a big effect on acceleration was lower gearing, although I can't recall if this was the final drive ratio or just different 4th and 5th gears. Also, may have been for Euro cars only, don't know if Oz ones were the same (don't see why they wouldn't be).
Off memory QV stands for Quadrifoglio Verde which means four leaf clover, so QV is just saying that it is the Cloverleaf model, people just started calling them Q instead of QV including magazine story publishers :)
Hi My suspension still works john
Hi Again I have a 168 here its a hk/chinese 164 4 is an unlucky no to them basically its the same carbut som subtle differences ,also there is 164 Q4 for sale in Canada on ebay I think maybe only 200 or less made lhd only john