Another Old Newbie

[Coxy14]

G'day all,

My name is Tim Cox, I am up in QLD and have had alfas since getting my license back in 05. I have always had 33's and there is a charm about them, I know alot of people look down their noses at them but I love them to bits!

Either way I've joined up here to keep up with whats going on and some info.

My cars have been:
Alfa Romeo 33 Series 1 1.5 X 2
Series 2 1.5
Series 2 1.7 Twin Carb
Series 1 with a series 3 16v motor in it (work in progress)
Alfa 166 Still have it,
Moto Guzzi Sport 1100 (Sold)
MV Agusta Brutale
Maserati 3200 GT Assetto Corsa (05/10 AUstralian delivered cars)

Cheers

Tim

[Cool Jesus]

Nothing wrong with the 33 chocolate box mate. Welcome aboard. That's an awesome vehicular inventory too by the way, what a way to get immersed into Italian motoring.

[Coxy14]

Haha thanks,

I have been told by a few people that the 33's are worthless and shouldn't be bothered with.....that's by alfa people too!

The italian thing certainly is a bug! Once you get taken by it, there is no looking back.....I had a VR6 golf for a while, it was a fantastic car, but boring!!!!

Tim

[Thevak]

I am a week away from finding out for myself what a 33 is like. Roadworthy and club permit for a 1.7IE 8V and then weekend runner etc.

Two things that are puzzling me are

Firstly, where are the controls on the air con?

Secondly there is one high wattage with reflectors in rear light cluster. I read it is the rear fog lights, but again where is the switch?

PS how did they arrive at the car series numbers eg 33, 75, 147, 156 etc?

[Beatle]

There is no consistent reasoning to Alfas model designations.  You could write a thesis on the subject.

147 and 156, I have no idea.  Probably just the chassis number sequence like the 164.   But then the 164 was renamed 168 in some Asian markets as the 4 is bad luck, the 8 is good luck.

33 is a nod to the Alfa 33 race car.  I used to know why the original was designated the 33, but since forgotten.

Alfa 75 is to commemorate the 75th anniversary.

The 90.  No-one knows..........

[colcol]

The 33 was named after the endurance sports car that won Le Mans, the 75 celebrated 75 years of Alfa Romeo, the 90 was the car that was going to take them into the 90's, the 147 came after the 145 and 146 series, [ 145 was the 3 door and 146 was the 5 door 33 replacement, that didn't come to Australia ],  the 156 followed the 155, 164 was plucked out of the air, as they were running out of numbers, that was followed by the 166, [ which was also a Ferrari moniker ], the replacement for the 156 was going to be the 157 or 158, until Peugeot and BMW threatened to sue as they claim they have the rights to the numbers, so Alfa called it the 159 with its links to the famous Grand Prix car of the early 50's, the 166 replacement was going to be called the 169, except Fiat had run out of funds to replace it, the 147 was going to be called the 149, except part of the new 2 model policy was numbers were out and names were in, so 149 became Guilietta, Colin.

[colcol]

If your 33 is a series 1, 83 - 86 with the rows of buttons along the centre of the dash, the airconditioning switch could be there or in the centre console, there were so many [ bad ] versions of 33 aircon, they put the switches all over the place.
The fog light is also in that row of switches, without going down to look at the car, it is a switch with a globe symbol, with one pointing down, that is the rear foglight, the other points up, that is the front foglight, normally not fitted in Australia, it is an odd globe in the tail lights, on left hand drive, the globe is in the other tail light, Colin.

[colcol]

Hello Tim, welcome to the Forum, i have had my 33 for TWENTY EIGHT years, must be some sort of record, always enjoy the 33, still my daily driver, always puts a smile on my face, mine is a series 1 1984 33 TI 1500 cc, red naturally.
The things that annoy me is when the speedo stops and the hatch rusts out again after 5 years, but the good things more than make up for it.
The 33 was the second biggest selling Alfa Romeo of all time, ran from 1983 to 1995, when it was replaced by the  145 and 146 series cars, the series 1 had the Alfasud / 33 boxer motor fitted to it, the series 2 had Fiat based twin spark in line 4 cylinders.
Parts are starting to get hard to get as the 33 is quite an old car now, reaching 30 years old, they are scrapped, as they are not worth anything 2nd hand, Colin.

[Nate Dog]

Colin,
Astounded,
A font of information on all things Alfa.
Do you fly the flag on your front porch?!?
Nate

(P.S. i never sign my name at the bottom, but i felt it appropriate when replying to your post).

Tim,
Welcome. Great collection, very impressed.

[Coxy14]

The 33 was named after the endurance sports car that won Le Mans, the 75 celebrated 75 years of Alfa Romeo, the 90 was the car that was going to take them into the 90's, the 147 came after the 145 and 146 series, [ 145 was the 3 door and 146 was the 5 door 33 replacement, that didn't come to Australia ],  the 156 followed the 155, 164 was plucked out of the air, as they were running out of numbers, that was followed by the 166, [ which was also a Ferrari moniker ], the replacement for the 156 was going to be the 157 or 158, until Peugeot and BMW threatened to sue as they claim they have the rights to the numbers, so Alfa called it the 159 with its links to the famous Grand Prix car of the early 50's, the 166 replacement was going to be called the 169, except Fiat had run out of funds to replace it, the 147 was going to be called the 149, except part of the new 2 model policy was numbers were out and names were in, so 149 became Guilietta, Colin.

Bloody Hell! Makes sense now....who says the italians dont have a sense of humour and logic.....Just need to work it out!

Hello Tim, welcome to the Forum, i have had my 33 for TWENTY EIGHT years, must be some sort of record, always enjoy the 33, still my daily driver, always puts a smile on my face, mine is a series 1 1984 33 TI 1500 cc, red naturally.
The things that annoy me is when the speedo stops and the hatch rusts out again after 5 years, but the good things more than make up for it.
The 33 was the second biggest selling Alfa Romeo of all time, ran from 1983 to 1995, when it was replaced by the  145 and 146 series cars, the series 1 had the Alfasud / 33 boxer motor fitted to it, the series 2 had Fiat based twin spark in line 4 cylinders.
Parts are starting to get hard to get as the 33 is quite an old car now, reaching 30 years old, they are scrapped, as they are not worth anything 2nd hand, Colin.

Thats impressive! I love the 33 so much, I've never found a car that just makes you laugh at it like the 33 does....quite capable and a ton of fun....I think the only thing that has come close to it is the new Abarth 500.

Tim,
Welcome. Great collection, very impressed.

Thanks for the welcome, Its amazing what you can find at good prices when you look. A lot of people give me plenty of stick for the Maserati as they feel a 25 year old shouldn't be driving one.....Oh well =)

[alfafarm]

Hi Folks    Its good to see someone has an interest in 33s I have a shed full of bits as I have dismantled many and still have some standing around come with gold coins and get what you need also have series one alfasud sprint under cover waiting for someone to love  john gold coast

[Coxy14]

PM has been sent!

[Nate Dog]

Jesus Tim,
You're only 25?!?
You're a baby!
Anyway,
Should you ever be tempted to off load the MV Agusta Brutale let me know, i'll make you a fair offer

[Coxy14]

Jesus Tim,
You're only 25?!?
You're a baby!
Anyway,
Should you ever be tempted to off load the MV Agusta Brutale let me know, i'll make you a fair offer

Haha yeah I am only young still....I managed to get an apprenticeship after school and after that finished I went to the mines for a few years, came back with a deposit for a house and a few new toys to play with. Now just settling down with a full time job here in Brisbane.

I will let you know if I am thinking of getting rid of her, she is a 750 Brute, with 36k kms from memory. Been too wet to ride lately =(

[Davidm1600]

Hi Coxy, mate seriously well done, you were definitely smart for someone so young.  Setting yourself up as you have done, including a home and some toys after some hard graft in the mines I think is well deserved,  so enjoy and basically if others are envious of your collection including the Maserati, tough.  You have earned them all.

The 33 is an under appreciated Alfa, by many.  I have driven them in the past, my brother had one, my only problem being I have largish feet and always found it difficult with the closeness of the pedals, but perhaps that was just my incompetence !!   Afterall I have also driven Suds, Sprints, Fiat 850s, X1/9s etc and they too have close pedals/offset pedal setups etc and I don't recall it being so difficult. Perhaps I have just gotten soft and become used to the setup in my classics and the 156.

Welcome.