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Alfa 166 revival
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30-03-2014 10:50pm#1Hello all
I have a 166 this past few years. It's a 2.5 V6 and a seriously comfortable car :cool: I haven't really done much with it
I got it cheap due to a bang in the rear quarter
It was also a tip inside :mad:
I started with an oblig service. Plugs weren't difficult, just the rear bank was fiddly to do
I took in the rear bench and cleaned it up
I also rebuilt the drivers switch (I am in my trousers paying a fortune for a 2nd hand unit let alone a new one!)
Cleaned up the calipers
And is cleaned quite regularly
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In recent times the seats were revamped
And a set of Sportivo/horseshoe wheels bought
However that wasn't good enough, so I went out and bought a donor car. This one was a Super at one stage, now it's a ball of crap!
You can see scabs of rust already
Whilst the floors aren't visible the mould is apparent the second one steps in. Leather is absolutely spotless though
However, one of it's various rust patches
I needed that tailbox. Balls! :mad:
Care for a epically crap paintjob?
It sounds well mind you
Plan is to break that one and use what is savable from it on the other car :cool:0 -
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I remember a time I was quoted €2300 for a replacement ICS (radio) unit for my 166. I got to know the parts guy in tractamotors pretty well when I owned it as very little was available second hand for them at that time and it did tend to need a few bits regularily.
I always wondered how much a replacement unit would have cost from the dealers, now I know :eek:
I used to go there a lot, I remember a 99 pearl 156 v6 in the showroom back in 1999 and sitting in it as a child. 10 years later, I saw the very same car in a scrapyard, it was a horrid sight (sad to see a piece of growing up like that ) I bought the seats from itHave you seen this one? A lot of money has been spent on it by the looks of things.
http://www.usedcarsni.com/2005-Alfa-Romeo-166-V6-24V-Lusso-121172352
No but that looks very clean, and a 3.2! There's another 166 in Down (black, 3.0, 2001) for a fraction of that asking price, not a hope that 3.2 will fetch that kind of money. Maybe half at a push....
I've began to dismantle the super. Removing the ICS was a right pig (all that twisting and poking for 2 clips!) and over the next few days I hope to dismantle more of it, with a few pics to boot0 -
I always wondered how much a replacement unit would have cost from the dealers, now I know :eek:
I used to go there a lot, I remember a 99 pearl 156 v6 in the showroom back in 1999 and sitting in it as a child. 10 years later, I saw the very same car in a scrapyard, it was a horrid sight (sad to see a piece of growing up like that ) I bought the seats from it
No but that looks very clean, and a 3.2! There's another 166 in Down (black, 3.0, 2001) for a fraction of that asking price, not a hope that 3.2 will fetch that kind of money. Maybe half at a push....
I've began to dismantle the super. Removing the ICS was a right pig (all that twisting and poking for 2 clips!) and over the next few days I hope to dismantle more of it, with a few pics to boot
From memory, the gear surround comes pretty much straight up. I don't remember being too much hassle to get the unit out.
My unit sprung back into life when a new car battery was fitted so luckily didn't need to buy one.
I bought my 166 3 years old with genuine 40k miles for 9000 back in 2002. Drove it for 3 years and basically gave it away after that.
You were a child in 99! I thought you were about 50 for some reason.0 -
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It sounds well mind you
Is that you with the horse mask on? If so why are you wearing it?0 -
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I have the time, let the full revival commence :cool:
In with the donor car. Very rare I work on a car in the garage, usually I do everything outside. Take a long hard look, that's the last time it'll drive!
Donor namely because....
Look at what some asshat did to the left driveshaft. Inch gun was tested taking this out. Driveshaft is fit for the bin :mad::mad::mad:
Interior stripped. Exterior somewhat stripped. Engines ready to drop once I remove the downpipe. So as it stands
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Ever since I got this car the clutch felt terrible. Always had to put the foot under the pedal to bring it up to normal. It got worse and worse till one day last month it gave up and went to the floor. Seeing as the slave worked fine, I concluded the master had had it. Bums :mad:
Not too long ago I did a clutch master in a GTV. I had the engine out and all. It was still a pig to change. Whilst a GTV isn't easy to work on a 166 is a different league of awkward. Naturally I wasn't looking foreward to this!
So I searched round on where it was, how to do it etc. No useful guides :rolleyes:
So I went at it myself. Here's a guide on how to change a 166 clutch master:
Here is all too common a sight for a 166 owner. At least it wasn't the pedal box!!! :eek:
Remove the lower dash panel. I know there's mildew there, I'll be addressing that asap
Here is the offender. Note the nice cover round the bottom of it
Remove that cover and use a brake spanner to loosen the union. Then loosen the supply pipe. Have plenty of papers/cloths ready as there will be a lot of fluid! I forgot to take a pic so here's a pic from the other day when I was removing it from the Super....
2 nuts. Tight on room...
One clip at the back on a pin. Remove the clip, depress the clutch and lever out the pin. Then wiggle out the whole master.
Easy to see why this one didn't work! It was off before too, it has a jubilee clip instead of the standard Fiat clips
Install is the exact reverse. Only hard part was aligning the clutch pedal with the end of the master, it kept springing to rest position. So a hunt round the garden yeilded this piece of scrap, which when inserted between the master and pedal provides enough leverage to push it back and insert the pin
Bleed it, job done.
How long did that take? 25 minutes, faffing about. I rang a few "reputable" and a few "specialist" Alfa garages, I got one quote of €400 plus vat from one place.
Pure robbery that is, considering a new master is £31 plus vat and the job takes about 30 minutes.
So hows the super? Um....
And where's it's engine going eh....
More Alfa stuff on the way
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More stuff
It was about time I relocated it to the yard. It wouldn't move under its own steam due to locked brakes, so out with the tractor and problem solved. Then drove it into the yard from there
It's temporary new location
Unaware of the butchery going on inside.... :eek:
Boooo stupid dent!
It is an arse to get at, we're going to have to improvise to make the clamp work....
New tail light
Think this needed replacing too....
And replaced a sticky caliper
Not much left to do, wheel bearing, rad, headlamps, dent, t-belt, service and some new tyres to see it ready for the road 0 -
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I don't believe the 166 in right hand drive was ever offered with a diesel engine.
It might have sold a few more if it had.
Never was, LHD only, same as the 2.0 Turbo. Pity, I haven't a clue why they didn't, plenty of room and the 156 was available with the 2.4 as RHD....
Small update, I've moved onto the dent at the back. Just took the relatively bad look off it, so we can decide where to go from here
There is still a lot to do to get this looking right, it's a right pain to get at properly0 -
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Do you do bodywork and painting yourself or will it be off to bodyshop?
No bodyshop is getting their hands on this, all inhouseRe the diesel, I thought there must have been a serious issue with fitting the diesel to the 166 when they didn't do it.
Some reckon that the chassis was designed in such a way that the rack wouldn't fit properly to clear the engine. When one looks at the chassis without the engine, there is a swell on the right hand side that makes servicing the V6's a total nightmare. Plus all the foot controls are brought to the left through the cabin, such as a rod for the brake and pipework for the clutch
Then again some people said the TB was LHD as the turbo couldn't be cleared by the rack.... The TB had the turbo beside the radiator.... Oh dear
Whatever the reason, if there was a diesel 166 in RHD it may have been a cracking company car seller in the UK. Fiat slipped up there0 -
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Any bodyshop worth going to would do nothing less than new quarter panel on that.
That's a spoiler alert right there. Straightening the side was to push the shut line closer to the door, straighten out the lines a bit to gie an idea what it should look like. There was no way that was going to be repaired due to lack of space and an absolute headache of a job due to the crinkles and emerging rust, it's much weaker now
If it wasn't crinkled we could have got away with pushing it out, addressing the imperfections and a bit of paint.
So it's like you read my mind, I have a quarter to go into it, that's for a future update 0 -
The more I work on this car, the more I see how much attention to detail has been demonstrated on this car..... Which is naff all :rolleyes:
Lets take the lower arms as an example. I have the hub off as it needed replacing (wheel bearing gone) and as the balljoint was flopping about, I decided to change it. I was wondering why one of the nuts was difficult to remove.....
Not only hammered out at some stage, but mildly cross threaded :rolleyes:
So lets remove it. In true Alfa fashion....
The gearbox is in the way :rolleyes: so I need to raise the engine. That's simple enough, loosen the 17mm nut on top. To avoid damage to the earth strap, it needs to be removed. So, what happened next?
Typical :rolleyes:
I got the bolt out anyway. You can see the taper is missing off it
I used the bottom fella after I cleaned it thoroughly. The whole lot is now bolted back up. So that's a 3.0 mount (naff all difference) with a 3.0 lower arm (it's bigger in places and I'll be swapping the drivers side someday soon). Now to put on a hub and happy days 0 -
So I was up to more shennanigans
Here's where we start. Note the rusty lower arm, which had a fantastic balljoint (I regreased it anyway) and bushes. Much better than what came off!
I was having a bit of bother with the other hub I had lined up for the car. So I robbed this one from another convenient 166 I have lying about.
I'd like to find the ape who did this. Seriously, an impact 12 is all it takes. What the hell went on with this :rolleyes:
No choice but to leave it. But there was no choice in leaving this accordion on :eek:
The trackrod was an utter arse to get off. I had to heat it up significantly to move, then the airgun to remove the locknut. Finally, off with the tired gaiter
A bit of consideration in the form of copper grease for the poor buffoon who has to track this beast (probably me )
Seeing as the upper balljoint was trashed, I pulled another one out of thin air
The job takes so long due to crap like this. This was the strut bolt. I had fun removing this :rolleyes:
But alas, that's the left side done, bar a dose of the inch gun and the splash guards. Next will be the right, I can't wait :rolleyes:
Best news is the ladybird on the bumper of the car is still there a week later and still alive, feeding on something on the bumper. Makes me smile everytime
Edit: Said Ladybird
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It's been too long.... But I'm at this car whenever I can. For example, the back is almost finished
It hasn't moved anyway. So I decided to shove on the timing belt. This won't be a full guide, more so to compliment my other guide, as such
The kit. Belt, tensioner, 2 rollers
You need cam blocks, confusing tool and a cam pulley as extra special tools (yaaaaay speshul!)
Jack up, front wheel off, splash guard off. Never mind my hub removed, that's another job
Aux/serpentine belt off. 15mm spanner and it's spring loaded. Slip it off
Engine steady off. I have newish parts to put on, as the old ones were a bit past it....
Remove the engine covers and drain the power steering fluid. If you don't want fluid everywhere, cut up a paraflu bottle, place a funnel underneath and catch the old fluid (pasty crap in this case)
Timing cover off. Now remove this bracket
Same as the other guide. Plug cover off, rocker cover off, plugs out. We begin to see shoddy work
The plug cover serves as a handy tray for each series of bolts
Same for the rear bank. Unplug the throttle and unclip the plenum clips
All these hoses and fittings must be unclipped. The oil catch is held with 2 bolts, hard to get at if you have stumpy fingers (no, I don't, I have magic fingers that do magic things :pac:)
There we go
Hmmmm....
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz0h5ewid5c
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