My Alfa Romeo 166
Discussion
Some personal background...
My stepfather had a Lancia Flavia 1800 Coupe from 1973-1980..
Also, he ran an Alfa Romeo GT Junior 1600 from 1975-1978....
Gosh, those cars were the bees knees back then...
Also, my year four primary school teacher who also ran the football team had an Alfa sud...that is about 1979-1980...all the lads wanted a lift in his car for the away games.
So, somehow, Italian cars were in my blood as a young kid.
However, on passing my driving test in 1986 I ended up in a Morris Minor van...bought it for £40, welded the sills up...that thing used to use 2 litres of oil getting to London up the A2 and back, jumped out of second gear, rust everywhere, front wings tied together with bailing string...all mot passes in 1987!
I ran my own business buying and selling Morris Minors, I was 18 years old and skint....never in my wildest dreams could I own an Italian car!
However, after making a bit of money selling a couple of Morrises...I did get a Triumph Vitesse Mk2 with a ported cylinder head...gosh, how didn't i get killed blatting around in that thing at 18 years old??
Fast forward 25 years of marriage and 5 kids...along with functional Nissan Sunnies/Prairies/Toyota Space Cruisers(quite cool actually!) and Seat Alhambras....the time came when we didn't need a 7 or 8 seater car....so what to do?
Hmmm...I'd love a car like the old GT Junior thought I...
ended up with a 156 V6...black with tan leather...everyone loved it....
Trouble was, it was a 1997 model and this was 2012...the poor car had lived four years at Whitstable...and the underneath was held together by the factory underseal....
So, in 2013, by this time, totally hooked by the Busso V6 engine (remember I only had the old pushrod, solid iron Vitesse 6 to compare as my only other "exotic" experience)....I thought I would try a 166...quirky but distinctive looks, unloved by most (good cos makes 'em cheap)...yet somehow I was drawn to buy one....especially after looking at some 156 GTAs, which were three times the price, and tbh...pretty poor condition....
I saw a lovely looking Minerva Green 166 Super at Kinghams of Croyden....test drove it... the purchase price £1500...but it had been sitting in their showroom for a few years and was due a timing belt...done five years and 13,000 miles previous....
Then I saw a 132,000 mile example on Piston heads...Azzuro Nuvola, cloth seats....in Barking.
Went to see it...saw it...had to buy it...just for the colour...didn't care about anything else...what a car! Gave the guy pretty much full asking price...£1500...
Even today, I know...if I wanted to buy one in this colour...pretty slim chance of finding one for sale.
Here she is....
My stepfather had a Lancia Flavia 1800 Coupe from 1973-1980..
Also, he ran an Alfa Romeo GT Junior 1600 from 1975-1978....
Gosh, those cars were the bees knees back then...
Also, my year four primary school teacher who also ran the football team had an Alfa sud...that is about 1979-1980...all the lads wanted a lift in his car for the away games.
So, somehow, Italian cars were in my blood as a young kid.
However, on passing my driving test in 1986 I ended up in a Morris Minor van...bought it for £40, welded the sills up...that thing used to use 2 litres of oil getting to London up the A2 and back, jumped out of second gear, rust everywhere, front wings tied together with bailing string...all mot passes in 1987!
I ran my own business buying and selling Morris Minors, I was 18 years old and skint....never in my wildest dreams could I own an Italian car!
However, after making a bit of money selling a couple of Morrises...I did get a Triumph Vitesse Mk2 with a ported cylinder head...gosh, how didn't i get killed blatting around in that thing at 18 years old??
Fast forward 25 years of marriage and 5 kids...along with functional Nissan Sunnies/Prairies/Toyota Space Cruisers(quite cool actually!) and Seat Alhambras....the time came when we didn't need a 7 or 8 seater car....so what to do?
Hmmm...I'd love a car like the old GT Junior thought I...
ended up with a 156 V6...black with tan leather...everyone loved it....
Trouble was, it was a 1997 model and this was 2012...the poor car had lived four years at Whitstable...and the underneath was held together by the factory underseal....
So, in 2013, by this time, totally hooked by the Busso V6 engine (remember I only had the old pushrod, solid iron Vitesse 6 to compare as my only other "exotic" experience)....I thought I would try a 166...quirky but distinctive looks, unloved by most (good cos makes 'em cheap)...yet somehow I was drawn to buy one....especially after looking at some 156 GTAs, which were three times the price, and tbh...pretty poor condition....
I saw a lovely looking Minerva Green 166 Super at Kinghams of Croyden....test drove it... the purchase price £1500...but it had been sitting in their showroom for a few years and was due a timing belt...done five years and 13,000 miles previous....
Then I saw a 132,000 mile example on Piston heads...Azzuro Nuvola, cloth seats....in Barking.
Went to see it...saw it...had to buy it...just for the colour...didn't care about anything else...what a car! Gave the guy pretty much full asking price...£1500...
Even today, I know...if I wanted to buy one in this colour...pretty slim chance of finding one for sale.
Here she is....
Now, on Alfa Owner there are these guys that can take an engine out of an Alfa on their driveway...change all the suspension, in fact they can fix anything....
Even though I used to mess about with Morris 1000s as a kid (I could do the welding and bodywork..and managed to fix up anything mechanically too, my favourite car was my "MG" Traveller...all 1275 Midget running gear, plus Wolseley 1500 brakes, carbs, half-shafts and Diff. and a Morris 1800 brake servo)...I now somehow don't have the ability or inclination to do any mechanical work on a modern car....
First thing on the 166 was the clutch pedal was VERY heavy....
So, got rid of the DMF and found a local mechanic who fitted a new solid flywheel and GTA clutch kit...
After that, I read about the limited slip diff...Quaife. Yes, the 166 needs this I decided....
Went back to my mechanic with the 166 and the Quaife.
"why the bleep bleep bleep didn't you bring the quaife with the clutch?" says he. (the 166 needs all the subframe dropping down to fit the diff, unlike the 156es which are an easy job). Ah well...
Also, the local AR dealer fitted a new slave cylinder and removed the clutch damper (whatever that is?)....and...I did manage to remove some linkage and get a new bush fitted in the pedal box to take up slack...long story short...a 166 3.0 manual (rare) with a nice clutch (very rare!).
AND...after my previous experience of the 156 melting away, I decided to have all the wheel arch splash guards off, and to properly stab away at the underseal on the floor pans/sills...treated with dinotrol etc
Took two days work (back in 2013)...now the 166 had a chance to keep going in life.
Photo of the 166 is Italy in 2014...
Even though I used to mess about with Morris 1000s as a kid (I could do the welding and bodywork..and managed to fix up anything mechanically too, my favourite car was my "MG" Traveller...all 1275 Midget running gear, plus Wolseley 1500 brakes, carbs, half-shafts and Diff. and a Morris 1800 brake servo)...I now somehow don't have the ability or inclination to do any mechanical work on a modern car....
First thing on the 166 was the clutch pedal was VERY heavy....
So, got rid of the DMF and found a local mechanic who fitted a new solid flywheel and GTA clutch kit...
After that, I read about the limited slip diff...Quaife. Yes, the 166 needs this I decided....
Went back to my mechanic with the 166 and the Quaife.
"why the bleep bleep bleep didn't you bring the quaife with the clutch?" says he. (the 166 needs all the subframe dropping down to fit the diff, unlike the 156es which are an easy job). Ah well...
Also, the local AR dealer fitted a new slave cylinder and removed the clutch damper (whatever that is?)....and...I did manage to remove some linkage and get a new bush fitted in the pedal box to take up slack...long story short...a 166 3.0 manual (rare) with a nice clutch (very rare!).
AND...after my previous experience of the 156 melting away, I decided to have all the wheel arch splash guards off, and to properly stab away at the underseal on the floor pans/sills...treated with dinotrol etc
Took two days work (back in 2013)...now the 166 had a chance to keep going in life.
Photo of the 166 is Italy in 2014...
old Alfas need caring for...well if you want to keep them running...!
Oil cooler pipes and oil radiator...and radiator cross member...all obsolete...managed to get them in Italy in 2014 while on holiday...
Now the car is a family member, that takes us on holiday, but only to Italy where non-rusted oil cooler pipes exist...
Found a local Alfa specialist who would fit the oil cooler pipes...a whole days work apparently...!
Then in 2015...time to spoil the 166...eibach springs, koni fsd shock absorbers and new upper and lower arms...plus some rear suspension bits...
What else but to celebrate with a track day...
Pre-and post eibach photos and track day photo below...![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/7joV1voF.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/y4JFCScw" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/y4JFCScw.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/28Mj16u8" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/28Mj16u8.jpg)
Oil cooler pipes and oil radiator...and radiator cross member...all obsolete...managed to get them in Italy in 2014 while on holiday...
Now the car is a family member, that takes us on holiday, but only to Italy where non-rusted oil cooler pipes exist...
Found a local Alfa specialist who would fit the oil cooler pipes...a whole days work apparently...!
Then in 2015...time to spoil the 166...eibach springs, koni fsd shock absorbers and new upper and lower arms...plus some rear suspension bits...
What else but to celebrate with a track day...
Pre-and post eibach photos and track day photo below...
166 interior...such a lovely place to be... I think JC said...
In 2013 I found an Alfa specialist in North London who swapped the cloth seats for leather.
My 166 has the "Sportivo" interior...all black...dials and everything...with the wooden steering wheel, it is very pipe n slippers..
Ah...something else I just remembered...in January 2017 with the heater fan on full blast....(somehow when the weather is very cold the 166 can mist up rather annoyingly as the aircon won't switch in under a certain temp)....melted itself....I took the car to the AR dealer...£800 lighter I got the car back with new fan motor...that was my final visit to the AR dealer!
Anyway...here is the interior...love it!
Becker DSP sound system and six stack cd player in the boot...I only got a "smartphone" last year...and that is a 2011 model samsung that a customer gave me because it pained him so much to see me with an old nokia...so you can see the set up suits me and I can still party like it's 1999. I did get a "cassette with wire jack" that my sons wire into their i-phones when we go on a trip....thankfully I generally like their music tastes, so all good.
Of course, if I get the urge, I'll often go on a drive for the sake of it...and then the only music is the engine...but more on that later...
In 2013 I found an Alfa specialist in North London who swapped the cloth seats for leather.
My 166 has the "Sportivo" interior...all black...dials and everything...with the wooden steering wheel, it is very pipe n slippers..
Ah...something else I just remembered...in January 2017 with the heater fan on full blast....(somehow when the weather is very cold the 166 can mist up rather annoyingly as the aircon won't switch in under a certain temp)....melted itself....I took the car to the AR dealer...£800 lighter I got the car back with new fan motor...that was my final visit to the AR dealer!
Anyway...here is the interior...love it!
Becker DSP sound system and six stack cd player in the boot...I only got a "smartphone" last year...and that is a 2011 model samsung that a customer gave me because it pained him so much to see me with an old nokia...so you can see the set up suits me and I can still party like it's 1999. I did get a "cassette with wire jack" that my sons wire into their i-phones when we go on a trip....thankfully I generally like their music tastes, so all good.
Of course, if I get the urge, I'll often go on a drive for the sake of it...and then the only music is the engine...but more on that later...
Absolutely love a 4 door Alfa, but then I am biased. Interior looks stunning. Any pics of your trips to Italy?
Let me know if your specialist ever gets stumped - I have used an independent in west London for many years and he seems to have more Alfa parts in his lockup than ebay.it.
Great stuff.
Let me know if your specialist ever gets stumped - I have used an independent in west London for many years and he seems to have more Alfa parts in his lockup than ebay.it.
Great stuff.
Thanks for all the replies.
As for front end looks...personally I much prefer the original. Not because the facelift is bad...far from it, I think the 166 facelift was the best of the lot out of the mid-2000s 147, GTV, and 156 facelifts....and was the right thing at the time, but as time goes on and all 166es are obviously from a previous era, then the classic original style is the most interesting and least conservative.
The attention to detail and the way the styling resolves really makes the car stand out for me....linky here explains some of it...but there lots of other details in the overall "low style" too.
http://thethinkersgarage.com/2013/12/04/analysis-a...
As for difficult to work on...I found a good local specialist...and I have spent a lot of money there!
166 niggles: Wipers randomly sometimes forget to work on a couple of (not the same every time) settings.
Next up...engine and timing belt...
As for front end looks...personally I much prefer the original. Not because the facelift is bad...far from it, I think the 166 facelift was the best of the lot out of the mid-2000s 147, GTV, and 156 facelifts....and was the right thing at the time, but as time goes on and all 166es are obviously from a previous era, then the classic original style is the most interesting and least conservative.
The attention to detail and the way the styling resolves really makes the car stand out for me....linky here explains some of it...but there lots of other details in the overall "low style" too.
http://thethinkersgarage.com/2013/12/04/analysis-a...
As for difficult to work on...I found a good local specialist...and I have spent a lot of money there!
166 niggles: Wipers randomly sometimes forget to work on a couple of (not the same every time) settings.
Next up...engine and timing belt...
My specialist is AutoBritalia near Canterbury/Faversham.
This time last year, after owning for five years...timing belt time!
Either of tne of the bigger specialists in Hertfordshire would have been quite a bit cheaper...but I decided to go with the local guys because I now know and trust them...two guys in their late 50's who have worked on Alfas their whole life...starting at Motorway Sports Cars back in the 1980s...
All the Aux pulleys were original (19 years and 160,000 odd miles). Water pump from 2004...and also turned out the crank pulley was out of shape...so everything that moved was renewed.
The lads spent two days doing the job...and I went up there on one of the days to polish up the cam covers and spark plug covers....I have seen powdercoated jobs...but I prefer the polish alloy original look...so just re-touched the red lettering.
Timing was a bit out from the previous belt change (suspected rear bank of cams not timed).
Anyway, now the engine definitely has more grunt...and this is how it looked..all ready for another euro road trip...some photos to follow of 166 on the road to follow...
This time last year, after owning for five years...timing belt time!
Either of tne of the bigger specialists in Hertfordshire would have been quite a bit cheaper...but I decided to go with the local guys because I now know and trust them...two guys in their late 50's who have worked on Alfas their whole life...starting at Motorway Sports Cars back in the 1980s...
All the Aux pulleys were original (19 years and 160,000 odd miles). Water pump from 2004...and also turned out the crank pulley was out of shape...so everything that moved was renewed.
The lads spent two days doing the job...and I went up there on one of the days to polish up the cam covers and spark plug covers....I have seen powdercoated jobs...but I prefer the polish alloy original look...so just re-touched the red lettering.
Timing was a bit out from the previous belt change (suspected rear bank of cams not timed).
Anyway, now the engine definitely has more grunt...and this is how it looked..all ready for another euro road trip...some photos to follow of 166 on the road to follow...
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff