Anyone wanna join the dark side?

[OperaHawk]

They have cookies... ;)

I'm hanging with the local Alfa club (the only ones in the area, so don't shoot me), and the president of the club sent out an e-mail today:

1991 Alfa Romeo Spider Series 4:

* Black Exterior Perfect 43,000 miles
* Tan Leather Interior Perfect
* New Tires Perfect Wheels and Brakes
* New Windscreen * New Canvas Tan Top
* New Lower Ball Joints
* New Tie Rods
*New Idler Arm
*Condition near perfect. Runs smooth and fast.
*After Market Expensive Radio and CD
*Reason for selling going racing.
Price $12,000.
Contact: Barry Ward at barryw@vwti.com

I've seen the car - it's beautiful.

Anyone interested?

SBJ

[1,6 HF]

Even in LA, there aren't that many lancisti. So a couple of times a year we run the canyons with a bunch of Alfas, mostly GTVs. But an S4 Spider? Yawn...

[davidb]

Steven: #1: the supposedly feet back/hands forward "Italian"
driving position is MUCH moreeeee extreme in Alfas. Spyder
in particular. 164s are a tad better as D.J. will attest to. #2:
accustomed to your Zagato? The length of your arms & legs?
The Zagato fits you & vice-versa? Pleasant fit, nice to drive?
Get your Zag sorted out. Alfas are great cars in their own way:
if you fit the damn thing. After my 1ST few Betas I backed away
from buying a [new] GTV-6 2.5 after a test drive. It was arduous
to drive given my body dimensions. It's taken me almost 4 yrs.
to get my LBZ reliable & roadworthy [not totally done yet]. But
I fit the darn thing which makes it immensely more fun to drive.
I guess #3 would be drive an Alfa to see if it fits you, you it.
My two cents . . .

[KeppelmanJ]

Don't forget what's great about Lancias. I've driven that Alfa and it feels like a Datsun 1600 roadster w/o the poop. Handling is heavy. I'm w/ Ed. You have to go back to the GTV/GTA Alfas to get handling (and looks!).

[OperaHawk]

No, you don't understand...

I'm not leaving the fold - the Force is strong with this LBZ... :) I was just wondering if anyone wanted something they could drive, you know, between timing belt changes...

Viva Lancia!

SBJ

[SubGothius]

Steven: #1: the supposedly feet back/hands forward "Italian"
driving position is MUCH moreeeee extreme in Alfas. Spyder
in particular. 164s are a tad better as D.J. will attest to. #2:
accustomed to your Zagato? The length of your arms & legs?
The Zagato fits you & vice-versa? Pleasant fit, nice to drive?
Get your Zag sorted out. Alfas are great cars in their own way:
if you fit the damn thing. After my 1ST few Betas I backed away
from buying a [new] GTV-6 2.5 after a test drive. It was arduous
to drive given my body dimensions. It's taken me almost 4 yrs.
to get my LBZ reliable & roadworthy [not totally done yet]. But
I fit the darn thing which makes it immensely more fun to drive.
I guess #3 would be drive an Alfa to see if it fits you, you it.
My two cents . . .

The main trick to the "Italian driving position" is realizing the cars are made to suit the Italian style of driving, where you get the pedals at a comfortable distance first, and then hold the bottom edge of the wheel, shuffling it hand-to-hand with an underhand grip, or more drastic maneuvers may involve grabbing the 3 or 9 o'clock position and pulling down towards your lap, perhaps even going hand-over-hand pulling down at one side of the wheel, as if reeling in or climbing a rope. Indeed, the underhand-shuffle and various pulling actions seem to be their default repertoire of steering techniques, and this turned out to be remarkably effective when my PS belt snapped a few weeks ago. They hardly ever touch the upper half of the wheel or spool their hands over the top at all; you could probably cover the top half of the wheel in a fixed shroud attached the dashboard without inhibiting an Italian driver one bit! My dad had a Milano Verde (which is essentially a sedan-bodied GTV-6), and that was the perfect way to drive it, because that's how it was designed to be driven.