Quick Classic for under a grand.

etc snip snip... Ive read all the other comments on the sub threads and dont feel like adding to any of those debates. Its all down to taste.... If you want a Triumph then I'd take a Sprint over a 2.5PI or 2500S any day.

2 or 3 on ebay but be quick for Smifters one...( sold by Gee_ess) Know him and he's a good guy. I have a cheap blue bootlid if you want it. As you have added sierras in the XR4x4 category you should also consider an I4 engined one like a 2.0GTi or whatever. I traded one out recently and loved it.....a real lulu.

Dont be surprised that Manta drivers looked down on RS2000's either. Their cars went round corners much less dramatcally. The hatch is great BTW and very useful. Much nicer than a Crapi...

Jonners

Have you thought about a Mk1 Toyota MR2? They're cheap at the moment and pretty quick, very nice driving cars overall, plus of course Toyota reliability. Maybe not everyone's idea of a classic, but who cares? Don't be put off by people pottering them around as hairdressers cars - those people never see the other side of 4500 RPM. The red line is at 7700 RPM and the engine will quite happily live around that area ..... When I ran one of these for 18 months I was quite surprised how reasonable the insurance was. Cheers, Bill.

-- Rarebits4classics .......just what you've been looking for

PO Box 1232 Calne Wiltshire SN11 8WA United Kingdom

Agreed - had a couple of coupe's but the hatchback was the one for me - couldn't have moved the girlfriend's washing machine without it ;-) Handled even better fully laden...

All the young bucks had cars from what was jokingly called the FordSh*t camp, those of us with Mantas were met with a certain quiet respect, and those of us who had Opel Asconas were lauded as demigods. My god the power, how big? 1.9? wow! S'funny - stick the Vauxhall badge on it, add two more doors and a different nose and it turned into a car that even your Aunty wouldn't want.

Re: previous comments about sheds, rust etc. I think you've got to be realistic at this price level, and the age of the cars you're looking at. At this time rustproofing was not on the agenda, and those cars that were truly bad have found their way into scrap yards. If it's still in the road now, with a current MoT you're at least in with a chance. BTW, didn't Alfas of this era rust *more* than the others? ;-))

William Davies waffled on in a quite bewildering manner to produce...

Ah, I've driven one of these when they were new, quite enjoyable really. They do sound good at high revs.

so far the Alfa 75 3.0 is the one though...

YKIMS.

It's a better car than it's rather dated interior would suggest. Watch out for it in the wet though, because its transaxle means that it will tend to let go on all four wheels at the same time with little warning. It takes some getting used to compared to the average RWD car which will tend to let you know that the rear is losing drip as it oversteers. The Alfa 75 is neutral right up to the limit then no grip, no steering, no nothing, sideways slide.

They were. Mantas go round corners. And they have frameless doors, which are much much more sporting. Like go faster stripes, frameless doors are worth a good 20bhp.

My Manta had both frameless doors /and/ black stripes up one side of the bonnet.

:D

Richard

Erm, not they don't.

(And I'm sure Pete will back me up on this one)

Mine will quite happily kick into oversteer - given enough provocation.

Around the MK roundabouts, I know the rear is about to step out when I get a chirp from the rear tyres.

Even in the wet, I've not managed to slide the front yet.

Slow in..... fast out. If you get the front to let go, then you've piled into the bend far too quickly. HTH.

even cheaper alfa guilietta 2.0 (116) from the 80's fun and rusty....

see

Oh yes they do.

Yup, I got one, and they don't.

If you've got a 75 to let go at both ends, then you've piled into the bend too quickly and turned in off the power, HTH.

Heh. Sitting on the fence, then?

Pete M ( snipped-for-privacy@blueMOONYOUSAWMESTANDINGALOOOOONEyonder.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

just in the way. Etc

And that's just the good bits.

I *LIKED* the 75 v6 I had, even if it was inflicted with a slushbox. Ah, that exhaust note!

Given it by a mate, bit of work for the ticket (mainly rear brakes and some bushes), swapped for a 2cv with another mate, sold the 2cv for £1100, the Alfa got sold for £400 to a bloke that promptly ripped the bottom out of the box on a bumpy farm track.

Umm no, untrue. It's possible for them to enter a four wheel skid when driven on a balanced throttle. I've done it over and over again. I even used to be able to get the car sideways through a farm gate without damage off a corner just by knowing that there was a critical speed at which it would lose all grip.

In this respect it's exactly the same as the Guilietta. Well let's face it, bar a cosmetic facelift it is the same as the Alfetta/Giulietta. The transaxle even clonks into first when cold just like they do.

BTW, I've also owned a an Alfetta (2.0), Guilietta (2.0) and 75 TS. Cost me more cash than any car I owned before or since and I enjoyed driving them all. However I'm not blind to their characteristics.

As to the driving lessons, grandmothers evacuating eggs comes to mind.

Moving the goalposts, then..... 'it's possible to invoke a 4-wheel skid on s**te surfaces' is slightly different.

I really don't give a flying f*ck what you've had in the past, because I drive one every day - in fact just got home from work in mine, and, they _don't_ let go at the front unless you're driving like a f****it.

*shrugs*

I'll stick with what I know - which is that it's _impossible_ to invoke a 4-wheel skid in my 75 on it's current combination of SP200 fronts and Pirelli P7000s on the rear.

Look back and re-read what I first wrote on the subject. There's no goalpost moving. The word "wet" may well ahve escaped your attention in your haste to blast off about what a great driver you are and what a crap one I must be.

BTW, the road in question is metalled, the farm gate is off the apex of the bend.

Oh right, the fact that I've several years experience of driving the car and its predecessors doesn't count in your bigotted opinion.

Which is utter bullshit, because they do, on on a wet road, they let go almost simultaneously at both ends.

Ah, moving the goalposts? Whatever, again that's not true. An Alfa 75 will let go, you dont' have to be driving like a lunatic and as I stated originally it does so with much less warning than you get from a contemporary RWD car. This is expected behaviour, the 75 has better weight distribution than most RWD cars with about a 55/45 split front rear because of the location and weight of the transaxle.

This isn't of itself a problem. What it means is that the handling of a

75 is closer to a mid-engined car than it is to a conventional RWD setup. And just like mid engined cars it's a fine line between oversteer and nosteer.

Impossible is a very silly word to use. Mind you it's also bloody silly to go off on one as you did because your take some sound advice about handling to be criticism of one of your babies.

I'll repeat for the hard of thinking. It's not a bad car, but it's less fun than it could be, the interior is - well "s**te" is the only description that is appropriate, and the handling is different to other RWD cars so takes some thought until you get used to it. I enjoyed mine while i had it, but it was a royal PITA and I wouldn't have another. That said it's an amusing car to own if you can afford the bills, and of course if you don't mind driving around in a loser cruiser.

Hmm, SUVs are of course the ultimate statement of 'good taste', aren't they...

-- JackH

If you lose the front of a RWD car in the wet, then you're either driving too fast for the conditions or have got your lines / braking points wrong.

No they don't. It's RWD, so the rear will slide out under power on wet or dry roads. If the front has let go, then you're well on your way to a major 'off' anyway, so it doesn't really matter which end lets go first. Surprisingly, the same applies to all RWD and 4WD cars.

51:49 actually.

Bollocks. If you're driving it properly, the rear will chirp and slide way before the front lets go.

OK, 'impossible' if you're not driving like a newly-qualified f****it.

Erm, but you drive a Jag....... people in glass houses and all that.

And here was me thinking that photocopier salesmen drove astra diesel estates seeing as they cost their company about 12 grand. What's the cheapest 5 series nowadays ? Oh look - it's £24,455. That'll be two astras then. Photocopier salesman budget ? Nah - don't think so.

John F- who has never sold photocopiers and doesn't drive a 5 series BMW - well not for about 10 years now anyway. C673 XMS, where are you now. E28 520i