Paging Andy Hewitt

I'd rather buy a 164 with that mileage TBH. I think you'll find that is an import too, we didn't get steel wheels in the UK IIRC.

I'd say that as long as it doesn't rattle or smoke it should be OK, but you *know* what the electrics are like, just about anything could go on these.

I know about the 164s, but I just fancied something newer and not much more expensive. It's only a commuter hack afterall......

Strange about the steels, 'cos I see loads of poverty ones on steels - usually the 1.6 it has to be said.

That's the worry.

Still, it's a bit too far to go to have a look, but at those prices, I may well keep an eye out locally.

Yes, but I'll still bet they're imports. between 1999 and 2001 Alfa Romeo lost 50% of their sales to the European market. We didn't get the

There are also a lot of far eastern imports too, all with strange bits on them.

All of the imports, even the so called 'UK spec' models are not the same as a UK car under the skin, and they can be a nightmare to fix. I have seen them 'make' a bit of loom at the factory to join a RHD air bag to the loom of a LHD car. Of course there isn't a part number for that.

You may wonder why they appear so cheap!

Good man!

Now as there is a dearth of knowledge on the Alfa group, apart from one helpful chap from Cambridge, what is the best way to change the gearbox on a 1989 V6?

I have two the better maintained but older has bust the box at 130k miles, the newer has a stepper motor problem with the air distribution and an inactive ventilation fan and 91kmiles but a bad oil leak.

If I can get some hot air blowing my temptation is to run the newer one, otherwise I need to change gearboxes and would like a sequence of operations to see how to do it having now found somewhere to park them next to each other.

AJH

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

Yeh, I definitely recall plenty of 156s on steels when they first came out

- including outside UK dealers unregistered...

There's a (GTV or Spider - I can't recall) round here on steels, too - that looks odd.

No workshop manual available?

Yes I've seen two, one for electrical and one mechanical, at 90 quid each, more than the cars are worth atm. I'm really looking to see what pitfalls there are as it is all too easy to spend more money and time than the cars are worth.

With only an exhaust swap and drive shaft boot to change for an MOT I'm foxed by the ventilation problems, the auto diagnosis suggests two stepper motors and a duff fan but they're non too easy to get at. So it may pay to swap gearboxes and run with the devil I know, which I've used for 6k miles of economical motoring until it lost drive.

I've also received some advice by e-mail.

AJH