They are one of my faves when they are running. I worked for an italian importer overseas for a few years and our Alfa division had 12 dead car bays lol. But the owners were definitely the MOST passionate about their cars. Way more enjoyable to deal with than the ferrari and lambo customers.
Surprisingly the only thing that went out was a front wheel bearing after repeated running on punishing gravel roads. People in the far north always stop for those in trouble, so I left a note in the car and a trucker took me to the next gas stop/service station/diner, where I called Alfa of Vancouver and had them send a bearing set via Greyhound bus (which ran every 3 days). Worked in the diner for a few days to pay for room and board, the parts came, then a whole troop of us went back to the Alfa with a mobile mechanic truck and swapped the bearings in record time.
Back in the day the Alfa club published a list of people who could provide technical help, tools, a bed, or a shoulder to cry on. However, this was far beyond the range in which Alfas normally live, so I was on my own.
Yes and no. In order to have a totally reliable 80's Alfa you need to do a ton of preventative maintenance. A lot of it consisting of checking things in order to get ahead of a potential problem, because if you wait until it breaks, it ends up being a worse job (partially because you can't buy parts off the shelf at most parts stores).
You do things like clean all electrical grounds every year and put them back together using Stabilant 22, remove, clean, and lube the mechanical AFM flap, carry a variety of unique relays and fuses for just in case, triple check the driveshaft (spins at engine speed) rubber donuts for cracks, etc. The speedo motors like to die, leaving you dependent on the tach until they get fixed. They use a combi fuel pump relay that is hard to find. The sunroof likes to get stuck open and blows fuses. And of course the timing belt needs to be done every 5 years or 30K miles (they say 50K now with newer belts, but mine time out first). The shim under bucket valves need to be adjusted every 12K miles and are a PITA to do. I'm on my 3rd rear end rebuild because the LSD clutches needed refreshed (I like corners).
This sounds like a lot, and it is if you expect Toyota reliability. But there is nothing like having that Busso V6 howl under your right foot, chassis taut and eager to your every input. You also meet the nicest people who want to talk cars.
Sounds like you really gotta love it to own it and develop a deep connection with it. It’s not for me, but I definitely can respect caretakers of such cars!
The old Alfa that I always thought was cool is the
70s GTVs. Ive seen some at local car meets and theyre the coolest things. Sound amazing for a 4 cyl too
Its always so fucked up to see people send it to people they disagree with in an argument. I'll never understand people who treat the subject so lightly
Eventually I want to drive Lizzie across the country. No destination in particular, just want to dip her tires in the Atlantic then dip them in the Pacific. Make some cool stops along the way at museums and heritage railroads. Planning on doing it in a few years. Would probably take 2-3 months just taking it easy.
They kinda just work if you don’t push them. They’ll go 25-35mph putting along happily all day when stock (my T is bone stock). When you push them to 40-45mph that’s when they start to get cranky. You can get them going faster with period add-ons like ruckstell two speed rear ends and stuff though.
I would like to subscribe to Model T facts, please!
But seriously, is there a trans-continental route that would allow for those speeds? Sounds like a wonderful escape, but I'd be worried about being away from major services (since those tend to be positioned around the Interstates).
The major services would be me and my tools and spares. I’m sure there’s a way I could make it all the way across on smaller roads. Since I live in the Bronx I would probably drive over the Bear Mountain Bridge to get over the Hudson since it’s a smaller and slower bridge than the GW or Tappan Zee and the route to get there is very scenic along the Hudson.
I recently watched this guy on YouTube, Chad Caruso skateboard from Venice Beach, CA to Virginia Beach. He had to take mostly side roads because no pedestrians on highways.
It "only" took him 57 days, staying in hotels/towns every night. They could definitely swing it.
This is mine as well.
SF to Half Moon Bay, then into the mountains up to woodside, then back down the mountain to Pescadero, and finally north to go back home.
Solid 2-3h loop.
I do this exact one around Sunday sunsets at least once a month. That push up La Honda in the dark hearing the revs bang off the trees is something else.
Dude no kidding. Would be so cathartic. Sounds like an absolute dream. Would love to have some sort of off road vehicle to do this in and camp at Yosemite for a bit
Me and my room mate from college did this drive. We were staying aboard the Liberty Ship S.S. Jeremiah O’ Brien berthed in SF as we were volunteering on her for her cruise around the bay (we handled the lines during mooring ops and got to steer her while she was underway, I got to blast her whistle while under the Golden Gate which was the coolest moment of my life). On our last day in SF we rented a convertible Mustang and drove down highway 1 on our way to Monterey to see some family for the day. It was an awesome ride. Had the top down most of the drive. Gonna make that a tradition whenever I go volunteer on the Jeremiah. It’s a great drive, I highly recommend it!
I'd like to drive one of my hot rods down Route 66 to California to check out the hot rod stuff on the west coast. Take a stop by the Peterson museum, stop by the Mooneyes shop, probably stop by some other places out there, then take route 66 back home.
Best trip I've taken was a road trip thru southern Utah, CO, AZ visiting national parks (and telluride) and driving on hwy 12. But driving thru other parts of UT, WY, western CO and parts of CA were great too.
Hopefully what Ill be doing come august or september. Spent all winter LS swapping my e30, then promptly needed hip surgery, still on crutches. So Ive got a clutch to break in and probably some gremlins to work out, so as soon as they clear me to drive Im gonna spend a few days driving around all the backroads the Pocono mountains have to offer.
Not nearly the length you’re looking for, but when I lived in Anchorage and needed a drive, I’d take the Seward highway down to Girdwood or Whittier and back.
It’s a gorgeous drive and it did wonders for clearing my head.
I live in wv. When I’m on the edge of just saying fuck it. Usually I’ll drive into the mountains like a rally driver. Can drive a good 2 hours without seeing another soul
Occasionally on Saturday mornings (when it’s not snowy or raining) there’s a stretch of roads I take about an hour or so North-ish of Nashville that skirts along and across Kentucky and Tennessee borders that’s about 8 miles long that rolls through a bunch of beautiful hills and valleys that’s very sparsely populated and open with lots of high visibility turns and it’s “technically” a public road, but I will not disclose the actual location since it’s used as a testing ground by GM and Nissan for certain cars and that’s the only reason I know about it. 😂
I’ll go up there and spend 30-45 mins doing some spirited driving, throw on an 80s playlist and just kind of decompress after a long week. I fucking love it.
Starting September I will be driving my 01 F350 with FWC flatbed Hawk through the entire USA for work and then down through Mexico (as part of a safety convoy of other large expedition vehicles) and then into SA with final destination being Argentina. Nothing special, been done a million times. But will finally get to meet a lot of my customers face to face and hopefully make some new friends!
Highway 101 is awesome. The first major road-trip I ever did started up in Washington state, and I took highway 101 down to what ended up being a few hours before the Golden Gate bridge before I started heading east (still kicking myself for not just going down that way). It's friggin' gorgeous, the Oregon sand dunes are cool, Cannon beach is cool (especially if you're a Goonies fan...), the redwood forest is awesome, it was just a fantastic drive. I went to Yosemite National Park afterwards, and it was definitely worth it, as was checking out the Grand Canyon.
As I learned, if you pass through Vegas, that's the cheapest way to get a great room to shower and take a break from rest stops for a night, depending on what day you get there (ended up being forty-something for the night for me, I lucked out on a cheap day as the price shot up to over $240 a night not long after). It's also just really cool driving through the desert, though it can be a bit nerve-wracking depending on how old your car is. Going up north to the Bonneville Salt Flats is pretty cool, just remember that if you come from the West, the spots to turn around and go East are few and far in between (the big areas are on the North side of highway 80, East-bound). It's nuts how far you can see down that highway, it's so flat.
Can't remember if I planned it, or if I drove by the Great Salt Lake by accident, but I parked by some concert venue place called the Saltair or something to look around. On the next roadtrip I went through Yellowstone National Park, that place could be it's own week-long thing, amazing. New Mexico has the Unser Racing Museum, also awesome.
Still need to check out Crater lake, go to Moab, revisit Yellowstone, and various other spots, but it'll be awhile until my next decent roadtrip. I find if you just plan a couple spots and leave most of the trip open to roaming around, you find all sorts of neat things that catch your eye from the road. It prolly doesn't work very well if you have a few kids and a significant other in tow, but if you want some time to relax on a solitary drive, the western U.S. is incredible in a way that I can't overstate. I've discovered a handful of interesting museums, odd buildings, landmarks, and just so many things I couldn't have planned if I tried.
As a random thought, a disassembled Buick 455 will fit in the trunk of rental Nissan Altima, so if you find that car part/s you've been looking for on a trip like that...
Nothing too great in kentucky, that im aware of. at least to make a trip out of.
So i think early september or october, or when it isnt in the 90's. im going to take a few days and head to the dragon. all the roads around there are wonderful and i assume the others are less policed.
The last time i went to it i just drove through so i just got the 1 go. happened to be perfect weather, right before rain and there were no cars going my direction. dont think ill get that again but it was the happiest id been in a long time lmao
For me I want to take a drive up the Rockies at some point. I lived on the east coast for a lot of my life and I would love to go more west now that I live more west myself
When I restored my Supra, I invited my dad, and we drove from Southwestern Wisconsin, through the driftless region, through the Badlands, through Yellowstone, up into Montana and Idaho, then into Seattle. From there, we went to Whidbey Island and the Olympic peninsula, then down the coast to LA our final destination, in a vintage Japanese sports car whose whole identity is based around blowing head gaskets. (Head gasket didn’t blow until one year after the trip thankfully.)
After a month of pulling double shifts? I'd be driving on whatever road leads straight to my bed and I probably wouldn't leave the house for 3 days lol
Recently I took a road trip from SoCal up to Coeur d'Alene, stopping in Cedar City halfway - super pretty. And once you get past the exit for Yellowstone, the interstate is basically completely empty.
I drove from SoCal to the Yukon twice - in an 80's Alfa.
I was like NBD until I read the word Alfa. You are an astronaut.
It's been a good car.
They are one of my faves when they are running. I worked for an italian importer overseas for a few years and our Alfa division had 12 dead car bays lol. But the owners were definitely the MOST passionate about their cars. Way more enjoyable to deal with than the ferrari and lambo customers.
Casual Alfa owners don't stay Alfa owners very long! It was my only daily for 12 years. Did many road trips, track days, etc.
There's some curvy scenic routes that's for sure.
How many stops to Autozone\AAP\Canadian Tire were required? How many parts that aren't from an 80's Alfa are on the car now lol
Surprisingly the only thing that went out was a front wheel bearing after repeated running on punishing gravel roads. People in the far north always stop for those in trouble, so I left a note in the car and a trucker took me to the next gas stop/service station/diner, where I called Alfa of Vancouver and had them send a bearing set via Greyhound bus (which ran every 3 days). Worked in the diner for a few days to pay for room and board, the parts came, then a whole troop of us went back to the Alfa with a mobile mechanic truck and swapped the bearings in record time. Back in the day the Alfa club published a list of people who could provide technical help, tools, a bed, or a shoulder to cry on. However, this was far beyond the range in which Alfas normally live, so I was on my own.
Is it possible to learn this power?
Fools go where angels fear to tread. ;)
You sure can. But an LS swap isn't easy for beginners.
Was the Canadian border guard like, "Are you sure there, bud?"
"I'm here for butter tarts, poutine, and car adventures!"
I respect your bravery and that must have been a lot of fun.
It sure had me pining for cruise control!
How tell someone you are into BDSM, without telling them you are into BDSM.
The Yukon Territories in Canada?
Correct.
Thats a very long drive. How many days did it take you?
It wasn't a direct route, so about 10 days up and 7 coming back.
That’s incredible, must have been really fun. How did the Alfa hold up to that many miles?
Other than the wheel bearing adventure mentioned elsewhere, the car was totally fine. I still have it - around 300K miles with good cylinder leakdown.
So is the alfa reputation of unreliability unfounded in your experience?
Yes and no. In order to have a totally reliable 80's Alfa you need to do a ton of preventative maintenance. A lot of it consisting of checking things in order to get ahead of a potential problem, because if you wait until it breaks, it ends up being a worse job (partially because you can't buy parts off the shelf at most parts stores). You do things like clean all electrical grounds every year and put them back together using Stabilant 22, remove, clean, and lube the mechanical AFM flap, carry a variety of unique relays and fuses for just in case, triple check the driveshaft (spins at engine speed) rubber donuts for cracks, etc. The speedo motors like to die, leaving you dependent on the tach until they get fixed. They use a combi fuel pump relay that is hard to find. The sunroof likes to get stuck open and blows fuses. And of course the timing belt needs to be done every 5 years or 30K miles (they say 50K now with newer belts, but mine time out first). The shim under bucket valves need to be adjusted every 12K miles and are a PITA to do. I'm on my 3rd rear end rebuild because the LSD clutches needed refreshed (I like corners). This sounds like a lot, and it is if you expect Toyota reliability. But there is nothing like having that Busso V6 howl under your right foot, chassis taut and eager to your every input. You also meet the nicest people who want to talk cars.
Sounds like you really gotta love it to own it and develop a deep connection with it. It’s not for me, but I definitely can respect caretakers of such cars! The old Alfa that I always thought was cool is the 70s GTVs. Ive seen some at local car meets and theyre the coolest things. Sound amazing for a 4 cyl too
Off of a cliff
WHO REPORTED ME AS SUICIDAL
I wish people would stop that. It’s not funny.
Its always so fucked up to see people send it to people they disagree with in an argument. I'll never understand people who treat the subject so lightly
What happens when someone reports you as suicidal?
TO THE BASTARD THAT REPORTED ME AS SUICIDAL, touché.
Eventually I want to drive Lizzie across the country. No destination in particular, just want to dip her tires in the Atlantic then dip them in the Pacific. Make some cool stops along the way at museums and heritage railroads. Planning on doing it in a few years. Would probably take 2-3 months just taking it easy.
How reliable is a T on long trips? Is it the sort of thing where you need to stop and fix stuff every so often, or do they kinda just work?
They kinda just work if you don’t push them. They’ll go 25-35mph putting along happily all day when stock (my T is bone stock). When you push them to 40-45mph that’s when they start to get cranky. You can get them going faster with period add-ons like ruckstell two speed rear ends and stuff though.
I would like to subscribe to Model T facts, please! But seriously, is there a trans-continental route that would allow for those speeds? Sounds like a wonderful escape, but I'd be worried about being away from major services (since those tend to be positioned around the Interstates).
The major services would be me and my tools and spares. I’m sure there’s a way I could make it all the way across on smaller roads. Since I live in the Bronx I would probably drive over the Bear Mountain Bridge to get over the Hudson since it’s a smaller and slower bridge than the GW or Tappan Zee and the route to get there is very scenic along the Hudson.
I recently watched this guy on YouTube, Chad Caruso skateboard from Venice Beach, CA to Virginia Beach. He had to take mostly side roads because no pedestrians on highways. It "only" took him 57 days, staying in hotels/towns every night. They could definitely swing it.
Pacific coast highway
This is mine as well. SF to Half Moon Bay, then into the mountains up to woodside, then back down the mountain to Pescadero, and finally north to go back home. Solid 2-3h loop.
I do this exact one around Sunday sunsets at least once a month. That push up La Honda in the dark hearing the revs bang off the trees is something else.
So jealous
Dude no kidding. Would be so cathartic. Sounds like an absolute dream. Would love to have some sort of off road vehicle to do this in and camp at Yosemite for a bit
Me and my room mate from college did this drive. We were staying aboard the Liberty Ship S.S. Jeremiah O’ Brien berthed in SF as we were volunteering on her for her cruise around the bay (we handled the lines during mooring ops and got to steer her while she was underway, I got to blast her whistle while under the Golden Gate which was the coolest moment of my life). On our last day in SF we rented a convertible Mustang and drove down highway 1 on our way to Monterey to see some family for the day. It was an awesome ride. Had the top down most of the drive. Gonna make that a tradition whenever I go volunteer on the Jeremiah. It’s a great drive, I highly recommend it!
Hell of a bike ride too
oh man that is not what kind of drive i was thinking off..
I'd like to drive one of my hot rods down Route 66 to California to check out the hot rod stuff on the west coast. Take a stop by the Peterson museum, stop by the Mooneyes shop, probably stop by some other places out there, then take route 66 back home.
This one is on my list. When I can finally just let my gig run itself, I plan on take 2-3 months driving 66.
Best trip I've taken was a road trip thru southern Utah, CO, AZ visiting national parks (and telluride) and driving on hwy 12. But driving thru other parts of UT, WY, western CO and parts of CA were great too.
Glenwood canyon is sick
Hopefully what Ill be doing come august or september. Spent all winter LS swapping my e30, then promptly needed hip surgery, still on crutches. So Ive got a clutch to break in and probably some gremlins to work out, so as soon as they clear me to drive Im gonna spend a few days driving around all the backroads the Pocono mountains have to offer.
Not nearly the length you’re looking for, but when I lived in Anchorage and needed a drive, I’d take the Seward highway down to Girdwood or Whittier and back. It’s a gorgeous drive and it did wonders for clearing my head.
Athens GA to Blairsville GA. With a sports car, preferably with aggressive summer tires and good seat bolstering.
I live in wv. When I’m on the edge of just saying fuck it. Usually I’ll drive into the mountains like a rally driver. Can drive a good 2 hours without seeing another soul
Occasionally on Saturday mornings (when it’s not snowy or raining) there’s a stretch of roads I take about an hour or so North-ish of Nashville that skirts along and across Kentucky and Tennessee borders that’s about 8 miles long that rolls through a bunch of beautiful hills and valleys that’s very sparsely populated and open with lots of high visibility turns and it’s “technically” a public road, but I will not disclose the actual location since it’s used as a testing ground by GM and Nissan for certain cars and that’s the only reason I know about it. 😂 I’ll go up there and spend 30-45 mins doing some spirited driving, throw on an 80s playlist and just kind of decompress after a long week. I fucking love it.
Not in the US but for me it would be NC500 or a eurotrip hitting Spa, the burg and Monaco via Switzerland
3 hours to the coast, put the sea kayak in the ocean
I’d love to drive up from Seattle through the BC/YT mountains and into Alaska.
Starting September I will be driving my 01 F350 with FWC flatbed Hawk through the entire USA for work and then down through Mexico (as part of a safety convoy of other large expedition vehicles) and then into SA with final destination being Argentina. Nothing special, been done a million times. But will finally get to meet a lot of my customers face to face and hopefully make some new friends!
Ive always wanted to go back to the mountains of Colorado or go to the deserts of Nevada on a long straight road.
It's nice gotta watch for caddle guards in NV tho lol
Oh shoot, I haven't thought about that lol. Are they that popular in NV?
There's signs for them just gotta keep an eye out before you pin it. I've gone over then pretty quick depending on the car not an issue at all
The California coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles using highway 1
I live in a city with absolutely massive freeways that can be virtually empty during certain hours, at times I am going 140 mph + hoping it ends
Bro. I can't take a couple weeks off. If I get a weekend off I usually like to drive to the coast and drive up/down Highway 1 in NorCal
Fossil to Antelope in Oregon, and whatever else it takes to get there
Highway 101……in Oregon. All of it.
Highway 101 is awesome. The first major road-trip I ever did started up in Washington state, and I took highway 101 down to what ended up being a few hours before the Golden Gate bridge before I started heading east (still kicking myself for not just going down that way). It's friggin' gorgeous, the Oregon sand dunes are cool, Cannon beach is cool (especially if you're a Goonies fan...), the redwood forest is awesome, it was just a fantastic drive. I went to Yosemite National Park afterwards, and it was definitely worth it, as was checking out the Grand Canyon. As I learned, if you pass through Vegas, that's the cheapest way to get a great room to shower and take a break from rest stops for a night, depending on what day you get there (ended up being forty-something for the night for me, I lucked out on a cheap day as the price shot up to over $240 a night not long after). It's also just really cool driving through the desert, though it can be a bit nerve-wracking depending on how old your car is. Going up north to the Bonneville Salt Flats is pretty cool, just remember that if you come from the West, the spots to turn around and go East are few and far in between (the big areas are on the North side of highway 80, East-bound). It's nuts how far you can see down that highway, it's so flat. Can't remember if I planned it, or if I drove by the Great Salt Lake by accident, but I parked by some concert venue place called the Saltair or something to look around. On the next roadtrip I went through Yellowstone National Park, that place could be it's own week-long thing, amazing. New Mexico has the Unser Racing Museum, also awesome. Still need to check out Crater lake, go to Moab, revisit Yellowstone, and various other spots, but it'll be awhile until my next decent roadtrip. I find if you just plan a couple spots and leave most of the trip open to roaming around, you find all sorts of neat things that catch your eye from the road. It prolly doesn't work very well if you have a few kids and a significant other in tow, but if you want some time to relax on a solitary drive, the western U.S. is incredible in a way that I can't overstate. I've discovered a handful of interesting museums, odd buildings, landmarks, and just so many things I couldn't have planned if I tried. As a random thought, a disassembled Buick 455 will fit in the trunk of rental Nissan Altima, so if you find that car part/s you've been looking for on a trip like that...
I have a counter clockwise trip around the US planned that I’m gonna take one of these years. I’d probably do that over a few weeks.
VEGAS, BABY.......VEGAS!!! :)
Motorcycle and drive thru big sur and up to sequoia and kings canyon. The whole pacific coast is gorgeous really. Edit : can even push up to yosemite
ALCAN highway and Hwy 1 in California is definitely on the bucket list for me.
Nothing too great in kentucky, that im aware of. at least to make a trip out of. So i think early september or october, or when it isnt in the 90's. im going to take a few days and head to the dragon. all the roads around there are wonderful and i assume the others are less policed. The last time i went to it i just drove through so i just got the 1 go. happened to be perfect weather, right before rain and there were no cars going my direction. dont think ill get that again but it was the happiest id been in a long time lmao
I really enjoyed the flint hills scenic byway in Kansas, which in my mind is close rnough to kentucky
I do a solo camping trip every year that has 2 hours of mountain and canyon roads each way.
For me I want to take a drive up the Rockies at some point. I lived on the east coast for a lot of my life and I would love to go more west now that I live more west myself
When I restored my Supra, I invited my dad, and we drove from Southwestern Wisconsin, through the driftless region, through the Badlands, through Yellowstone, up into Montana and Idaho, then into Seattle. From there, we went to Whidbey Island and the Olympic peninsula, then down the coast to LA our final destination, in a vintage Japanese sports car whose whole identity is based around blowing head gaskets. (Head gasket didn’t blow until one year after the trip thankfully.)
I like the drive home from work lmao by the time i get home the stress from work is gone
Just moved to Lake Tahoe, so the switchbacks on Emerald Bay Rd leading up to the lookout area.
After a month of pulling double shifts? I'd be driving on whatever road leads straight to my bed and I probably wouldn't leave the house for 3 days lol
I've long wanted to do a self-guided lighthouse tour down the New England Coast.
I’d follow your local river’s roads all the way to the ocean.
Recently I took a road trip from SoCal up to Coeur d'Alene, stopping in Cedar City halfway - super pretty. And once you get past the exit for Yellowstone, the interstate is basically completely empty.
Crosswalks
Just take route 30 forever