1978 Alfa Romeo Sport

Sedan

2.0L 1961CC 120Cu. In. l4 GAS DOHC Naturally Aspir

Manual

Clear

GAS

This is a 1978 Sports Sedan in overall good condition. I believe I am the second owner of this car. The car was bought new by a gentleman back in 1978. He drove the car until the mid 90's or so when he could no longer drive due to health reasons. The car was parked at a friend's home in Upstate NY. The car was left parked in the same garage until 2005 or so when I happen to pass by the home while the garage door was open. I did a double take on the car and convinced my reluctant wife to stop so I can check out the car. Indeed it proved to be a Alfa Sports Sedan in relatively sound condition with about 31,000 miles. I couldn't resist this opportunity to take on a true Barn Find as I am sure every true car enthusiast dreams about..... it would have been nicer if the barn find was a 101 Sprint, but as true Alfisti, any Alfa is a great find.,... I am sure all Alfistis out there will agree. Besides I had a '79 Sprint Veloce back in the mid 80's which started a love of Transaxle Alfas, mostly V6's, which still goes on to this day.... The dynamics of the chassis along with the transaxle and dedion set up truly makes it almost uniquely rewarding for those of us who take pride in finessing the baulky shift-linkage up and down the gears like broom stick in a molasses. This car is definitely not for everyone, but for those few of us who care to understand the idiosyncracies... what a uniquely rewarding car with feedback overload.... Once I transported the car to my mechanic, the fuel tank was drained, all fuel filters were changed, the spica was converted to dual Dellortos which were just rebuilt and perfectly synchronized along with European air filter set up.... the heavy a/c set up was removed. Coolant system was flushed.... Engine oil was changed a few times... Complete tune up was preformed so the car can start on a single turn of the ignition key, literally.... All brake pads were changed and few calipers were rebuilt along with new brake hoses.. brake booster and master cylinder was good and still works well.... All three drive shaft dohnuts and transmission side mounts and rear block was changed ..... the original catalytic converter was replaced with a free flow pipe and rear muffler was replaced with NOS Ansa unit..... The Campagnolo turbina wheels were switched to the Campagnolo honey-comb style magnesium wheels which complements the look of the car along with 195/60/15 Pirelli's including the spare. The clutch master and slave cylinders were replaced so the clutch feels as new. The synchros including the second all work fine without any need to double clutch, although I do it out of habit anyway..... the original owner had done a valve job in the early to mid 80's so the engine runs very strong... I believe the front suspension was rebuilt at that time, so the steering on the car feels very tight... I had replaced the rear shock a few years ago with NOS set up... Overall the car starts very easily and revs smoothly without any hiccups... the suspension is very tight and brakes work well.... clutch is very light and progressive and all synchros work fine.... the driveshaft is relatively well balanced although there is light vibration at 3K or so... All the electricals work fine including indicator lights, instruments, windshield wipers, horns and ventilator fans.. the heating is actually very good on this car... The quite burble of the Ansa at idle which crescendos to a bassy bark at higher rpm is very uniquely Alfetta and sounds about as nice as the "F" cars of this vintage to this pair of discerning ears. The weakest point of the car is the paint and desparately needs a new coat of paint. The paint when I picked up the car was fair enough except for few scratches and dings... there was a fine crack in the left quarter panel indicative of past accident and bondo work, which has now become obvious cracks on the paint....Over the years,I managed to keep the car in the garage most of the times, but in the last year so so, it has been sitting outside. Even with Evolution 4 layered cover, condensation has taken place and the paint over the hood and roof became crazed and little bursts of superficial rust spots have shown up all over the hood and roof and will need to be addressed in the near future... there is one rust spot in front of the metal trim of the front windshield and similar site in the left rear window metal trim.....Rest of where metal trims meet the paint is surprisingly good (if you know these cars, you know what I am talking about).. On the positive side, the interior is consistent with 36K mile car with nicely patinaed leather interior, dash and instruments. All the door cards are near mint and most doors show no sagging and still closes with a "ping" of a much newer car... In summary, I had a blast owning this car and bringing it back from a long term hibernation... In the case of Alfettas perhaps more so than earlier classical Alfas, mechanical maintenance has to be very precise due to the sophistication of the design and the cost for this precise work can be quite prohibitive....Mechanically, the car is in very sound condition, probably better than most Alfettas out there .... but it needs to go to a new owner who is willing to allocate the funds or willing to spend the time to do the proper cosmetic restoration the car deserves. With a new coat of paint, it could be one of the best Alfetta Sports Sedan out there. I have put the reserve very low to reflect its needs.. It is a fun great car and a survivor, and I hope it finds great new owner soon. Feel free to ask any questions and all inspection should be completed before end of auction. This car is 35 years old and is being sold "as-is" without any warranties what-so-ever... I will help with shipping best way I can... Good Luck with bidding.On Apr-24-13 at 18:34:12 PDT, seller added the following information: Please view youtube: http://youtu.be/AhipIUPLkwYOn Apr-24-13 at 18:43:21 PDT, seller added the following information: Correct youtube: http://youtu.be/AhiplUPLkwY Enjoy