alfa 33 identification

[GTi_RSi]

hey guys, my name is jason im italian (which is why i opted for an alfa ) im new here and i dont know alot about older model alfas but tomorrow night i will be recieving my very own alfa romeo 33, now ive searched and searched all over the place to identify this specific model 33, but cant seem to get a 100% correct answer. all i know is its a 1.5 twin carb
it has nothing else but a badge with alfa33 and the green cloverleaf (as seen in pictures below) and also has the oil pressure and water temp guages too which i read came in the cgl version.

the add/person who was selling it has stated that its a TI model, but ive also read that its a green cloverleaf model or a cgl model. and on some sites its states that the TI is the 105hp version other sites say the green cloverleaf is the 105hp type, another site stated that the gold cloverleaf version was the 105hp model and then another site stated that the cgl was the 90hp version. im very confused and dont know who or what to believe.

the owner of the alfa said it had dual webbers which came in the TI i believe? (correct me if im wrong as i most probably am)

i would just like some confirmation on what exact model it is (its a 1985 btw) and if its not too much to ask could someone give me a brief rundown on what model is best out of the few stated above?

sorry for the lack of pictures but these were the only snapshots i got with my camera phone.







thanks guys much appreciated, and look forward to associating with you guys soon.

[GTi_RSi]

never mind guys, had some help on another alfa forum, and they said its a 1.5 Ti Quadrifoglio Verde or the green cloverleaf version with 105hp and much more sportier interior.

[Victor Lee]

Hi Jason,

You are correct.  This is a 33 Green Clover Leaf.

Back in 1984, the 33 Gold Clover Leaf was a single carb 85 BHP version.  The 33 Green Clover Leaf was the sportier 105 BHP version.  Then the single carb was dropped and the 33 Gold Clover Leaf came with twin carb.  I know this because I bought the single carb Gold CL and then the twin carbs Gold CL came out a few months later.  I was really peed about that.

I recall the main differences between the Gold and Green:

Gold: Black front/rear bumpers and side skirts (The single carb didn't come with side skirts).  Dark grey colour bottom half of doors.
Green: Body colour front/rear bumpers and black side skirts. Also black plastic 1 inch extended air dam at bottom of front bumper.
Gold had headlight wipers; Green had hi pressure squirters.
Gold had steel rims; Green has alloy rims.
Gold had trip computer; Green has extra guages.
Gold had silver colour multi horizontal grill; Green has black single horizontal grill.
Gold had standard type drivers and front seats; Green had sportier body hugging seats and mesh headrests.
Gold had wooden steering wheel and matching gearknob.  Green had leather wheel and gearstick.

I noticed on your pics that you are missing the 1 inch extended air dam and the steering wheel has been changed?

Cheers

Victor

Additional info:  the Twin Carb Gold Clover Leaf was rated at 95 BHP

[GTi_RSi]

hi victor,

thankyou for that much needed info, i now can see the differences between the 2.

yes the steering wheel has been changed, (not by me) thats how it was when we put a deposit on it. its an after market one, i can tell my the imprinted manufacturer name (autotechnica).
im assuming the extended air dam is the pipe that connects to the airbox correct? that wont be a problem as i will be makiing up a cold air feed for it anyways.

i have another question, later on i want to give the car a better look and i was thinking about the alfa 33 veloce front bar and Ti rear boot wing, now for the front is it a different shape being series 2 and will it fit properly onto my s1 alfa? and if so where would i be able to find someone in australia that can get one for me?

thankyou for the info again.

[Victor Lee]

Hi Jason,

Nope.  It was literally an "extension" that was screwed/bolted onto the bottom of the front bumper.  It made the bumper 1 inch lower.  It was black and made out of bumper material.  If I recall it came in three pieces, left, right and centre.  The centre bit was only 1 foot long.  I wanted one for my 33 GoldCL but it was over $150 (back in 1984/85!).

I dunno if it had any real aerodynamic properties but just lowered the profile a bit.  If you stick your head underneath the front bumper, you should still see the mounting holes.  I dare say your's is not on the car because maybe the previous driver probably ran over something and tore it off??

A mate of mine had the 33 GreenCL (like yours) and put the Zender kit on it.  It looked hot!   The kit came with a rear wing.

I'm afraid my knowledge on series 2 33's aren't too flash.  The later 33's (1.7 litre engines) were phyisically different from the 1984/85 models...is that what you are referring to?  Are these 33's called series 2?

Autoshine in Melbourne is the Zender importer.  They may have a lead on where to find Zenders for the early 33's.

Cheers for now

Victor

[GTi_RSi]

Hi Jason,

Nope.  It was literally an "extension" that was screwed/bolted onto the bottom of the front bumper.  It made the bumper 1 inch lower.  It was black and made out of bumper material.  If I recall it came in three pieces, left, right and centre.  The centre bit was only 1 foot long.  I wanted one for my 33 GoldCL but it was over $150 (back in 1984/85!).

I dunno if it had any real aerodynamic properties but just lowered the profile a bit.  If you stick your head underneath the front bumper, you should still see the mounting holes.  I dare say your's is not on the car because maybe the previous driver probably ran over something and tore it off??

A mate of mine had the 33 GreenCL (like yours) and put the Zender kit on it.  It looked hot!   The kit came with a rear wing.

I'm afraid my knowledge on series 2 33's aren't too flash.  The later 33's (1.7 litre engines) were phyisically different from the 1984/85 models...is that what you are referring to?  Are these 33's called series 2?

Autoshine in Melbourne is the Zender importer.  They may have a lead on where to find Zenders for the early 33's.

Cheers for now

Victor

ahh yes i see now what you mean, you may be right with the ripping it off part, hehe. i had a similar lip on my old corolla, but it was off an mx73 toyota cressida (improvisation haha) and it also came in two pieces, they slotted together.

i would definitely like to put either the zender or the veloce type front bar on (just the front bar) and also the rear boot wing off the 33 1.5 TI, with some nice wheels and lowered abit and i think i would be done in the cosmetic department

(dont take my word for it on this part below but its what i have studied so far lol)
my car is the series 1 (83 to early 86?), i believe the series 2 33's (86 to 89 i recall?) were the same bodywise but had different interior the introduction of the 1.7l motor and different styled rims and series 3 (90+?) were the facelift models with the long rear garnish between the lights (or tail lamps) and the slantier front end and they were commonly fuel injected not carburettor.

is there a website link for autoshine? actually wait a minute i remember seeing thier business card in my glove box ill have to give them a ring sometime and get a quote

cheers for the replies guys.

anyways i finally got it! haha man its got some balls! and i didnt even rev over 6k yet lol only stalled it once coming up my driveway and the clutch is really wierd as im not used to it. but man does she fly! theres a small exhaust leak as in my driveway it backfired through the carb lol and the guy i bought it off tinkered with the fuel mixture and its running slightly rich. but all in all its awsome! oh and i slammed on the brake trying to go for the accelerator a few times lol but i adjusted the seat and steering column and now its all good, not as hard as i thought it would be, and holy crap does it handle well! i spun the tyres by accident doing a hill start in the dry weather and it just kept spinning until i changed to second! the only thing i dont like about this car is the gear shifter, way too wobbly and i cant tell sometimes if its in gear or not lol.

[Victor Lee]

Hi Jason,

You WILL have some fun in that car!  Hope you haven't got big feet with those pedals!

Funny you should mention what u want to do with your car .... that's exactly what I did with my 33! .... front bar and rear wing!  Couldn't afford the side skirts and rear bumper apron at the time!   The Zender front bar is actually a bottom apron that covers the bottom half of the entire front bumper.  Gives it a much aggressive stance.  The rear wing is a solid rubber material, four vertical uprights...it's heavy...much sure the gas struts work!

Noticed you are in Queensland ... The Club is having its annual National get together (called Alfesta) this Easter at Mooloolaba.  Anywhere near you?

Check the QLD Club's site about coming along and perhaps showing off your new pride and joy at the Show N Shine display on the Sunday.  See:  http://www.aroca-qld.com/special_event.php

Come along on the Sunday if you have the time, (there's a whole bunch of us coming from Victoria)!!   

Otherwise join AROCA QLD later and talk Alfas face-to-face with other Alfisti.  And keep us informed about your car online here!

Victor

[GTi_RSi]

Hi Jason,

You WILL have some fun in that car!  Hope you haven't got big feet with those pedals!

Funny you should mention what u want to do with your car .... that's exactly what I did with my 33! .... front bar and rear wing!  Couldn't afford the side skirts and rear bumper apron at the time!   The Zender front bar is actually a bottom apron that covers the bottom half of the entire front bumper.  Gives it a much aggressive stance.  The rear wing is a solid rubber material, four vertical uprights...it's heavy...much sure the gas struts work!

Noticed you are in Queensland ... The Club is having its annual National get together (called Alfesta) this Easter at Mooloolaba.  Anywhere near you?

Check the QLD Club's site about coming along and perhaps showing off your new pride and joy at the Show N Shine display on the Sunday.  See:  http://www.aroca-qld.com/special_event.php

Come along on the Sunday if you have the time, (there's a whole bunch of us coming from Victoria)!!   

Otherwise join AROCA QLD later and talk Alfas face-to-face with other Alfisti.  And keep us informed about your car online here!

Victor

victor you are absolutely on the money with having fun! i have size 11 feet but ive managed to get used to it already with shoes on after about 1/2 an hour of driving it around my area hehe.

haha nice, i dont think i really need side skirts as this model (as mentioned previously by you) has the black side skirts, which i will eventually get my uncle to color code them with the rest of the body and i personally like the rear bar, not such a fan of the very plain boxy looking rear bar of the TI to be honest. but the TI wing and veloce front bar are a must! plus lowering the car 30-40mm or so as it looks abit like a 4wd at the moment haha, no problem with the wing on the boot hatch it has brand new gas shocks

yes im in queensland (gold coast) but unfortunately im more than 2 hours away and im currently unemployed and broke lol, so petrol would be the main factor here. but i would really love to come, if it had been held later on this year it would have been a possibility. but i will make sure in the future i will attend a alfeta meeting and put faces to names

now thats dedication! all the way from victoria! wow good work!

is there any kind of members cars section on this forum? as i can post there and keep you guys up to date with the little beast!

cheers for now.

[GTi_RSi]

also, i have discovered a rattling noise not sure where exactly its coming from but its pretty audiable, my first thought was a big end bearing (i hope not!)

it only happens on deceleration between 3500rpm and 4500rpm. cant hear it on idle light accel or full throttle so its not there on acceleration, its not a constant type rattle its more of a sound like metallic objects hitting sheet metal but in an almost ready to take out of the microwave popcorn like fashion if you get what i mean lol ive read it may be the catalytic converter but i am unsure if the alfa 33's came with one from factory? can anyone confirm this? as i really cant afford it to be a big end bearing! the car has 220,000km's on it so im suspecting if it does have a cat that may be the problem. but if it isnt that or a nig end bearing could it be something to do with the tensioner pulley or a loose heat shield etc?

cheers guys

[Victor Lee]

Hi Jason,

I reckon where you've posted this thread is a good place to keep everyone informed of your car.  There is also a Queensland specific forum section as well.

Your car does not have a cat....too early.   Regarding your rattling noise ... if it's on overrun or deacceleration, sounds like collapased muffler?  Hopefully that's what it is and not big end.

Attention other 900 series guys:  other ideas for Jason?

Cheers

Victor

[Ray Pignataro]

I agree Victor it will not be big end on over run. need more infomation as to where the noise is coming from could be viration from exhaust. could be raw fuel igniting in the exhaust. could be timing or fuel mixture not right. to many maybes or couldbes need information specific. cheers Ray.

[GTi_RSi]

thats good to hear, ive also noticed again that on overrun higher than 4000rpm it sounds like a rattle and then gradually as the revs decrease to around 35000rpm its sounds like an off beat ticking, sounds like its a metallic object (say a tiny metal ball) hitting a piece of sheet metal but it varies in patterns the way it ticks, so it could be tick tick pause tick pause tick tick tick whilst decreasing revs in the already mentioned rev range for example. the sounds can be heard coming from the motor but just below my foot well. so it could be the exhaust. if you need any more info i can try and get a video of the ticking for you guys to examine. its alot more audible next to a wall or barrier so i would have to do it with some kind of barrier to make it more audible for you guys.

also ive discovered today i dont have a proper air filter! all it has is this sheet of fine material (looks like some kind of window mesh) just free to move around in there and it serves no real purpose filtering air because its not even sealed so its just moving around in there. so i dont feel safe driving it with that poor excuse of a filter. is there any other alternative rather than chasing down another filter or buying aftermarket ones? im flat broke atm and i need it to be fixed, i was thinking of getting some kind of breathable material and clamping it directly onto the carb for now. or is it fine to drive without a filter? seeing as most people put trumpets on them and dont seem to use filters at all?

cheers guys

[Jekyll and Hyde]

im flat broke atm

An excellent reason to fork out for an air filter.  You'll be even broker if something gets sucked in.