Classic Alfa's as Daily's

[Polyal]

Hey People...just wondering how many people here still use their classic Alfa's for the daily duties?

Im on the verge of moving state and will hopefully live <15-20kms from work, so I am tempted to advance the restoration of my '74 GTV.

I actually drove it from Melb to Hobart with basically no issues as such. What I need to fix is the heater and gearbox (2nd is dead) and a few little things to get a RWC.

Im thinking it wont be that bad on fuel, the only thing will be no AC but people used to do it so how hard could it be.

[AikenDrum105]

You bet !  my '66 super does the Box Hill <> Sunshine  daily commute.    40km each way.     

I, uh, haven't yet advanced the cosmetic restoration - it shows    ....     Mechanically it's pretty good.

Go for it !

Cheers,

[werdna]

I do. Makes the drive to work very enjoyable, however I only travel around 15 k's each way.
I should probably add that I take the long way home 4/5ths of the week just to hear the 1750. It puts the biggest smile on my face.
I've never had aircon in any of my cars, and I live on the Gold Coast - its fine. I did last summer here in my other car (Citroen GS), according to the guys on aussie frogs it's one of the hottest cars to drive! Basically, what i'm saying is, you could be in a hotter, stuffier car. On the upside you get to listen to the Alfa 4 cylinder every day (if that wasn't incentive enough!)

Andrew

[Polyal]

Excellent, well all going well I will have confirmation next week of the move to Brisbane. Working in Fortitude Valley so I want to find something close enough but still have a little drive.

All very encouraging...any advice or tips for what I should prioritize? Ive had the brakes system fully rebuilt.

[ItalCarGuy]

Well you'll have Cameron at Automotion about one suburb away from your work if you need help too! One of his daily drivers is a Giulia Super.

You're coming up as starts to get hot. I'd get your radiator checked as sitting in traffic could roast your car up here quite easily. I drove my Super every day for a few years in peak hour and I never had a problem. Other than my earth lead dropping coming loose of my battery in the middle of a bridge, snapping my clutch cable in the middle of 5 lanes of traffic in peak hour... Nah, its great fun driving a classic to work. It sure beats the work car (Toyota Yaris) I have to drive now.

[werdna]

On the subject of overheating, should I look at getting the radiator recored or flushing the system before summer?

[ItalCarGuy]

Flushing is easy so thats a good start. But since you haven't had your cars for ages it'd be peace of mind to get them checked. I reckon the 105 engines run pretty cool anyway. I only had the original single core in mine, but I will be doing the same as what AikenDrum105 has done and getting it recored with three rows. Probably overkill but I'll feel better about it!

[AikenDrum105]

Tell you what,  I have a very efficient cooling system now....   a whole bunch of mucking about traced back eventually to a dodgy fuse on the electric fan..  eesh.   It's about $300-$400 for a triple core.   

When I was using the Duetto for the same daily commute a few years back - the clutch master rod wore a hole through the release fork and let go at a set of lights.   If you get the master piston back in fast enough you don't lose *all* the clutch fluid...   I found a washer in the toolbox and cupped it a little to sit between the rod and the fork.   Then I , uh,  drove it that way for months before welding up the fork...   Hee hee.   

For daily duty the cooling system needs to be healthy for peak hour gridlock.  It's hard to test for that -idling the car in the driveway just doesn't get the temps up like gridlock does    I'd bleed all the hydraulics,  check your pads have some meat on them,   Oil levels in gbox and diff.  Quick grease gun on the tailshaft nipples is worth it too. 

Might be prudent to chuck a new fan belt on and throw the old one in the boot - they love to go on a hot day too. 

Wheel alignment will make sure you don't start scrubbing out the front tyres - happens all too quickly when using the car daily.

Speaking of fuses - check they're all gripped reasonably tightly in their tongues - if they spin freely they're too loose and will annoy you with mysterious cut-outs when it's hot - just bend the tongues closer together to get a tight fit fix it.   

If you haven't run the fuel tank right down in years,  might be worth flushing it out / renewing the fuel filter  - crud in the bottom of the tank is the last thing you want when you're running on fumes and stuck in gridlock and you're horribly late and it's 40 deg outside and the guy in the SS ute just cut in front of you for the 4th time and your grammar checker doesn't work and ...    ahh happy memories.   

Cheers,

[Beatle]

Waterpump is probably more likely to let you down than the radiator.  Buy a spare and keep it in the boot.

Speaking of spares, check the spare tyre, jack and tools.

About the only real irritating thing I found when using the Siuper as a daily, was fogging of inside glass on those wet, rainy, but not-cold-enough-to-put-the-heater-on-full days.  All the rest was just like driving a modern car except draftier, noisier, slower, but much more fun.  The upside is that older cars usually have much better all round vision so I found it quite easy to negotiate traffic.

Beware those paying attention to your car, but not paying attention .

If you want a challenge, try driving a Duetto on 40+ degC days on roads dominated by 3-carriage road trains carrying livestock.........   Now THAT is getting back to nature.  You end up with nature all over the screen, the seats, in your ears and in your teeth.........

[Barry Edmunds]

I have used my Super as a daily driver for over four years now with few if any downsides so I back-up the positive comments from others. The upside is the admiring looks and compliments that you will get every day, something that few drivers of any of the moderns will ever experience. The smile on your face at the end of each trip, no matter how long, will be well worth it.

[Polyal]

Cooling system is a good point! I did have it looked over by a specialist in Melb and drove it through the outskirt so I know it can handle a bit of traffic...dont know about grid lock though.

Ive had a new water pump in the last 3 months so thats covered, I think getting the radiator looked at or replaced is a good idea.

[Davidm1600]

I used my '69 S1 1750 GTV as my daily driver for the best part of 11-12 years.  I actually never worried re any of the things you guys are all talking about.  Just normal servicing, new tyres, battery (when needed), kept an eye on the oil level, did some rebuilding of the brakes (slave cylinder etc), and suspension (including Koni yellows).  Apart from that all was fine. 

Rust creeping out was what in the end made me put it away under covers in the lockup garage (to be restored one day), and went and bought my 156 sportwagon.  Before the GTV I had a 2L Berlina.  Same thing as re the GTV re running issues.

Would be more than happy to have another 105 though as a daily driver, as much as I appreciate the comforts, and safety aspects of the "modern" Alfa, which by the way is itself now 9 years old.  When I first bought my '69 Fiat 124 sports, it was 11 years old and back then I thought of it already as a classic car.  How time changes perspectives.

[Mr Frog]

'69 105 is the daily driver when I'm in Cairns (down from POrt Moresby). Great in the dry season, pretty ugly in the wet. Had a bit of a rebuild in 97. about to get some body and interior bits and pieces redone. Just get the basic service done and it's fine. replaced the distributor about 12 months ago. Put a new brake booster in about 6 months ago.

[LaStregaNera]

Excellent, well all going well I will have confirmation next week of the move to Brisbane. Working in Fortitude Valley so I want to find something close enough but still have a little drive.

All very encouraging...any advice or tips for what I should prioritize? Ive had the brakes system fully rebuilt.

If you're going to be working in the valley, I'd highly recommended avoiding driving - Brisbane traffic blows goats. I daily drove my GTV for a bit over a year, but had a half hour run in each direction, inner-ish suburb to a more industrial area, so was always going opposite direction. As lovely as a 105 is to drive, an in airconditioned car you care about is a shit place to be in traffic in the Brisbane inner city, especially during thunderstorm season (summer).
Trust me on this one.

[Craig_m67]

Excellent, well all going well I will have confirmation next week of the move to Brisbane. Working in Fortitude Valley so I want to find something close enough but still have a little drive.

All very encouraging...any advice or tips for what I should prioritize? Ive had the brakes system fully rebuilt.

If you're going to be working in the valley, I'd highly recommended avoiding driving - Brisbane traffic blows goats. I daily drove my GTV for a bit over a year, but had a half hour run in each direction, inner-ish suburb to a more industrial area, so was always going opposite direction. As lovely as a 105 is to drive, an in airconditioned car you care about is a shit place to be in traffic in the Brisbane inner city, especially during thunderstorm season (summer).
Trust me on this one.

^this^

Although it would of course depend on the commute and if your employer is offering parking
The valley has a decent (and very entertaining) train station, where are you planning to live?

I work in the valley, live in the city (south bris).
I couldnt stand wasting an hour and more each way stuck in a car, did too much of that in London