164 'Restoration'

[stustustu123]

I've PM'd you the long story!

Short story: it's still in my garage with lots of toasty bits.

[V AR 164]

Small update,

The rear bumper on the car had some paint peeling off. I sanded it down to make it flat and then painted it using a can of spray paint I got mixed up at Supercheap Auto.

Before:


After:


Big improvement for 2 hours work!

Thanks, Andrew.

[stustustu123]

Wow, that looks really great! Good work blending it all in.

How long does it take to get the spray cans mixed? Can they just do it on the spot or do you need to order/wait? Wonder how well they can do some of the other Alfa colour codes.

[V AR 164]

Hi stustu,

They can mix it while you wait, generally takes 10-15 mins and costs $32.99. The colour match is almost perfect, would not even know.
I actually went back this evening and got a can of Rosso Alfa 130 mixed up, painting the fuel filler cap tomorrow, as well as touching up some stone chips etc. Just use a gloss clear coat as it the base colour coat comes out in a matte - semi gloss finish.

Thanks, Andrew.

[V AR 164]

Hey guys,
Another small update -
Today I got tired of looking at the bottom front skirt under the bumper on my car. So I bought some satin black spray paint and decided to paint it.

As you can see, there were parts where paint was scraped off and it looked horrible.



After washing it all down, I masked it all up and sprayed the first coat being a primer.



Then the first coat of black was applied

[V AR 164]

After 3 coats of paint, I peeled off the masking tape






Not bad for an afternoons work 😄

Thanks, Andrew.

[Beatle]

How damn cool is this thread!!!!    Relatively experienced Alfisti asking a 15yo questions about Alfas     And a 164 being saved.   Just when I'd started to lose hope for our planet, it seems it's in very capable hands.

You are doing a great job Andrew and don't forget to stand back and admire your work mate.  Also say this out load a few times:  "My first car was a red Alfa Romeo Busso V6 with a body designed by Pininfarina...."      It'll still sound cool in sixty years (or whatever you'll be calling cool then).

The 164 is more than enough to satisfy a young blokes hunger for a great car, but not so much as to scare the fathers of prospective girlfriends  .  Anyone can love a coupe, but it takes real commitment to the marque to own and love an Alfa sedan.

[stustustu123]

You repair efforts look great.   

Have to admit it's awesome to see someone repairing an early model auto 164 because there really aren't many left that are shown this sort of love. How often to you see a 164 on the road these days, let alone a well kept one? Not very often at all!!

Keep up the great work!!!

[V AR 164]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the kind comments.

I love that white 164! Would be great to find one in perfect condition. White would have to be my favorite colour on the 164, followed by red then black.
Yes it is coming along nicely, however just discovered tonight the alternator isn't working arghhh. Anyway it will get sorted soon along with a new timing belt, water pump and anything else related.

Also, I want to give him a name (the car), I've decided its a he and leaning towards Alfie. Opinions? hahaha

Thanks, Andrew.

[stustustu123]

White is also my fav 164 colour! I see a lot of guys on Alfabb.com state they like white the least, but I think it looks really elegant. Each to their own I guess...

[V AR 164]

Hey guys,

I may purchase similar wheels to these soon, my tyres need replacing so it's a good excuse to change the rims aswell 😋

Any opinions? (Photoshopped)

Thanks, Andrew

[Evan Bottcher]

Looks good, what size are you thinking?

I really like these original rims (are they the Q4 rims?) but I expect they'd be hard to come by...

[V AR 164]

I'm thinking 17' Nothing too big.

I love those too, but yes they are extremely hard to come by and super expensive, I believe they are called Zender Milanos.

Thanks, Andrew.

[stustustu123]

Those pictured by Evan are the genuine Alfa 164Q4/Cloverleaf speedline rims which, as you suspected, are hard to come by.  They look like a split rim but are a one piece unit with plastic bolts to give the split rim appearance.  Quite hard to refurbish damaged ones because of the little decorative plastic bolts.



There are also Zender Milanos which look similar to the above but have a smoother look IMHO. I like them better than the Alfa ones but again they are also very hard to find.

However, You can get these genuine 3-piece rims from NTM which were produced with the SZ/RZ in mind and look very similar.  These are available in a range of sizes up to 19".  Not sure on price however - may not be that cheap!

[VeeSix]

The genuine 164 QV 24 valve wheels and the Zenders are not that hard to come by if you look on a worldwide level, they come up regularly in all conditions, 15 inch wheels are just that little too small for the 164, 17 inch are the best re looks but a pothole will get you eventually, when and where will be luck, either busting the tyre or denting the rim dependant on make, type and strength, bit of a luck game, 16 inch is the best all rounder, still great looks but tyre height good enough to contend with potholes, striking hard objects