1983 Alfa Romeo Alfetta 2.0
Alfa Romeo's Alfetta began life with the highly successful late 40's 158 openwheel racers.
Since then, the Alfetta name was resurrected by the 116 range of sporty luxury sedans & coupe's of the 80's. (156 is today's current equivalent?)
A major feature of the 116 series Alfetta is its rear-mounted transaxle (gearbox & differential), giving a much sought after 50/50 split weight distribution resulting in superior handling especially in the wet.
This Alfetta has long since shed its luxury road car image.
Bought for A$1,000, it was driven daily for a year before being stripped bare and rebuilt from scratch.
Although an '83 model, it's now just 20 months old.
The Body
This car has a comprehensive 21- point rollcage, homologated by a structural engineer to FIA standards.
All underbody items e.g. hydraulic lines & electrical cables, have been fitted inside the cabin for impactprotection. The cabin itself is protected by a liquid-proof bulkhead and alloy-lined rear parcel shelf. All holes into the cabin including the Cpillars, have been foam filled for fire prevention.
Factory seat and seat belt mounts have been repositioned to suit a pair of custom padded Sparco 2000 seats (the navigator's seat mounted 1 inch lower) and a pair of FIA standard 6-point 3" Sparco harnesses, fitted in the correct angles.
Even the driver's pedals and foot rest have all been modified although not a pedal box.
Other items such as navigator's perforated alloy kickplate, rubber lined alloy floor plates, fire extinguishers, rally trip computer, in-board intercom and other rally-related accessories such as helmet bins, duo emergency triangles and first aid kit have been fitted to complete the basic car.
All instrument gauges are standard although a 7000 rpm shift light sits between the speedometer and tacho.
Finally, the 351mm diameter steering wheel now sits four inches closer towards the driver thanks to a spacer. The rest of the interior is very business-like (read 'Bare').
Everything has a reason otherwise it sits outside the car. Ergonomically, everything important sits where they should and accessible when fully harnessed.
Nuts and Bolts
The engine is standard Alfa 4-cyl twin-cam bar high-compression pistons, mild cams, intake rams and headers. Fully balanced, it is ultrasmooth & reliable at higher revs. Red-lining this engine all day is the norm during competition.
The original 4.1 open differential has been replaced with a 4.56 limited slip diff with 47% lock up. The gearbox is now a semi straight-cut close-ratio item.
Suspension consists of thicker torsion bars in front and custom springs in the rear whilst in tarmac spec. In dirt spec, these torsion bars are adjusted and rear springs replaced, to raise the overall ride height. In both cases, the rears are softer than the fronts for traction purposes.
To compliment the package, the front sway bar is adjustable and competition Bilstein shocks are fitted all round.
Brakes are standard ATE but runs Castrol Competition brake fluid and PAGID pads. Santa Claus will bring four-pot calipers soon. Hopefully.
The Drive
After negotiating the roll-cage (feet first, bum second and rest of you comes next), the first thing you notice is the steering wheel; it's practically in your face. The seat hugs you like a lover and the driving position is both snug and excellent. There is no ignition key. I felt like a dill asking for one.
You rotate the battery killswitch marked 'PANIC BUTTON', turn on the ignition toggle switch and push the starter button. First gear pulls cleanly but runs out quickly too. Select second and the car continues to pull away, not neck breaking but urgently. Third, fourth and fifth follow each other rather closely and without losing much rpm each time. Thanks to the close ratios, it's like having five first-gears. All five gears can be selected before the first corner arrives if you so wished. Stay too long in one gear and the shift light comes on. Shift. If you don't, the engine starts to stutter thanks to the rev-limiter, prematurely set at 7000 rpm.
I won't mention engine sounds. Use your imagination. Hint: very '80's Italian.
This car is very forgiving.
Being equally balanced, it handles almost neutrally. You arrive at a long corner, start your turn and the car just turns in lazily. 'Understeerer' comes to mind initially but when you start to throttle-steer instead, it comes alive. In fact, the way it responds to your right foot is simply astounding. A little throttle and the car starts a wider drift, a gentle easing off brings it closer inwards but lift off suddenly and you better be prepared.
It boasts confidence especially in long wet corners. Having said that, sharper corners are taken the old fashion way; steering wheel, handbrake and lots of crowd-pleasing throttle.
Traction? Thanks to that LSD, this car never seems to lose forward traction despite being thrown about. The brakes are nothing spectacular (they work) but the owner assures me, Volvo four-spot calipers will soon fix that. Yes, Volvo. Cold chill here.
Finally, this car is an example of driving fun without too much emphasis on horsepower. It's simply a joy to drive and more importantly, safe and reliable.
