Alpha Romeo was founded in 1910, and taken over by Fiat in 1986.
Back in the '80s
- Thread starter Escape08
- Start date
Alfalfa Romeo !
manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
This young man was quite the singer!....NOT.
Yes, I've read some papers from the 60s and 70s about brakes and braking, and american cars used to be set up with a lot of rear bias, often locking up the rears before the fronts. Maybe Honda set the brakes up in a similar fashion on purpose. Later on cars were set up to skid front first, this kept the cars going straight on at least.
When EBD came to be the bias shifted more to the rear again for some cars, so be carefull if you get an ABS light in a modern car as you could end up backwards again. There's a lot of braking distance to be gained (easily 10% in low grip situations like rain or snow, less when it's dry) by maximising the rear brake bias, and EBD does that but if it's faulty (not working) you might end up doing a 180 again. But not all cars use the EBD in such a manner, the wear rate of the rear pads is a good indication though.
When EBD came to be the bias shifted more to the rear again for some cars, so be carefull if you get an ABS light in a modern car as you could end up backwards again. There's a lot of braking distance to be gained (easily 10% in low grip situations like rain or snow, less when it's dry) by maximising the rear brake bias, and EBD does that but if it's faulty (not working) you might end up doing a 180 again. But not all cars use the EBD in such a manner, the wear rate of the rear pads is a good indication though.
I have a 1984 Isuzu P'up 1.9. It still has the original (OEM) paint, clutch, starter, distributor, radiator, radiator hose (upper & lower), disc calipers (front), disc rotors (front), brake drums (back), thermostat, windshield weather strips (front & back), transmission (4-speed) & head gasket. Parts that were replaced Hitachi carburetor (hard to find repair kit no longer available in US) to brand new Weber carburetor 32/36 & Emission system deleted. Parts no longer functioning: A/C system, Odometer stopped at 199,999 (odometer gear kit not available - need to replace the whole instrument panel which is also not available), & horn button on steering wheel (modified to an after market horn switch). The funny thing is the oil dipstick is tied on a rope to firewall (if this gets lost or misplaced it will be very hard to find not even in salvage yards or eBay). After market parts installed by Isuzu Dealer: Pioneer Supertuner car stereo w/ Cassette, Intermittent wiper module & switch, USA made CodeAlarm system & to my surprise still are all functional. Although, this was my main work vehicle when back in the days & now it is rarely used. It is only used to haul things because of the flat bed. There are several people (mostly Hispanics) asked me if I am selling my P/U truck and I always declined. It is truly a workhorse and is built like a tank.
manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
Boy could alfalfa sing!
I paid that much for an Escort GT in 1985. Good car too.
Back in the early '80's I was enjoying my period customized '79 Dodge van going to truck in's and weekend partying.
But the motorhead in me had the 318 2 bbl out and the AFB and 340 intake installed with headers.
But the motorhead in me had the 318 2 bbl out and the AFB and 340 intake installed with headers.
Back in the 80's, I mistakenly bought one of these contraptions NEW, and drove it for a couple of weeks as it fell apart under me.
My First and LAST French car ... though I have lusted after a DS21
My First and LAST French car ... though I have lusted after a DS21
I think it was once the fastest turbodiesel coupe available (2,1L 88ish hp?). Or was that only in France? There must have been some Mercedes diesel coupe too.
Renault clearly wasn't at its best...
Renault clearly wasn't at its best...
Those looked cool to me as a 4 year old kid. they dissappeared fast though
They were a great handling car and comfortable - which I was always hunting after.
The trans was very fragile and the petrol engine was noisy and slow. I think Jeep dealers were selling them.
Which engine did you get?
The automatic transmission had bad reputation but was never sold much here. I think it was one of the first from Renault with some kind of electronic brain.
The automatic transmission had bad reputation but was never sold much here. I think it was one of the first from Renault with some kind of electronic brain.
In the early 90s a Spanish (from Spain) family moved into my paper route and they drove one of these and an an AMC eagle 4wd hatchback. They had cool/ weird taste in cars. Either that or the guy was a mechanic at the AMC-Jeep-Renault-Eagle dealer and took the cars on donation.
The manual 5 Speed . Bad synchro design. I don't recall the engine if it was a 1.6 & 1/2 or ??
it was gutless and noisy.
All the non turbo were gutless and noisy haha. I particularly remember the sound of them starting as horrible. Could recognize a Renault just from the sound of the starter motor.
My grandfather had a Renault 25 2.2 (GTX), that was a very comfortable highway cruiser. Made it over 200k Km without major repairs.
My grandfather had a Renault 25 2.2 (GTX), that was a very comfortable highway cruiser. Made it over 200k Km without major repairs.
When I was a teenager, I mistook a 300ZX for a C4 Corvette:
