Abandoned in a field! Can I save this dead Alfa?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ย. 2024
- The Alfa 159 is the everyday Italian Super Saloon, a car too pretty to abandon in a field, but thats what has happened to this car, and Ive made it my mission to try and save it. Can I get it back on the road (its broken...)
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One of the prettiest cars of recent years. I do love a 159 myself; it was my second choice after my ST
I've just looked at the SMMT sales figures for August 2024 in the UK. BMW sold 4,566 cars and Mercedes 4,413. Alfa sold... 79. They are nearly extinct so it has to be saved.
Perhaps for a Museaum. Certainly, could not count on it for a daily driver. Maybe if you fancy walking home on a regular basis.
Im amazed the paintwork hasn't faded or peeled, especially given it is red as these are renowned for suffering lacquer peel.
But as I have said in my own 159 video, they are one of the most beautiful looking cars on the road and always catches the eye.
Good luck with the project!
Fun-fact, Saab were employed to do a lot of development for this car as it was to become the still-born new Saab 9-5 due c. 2005/2006. This would explain the weight of it and the substantial improvement in safety. GM cancelled the Saab version and instead created the 2006 'dame edna' 9-5.. of which I own 2. Nice car, the 159 - I hope it's a good one for you.
Having owned 2 og Saab 9-5 cars, I can see that makes a lot of sense. My previous car was a 2010 159 ti sportwagon and found it to be free of rattles and squeaks even at 120,000 miles on the clock. Solid build quality (front sub frame apart). Always did like a Saab.
Front subframe is the other potential rust problem to check v carefully, especially if the undertray is still on - traps water against it… other than that - fabulous project, Bon chance!
I'd drag it out of that field and have a proper look underneath for rust before spending much time and money on it. That said, if you get it running and it turns out to be as solid as the W123 I would have thought a running engine would be worth a reasonable amount. Really hope it's solid and the damage is limited in the engine!
Its Italian, of course it won't be solid. 😂
Now you have to rename your chanel to "The cemetry of broken classics"... 🙄🙄🙄
Beautiful car, that interior is superb. Fingers crossed, I do hope it's going to be good news and can be saved.
I hope so too!
As a driving car, my best was a 1980 Alfa Guillata with the 2 litre bullet proof double overhead cam engine,which had evolved over 30 years from 1300cc. With the Gearbox and diff’ at the rear with inboard discs. Giving a 50/50 weight distribution. The sound at 6000 RPM cannot be imitated. Unfortunately as with most Alfa’s of that period they were water dissolvable, even in Australian dry climate.
This is the UK equivalent of Derek reviving a Cadillac in a field on VGG. Great video and understand your Alfa passion! Those 2.4 5's are awesome engines..
A beautifal looking Alfa, hope the Alfa is saveable and makes a good project for the channel.
......And that the weather doesn't become too autumnal....☔
Nice find Matt. All the best with that...
For traditional Italian car....read lots of rust repairs and dodgy electrics. Guess you've had the practice with the Crown Vic and MB.... 😂
The interior bit looked like a servo motor to control air distribution...hopefully it's just a motor problem and not an HVAC control problem
The W123 rebound. I really hope the subframes aren't made of swiss cheese.
Parked on grass long time is next worst thing from road salt.
The quality of the leather on Alfa Romeos is absolutely fantastic, far better than the equivalent BMW or Mercedes.
much better, German seats split and wear but these stay good much longer, and are softer leather to start with
I had the '07 159 2.4Jtdm Lusso...black with tan leather. Glorious car...looked as good inside as it did outside...and a decent drive too.
You are truly, outstanding in your field.
boom boom!
Greetings from Ireland - I am in the process of getting a 2010 Wagon 1.9JTDM 8V back pin the road - and like you red one it was left sitting in a driveway for about 15 months - black one and with a few obvious issues - broken rear springs - but good engine and box - belt done and some service history - no engine tray - so no problems with front subframe -- I took a chance on it and I am very pleased with the progress I have made - always liked the 159 Wagon and this one will be a keeper - best of luck with your car.. chancy with slipped belt -- but I think its good enough to save - as long as front and rear sub-frames are OK
Now, that's more like it…! A proper project, a red Alfa Romeo. Do make a project of this one, pleeeease!
Check the front subframe for rust. You will find it if you give it a good poke.
Also will be cheaper faster and less problematic if you just chuck another engine in.
Great find! I share your enthusiasm for the styling. She’s a stunner for sure. Wishing you the very best of luck with the recommissioning, and looking forward to the play-by-play.
I test drove one of these brand new in 2009. I recall that the brakes were very sharp indeed, what became a deal breaker for me was the condition of the interior on what was a two month old car . The silver finish on the trim panels had worn off in several places and the interior was already shabby, the car having covered less than 3000 miles. I walked away and bought a top of the range Jaguar X type which proved to be a very wise investment. I still have the invoice for my brand new Jaguar. I paid £19500 for it, the list price was nearly £36000. This was at the height of the recession after the financial crash. I got a bargain.
I hope you checked BOTH sides for rust, Matt 😉
Im assuming they're both good as the drivers side was..
Lol! I think/hope he learned to do that from a previous vehicle! 😉
@@furiousdriving Ass/u/me! lol
@@bobjohnson205Nope, see above 😂
@@jasonk7072 I see what you mean! lol
I love a diesel and really enjoy working on them so I'm very glad you've got one! Such a beautiful car, you're making me want one again!
What an excellent new series! The design has stood the test of time well and stood those miles well.
There's a cable under the rear seat to pull to release the boot as I remember.
Good luck 🤞, really looking forward to how this goes for you, as I loved your earlier trading up series and seeing you work on a variety of cars.
Beautiful beautiful car.. i ran a 166 2.4 d the 10 valve earlier type and it was pure joy.. the torque was something else
Oh, those timing belts… I know the Alfa service manual would suggest changing the timing belts ever 72k miles, yet every knowledgeable Alfa specialist (e.g., the Alfa Shop, here in Norwich where I am) would insist on changes every 36k. I do hope, for your sake more than mine, that the 159 doesn't rust as the 156 would.
The little box thing at 10:19 is a blend door actuator for the Aircon, goes behind the dash.
ah, thanks!
I'm pausing 37 seconds in to say, Italian steel and long grass 😮😮
I hope my fears are unfounded....
Right back to the video to find out what Matts done to himself 😂
the joke about Italian steel is really getting long in the tooth mate.
The Lancia Beta affair was almost 50 years ago, get over it.
@danieleregoli812 my brother owned two brand new alfas in the 90's and one was taken back by Alfa due to rust issues at 2 years old (hence the 2nd new car, a 154) and it too suffered around the rear sills and front wings...so no, the rust issue wasn't just in the 1970's.
I hope you have a nice rust free day.
Also, the long term parking of any vehicle in long grass is cause for concern over rust where the grass, etc, contacts the underside, holding moisture there.
Definitely one of the best looking Alfas ever made. Hopefully in much better condition than the old Merc.
The timing belts on these do not 'stretch'. The 5 cylinder 2.4 is the 1.9/2.0 used in the other Alfas, Fiats, Saabs and Vauxhalls with another cylinder. It's a Fiat engine (look for the FPT logos) and was the first ever common rail diesel, used first in the 156 in 1997.
Looking at the shredded auxiliary belt, I bet what has happened is that the aux belt tensioner has failed (seized or just collapsed). This results in the aux belt being fired into the cambelt which then jumps a tooth or two. It's happened to me on an Insignia CDTi - down on power, horrible noise........but once the cambelt was removed and refitted with the timing reset it was fine.
The 159 is an okay car but not a great one. They are very heavy and feel it on the road. They can rust badly underneath making repairs to the rear suspension etc very difficult - rotten front and rear crossmembers are common as are rotten rear sills. Unless the engine starts and runs okay after re-timing it, I wouldn't really bother.
Nice - great project. But why is the dashboard apart if it's a cambelt issue? Hope it's not electrical gremlins. Good luck
I think he took some parts off to try in another car
Hope you can make it work. Had a couple of 156s and loved them. Always thought I would get a 159 Amazing looking vehicle.
Brilliant cars. I had a 159 Ti brand new in 2008. Covered 86k miles in 3 years. Still one of my favourite cars I've had.
This could well be quite the find Matt. OK it isn't breathing and doesn't have a pulse either but you have at the very least given her a chance of a somewhat delayed resuscitation at a hopefully not too expensive cost. Many thanks for sharing.
As a 156 sportwagon and 166 owner I often ponder 159 sportwagon with a big diesel ownership. Hard to even think about getting rid of the 156. Really fun drive with the manual transmission. Alfa red like this one too. Once I get the 166 with 3.0 busso back on the road, hopefully I can vacate 159 dreams from my mind.
I remember seeing the Alfa promo presentation in Bournemouth town centre in 2008. They had 3 red alfas on display, the 159, Mito & Brera. I remember seeing them aged 14 and falling in love! Especially with the Brera. Then I got old and sensible and drive a golf 🤣
Oh I hope so, I like the GT Coupe (147) model,I will keep an eye on the fields!
before I watch this, I must say I do have an opinion but I will keep to myself even after the outcome. I wish you every luck
It does look good, the last person looked after it so you have a fighting chance. Just shows you need to replace your timing belts on time or maybe before with an Alfa!
It also has the break-off pin on the crank pullie, in case of timing belt snapping. Which means that you should replace it as well, when installing a new timing belt.
Also, check for subframe rust. Since it was sitting in a tall wet grass for two years.
You'll have plenty of content with this one. Looking forward to it.
These are still a stunning looking car. Good luck with fixing it. Cannot believe that's 18 years old :O
This car´s the reason you wanted the carabinieri to pull you over so that you could drool over their patrol wagon at close range.
That unit on the floor looks like a heater door actuator. would explain why the dash is dissembled as they are a real bugger to at, without removing the entire dashboard
Ooh, you teaser Matt! 😂
The rocker "fuses" are a brilliant piece of design. The Renault 2.1 turbo diesel (as in the R21) has the same feature. My R21 2.1turbo Nevada (Savanna in the UK) ate 2 cam belts and both times we just needed to replace the rockers and away she went!! Hope this is the same story with this beastie. At least you’ll never have this problem with the MX5 which he is a non interference engine. Good luck with this Matt, looking forwards (and crossing fingers 🤞) to the next video !
The 2.4 is actually down on power and less tuneable than the 1.9 16v. But has better low down torque.
The 1.9 16v is a good bullet proof engine if you remove the emissions crap from it.
I've got a Z19DTH in my Astra and love the power it puts out. Only letdown is the crappy M32 gearbox.
Yes Matt and waiting at a petrol ⛽️ station EV charging point to plug in your EV mower would be a nightmare 😂, great looking car 👌🏻 did like them back in the day.
Wow what a find and what a car they are(when working)
Very keen to see the outcome but I'd also look at getting it under cover ASAP! Going to be some good content though!
good luck with that, you will need it.. beautiful cars back in the day though.
I did something really similiar with My Insignia 2.0 cdti that shares a lot with these Alfa engines. The timing belt failed while cruising on the motorway and it broke the camshafts and a few rockers, but after fitting new ones it came back to life. Only problem was getting the injectors out, but i found out that a cheap slide hammer type injector puller designed for mercedes cdi engines works quite well.
Extra part on the floor looked like a heater flap actuator.
Still such a beautiful car! Exciting to see if it can be saved, good luck Matt. 🤞
Im sure it can be, its MOT history is excellent
Diesels are being seen as the root of all evil here.... Good luck with this Alfa! Hope it will be an easy job..
I wish it was the same in Serbia. I am wearing out my cabin air recirculation button, due to all those tractor drivers...😷
Excited to see a fix and flog again!
I've tried to hold it in but after the he who dares wins. He who hesitates. Great to see an alfa saved. Not everyone's cup of tea
Made famous by that Bond car chase around Lake Garda. so deserves saving.
That cars paint looks better sitting untouched for two years than my daily rav4 after a week. How on earth?
Alfa paint and leather are incredible, the leather is the best
Got ya self a bargain there Mat for £60
Scrap the Mirc to make room for it.
I'm looking on with a little bit of envy. I used to have a 2010 2.0 diesel ti sportwagon in the same colour until about 18 months ago and I loved that car. The 2.4 has some serious grunt from very low down.
and so smooth too
@@furiousdriving Indeed, the torque low down from 1500-2000rpm made them very relaxing cars to drive and excellent motorway mile munchers. The 159 has such presence on the road and always gets admiring looks. I consider it to be a very stylish car with good reliability, having had mine for nearly 5 years with relatively few problems once I caught up with preventative maintenance.
Hopefully - fingers crossed - it will be saveable.
These are such nice cars, would be a terrible shame to see it get scrapped
Can see this being a nice series of videos Matt!
Ah Matt, you never fail to outdo yourself!😆
That car has obviously been cleaned. Would make sense to move it before starting work.
Im assured it has been ignored since parked
This will be interesting, I had a red 156 back in 2001 , in red Y reg a proper driver’s car , when it was running correctly
Your mini has watched this and said "When is it my turn"😞
It had a few hours last week!
That's my favorite car in your fleet.
Such a beautiful car, good luck with it all 🤞
Thats a beauty ... I would keep that one
Good luck Matt lets hope it's good when you get the rocker cover off Best Regards Andy Allen.
Looks in better shape than Quentin, the Mini and the old Benz when you got them. Is this the replacement for the Benz? Hopefully it won't be too costly to get it back up and running because it has been well looked after in the past and hasn't been sitting for too long.
As its not ULEZ or an estate unfortunately not
She’s a stunner, good luck. Oh that mileage is nothing, my 2015 Giulietta’s on 132,000😂
I must say the paint is in remarkable condition especially been red also no rust two positives and l hope when you eventually get the rocker cover and only the lifters are bent and not broken
Almost like it had been washed before filming
Why would I do that? It would look like a much better barn find covered in muck
@@bikeman123 Who knows still a good looking car and been an Alfa Romeo which are very stylish cars
If the motor turns out to be toast just chuck another engine in, wont be that expensive being a diesel.
That engine looks like the Borg's spaceship, out of Star Trek.
Jonny from the Late Brake Show seems to have some competition on field finds.
I like the idea of Coca-Cola as penetrating oil. They should sell it in spray cans.
Great for cleaning bogs too, to think some idiots actually drink the stuff, lord knows what it does to your insides.
I miss my 159 I had a 1.9jtd which had two remaps boy was it quick. Only issues where a auxiliary belt.going and moving the timing belt on two teeth thankfully it was a new belt and off it went . The worse bit.was the remap damaged the turbo and totaled the car
Now I wonder what do you usually answer for questions like what do you drive 😂
Love those front ends. Right colour too. Good luck.
Well... Cliff hanger it is 😂
I always thought you were an old rocker, Matt. 😋👍
I had a 156JTD SW. 05 plate. Shockingly behind compared to almost anything else.
Dangerous chassis.
The body was so flexible, if you had your arm on the roof, out the window, whilst driving, the door and roof shuffled. Big movement between the panels.
I.e. if you placed a piece of masking tape between the door and roof and took it for a drive, the tape would tear.
Dangerous.
The lift off oversteer was off the scale.
The 159 was a huge improvement.
No wonder, I’m sure the 156 was based on a late 1980s tipo chassis … but worse
The 156 was not based on the Tipo chassis.The 155 was.
@@ΛΟΥΚΑΣΛΟΥΚΙΔΗΣ-ζ9υ the 155 chassis derived from a tipo chassis and the 156 chassis derived from a 155 so it was based on a tipo. Just not directly derived from. A second incarnation if you like
@@eddiej1980 The 156 chassis is not derived from the 155 chassis.
Never noticed anything like that on my 156 tbh.
@@UPnDOWN I had both a 155 and 156.Totally different cars.Different body and suspension.
What an amazing car! Do we get a daily update? 🍀🇮🇹🤩
Probably not daily, I suspect it might take a couple of days to make enough progress for each update
I think you will get that to go again. By the look of that aux belt i would think the belt tried to attack the timing belt. That happened to my Pug 306 and it skipped a few teeth and made a terrible noise but no damage.
I had a 2007 2.4 up until about 3 months ago. Spent nearly 10k restoring it but unfortunately the new owner just informed me that he suspects it has fallen foul to the very common issue the 2.4's have of a cracked cylinder head, the tell is white smoke and oil mixing with coolant in the resevoir and then eventually overheats 😕
Good luck with this one - always loved the 159 ❤ Intrigued to know if the BDX helps get the injectors loose, I have that job to do soon on the XC90 😁
123 out, 159 in. There, I fixed that for you.
I loved my 159 so much till then timing belt snapped really want one again one day ok now I'm a minute into the video I'm now sad that I sold it 😢 it would look so nice next to my newly fix e class ❤ cool video as per
I owned an 07 159 2.2 JTS for 10 years. Needed a new timing chain every year. On holiday in Europe, the camshaft sensor failed and it died as soon as the engine got hot. Got 140mph out of it on the A9 in Germany though. Needed a new front subframe as well - swiss cheese! Died at 180000 miles.
That must have been a very bad batch of timing chains or tensioners!
@@furiousdriving According to the garage, the oil feed drip to the chain was too narrow, so he upgraded it to a wider bore. The chains then lasted 18 months instead of a year. 🙂
Nice car. Hopefully not another 123...
All the best Matt, hopefully this works out well for you after what happened with the Mercedes. Interesting the Alfa Romeo is an Italian car, but has the English flag in its logo. 😊👍
its the flag of Milan, dates back the the 1300s
@@furiousdriving didn't know that, thanks 👍
@@allanmollison6971 Its also the only car badge with some one being eaten on it!
And you think the Merc was a rot box.
Good luck with that mate. She looks lovely.
Oh no! I hope this doesn't turnout to be another W123 fiasco! lol 😉
It's absolutely criminal that they ever put a diesel in an Alfa Romeo 🤢completely ruins that car for me
It's not even done 8k miles a year so for a diesel that's very low mileage.
Oh deer, have you told Mrs 🤣😂