3x 164 in Australia

[stuart_in_oz]

Hello,

Just a quick "intro" to say Hi from Melbourne, Australia.

I'm the lucky owner of three 164s although only two of them are actually on the road.

In order of age there is a white 1989 3.0 V6 auto, black 1992 3.0 V6 cloverleaf, and a blue 1994 Super 3.0 V6.

I drive either the '92 or '94 most days, the '89 is sitting in my father's shed as it has a leaky head gasket & is probably ready to be used as a spares car (although I just can't bring myself to start pulling it to bits!).

Great little forum you have here, I'm also on Alfabb.com, AlfaOwner, and Ausalfa...

Cheers,
Stuart.

[alfa east]

Welcome Stuart. I hope the '89 can stay in one piece; it's the original shape and that is how Pininfarina really meant it and it shows. Hope to see some pix soon!

[ALFAHEIDA]

Welcome Stu,

Nice collection you have, especially the white one. Keep them running!

Regards,

Erwin

[164 TD]

Hi Stuart,

How many 164's are still around Down Under?

[stuart_in_oz]

Well a bit of an update since I was here last and forgot both my username and password!

I'm down to 1x 164 (the blue '94 24V Super) but it had an engine fire in April and is currently sitting in my garage as a restoration project.

I was very lucky that the fire was contained to the engine bay (mainly around fuel rail/timing belt and one headlight) and didn't spread to the interior. But it has toasted a LOT of plastic items in the engine bay including injectors, one headlight timing belt area, electrical relays.

Car was a write off by the insurance co but I claimed salvage rights and it's been taking up space in the garage since. Engine was switched off when I smelled smoke so I avoided valves hitting pistons!

Anyway, I have gone and bought a 159 2.4 to keep me Alfa-happy in the meantime but next year I will get serious about getting it back on the road. Might be a long process and will require engine out to repaint the engine bay but hoping I can get it back on the road (eventually!). Mind you if a nice 24V Cloverleaf came along I may get distracted...

I'll probably be on here asking if anyone has any 24V cars they are wrecking or have any engine bay parts for sale at some stage soon. I miss that Busso sound so much!!

[alfa east]

Sorry to hear that but I don't think that sourcing those parts will be difficult or too costly. Good luck with the restoration and let us know here what parts you need in due time!

[AlfaWhiz]

That's unfortunate, sorry to hear that. Do you happen to know what was the cause of fire? Split or leaking fuel line comes to mind.

I think your best bet would be to get a donor car, possibly with a shot engine, if you suspect yours to still be fine. It will be definitely more cost-effective than spending hundreds and hundreds on individual spares, plus you'll have the rest of the car for future repairs. That is of course assuming there's space for it available.

Heads up! With some patience you'll have your Busso sing again soon.

[stuart_in_oz]

Hi there,

Thanks for your concerns - I suspect the fuel leaked from either a hose clamp letting go, or else a leak around one of the o-rings on the injectors where it clips on to the fuel rail. The hoses were all quite new. I actually suspect maybe one of the little metal clips wasn't slotted to an injector correctly and has allowed the injector to move down away from the rail & create a leak.

I remember smelling a bit of fuel as I was driving that morning but that was after I'd refueled & suspected maybe I'd spilled some on myself accidentally when refilling. If only I had a time machine...

Yes will keep my eyes open for another donor car - there aren't very many here in Australia though (the 24V was never officially imported to Australia, only a handful of Hong Kong cars came to Aus via a local dealer). Annoyingly there have been 2x perfect cars sold since my fire, but I am currently in no position to buy another car (already trying to sell another car to keep wife happy!).

Cheers,
Stu.

[AlfaWhiz]

trying to sell another car to keep wife happy

I sympathize.

[Alfan]

What a shame! I hope you manage to find a good solution to your 164, so you can enjoy the sound and drive again

[KY2006]

Yes, be very careful about fuel leak in the engine bay, imagine the car burning in flames whilst moving on the highway. There have been quite a number of Ferraris written off because of self-ignited fire. Our 164 are rare species now so let us keep them well and running.

My earlier and present QV24 leaks occasionally, each time it is on either side or both sides of the fuel rails - the metal clamps and the rubber tubes seem never tightened hard enough. When you smell fuel upon starting the car or after rolling the car away from your parking spot, that is red sign. Do not move the car, keep engine running but look for running fuel in the engine bay and observe the floor. Once locating the leak, STOP the car and FIX the leak. Or else, once the engine has warmed up the leak might weaken due to metal expansion but it will happen again when it cools down or at the next start-up. I would advise checking the condition of the short rubber fuel tube and metal clamps every six months and more often during cooler months, and replacing them if necessary. Would be interested to know how pals fix this notorious flaw of the 164.

[stuart_in_oz]

Thanks all, I've since purchased another imported 1993 Super 24V 3.0 which needs some TLC so have been busy trying to give it some attention. Just wishing I had more time on my hands now!!

[stuart_in_oz]

Ok it's taken me this long to get down and dirty with my '93 Super.

So it's sat in my garage since I bought it, I had been waiting for some time to have the chance to start working on it (too many other commitments with family, work, other hobbies). I realised some time after I bought it that it had a failed head gasket.

I'm currently in the middle of replacing head gaskets and doing as much as I can whilst I'm in there. I've been stockpiling parts to use on this car so it feels good to fit some new bits and pieces on it...

Unfortunately I'm moving house in the next few weeks so the car will need to go back into storage again until I'm lucky enough to have room for it again.

This was after I fitted a new waterpump...

[stuart_in_oz]

Adding a couple of images now that it is back together and running again. I wanted to spend more time cleaning up the engine bay and replacing some connectors but ran out of time to do that. Fitted some shiny large intake runners too which I've had sitting here for years (waiting!!).

It runs a bit rich and rough when cold, might need to check lambda/temp sensors to sort that out. Otherwise it sounds great and I was able to take a quick lap around the block, finally!

[Alfan]

Sweet! Always nice to hear that Busso V6 sound.

Great that you have it up and running. Enjoy driving it

[stuart_in_oz]

Can't wait to drive it but that may not happen for a while. Currently moving house (hence the hurry to get car back together) and going to a new house that doesn't have room for my 164, so it will have to sit at my parents garage until further notice.

Hope your car(s) are going well! 550,000 km for a Q4 is impressive. My car has travelled 138,000 kms so i have some catching up to do, haha.

[Alfan]

Time is always lacking - so next step is to build a garage...

The engine is a such only serviced in mine, but with water coming in to the oil and the timing belt to be replaced, some work is going to be done, starting this weekend!

I will update this thread based on the progress
http://www.alfaromeo164register.com/vie ... =22&t=1135

[164EVER]

Hi, I've got the same problem just bought a 164 V6 3.0 in december and since that no time to work on but just start and drove it round the village.
Hope you'll have time for her, don't you worry about fire ???????