Italian car nuts?

[TheDan]

Anyone else on the board an Italian car nut? I've been into old Fiat/Lancia's for long time. My current I-car is a Fiat x1/9, but I also have a 124 Spider project and a Lancia Scorpion project.

 

[Shorts]

I like me a hard barking Ducati. Not exactly a car but it is Italian!

 

[Greg_TX]

I like me a hard barking Ducati. Not exactly a car but it is Italian!

Ah, so you got the Monster then?

 

[Shorts]

Ah, so you got the Monster then?

Not yet. Still deciding trike or not. That'll influence which Monster I get.

I have seen some killer deals on ST2/ST4(s) lately I miss the '01

 

[lazypineapple]

I don't think there are any in Texas LoL .....Italy car nuts

heres my old Duke i wish i still had

 

[bikerbill]

When I was in the AF at Dover AFB in 1966 I bought a Fiat-OSCA roadster from another zoomie ... was a 1500, I think, with a DOHC OSCA engine, blv it was stock from the factory ... loved that car, but it was impossible to get parts for the motor and when the rear main seal started leaking like a sieve, I had to let it go ... can still see the case of oil I had to carry in the trunk to feed that beast ....

 

[Englishman]

I’ve owned 2 Alfa’s, a Fiat and on 2 wheels Moto Guzzi , Ducati and Laverda. Loved and regretted loosing each one.
Italian design has something that other nationalities cannot replicate. Engineering however is something that they do not have. All my Italian vehicles had deficiencies or “character” that you had to accept to live with it

Old Joke
When Volks Wagon do a final QA on a new car they put a cat in it for a week. If the cat dies of suffocation, its deemed a good tight build. When Alfa do the same test, they are happy if the cat has not escaped at the end of the week.

 

[TheDan]

I don't think there are any in Texas LoL .....Italy car nuts

Oh they are around... You should check out Italian Car Fest in Grapevine, TX. It's a great show. There's also one in Houston every year, but I haven't been to that one.


Bikerbill, those OSCAs are truly exotics. Practically one offs... They are definitely hard to get parts for, but more pedestrian Italian cars aren't that way. Heck, buying parts for my Fiats and Lancias is actually cheaper than old Honda and Toyota parts.

 

[Young Gun]

I'd love to have a Fiat X1/9, mostly because it's one of the cars that inspired the MR2. I own an MR2, but it's not Italian lol.

 

[zembonez]

You HAVE to be nuts to like Italian cars... If you aren't nuts before you buy one, you will certainly be after. I worked at a dealership back in the day that sold Fiat, Lancia, Saab, and Peugeot cars. HOLY CRAP did we have a zillion pissed off customers. The cars broke weekly and parts were mostly unavailable on any sort of timely fashion... it was fun. Later we had 2 Ferrari 308s. One with downdraft carbs and one with injection. Something quite expensive was forever breaking or falling off.

Italian cars are absolutely a joy when running... and a nightmare when they aren't.

 

[TheDan]

What breakages did you see most often? My 77 Fiat Spider was my only car for 4 years and the only thing I had to do to it beyond regular maintence was replace the brake master cylinder and calipers. From my experience Fiat/Lancias don't seem to be any more prone to failure than any other car from the 70s. Of course that isn't saying much, lol...

It is counter intiutive that the more expensive and exotic you get with cars, the more unreliable they are. Seems like it should be the other way around. Keep in mind however that most exoctics are based on race cars that get a new engine after every race.

 

[coachrick]

My only car less reliable than my '72 Triumph TR-6 was my '79 Fiat Strada. I put 42K miles on the Strada in one year but couldn't run the a/c without throwing a belt(no a/c in central South Carolina in the summer---yikes). I drove Atlanta to Dallas non-stop except for gas in that 'roller skate' as the truckers called it(back in CB radio days). Of course, I was thirty years younger at that time! It's a good thing it had a stick, no power steering and manual windows or there would have been plenty more trips to the shop!

But, GOLLY...I wanted a Lancia Beta coupe back then! Glad I couldn't afford one! Had to 'settle' for a Beretta model 84 as my first carry weapon. Much more reliable than the Italian cars!

 

[M. Sage]

You HAVE to be nuts to like Italian cars... If you aren't nuts before you buy one, you will certainly be after. I worked at a dealership back in the day that sold Fiat, Lancia, Saab, and Peugeot cars. HOLY CRAP did we have a zillion pissed off customers. The cars broke weekly and parts were mostly unavailable on any sort of timely fashion... it was fun. Later we had 2 Ferrari 308s. One with downdraft carbs and one with injection. Something quite expensive was forever breaking or falling off.

Italian cars are absolutely a joy when running... and a nightmare when they aren't.

It seems to be a truth across the board - the more expensive the car, the bigger the POS it tends to be.

I've worked on a few Peugeot cars, and IMO they were pretty solid. Too bad they were slower than molasses... unless you advanced the hell out of the timing. We had a few customers who drove 'em when I worked in San Francisco, and whenever their smog inspection came up we'd have to readjust the timing to get it to pass and again so that the car was drivable.

 

[zembonez]

What Americans fail to realize is that these cars were made to be used as they typically were in Italy. In 10 years, they put a whopping 25K on them if that. We tend to put that much on a car in a year here. Very different marketing model!

Basic drivetrain components in Italian cars tend to be pretty hearty. Pretty hard to botch a manual gearbox and they KNOW how to build an engine. Beyond that, I have seen just about anything fall off of one. 80s Italian cars had horrendous OEM wiring issues and their switchgear was poorly constructed. At the dealership it was not at all uncommon to have several in the shop at a time with their main wiring harnesses being replaced. Much like a British car... anybody who has spent 20 or 30K behind the wheel of a Fiat, Lancia car has had their fair share of stuff to fix. If not, it was pure luck.

Don't take me wrong. I love Italian cars... it just pays to know that they are serious maintenance issues involved in keeping one alive long term. Personally, I'd still love to have a vintage Alfa or Lancia!

Peugeot cars have always been pretty solid. We didn't have many problems with them. Not terrible exciting cars... but well made (yes I realize they are not Italian... response to M Sage).

 

[ducksps]

Loved my Alfa Milano besides the fire from the heater core caused by leaves sneaking in. My bikes have always been Ducatis from the 90's or later and very reliable. Most of these were also track bikes and one was a homologation SPS. Only time they needed serious service was after a crash.

 

[M. Sage]

What Americans fail to realize is that these cars were made to be used as they typically were in Italy. In 10 years, they put a whopping 25K on them if that. We tend to put that much on a car in a year here. Very different marketing model!

Much different geography, too. America has a lot more wide-open space between point A and point B, something that proponents of Euro-style transportation systems and fuel tax structures can't seem to get through their thick little skulls.

 

[Shorts]

Much different geography, too. America has a lot more wide-open space between point A and point B, something that proponents of Euro-style transportation systems and fuel tax structures can't seem to get through their thick little skulls.

Well, by that reasoning then Japan cars should behave and have the same reputation. And they don't

 

[zembonez]

Well, by that reasoning then Japan cars should behave and have the same reputation. And they don't

The Japanese originally built cars with reliability as a first priority. Performance was a second tier goal if that. Italians built early cars based on performance but were shallow on reliability. In recent decades, both have tried to combine the two in various blends. Not much compares with most Japanese cars when it comes to reliability... but they do produce some junk!

 

[M. Sage]

Well, by that reasoning then Japan cars should behave and have the same reputation. And they don't

Nope, the Japanese are overachievers. They like to make stuff that will last forever and a day. Europeans seem to be more concerned with style than substance.

The Honda/Acura NSX actually shamed Ferrari into improving their build quality.

The Japanese originally built cars with reliability as a first priority. Performance was a second tier goal if that. Italians built early cars based on performance but were shallow on reliability. In recent decades, both have tried to combine the two in various blends. Not much compares with most Japanese cars when it comes to reliability... but they do produce some junk!

Japan had some pretty rough roads back in the day from what I understand.

 

[Shorts]

I was simply replying to the types of roads since we were there the last 3 years. I really don't care either way what the motivations are/were for the Italiansd or Japanese to build cars.


And Japan still has rough roads lol