The Sud on Wheeler Dealers

[alfachris]

Looks nice....

You know it well........

[alfasuddriver]

Haha, yes it used to be mine. When I got it it had not been on the road since 1991..couldn't even get the gears, running on 3 cylinders, speedo didn't work, clutch release bearing howling etc etc....

[PETROLHEAD]

"alfas have a habit of going wrong"

"most have turned to dust"

Tut! How wrong can they be eh chaps!


I enjoyed watching something about suds anyway, but i think the biggest favour they did us was to repeat just how rare they now are.


We're a special bunch of guys, and tv agrees! Lol!

[Sud 145]

My Ti must be worth what I paid for it now.

[alfasuddriver]

"alfas have a habit of going wrong"

"most have turned to dust"

Tut! How wrong can they be eh chaps!


I enjoyed watching something about suds anyway, but i think the biggest favour they did us was to repeat just how rare they now are.


We're a special bunch of guys, and tv agrees! Lol!

Absolutely! The program was kind to the car. I think the character and charm of the Sud shone through despite the usual rust comments...after all he admitted he was falling in love with it towards the end.

[PETROLHEAD]

Yep, i'd go with that



It'd be nice if we all only had that tiny patch of rust to deal with eh? Ha ha!

Ed's little mig barely got warm, what would he do if he had a proper job in front of him?

[AlfaCorseChris]

Has anyone got a link where I can watch it from ?

[Sudsub]

Try this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C9qYv-Fqnk

[Sudsub]

Not bad at all! But it is a Sood not a Sud!

[Fiatchris]

I thought it was great! , yes, these programs need to be taken with a pinch of salt but great to see our preferred mount given lots of air time!

Chris

[sudboy1490]

yeah i thought it was a good show, they certainly picked the right car only needing an engine service, rear bushes and a bit of welding

They did a good job of highlighting the plus points of the car and not focusing on the rust issues too much.

Hopefully it'll raise the profile of our beloved alfasud

[KevJTD]

floor looked suspiciously like it'd been freshly undersealed, like the floors and sills had been recently done....before the filming started.
gonna have another look back in more detail, see what i can spot.

alfasuddriver, what was it like when you had it? did you do any floor repairs, or it need sills etc?

overall the show was ok as they did talk up the good bits and weren't overly harsh on the bad bits, not that we can defend the corrosion issues!

anyone know the new owner? or was that someone from the production company? cynical in my old age, i know

[Sud 145]

Did a brake caliper magically get replaced??

[KevJTD]

Did a brake caliper magically get replaced??

what, that one that was leaking fluid when he was changing the pads....
i spotted that too mate.

[alfasuddriver]

Hi Kev. Well virtually all the usual corrosion issues had been dealt with when I got it, the previous owner was a professional welder! Sills, part of the floor, inner wings, wing rails front and rear valance etc. He had enrolled in a welding course at college and bought it off another student around 1991. They definitely did something with the rear axle and fuel tank as it wasn't under sealed like that when I had it. I heard through the grapevine that they replaced the fuel tank...

[Kegsti66]

Well, I have to be honest (bias) but I think that was probably the best Wheeler dealer show I have seen
As said by others, didn't go on about the corrosion issues that everybody knows about, but instead highlighted the positive.
The car they had, obviously had been looked after and not neglected for seventeen years, or they didn't show the other stuff they did to it.
We all know what an engine looks like after years of use, that looked spotless.
Over all they did a thorough re commissioning. Top job.
I stopped watching that show years ago after they used to "sell " at the end saying it was fully restored. I am sure you have all seen the S2 Spider episode.
Credit where it is due, I think they may have helped raise the profile of the Alfasud .

Thanks for the link to watch the show.

[Kegsti66]

Did a brake caliper magically get replaced??

what, that one that was leaking fluid when he was changing the pads....
i spotted that too mate.

Just one thing. When he stood on the brakes it got a bit out of shape. Is that why he got a bit sweaty?

[KevJTD]

Did a brake caliper magically get replaced??

what, that one that was leaking fluid when he was changing the pads....
i spotted that too mate.

Just one thing. When he stood on the brakes it got a bit out of shape. Is that why he got a bit sweaty?

rob and me did laugh out loud at that!

[Kegsti66]

I will watch it again as I will be honest I didn't know you could change the shims like that

[KevJTD]

it's a similar way to do them on the fiat/lancia twin-cam.
i was lucky enough to do mine on a dedra turbo head at guy crofts' place, under instruction from the man himself. like an operating theatre his place is

[KevJTD]

Hi Kev. Well virtually all the usual corrosion issues had been dealt with when I got it, the previous owner was a professional welder! Sills, part of the floor, inner wings, wing rails front and rear valance etc. He had enrolled in a welding course at college and bought it off another student around 1991. They definitely did something with the rear axle and fuel tank as it wasn't under sealed like that when I had it. I heard through the grapevine that they replaced the fuel tank...

very interesting to know the sills etc were done before they got it. looked fresh.

seems they did work to the back end too though which they didn't disclose, wonder how much more?

still, it was a great advert for the sud

[alfasuddriver]

Yes, nice to have some positivity around the Sud from the media for a change. I might watch it again, too, as I thought one of the shims he replaced looked damaged, could be wrong..

[KevJTD]

the ones he measured, maybe took out, looked to have the cracked or glazed look which i usually replace as a matter of course when doing a rebuild just to be safe

[bert308]

Interesting explanation from Edd for the difference in valve clearance for inlet and outlet valves...because the valves are different in size!

[KevJTD]

Interesting explanation from Edd for the difference in valve clearance for inlet and outlet valves...because the valves are different in size!

, yes i thought that too. nothing to do with the heat that exhaust valves get then
ooh, those pesky inlet valves with all that cooling airflow over them, don't know they're born!

[Veesix75]

That caliper only leaked because he wound the adjuster out too far, mine always did the same on suds and the 75 rears.

So long as the seals are fine then it reseats when it's screwed back in.

He made the shim change look simple, but I still prefer the twin lobe and Allen key set up.

Has Richie joined the forum yet?

[bert308]

In the for sale add in the beginning it is readable that belts and waterpump had been done recently, yet they replace them again. On other cars with unknown history they leave them on sometimes! I guess the Sud was too good and needed nothing so they had to do something to make a show.

[alfasuddriver]

The water pump looked like new, it certainly popped out with ease

[justsuds]

It was a good show, positive and enthusiastic about Suds, without jumping on the rust bandwagon, - they did have replace the fuel tank, and they had problems with the front struts, - which had Koni inserts - but I carn't rembember what bits they had, - this was done by an Alfa specialist, in the run up to actually filming it, presumably they decided in advance just what work and defects they would feature. Hopefully it will increase awareness, it has been mentioned to me by non Sud poeple a few times already, so perhaps a positive outcome !
John.

[dave.armstrong]

Overall I thought the show was good and presented the Sud in a good light. Everyone knows about the corrosion issues and so it makes ours more special that they have survived it.
I like the fact that he kept going on about the bargain he bought for £4830.
From the plates it looks like it was supplied by Westune in Horwich. The mechanics there knew their stuff! I still have a leaflet on their Sud Turbo conversion.
Unless I was desperate I would not use poly bushes on mine. The Suds were designed with compliant bushes.
The description on the Watts linkage was poor and didn't mention how creating a parallelogram on each side uses the axle beam as an anti roll bar.
I'm hoping they send me a lot more video footage as they took loads.
I've had 3 messages left on the answerphone asking if I want to sell mime. (Makes a change from PPI or a new gas boiler).

Its seems odd that none of us recognise the buyer and seeing how enthusiastic he was about Suds I thought one of us would have known him.

Overall it was a very nice Sud!