We’ve been so busy working on all your classic and retro Italian cars that we’ve not really had the time to add to our own stock-list for a while now. But, rest assured, we’re still avidly scouring eBay on a daily (okay, hourly!) basis for something really special which inspires us to send our trusty transport guy out to collect.
In what we plan to be a recurring feature here on the blog, we pick out below a few of the Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia models currently in our own watchlist. Some of these have actually been brought to our attention by our followers, which is always nice. If you do find anything you think might be up our strada, please do send us a link here or comment below.
1987 Alfa Romeo 33
This forlorn looking 33 caught our eye because it looks remarkably similar to the 33 1.7 8V Cloverleaf we rescued a few years back. Honestly, the picture made me do a comedy double-take - it is spookily familiar. We pulled ours from a ramshackle garage just like this - although I don’t recall a manky mattress resting on the roof. That restoration turned out well (see YouTube), but I’m not sure we could stomach it all over again.
There’s very little info on this one; no MoT records and no key (not actually a huge problem for a car of this era), but apparently the engine does turn over. It’s a massive leap into the dark but the lure of a boxer-engined Alfa’s bark and the 33’s angular silhouette is strong. These cars are now so rare in the UK it does deserve to be rehomed, but we’d expect you’d need to have a very friendly welder on speed dial.
We can’t promise we won’t be bidding on this one ourselves but if any of our followers outbid us - give us a call for any help you need!
1990 Fiat Panda Dance
This has just got our name all over it, hasn’t it? A totally standard 1990 Panda Dance (did they ever actually sell a Mk2 Panda which wasn’t some kind of special edition?!) with just 7k miles on the clock and, the bit that got us a little too excited, the garish “Dance” decals still in place. With less than 10 Panda Dances surviving on the road this was always destined to go straight in our watchlist.
As always when browsing for any car online, we’d strongly recommend everyone checks the MoT history as a first port of call. While the few warning flags seen on this Panda’s report card don’t neccessarily put us off, they do make it clear that it will require some welding ASAP. But the extraordinary mileage does appear to check out and these cars are so simple to work on with parts still readily available, any other issues would be easily rectified. Then you’d have a very rare, eminently usable modern-classic without spending a fortune (of course, that does depend on the final bid).
Writing this, I’m really in two-minds about alerting the rest of the boxy, 90s Fiat fanatics out there (there’s got to be at least 3 of us, right?) to this little gem…but sadly we’re just so snowed under with customers’ jobs that we can’t realistically entertain it. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself at the moment.
2000 Alfa Romeo 156 2.5 V6 Sportwagon
This ad isn’t neccessarily going to jump out at you as you scroll through eBay - its clearly got its fair share of problems (it’s never a good start when the car is pictured on a trailer, is it?). By far the biggest problem, in our professional opinion, is that god-awful snake-head gearshift. That’s got to go. But, at the time of writing, this 2.5 V6 powered 156 Sportwagon is up for a pittance and is, actually, a pretty rare find.
For starters, you don’t very often find a Busso-engined Sportwagon that isn’t one of the legendary automatic-transmissioned “Boat Cars” (if you’ve not heard that tale from the Alfisti annals, I’ll save that for a later blog). Plus, it appears to be in Fantasia Blue, which when properly finished is one of our absolute favourites to show off the timeless 156’s shape (see here for a V6 saloon looking a bit happier in the same colour that we sold a few years back).
We’ve worked on so many of these modern-classics by now that we could basically write a list off the top of our heads covering everything this will need (cambelt, welding, sideskirts refitting, refinished chrome inlets, suspension arms…) and none of it will come cheap. We know that. But they’re so great to drive that we’ve never regretted pumping piles of money and man-hours into a 156 V6. And, thinking outside of the box for a minute, wouldn’t this make a great trackday sleeper?
1995 Lancia Delta HF integrale Evoluzione II
Now, before anyone thinks I’ve taken leave of my senses; no, I’m definitely not recommending buying a massively modified, fresh-off-the-boat Japanese Evo II with absolutely no provenance for massive sums of money. That’s really not my cup of tea at all and, if you have any fondness for your bank balance, shouldn’t be yours either. What made this stand out for me was this statement:
“FINISHED IN VERY RARE GINSTER YELLOW”
As a lifelong devotee of the Holy ‘Grale, I thought I’d heard of every single special edition going. But this model inspired by the second-rate pasties languishing in the fridge of your local petrol station is a completely new one on me. I have seen a couple of the Giallo Ginestra Evo II Limited Editions (every Evo II built was technically a limited edition, in fact - sorry, I’ll get my anorak now) but never this. Did it come with a free Chicken & Mushroom slice?
Clearly everyday is a school day in this game and my hunt has now begun for the very rare Evo II Gregg’s Edition to complete the baked goods collection.
Fiat Dino 2.4 Spider
We’ve filed this one under the “Lottery Win” section of our watchlist. Not many words needed to explain this one, we hope. Just look at it. It is beautiful. And that engine.
Plus, another great appeal for me would be to finally own a Fiat that my dad hasn’t actually worked on at some point over the past 40 years. That would be an achievement in itself.
In no way are the above descriptions intended to be any indication of any of the cars’ condition, value nor the accuracy of their respective listings. The information and imagery is for entertainment and informative purposes only. These vehicles are in no way linked to italicar and no liability will be accepted following any subsequent purchases.