Sander den Outer form Dordrecht, the Netherlands
was the owner of this
1976 Alfasud 5m. He said he was "a little bit proud" to own a real series
I Alfasud. The Netherlands are a paradise for the cars of the seventies
and eighties which are called "Youngtimer" in Germany... In Germany, such
a pristine car would have surely been distroyed in the nineties during
the Ford "Die tun was" (meaning "they do something") campain where owners
of older cars got 1.500,00 EUR when they subscribed for a new Ford. Fortunately
this 5m still exists. Till today it made 63.000 km. Sander believed to
be the third owner. The car was importetd to the Netherlands in 2000 by an Alfa-dealer. On the side view
below you can see that this Alfasud is still in a very good condition. The preowner
only used it on special occasions. Presumably it also visited the Alfa
Romeo plant in Italy.
Sander
had not done any repairs. He does not
know wether the preowners had to do some repairs on 5m or not. Sanders
said it was in a perfect condition. Lucky Sander! Some parts of the series
I Alfasuds have become so rare that you can not get them for all the money
in the world.
The "diabolo rosso", the Italian rust devil seems to have
forgotten this Alfasud. Or do you see any rust on the pictures? The only way to distinguish the 5m from its four-speed brother L is
the "5m" sticker which hides the seam-welding where the rear side and the
roof is connected. 5m stands for "cinque marche" which is the Italian
translation for five speeds. When the Alfasud L was presented to the public,
it was the only 1200 cm³ car having a five-speed gearbox. Some competitors
still had to be driven with a three-speed box. The interior and the cockpit
still looks like in 1976. The steering wheel shows no use. The only non-
original
accessoire seems to be the radio which is surley not from 1976....but nethertheless it is better
than one of those old ones!
With the 5m, the five-speed gearbox which was taken out of the ti appeared
for the first time in the four-door Alfasud Berlina. In exchange of a little
extra money, the L (SE in the UK) version was soon also available with
five-speed gearbox. Compared to the N version, the 5m offered additional
front headrests, a rev counter and a carpeted floor instead of the rubber
mats of the N version. Alfasud beginners will first have to get accustumed
with the position of the ignition on the left side of the steering wheel. Sander and his passengers have to sit on black Alfatex (skai)
which can become quite uncomfortable in summer. On the picture on the left
you can see the "Germans-hole" on the B-pillar. The Germans-hole
was introduced
in 1976 when the engineers in Pomigliano d'Arco finally had compassion
with the larger (and seat-belted) Northeuropeans. Being designed for the
average Italian (the famous 1,65 metres person with short legs and long
arms which was used for the ergonomics measurements in every Alfa Romeo
till the early nineties), the seatbelt often chafed on the driver's and
passenger's neck. In a severe crash it would have been leathal. To change
this, a second hole over the low one which was meant for little persons was introduced. Every Alfa
Romeo dealer or person which knew how to work with a screwdriver now could
adjust the position of the seatbelt.
The engine bay also looks very clean. The picture on the right shows another Alfasud curiosity. Instead of a usual little container for the water which isused to clean the windscreen in every "normal" car, Alfa Romeo prefered to use a little bag in the Alfasud. This bag was terrible to fill. Typically Alfa Romeo!
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Last Update: May, 27th 2004 Created: March, 4th 2001
© Layout and text by Tim Rauen. Photos by Sander den Outer.