Nicolas from Nicosia on Cyprus owns the rare Alfasud Super 1.3 you can see on
the photos. His father bought the Alfasud as a new car in 1978 in order to
replace his 1972 Giulia 1.3 Ti. It is the 1286 cm3 version with one
single choke
Dell'Orto carburettor and 68 bhp. The car has always been well preserved from the all-destroying sun on Cyprus by parking it under a
covered area. Frequent polishing kept the paint
in a good condition. When
Nicolas father bought a new Alfa 33 in 1990 he kept the Alfasud in his property
and occasionally drove it to keep the car running. Nicolas and his brother also
used the car when it was still father's only car. With only 73.200 miles (about
117.800 km) the mileage is quite low for its age. After 27 years there are
nethertheless some traces of age. Some smoke is present after an overrun and when
the car is used in city traffic. The reason are the valve stem rubber rings
which after 27 years must have lost their ability to stop oil passing through
the valve guides. But as long as the oil consumption is on the low side, this is
no problem. The car has always been run with high-quality engine oils with a
change of oil once a year. Unbelievable for Middle and North European Alfasud
owners, but the body only shows very few rusty spots at the rear left wheel arch
and on top of the doors. The radio cassette system with an equalizer and booster
mounted on the passenger side of the dashboard and four 100W speakers, are still
in excellent
condition after so many years of use. Apparently only the rear
heated window is not working as all elements have been scratched during the
years, from the anorak zips. Even though the heating system of the car is in
good condition, the air flow is not good enough to demist the front windscreen
during the raining days. Nothing new...
In 1997 Nicolas bought the Alfasud from his father. He drives it as often as
he can. During the hot summer months, driving is limited to a few miles, just to
give a good charge to the battery. Apart from regularly servicing the car mainly
by himself, the main dealer is changing the timing belts when due, to avoid an
unwanted engine failure. In 1998 Nicolas replaced the steel wheels with a new
set (old dealer stock) from the ones used in the ti model. "They
look great, who needs alloys?" In early 2005 Nicolas replaced the worn seat
fabric. As he is a mechanical engineer and has a good knowledge of cars,
especially with those of the 70's and 80's Nicolas tries to do as much as he can
himself.
For example, he spent two hours to lubricate and adjust the locking and
window mechanisms on all doors in autumn 2005. He also readjusted the
carburettor and the advance timing. The car is run with 98 octane petrol and 8
degrees advance timing. No additives are used. The exhaust central muffler has
been replaced for the first time, in July 2005. The front brake callipers were
reconditioned in July 2005, as were leaving stuck the handbrake.
Nicolas also insalled a mechnical anlogue water temperature gauge after the thermostat failed and the car got too hot on a drive up the mountains. Of course he replaced the thermostat and flashed the radiator. " The car offers enjoyable driving and it's road holding is still in our days, a class of it's own", Nicolas Tells. Meanwhile spare parts are getting rarer in Cyprus and Nicolas often has to use the internet (ebay) to get the requested spare parts.
Last Update: November, 10th 2005 Created: November, 10th 2005
© Layout and text by Tim Rauen. Photos by Nicolas Georghiou.