This 1980 Series II Alfasud 1.5 ti was purchased by Miles Clynch of Penistone, South Yorkshire, UK in the Summer of 2004, ending a 21 year ambition to own a stainless steel bumpered series II Sud. He had never
 
forgotten EKW 370V, his dad's bright (pazouli) yellow Series II 1.5 Super, bought new in Spring 1980 and the fun that he remembered that car giving. He remembered all too clearly crying the day it had to be sold after three years due to the rapid and early appearance of the dreaded tin worm! Forward wind over 20 years and Miles decided that the time was right to finally find a series II 1.5 Sud. A long search finally yielded the right car... a 1980 Series II ti in dark blue, with just 26,700 miles and two owners from new, totally unmolested and true to its original specification. He planned to run it every day for the best part of a year as his only car and then spend some time and money rewarding it with a new paint job to revive its extremely sound but slightly tired looking paint.

This he did in the Summer of 2005 and after some thought he finally decided that there should never really have been a decision to make - this car had to have its colour changed to the bright yellow 'pazouli' of his dad's! Normally very much a stickler for originality, this was a bit out of 'character' for Miles but the sentimental pull was strong and Miles justified it to himself by the thought that it was an original 1980 'Sud colour and that it was somehow more in keeping with the character of a Sud ti than the rather conservative, if elegant, blue. The car went into a local paintshop (Stotercliffe of Penistone - highly recommended by many locals) in July 2005 and emerged two months later after a major strip down resplendent in its new colour. Miles is totally satisfied with the results... many have commented that the quality of the finish is so much better than a new Sud and the car looks fantastic. The job was assisted greatly by the fact that the car was so sound to start with. Two new front wings were the only new panels required and it was debatable whether one of those was needed but Miles wanted to be certain that there was no trace of corrosion left anywhere on the car.

The only other parts needed to complete the job were a new set of headlights sourced from 'Mr Sud' near Newcastle. The original steel wheels were also refurbished, most satisfactorilly, by a local company. During the strip down Miles was offered a 105 bhp Green Cloverleaf twin carb engine which whilst tempting for short while was decided against. He reasoned that the original 85bhp unit had a very low mileage, uses no oil, pulls very well and is of course the car's original. He is now glad that he stuck with it.

Miles is delighted with his 'Sud and plans to keep it for a very long time, maybe forever. The only jobs left to do now are the retrimming of the drivers cloth seat (which is a little worn) and possibly fitting an electronic ignition which he understands gives a modest but useful increase in both performance and fuel economy. Mileage is now 33,000 and future plans involve a couple of thousand dry miles a year, the odd show and plenty of fun filled 'nostalgia'.

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Last Update: November, 16th 2005      Created: November, 16th 2005

© Layout by Tim Rauen. Photos and text by Miles Clynch.