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williams691 · Alfa Arna Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 2

I've just bought a 1987 Alfa 33 (selectable 4WD) for £100 Very Happy

. I just want to use it as a beach car to tow my Jet Ski and bomb around the bondu. I was looking for the oil dipstick in order to check the oil but can't find it, could anyone direct me to this part of the engine? Any other tips would be helpful as I've never owned an Alfa before!

williams691 · Alfa Arna Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 2

I haven't actually got the car yet so haven't looked in the engine properly, when I couldn't find the dipstick it was during the viewing which lasted about 5 minutes, when you've got the chance to snap up a 4WD motor for £100 you can't be dilly dallying around! So just in case you all thought I was totally thick, I haven't had a good look yet but would appreciate a little direction.............

Ben_nz · Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 7:07 am Post subject:

You can't see the dipstick in this picture, but it's the best I could find..
Toward the bottom left of the picture you can see the siren for my car alarm, and below that there's grass. Hidden by the siren and the orange spark plug wires is the oil filter, and the dipstick's near that. They put it down there among the pipes and tubes to frustrate people who want to buy Alfas! Wink

Another thing they hide is the choke, which is attached to the bottom of the steering column.

I'm sure you checked for major rust before buying the car, but for a hundred pounds you can't complain anyway!
If your car's running a bit sick a tuneup can help (tuning/balancing the carburettors, clearing blocked jets, replacing any worn ignition system components etc).
You'll probably find the gearbox has worn synchromesh in second gear and engaging first and reverse may be difficult. But you'll soon get used to that, and get used to reading the ""fuel gauge"".
Also there's a good chance something's wrong with something electric on the car. If it's the Alfa Control (if fitted), ignore it. If it's the ventilation fan motor, open the windows. Otherwise, search for loose/poor/corroded connections, especially earths.
Ask any questions in these forums, there's lots of helpful people. =)

Enjoy the car - it might not look the greatest but the engine makes cool noises. Probably the most accurate quote I've found for describing Alfa 33s was on carsurvey.org: "Every day is an adventure, good or bad!"