Which 75 to buy?

Gidday,
I'm shopping for a 75 for myself, the families second car.

Over here we seem to have got 75s from about '87 to '91 and with the 2.0lTS and 2.5l V6. I haven't seen a 3.0l yet but they may be around, just rare.

I'm undecided which engine to get. But it'll be a manual.

The TS is appealing for it's contribition to weight and handling, fuel economy and servicabilty.

Reading other's opinions the 2.5l gets approval for its 'music to the ears'. But perhaps understeers more than the TS.

I'd be interested to hear the thoughts of others.

Thanks, Mick

Hi, am no expert by any means
but i hve a t-spark 75, and a gtv6 (2.5l)
and it has to be said the engine noise of the v6 is simply fantastic, without comparison short of a ferrari v12,
but having said that the t-spark would easily out pace the v6 on all but the longest straight peices of road if both are driven hard...

but i guess in normal everyday sort of driving you wouldnt really notice the t-sparks advantage and the v6 would show its better power more easily.
so i would make my choice based on what exactly you want to use the car for.

Having owned a commodore VB with a 4.2 V8 in it I can say the 3 liter 75 Alfa is on a par with that in terms of raw acceleration - both will get you out the way of a road train if needs be. (The 75 will get you 25MPG as opposed to 20MPG with the VB though) . I've owned many a 2.5 GTV6 and the fuel economy on the 2.5 is a little worse than a 3.0 - the way I drive at least! as you have to rev the 2.5 quite high, which does sound amazing - not quite as amazing a 2.6 litre Alfa Montreal V8 at 8000 rpm though!!

I'm getting used to the TS, which does seem slow to me, but then my previous car was a 4 litre TVR!

Options are limited, the TS is a good practical daily driver, and has enough punch for the "spirited" driver.
Allthough ive never driven the 2.5, my 3ltr was a beast! Its nose heavyness is easy to overcome.... trust me

The 3ltr is VERY rare "down under" i heard that only 50 maybe 100 were imported...

Originally Posted by alfaspence

Options are limited, the TS is a good practical daily driver, and has enough punch for the "spirited" driver.
Allthough ive never driven the 2.5, my 3ltr was a beast! Its nose heavyness is easy to overcome.... trust me

The 3ltr is VERY rare "down under" i heard that only 50 maybe 100 were imported...

Loved my twin spark 75 - perfectly balanced - always wanted a V6, which I dare say I will one day. Alfaspence is right in that you get to know the car. Got a V6 GTV now and it took me *ages* to get used to front wheel drive again. If it was me I'd be looking at the V6...

I'm fascinated by the difference between the V6 and the TS.
I personally _way_ prefer the TS, but realise that it is entirely subjective and that an equal number of people would sell their grannies just for an Alfa V6.
I find the handling of the TS is in a different league, but am stumped by the 'why'? Yes the V6 lump is heavier, but not by a huge amount, so why does it impact so severely on the 'push' in corners? The V6's rear crossmember is held off the body by spacers that are about 1/2 inch/12mm thick, so the body and c-of-g must be higher. Does this imply that the motor is also sitting higher? If it does, then the whole c-of-g must be off in the V6 relative to the TS; which might go some way to explaining the difference in handling.
Does that make sense?
Also, I've always described the V6 as having a huge fuel leak in the general bonnet area directly connected to the accelerator pedal in the cabin :-)) Bloody fast though in the real world, and has enough torque that most of the gears in the box are kind-of optional really.

My two cents worth.

Ed.
AlfaSmiths

Originally Posted by eddiealfanut

The V6's rear crossmember is held off the body by spacers that are about 1/2 inch/12mm thick, so the body and c-of-g must be higher. Does this imply that the motor is also sitting higher? If it does, then the whole c-of-g must be off in the V6 relative to the TS; which might go some way to explaining the difference in handling.

people have experimented with removing those spacers, with mixed outcomes

Originally Posted by alfaspence

people have experimented with removing those spacers, with mixed outcomes

Yeah, I'm guessing that they are there to align the drive-train with engine; so the engine bay must also be higher (relative to the crank) in the V6?

So you wouldn't recommend treating them as extra parts then?

Ed.
AlfaSmiths

Originally Posted by eddiealfanut

Yeah, I'm guessing that they are there to align the drive-train with engine; so the engine bay must also be higher (relative to the crank) in the V6?

So you wouldn't recommend treating them as extra parts then?

Ed.
AlfaSmiths

no!! for exactly that reason (drivetrain alignment, or lack of as standard )

because if you look, the rear of the engine points towards the driver, its the same with the gearbox nose (no one piece props here then without major alignment work)

Hi there

I have both a 2.0l T/S and a 3.0l V6.

I guess it's pay your money and take your choice.

I have the 75 T/S as my second car which I use when my daughter takes my wifes car and then my wife takes my 147JTDM 150bhp.

It has great handling, goes quite well and sounds great if a little noisey (Supersprint rear box and straight pipe to replace the mid box)

I have fitted powerfex(polyurethane) bushes to both front and rear which improved the handling.

The 3.0 V6 makes a nice sound and is a much more relaxed cruiser. Despite the poly bushes also fitted it does not handle as well despite the previous owner fitting Eibach raer springs which lower the rear slightly. It is definitely faster in a straight line but round the corners it can't keep up with the T/S but then it has the extra grunt to the next corner.

Over here in the UK I've heard the 2.5 V6 is the worst of both worlds as it has little more grunt than the T/S and the soggier handling.

V6 :d

Its down to you mate at the end of the day i went straight in at the top VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV6 for me

Originally Posted by Sparkplug155

Over here in the UK I've heard the 2.5 V6 is the worst of both worlds as it has little more grunt than the T/S and the soggier handling.

if engine note is your thing, the 2.5 is better than a 3.0 and 2.0, more musical, more soulful, if you like that sort of thing. And more tunable as well, as fitting some of the 3.0 goodies are an option, but retain that inspiring sound track. Cheaper too, but also older.

HTH

Thanks for everyones comments.

Sparkplug155, thanks in particular. You are lucky to have the insight from ownership of both cars. If I was to buy the V6 then it would be the cat equipped 2.5l.

Being nearly 20 years old most 75s still around are going to have around 200,000km (120kmiles). I don't mind swinging a spanner but the V6 seems very complex compared with the TS.

My last Alfa was a 1.7IE 33. I loved the revibility of it and the balance in handling. Different to what I expect from a 75 but still nice.

Most local Aussie cars (with rear drive) are understeerers with plenty of power. I guess that the V6 may be similar.

For that reason, and the lack of a 3.0l to buy, I'm leaning to a TS.

Please keep the comments coming.

Cheers
Mick

In your position (as I was 6 months ago) I'd go for the TS, better handling, easier to maintain; in your case, parts availabilty could be an issue, although the TS is not quite so quick in a straight line and maybe doesn't sound so good it's probably the best bet... Happy hunting and post the pics when you've found one

i must admit this does go against the grain, but TS is the way to go for practicality

Just because i have the V6, iam not going to go on about how wonderful it is, i too have owned both, to me the TS was alot slower, but peppy enough to have fun and by christ, it went round corners like it was on rails (koni yellows etc) you could throw it into corners at crazy speeds and it would just sail round....

The V6 however, REQUIRES alot more focused approach

V6