308 Owner other car - Alfa Romeo Montreal

I own a 1985 308QV and love the car. I wanted to share another car I own with you, it's a Alfa Romeo Montreal and the attached link will take you to it:
"Alfa Romeo Montreal driven hard"

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=trH-rBQ02Do[/ame]

Hope you enjoy the sounds of another piece of Italian V8. (Sorry, but I did not know where else to put this on Ferrarichat)

 

I'm always happy to see a Gandini car. Given he did the GT4, you have an excuse for an appearance here They probably came pretty close together in his sketch pad, too.

 

I love the Montreal!

 

I feel like this is a sign from above! I've got a Euro 308GTB and am seriously considering a Montreal. Twinning!

 

Well, I do love the car from an aesthetical point of view. My brother-in-law briefly owned one during the eighties, he let me drove it very briefly at the time and I remember having found it rather "dated" from a road handling point of view, especially the rear axle.
Now my memory may be doing tricks on me, but...(It has a ZF gearbox, if that old memory of mine, etc...)

Rgds

 

I heard they understeer when turning left and oversteer when turning right.

 

What I have kept in mind, but I drove the car only briefly, and it was thirty years ago, and I am no great driver, so...
The car was not comparable to a true sportscar or a "Berlinetta", but rather to a GT; it understeered easily in entering the curves, and the steering was not very precise: it is not a "rack and pinion" system, but what we call in french "une direction à circulation de billes" ("system with circulation of steel balls").
The engine, despite giving "only" 200cv for 2600cm3, was rather brillant, made the right noises; but it was a bit too sophisticated for standard maintenance, with dry-sump and Spica injection (no carbs!).
I think the car was a bit "between two worlds"; not a true sports car, but too sophisticated and costly for standard maintenance by the Alfa network. Add to this the energy crisis of 1973, and its career was short.

Rgds

 

I almost bought a Montreal in pieces a few months ago as I thought they were undervalued given their relative rarity, quirky futuristic looks and injected, dry-sump V8. When I looked at the engine complexity, parts scarcity and rust propensity, I decided to save my pain and suffering for a car I would be happy to own if the market went south. While far from perfect, the 308 is easier to restore/maintain on all the above points and is a sports car. I can't see myself ever using a classic GT, too little fun for the effort. I do still love their looks though, especially in gold or orange.

 

Good example of "a car I should have bought 10 years ago". As there are many. I like it (though I never drove one) ! As I like a lot of (more classic) Alfa Romeo's. It might not be the most responsive car in steering/cornering, but a modern set of adjustable dampers with the right springs can/will make a world of difference.

But indeed, the Spica fuel injection system is responsible for many headaches. As I understood one has difficulty to find someone who can work on it, at least in my country.

Again, nice car !!

 

I have always admired the Montreal but yes, the prices on them have gone through the roof over the past ten years. I could have easily gotten one for $15k not that long ago. To pay the price now you'd have to really love it and, as mentioned, it is simply a 105 chassis underneath - same as the Spider, GTV and Berlina of that era but that engine is a real work of art.

It's probably tough to find parts I'd imagine, especially the injection system as it was unique to the Montreal. Wes Ingram, up in Washington, is the only guy I know that rebuilds Spica injection stuff. I got a high performance pump from him for my '72 Spider about 15 years ago. I kept my old pump and took it apart just to see what was inside. Compared to K-Jet it is an extremely complex piece of equipment full of close tolerance rotating and reciprocating parts.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to own a Montreal in the US. Wes Ingram is well known in the Alfa community to rebuild, upgrade, and dial in the spica injection. That is purely a cost issue. Maintenance parts are available, and the knowledge base is there.

From a handling point of view, these cars can be made to handle very well. I recall at Autobahn (Chicago) quite vividly getting left in the dust in the corners with me in my very prepared Alfa spider by a friend in his Montreal.

I think when considering one of these you must consider 1. rust issues, 2. missing trim (unobtanium). Peter Diamantes is a good source of Montreal specific information. John Justus is as well.

 

My understanding is the SPICA is basically just two 4 cylinder units in tandem.

 

Basically yes but it is still unique to the Montreal. You can't just take two pumps off a Spider and hook them together. Of course if Ferrari had built it it probably would have had two 4 cylinder pumps to go along with the two ignition systems and two fuel tanks - lol.

 

It is quite strange for me considering some of the comments both here and on the Alfabb Montreal site. First I need to say, I bought the car in Melbourne, Australia in the 80's, and then took it to Germany when we moved there. My wife drove it as the family car and took our two boys to school everyday and did all the shopping with it, which was interesting driving a RHD car in a LHD country especially in the supermarket parking structures - stop at the boom, handbrake on, get out , run over get the ticket, run back get in... you get the picture. Anyway, the car is original as seen in the video. We have taken it on a couple of 1,000 mile rallies, plus a trip from Detroit to Montreal, Canada last year. I wont say there has never been a problem, but only the usual for a car that is 42 years old. A lot of people don't know that until the 8C came along, it was the only V8 car Alfa had made. Don't get me wrong, I like my 308 QV, but it is a much easier car to drive quickly, for long stretches. As I do a lot of my own maintenance, I must say it is easier to work on the Montreal than the Ferrari. True, not a pure sports car like the 308, but that is part of the challenge. Just thought that some of you would enjoy the sounds of another small displacement Italian V8 engine! It's that visceral thing...

 

I guess the YouTube link is working fine for everyone else?

 

I love them Karl. Thank you for sharing. Wishing like others that I had got one of these in the garage before they escalated in value. Really a very nice, unique ride.

 

I love them too. I used to ogle over these in books as a kid in England. They seemed even more exotic than so-called exotics. Literally a concept car that went into production. I never saw one until I moved to the US a few years ago and now, thankfully, I get to see one or two regularly. I too wish I'd bought one when they were more affordable. Enjoy it in good health.

 

I saw a few in the NYC area and surrounds.

I saw one for sale, many moon ago, but when I didn't have the time or funds for yet another Alfa.

I had a Montreal I think was trying to race me on the GSP when I was in the Spider.
Yah, right. (If I'd been in the (80s) GTV6, maybe. )

I still miss that GTV-6. Too bad they were made from instant rust. (Just add water.)

(That extra undercoating I put on the Spider when new was one of the best investments I ever made.)

 

Bruce Taylor has written a couple of great books on the Alfa Romeo Montreal, if anyone is interested here is a link to the website:
The Alfa Romeo Montreal Website
The books are so good, in fact, I have used them as a workshop manual for a lot of my work. Between the books and the Parts Catalogue I have managed for the most part. I am surprised that someone in the Ferrari owners collective has not done something similar. The Montreal Owners Handbook and the Ferrari 308 Handbook are much the same. They are not a lot of help when wrenching on your car. If it were not for this website/forum, a lot of us would be stumped! In closing, I must say that the Montreal is a lot easier to work on than the 308. And in response to some of the comments about rust, the Montreal was assembled at the Bertone facility in Turin, Italy. The body did get some sort of galvanizing protection applied prior to being painted.

 

From some reading, apparently the Montreal got a zinc phosphate coating before hand finishing.
The GTV-6, being more mass produced, didn't.
Although I've heard that Alfa switched from Russian steel to a Euro source sometime in the '80s, so the later cars might fare better than the early ones.

Weirdly, there are *three* Montreals currently on ebay, when I was just looking at Alfas. NY, NJ, and CA.
But no GTV-6s.

 

Such a beautiful car. One of my all time favourites up there with the 288GTO and Muira.

The prices here in the UK have rocketed. I'd love one.

 

karl ive been in your 328 but next time at pastiners i want a ride in monte please. its been far too long since ive been in one.