75 (Type 162) 1985 - 1992

The car was first purchased by a gentleman who lived in Heath End, Farnham, Surrey on the  29/09/92 from Cleveland Cars Ltd Ash, Aldershot, Hants. GU12 6LR, the local Alfa Romeo dealer.

 I purchased the car from the same dealer for £6790 with 16000m on the clock (part exchanging our red Alfa Romeo 33 1.7 8v K505WPM 21000m) on 25/06/95 as the main family car.

The car became my daily drive until 09/08/99 when it was retired due to the fact that my father kindly gifted me a Ford Fiesta to do the work run.  Thus the 75 was put in the garage as a third car having reached a total of 49,300 miles in the five years of our ownership.  In that time it had become a part of the family and we had enjoyed many miles of reliable and sporty motoring.

The idea was to now enjoy it as a toy.....car shows, track days and fun summer motoring.  To that end a few subtle modifications were added over the next few years to enhance the experience.

During this time I enjoyed the car at various track days inc Goodwood, Castle Combe, Donington, RAF Odiham and Bruntingthorpe.  Not only was the car excellent to drive, it also looked fab (in my eyes) and received plenty of attention.  Up until Sept 2004 Adie Hawkins (AH Motorsport) had looked after the car for me and had done a sterling job (very highly recommended indeed).

Adie subsequently recommended Alex Jupe as a transaxle specialist (who was local to me) and so off she went to Alex for all servicing and support. Amongst other jobs, I had the Speedline alloys reconditioned at this time. Not an easy job considering the paint/lacquer combination and the 'false' bolts that are required. The car obviously looked "the part" and was featured at the 2008 NAD "front of house" display (where a certain Mr Clarkson was very complimentary as we chatted by the car).

I was very pleased to be asked to park up at the front of the house for the NAD car display.  Compare and contrast.......JC was very complimentary........notice Ed McDonagh entering stage left to remove my wife, Claire, off the bonnet of "that 75"!  A very amusing day all round and nice to watch on Top Gear as well. 

Various work was done to the car to improve the handling and braking.  This included a change in front suspension geometry and a lowering of the front torsion bars.  Brake lines were upgraded to braided lines and it was decided to use DoT 5.1 race fluid. It was around this time (2010 with @ 65000m on the clock) that the car developed an intermittent electrical problem which would blight the enjoyment of the car for some years to come.

Regular fuel and electrical investigations were carried out and numerous parts replaced inc distributors, cables, relays and solenoids etc during annual MoT and services by a number of garages.  Over this period the car had a very quiet life and became unfortunately a bit of a "garage queen".

In Oct 2021 (as I describe in the Competition History section) I gave the car to Chris Snowdon (CSRacing) with the brief "go through it with a fine tooth comb and tell me what's wrong with it.....warts and all.....and from that I'll decide whether to sell it or sort it for good".  I'd pretty much had my fill of having a car that promised so much but, due to a fault that was proving impossible to fix, constantly underdelivered.  Well the rest is history as they say! Chris did miracles on the car, fixing the electrical snag and urging me definitely NOT to sell it.

As a way of celebrating this new found serviceability the car was selected to be displayed at the Goodwood 90's Sunday Breakfast club.   This also heralded the start of developing the car for Sprinting and Hillclimbing with the outstanding help and expertise from Chris and Richard Melvin (living on the Hants-Sussex border does have so many advantages to the transaxle owner).

I started competing with the car in 2022 with the Classic Marques Sports Car Club who run a Speed Challenge based on a handicap system.  It works brilliantly and you find yourself swapping places by 100/th sec differences with cars from the likes of Jaguar, TVR, Porsche, Reliant, MG etc, etc.  I was notable in my first season as the only Alfa Romeo out of about 80 cars competing as well as the ONLY saloon!  Not being what you would describe as the "ideal tool for the job", the 75 nevertheless has its strengths and certainly got some attention.  I was featured with the car in the on-line MSUK magazine "Revolution" edition 38 in an article entitled "My first hill-climb".  The car also caught the attention of Sam Dawson from Classic Car magazine (no 509 Aug 22 edition) featuring in the article on the Prescott Historique Festival.  I'm never short of interest from the people who come through the paddock at all events who just want to know what I'm doing there with an Alfa 75?  The car continues to be developed in a subtle way (in line with the regulations) and trying to keep it looking "in period" as well as still enjoyable to drive on the road.  With Chris and Richard's help over the last three years the 75 has started to become the car I always wanted it to be. 

After many years of the family enjoying the delights of watching the hillclimbing at Gurston Down and Prescott I took the plunge and in the Aug of 2014 I completed the Prescott Hillclimb Drivers School as a birthday gift.....this was a watershed moment.....as it was singularly the most enjoyable and challenging thing I'd done in a car.  I was bitten.

In the autumn of 2018 I decided that I'd like to have a go at sprinting and hillclimbing the car, potentially in 2019, more probably in 2020 (despite the electrical gremlins I was having to deal with). This was after watching a Sprint meeting at Goodwood and meeting members of the Classic Marques Sports Car Club. The club runs a Speed Challenge Cup based on a calculated handicap system so no matter what car you have, you race almost on a level playing field....full race cars against roadgoing production cars.  I was immediately drawn in by the concept as well as the great atmosphere around the paddock.  My timing wasn't perfect and due to a number of issues, mainly retiring from the Royal Air Force, taking on a new job as well as Covid, nothing really happened until Oct 2021.

As explained earlier, the car was delivered to Chris Snowdon Racing - CSR (13/10/21) with the following brief. "please go over the car with a fine tooth comb.....tell me everything that's wrong.....warts and all....and from that I'll decide whether to keep or sell it".

Chris came back to me in a matter of days and said "whatever you do do not sell that car" along with a number of very pleasing compliments about how it drove.  I decided to keep the car and Chris agreed to support my desire to sprint and hillclimb in the 2022 season.

The intention was to drive to and from all events and run in the Road Cars Series Production class (S12) thus keeping the cost down and still trying to maintain the car as a usable road vehicle.  Therefore when the car returned to CSR  in the Mar of 2022 the brief was to build in resilience/serviceability and not speed.  Particular attention was paid to the clutch (kevlar lined and braided hose) and brakes (CL race pads fitted) as well as replacing all the gear linkage mechanism. List 1a Yokohama Advan A008 tyres were fitted (205/60 - 14).

The car also paid a visit to Northampton Motorsport for the mandatory power and weight check, the car delivering the following results:

Eng power - 139bhp @5850 rpm

Eng Torque - 136 lb/ft @4900 rpm

Not bad for a 30 year old italian car (the words of the mech's running the test!).

With 8 scores counting to your  season total I decided to do just 8 rounds in my first season.  I kept as local as possible and tried to keep the unnecessary mileage to a minimum.  So we hillclimbed at Gurston Down, Prescott and Wiscombe and sprinted at Goodwood (twice), Castle Combe (twice) and Lydden Hill. 

Overall, I finished 35th out of 79 and came 4th out of 10 in the Intersport class as well as being the runner up novice.  As an indication of the clubs good humour and level of paddock banter, I was also awarded the "Four Door Cup".....as I was the only competitor racing in a saloon!

My biggest satisfaction from the entire season was the fact that I was able to drive the car to every event, compete to a reasonable standard and then get it home in one piece......something a lot of my fellow competitors didn't believe possible (in an Alfa!).

22/23 off season

It was decided to up the safety in the car for the 23 season even if it wasn't required by the MSUK regulations.  So an OMP four point FIA harness was fitted along with a fibreglass Sparco FIA race seat. The harness fit required the removal of the rear seat back rest (which was replaced by a self made imitation).  I also decided to add a HANS to my personal safety equipment. The car was fully serviced with gear linkage and front brake discs also replaced.

A potted and slightly inaccurate account of the car.....but still great to get into the magazine on my first year!

With some experience under my belt I decided to take on a few more rounds in the 2023 season and entered 11 in total while still trying to keep mileage to a minimum.  So we visited Abingdon, Gurston (twice), Goodwood (twice), Lydden Hill, Brooklands, Castle Combe (twice), Prescott and Wiscombe Hall.

I benefited from fitting  an in car GoPro part way through the season which helped in the post run debrief. It's amazing what you pick up off the video (and forget in the heat of the moment!). 

There was a steady improvement from the 22 season as I beat all my previous PB's.  Overall I came 25th out of 95 and 1st in the Intersport class.  The highlight was undoubtedly finishing 2nd overall at a wet, end of season, sprint at Castle Combe where I was leading going into the final run of the day (as the track dried).....ultimately beaten by a Porsche 718 GTS.

23/24 off season

It was decided to move  from 14" wheels and go 15" as well as fit Black motorsport Powerflex suspension bushes to gain some grip and control and response from the suspension while maintaining acceptable road manners.   I selected Compomotive style TH turbo 3 piece split rims (as raced in period on ETCC and BTCC Alfa 75 and GTVs by Jon Dooley no less) as an alternative to the Speedline teledial originals. I also decided to stick with List 1a Yokohama rubber (perhaps list 1b in the future).  Interestingly, on fitting the new Watts linkage bushes it was found that the originals had seized!!!.... enough said on that one, but I was definitely hoping for more grip off the rear in the future. 

To help with the post run debriefing (along with the GoPro in -car video) I purchased a Racebox Mini S.  The combination of the two would no doubt help to inform me of what I wasn't doing well and point to possible improvements.

In an attempt to minimise transit mileage, but also to go to some other venue's, I planned on doing 12 rounds inc Shelsley Walsh and Mallory Park as well as all the usual suspects (Wiscombe, Goodwood, Castle Combe, Prescott and Gurston).  Unfortunately I was having to miss Lydden due to holiday plans (not good as it's previously been my best scoring venue).  I planned to complete a pre-season track day with driver tuition (Chris Snowdon obviously) at Goodwood  two days before Round 4 at the same track (all in attempt to gain that extra second).

Unfortunately, the season did not get off to a good start at Wiscombe where a damp Sawbench saw me put the car on its side. Hillclimbing is a cruel mistress! Post Wiscombe, there was a lot of soul searching and indecision on my part on what to do next. Priority was to sort the car, but to what end?  CSRacing stepped up again and took on the task of finding the spares and panels etc to get it all fixed. I was unsure about whether to race the car again. That all changed when I got the car back off Chris and drove it home.....there was only one solution that would satisfy me and that was to "get back in the saddle" and compete in the 75.  At NAD 2024 I announced this to Chris, Richard and Michael Ward who all agreed that "it's one life, cars can be fixed and it is what it was made for....it's an Alfa Romeo!".

Decision made, some light fettling was required to get it ready for the last meeting of the year, The Pegasus Sprint at Castle Combe in Oct (obviously expecting it to be wet and slippery!!!). Fortunately, everything went well (apart from the weather) and I had a great time, totally vindicating my decision to continue with the 75.

 24/25 off season 

I talked long and hard with Chris and Richard as to what to do with the car for the 25 season but we all agreed that there was more work to do with the suspension.  My start point for any potential modification has to be, does it offer sufficient value/performance for money and does it maintain on road drivability?  So when Richard made me an offer I couldn't refuse I went ahead with the fitment of a set of CSR valved Quantum OEM style non-adjustable road shocks to replace the very old and tired Koni sports. Along with those I also had a set of CSR 75 -1 rear springs and adjustable platforms fitted.  With a pre-season check over complete as well, the car was back and ready to go by mid Feb 25.

I've always known that the weak link in the package was always me, the driver.  So I also booked some pre season driver training including a Goodwood track day with Chris, an AROC Castle Combe track day, a hill-climb school at Gurston Down and finally a further track day at Castle Combe courtesy of the Bristol Pegasus MC.  No doubt money well spent.  Roll on Goodwood and Round 4 of the the Classic Marques Speed Challenge, my first 2025 event. 

Because there had been minor modifications carried out, I had to get the car back on the rolling road and get it weighed. The removal of the K & N cone filter and fitment of the old original air box/Jetex filter and ram air cold air feed gave me back 2 bhp which unfortunately lost me 0.1% on my handicap resulting in a new handicap of 87.16 for the 2025 season.

Before the 2025 season finally kicked off, our plans to do the Goodwood track day with C S Racing and Auto Italia finally came to fruition. Michael Ward and team came down and were joined by Chris Snowden and Richard Melvin to assess the suspension work that had been done and take some great photos and for me to get some expert driver training. It was a great day out and resulted in a fabulous article in the magazine (Jul 25) and some excellent feedback from Chris (plus some great Racebox data).

As usual, I tried to minimise the transit mileage when planning out the 2025 season. The usual suspects were all there (Goodwood, Castle Combe, Lydden, Prescott and Gurston).  This year I decided to take the plunge and go to Shelsley Walsh, the home of Hillclimbing). Apparently, you're not a true hillclimber if you haven't driven up the hallowed tarmac in anger. I also took a punt at a double header weekend at Mallory Park (the thought of speeding around Gerrards being quite compelling). It turned out to be quite a successful season as I finished 37th out of 88 runners in the club and bagged 3rd place in the Intersports Class (to a Toyota MR2 and a Honda S2000).

It was obvious that competition had increased over the last few years as my average pints score per event had slightly decreased. So, even though I pulled a few PB's out of the bag this year, the competition were doing even better. What to do about it?

2025/2026 off season

I'd been thinking about changing the list 1a tyres (standard road tyres) that I've used since 2022 for a while and going for List 1b (road legal semi-slicks) instead. The choice of 15" list 1a tyres is so poor that the decision was almost forced upon me so, along with advice from various club members and Chris Snowdon, I plumped for a set of Yokohama Advan A052. This of course adds 2% to my handicap, so I'll be hoping that I'll be able to go quick enough to overcome this new handicap. I'm sure I'll go quicker on my raw times, but what about handicap times? I think the long Sprints will be achievable but I'm not too sure about the 1000yard Hillclimbs. Time will tell? 

One of the joys of running the 75 over the 30 plus years that I've owned it is meeting people with a similar love of Italian cars, Alfa Romeo's and in particular Alfa 75's (I've lost count of the amount of times I've heard people say "I used to have one of those...selling it was one of the worse things I did"). Michael Ward, in particular, has been a great supporter of the car and so I was extremely pleased to be asked by him to display it at the 2026 Auto Italia Autumn Motorsport Day at Brooklands. A great opportunity to meet and chat with people about competing in a 75 and also to get another chance to drive around the Brooklands test track 'con brio' with other assorted Alfa competition cars. What a great day!

K & N 57i induction air filter - 09/08/99 - Demon Tweeks

OMP 3 point clubman track harness- 19/01/00 - Demon Tweeks

Superchip fitted - 14/04/00 - Autotechnics

Eibach Pro Rear springs - 11/11/00 - Demon Tweeks

Koni adjustable sport shocks - 11/11/00 - AH Motorsport

Alfa 75 V6 front antiroll bar - 20/10/01 - AH Motorsport

Powerflex castor bushes - 20/10/01 - AH Motorsport

Slotted/Drilled front discs and EBC pads - 4/11/02 - AH Motorsport

OMP Targa steering wheel and ext boss - 12/12/02 - Demon Tweeks

Fit programmable ECU and tune on rolling road - 4/10/03 - AH Motorsport

CSC exhaust system (Center and tail) - 4/10/03 - AH Motorsport

Front Torsion bars lowered and bespoke front geometry dialled in - 27/07/07 - Alex Jupe Motorsport

Braided brakes hoses and DoT 5.1 fluid fitted - 28/06/10

Lifeline 1.75 kg AFFF Hand held Ext fitted - 15/01/13 - Demon Tweeks

Kevlar lined clutch fitted with braided hose - 21/03/22 - CS Racing

CL racing brake pads fitted - 21/03/22 - CS Racing

Lifeline 2.4 kg AFFF Hand held Ext fitted - 6/06/22 - Demon Tweeks

Sparco Rev QRT fibreglass FIA race seat - 28/01/23 - CS Racing

OMP 801 FIA four point Race Harness with reinforced rear bulkhead - 28/01/23 - CS Racing

Uprated front brake disc's - 28/01/23 - CS Racing

Powerflex Black suspension bushes (Fr Castor bar, Upper spring mounts, Watts link and centre) - 18/02/24 - CS Racing

Set of TH Turbo Three piece alloy wheels (5x98 pcd, 27mm offset, 15"x72) - 18/04/24 - Image Wheels/CS Racing

CSR valved Quantum Zero shocks - 14/02/25 - CS Racing

CSR -1 Rear springs and adjustable platforms - 14/02/25 - CS Racing

Removal of K & N 57i Air filter - Fitment of original air box with Jetex performance panel filter and ram air ducting.

Straight through CSC centre exhaust section fitted (centre box removed) - CS Racing

Fitment of Yokohama Advan A052 List 1b tyres - CS Racing

I would like to thank Adie Hawkins (AH Motorsport) and Alex Jupe (Alexjupemotorsport) for help in the early years.  Last, but not least, Chris Snowdon and Richard Melvin (CS Racing/Alfetta gtv6) for all the sage advice, hard work and continuing support that I currently receive.  As a non-mechanically inclined driver of average ability I could not have enjoyed the car and the whole experience as described without their assistance and friendship....Cheers gents!