Alfa 75/ Milano Quadrifoglio Verde
Ever since I saw the Milano (Alfa Romeo 75 anywhere outside the USA) I felt a strange magnetism towards it. But having driven mostly GTV6's I thought the Milano would not really drive like an Alfa. I felt that way until I drove one for the first time, and man, what a surprise! The car was as stock as it gets, and it was instant bonding. If there is any car that produces that kind of bond between car and driver, it is the Milano, at least this side of the Atlantic and the equator. I bought my first 1988 Milano with about 60K miles. It had a very impressive sound system, rear Ricambi springs, the rest was pretty much stock.
My additions included new 15" Team Dynamics alloys with Dunlops, ECU and a new stock AFM (air flow meter), K&N filter and Ansa rear exhaust. New Koni sport shocks improved the ride dramatically. I added a Momo steering wheel and shift knob, alarm system with keyless locks and a laser/radar detector to keep me out of trouble.
click on the picture to see the
1988 red Milano:
So now we come to the present daily driver, a 1989 Milano Verde, 3.0 L. It's not the best I've seen, but the best I could afford and find in short notice, after the 88 decided to take an untimely one way trip to car heaven, no thanks to a Nissan truck. This one had S-cams and an ECU, otherwise, stock. But we transplanted many of the mods that I had done to the '88; such as the wheels and tires, springs, Koni shocks, sway bars, Ansa exhaust, sound system, very new rotors and pads, laser/radar (police) detector, my beloved Recaro seats, Momo steering wheel and shift knob. If it wasn't for the exterior color, feels like the same car, so the transition was less painful. (I seem to become one with my car).
click on the pictures to see the 1989 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde 3.0 L
Upcoming mods:
Alfa Ricambi sport torsion bars and new ball joints where needed. Alignment is now neutral with neutral camber. Done!
My old steering rack, (this one leaks, after 220,000 miles). Done!
New de-tensioner and timing belt, and 30K mile service. Done!
Carello H-4 headlamps. Done! Quite and improvement, and they look very nice too. With 55 Watt PIIAs they are very bright, they have a dim light inside the headlamp, and the side triangular lens is clear/white, while the bulb is yellow, very cool looking.
Just finished doing the transmission, a rear caliper, new cat, front Porterfield pads and rotors (July-August 2000). A second rear caliper has been replaced also.
Finally got my 16" Team Dynamics with Sumitomo tires. (August 2000) These are great for street driving, but not that sticky at the track.
California-legal headers and hi flo cat, larger AFM. (Got my SZ original stainless steel headers, but they haven't been installed yet)
After several Driving Schools with the local club and other organizations, I finally took a plunge into my first Time Trial with the AROSC on January 14, 2001.
Here are a few pictures of the Streets of Willow and Willow Springs main track:
Now, in November of 2002, the Milano has gone through several changes and mods. One of them was a new Stebro stainless steel exhaust system together with the SZ headers. Hey!, it got published in *european car* magazine, in December 2002. The most important mod, however: a rebuilt engine at about 270,000 miles. Why?, because while doing practice runs in Button Willow a rod went south, and the engine died. Only temporarily. Alfa Performance Connection rebuilt the engine, and, I'm happy to say, the car is alive again. But I doubt it will see the track again. Not this car. For that I'm working on my 73 GTV. 73 I said?, well, the 74 had it's own story. Check it out at
jorge.ana@verizon.net
This page was last updated: November 29, 2002
