Devious

Oh you are sooooo wrong mate....

The Alfa Romeo logo has evolved and changed many times since the foundation of the company in 1910. Its origins are surrounded by many myths and legends so what I am about to write must be treated with some caution.It is generally accepted that the badge is based on the coat of arms of the Visconti family and the Red cross on a white back ground of Milan. In the early part of the 5th century AD a serpent that devoured humans was at large in the area around Milan and terrifying the local populous. It was slain by Ottoni Visconti and this heroic deed was celebrated as part of the coat of arms. While the red cross on a white back ground celebrates the deeds of Giovanni Da Rio who is reputed to have been the first to climb the walls of Jerusalem and erect a cross there during the first crusade. The badge can be seen as a shield, reversed, above the great door of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.From here it becomes a little easier A.L.F.A. comes from the Italian Anomina Lombarda Fabrica Automobili (Lombarda car making company) and the original badge has Alfa written over the top of the badge and Milano underneath separated by two figure of eight knots. In 1920, five years after the take over by Nicola Romeo in December 1915 the badge changed to read Alfa Romeo above with Milano across the bottom. In 1925 a wreath was added to celebrate the marque’s numerous victorys on road and track, and this has since evolved into the gold trim which presently encompasses the badge. It was not until 1972 that Milano was dropped with the opening of the factory in Pomigliano d’ArcoInfact if you look at old alfa badges it is much clearer that its a person being eaten, see here: http://www.carlogos.org/Car-Logos/Al...s-history.html Edit: I just copied and pasted for your interest.

Its just a non-slip thing. Glad you've got it sorted mate.

Its just a non-slip thing. Glad you've got it sorted mate.

Ready and waiting. You gonna do it in a jiffy Smiffy?

That's Pr and Marketing for you... Lol

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Id do indeed have some experience and will endeavour to do my best to boost the scale and notoriety of AD. If you do have any ideas, feel free to pm me.

Kaboom ... Lol

And after such a warm welcome..... He never posted again lol

Its permanent markered in lol. Along with a lot of other exciting things. Thanks Mrs A. It does feel like home here lol.

Just wanted to say to all my Alfa Driver Bretherin... Have a great time, drive safe and have 1 for me.

From experience these vulcanized coatings are anything but easy to remove. There have been a few suggestions along the way on what to use to remove this coating, from acetone to cif cream. I found that scratching at it with a finger nail and nail polish remover to lift off the adhesive was most effective.

Please don't think for a second that I have a clue what Im talking about. Id just heard somewhere that the Ecu was progressive, not just confined to a set of parameters and this was done so that there wasn't different programming per geographical location to account for vast environmental factors. I may be well off the mark though. Lol.

What are you hoping to achieve from the reset George?

Forgive my ignorance but, why would you want to reset the ECU anyway. As I understand it Fiat/Alfa ECUs are progressive so, they'll adapt to your driving anyway? What are you hoping to achieve from this forced reset? Smaky Are there any realtime advantages to doing this? Wouldn't a remap be a better option? (Im assuming, of course, that George is looking for some sort of gains) Incidentally, if the ECU is progressiv surely a remap becomes obsolete as the "re-learning" takes over?

Waaaay ahead of ya there smaky, thank you for the reply though.

Poofta

Is there a spring behind the clutch pedal or are they purely hydraulic?

Er yeah, I think so...

Did anyone go?

I wrote this for the Fiat Forum... Painting Interior Plastics Ok, so you want to spruce up your interior? Don't fret over it, just do it! Firstly, a checklist of requirements for removal of parts. (Multipla, other models may vary) You will need. 5mm Allen Key 3mm Allen Key Medium Flathead Screwdriver 3mm Posidrive Screwdriver Locate the pop covers that hide the bolts which anchor the door cards to the door frame. Some are twist and pop, others are just snap on and off. Remove these to expose the 5mm Allen bolt head. Before removing the bolts, use your 3mm Allen Key to remove the door handle, as this exposes another 5mm bolt. Pop the cover of the speaker guard and remove speakers using 3mm Posidrive. From here, undo the 5mm fixing bolts and the plastics will come away. BE CAREFUL HERE AS THE WINDOW SWITCHES ARE ATTACHED. Remove plug from Switches et voila, you've removed the plastics. I found it useful to return the bolts and screws to their original location to avoid loosing them. Remember that the plastics WILL be off the car for at least 3 days if you want to do this properly. Ok, so, onto Preparation.... There are different schools of thought when preparing plastics for paint.Newer plastics will require you to heat them with a blow torch and wipe off the release agents used in the moulding process with alcohol at least 95% as the paint will not stick. I didn't have to go down this route as after 10 years of baking in the car, the sheen had well and truly worn off. I just gave everything a good wash off in a strong washing up liquid to remove grease and dirt, using the scour side of a sponge. Rinse with hot water, dry and then air dry. BE CAREFUL WITH THE SWITCHES Ok, now the plastics are clean and dry, we'll sand.Using an 800 grit paper, gently scuff the surface to remove shallow and the edges of deep scratches and to allow the paint to key too. Take your time here, if you dont, your paint job WILL look shabby. Once you've achieved the level of finish you require, it's back to washing and drying and a well earned cuppa. Onto Painting...... Plastic filler primer Paint in your colour of choice Lacquer1200 Grit Wet and Dry Sandpaper So, you've cleaned and prepared the plastics it's time to paint. I used a plastic filler primer from Halfrauds. They give advice to shake can for 2 mins and to spray approx 10 inches away from plastic. Give the plastics a first coat of primer, this coat is only a light coat, not intended to cover all of the plastic with a thick coat, just a dusting and will look patchy, don't worry. Allow 15 mins to dry before stepping up to second coat. Second coat is a slightly heavier coat, this will appear to give a fuller coverage. Again, wait for 15 minutes before applying third coat.This coat should give even coverage all over the plastics in preparation for the next sanding stage. Leave the plastics for 24 hours to properly dry. This will allow a true hardened surface that can be sanded to remove any runs, paint buildup or blemishes. Sand gently with a small portion of 1200 W&D Sandpaper. It is recommended by professionals to use an air gun to blow away paint particles but I don't have a compressor, so I went the reverse route and used the brush attachment of my Hoover. Note - don't let the Mrs see you do it, she'll go nuts Paint, paint, paint....Following the directions on the can, shake well, 10 inches, bla, bla, bla, apply your first coat. This coat again will look blotchy but as with the primer, it's supposed to as its your first coat. Apply second coat 15 mins later, this will appear to give a better coverage. Make sure that you get it from all angles with this coat as you want an even finish here. Wait 15 mins, apologise to Mrs for Hoover incident, promise to be more considerate in future. Now it's time for third and final coat.This is the important coat as its the one you'll see. TAKE YOUR TIME. Apply an even coat, look for blemishes, under no circumstances get the can closer as you will create runs and you'll need to sand off and start again, TOMORROW. Once you're happy, you have an even coat and a multicoloured garden table, stand back and admire your handy work. Leave for 24 hours to set. Next step is the hardest I found. LACQUER. Following the directions on the can.... AGAIN, apply an even coat, this is difficult to do outside because of the wind and dust particles love to stick to your work. Do this in a shed or garage but ensure its ventilated and wear a mask. Allow 20mins to dry. Repeat with another coat, allowing an hour to dry.I didn't want a super gloss finish, so I didn't sand, buff or polish, but you could.At this point I carefully re fitted the parts to the car as the Multi is like a greenhouse, thus baking the painted items. Ta Da, you've painted your plastics. A note on the rubberised plastics. These little beasties are a nightmare if you attempt to peel them off. My advice is to apply more FILLER primer to the scuffed areas, unless they are deep scratches that are back to the plastic, then I used my thumb nail and nail varnish remover to rid the adhesive.Make note to apologise to the Mrs for using it after.... Then follow the guide for how to paint.

Scratch that. No I don't. I now have one for sale. From an 02 model 25quid + postage

My 147 just immediately jumps to 90°C on ignition. That can't be right, can it?