We know this car well. After posting on the AlfaBB about the mechanical work we had done on our personal hot-rodded Milano Verde, we got a call from a Lancia enthusiast who wanted to see the same level of sorting - minus the performance upgrades - performed on his Verde. He had purchased a Milano Verde in the hopes that the alloy V6 and DeDion rear suspension would remind him of his prized Aurelia. After spending a year enjoying the results of our work on the car, he's decided to downsize, but not due to any fault of the Milano platform - word is, with a relatively small garage, the Milano doesn't play well with its Lancia Appia stablemate, and the current owner needs to remedy the tight packing.
This car is from Chicago, so any hopes of dry, California provenance are immediately squashed. And yet, as the owner of a dry, California Milano, I am personally very tempted - but prevented by all limitations imaginable - to buy this very car. See, after the owner spent $15,000 in maintenance, over $9,000 of which went to parts alone, the car is absolutely sorted. It's even been accused of having a Germanic competence completely unexpected in an Italian sedan. Having driven this thing from Chicago to Detroit in order to prepare it for sale, I would tend to agree with that assessment.
Rust, for the most part, has been remedied. The spare tire well, wheel arches, and driver front jack point were all professionally repaired with fresh metal by the same man who did the bodywork on Ralph Gilles' personal Giulia GTV-R (the R is for Ralph). The surface rust under the trunk was all wire-wheeled and treated with POR-15 before being undercoated. You will find minor rust in the the passenger door arch and underneath the passenger taillight - typical Milano spots - but overall the car rust is under control and the car is in no danger of rotting away.
Year: 1988
Model: Alfa Romeo Milano Verde
Engine: 3.0L V6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 64,600
Price: BaT auction
Location: Dearborn, MI
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde
This 1988 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde is powered by a 3.0-liter V6 mated to a five-speed manual transaxle, and it is finished in Grigio Medio over multi-tone cloth. Equipment includes Recaro front seats, 15″ wheels, integrated front fog lights, air conditioning, and a cassette stereo. The car was purchased in 2018 by the current owner, who subsequently performed a mechanical refurbishment and addressed corrosion of the underside of the car. Service included an overhaul of the suspension including fitting Koni shocks, a refresh of the fuel system, rebuilding the shift mechanism and driveshaft, replating hardware, resealing the engine, a valve adjustment, and replacement of brake components, coolant hoses, timing belt, tensioner, clutch bearings, fluids, and more as described below. This Milano is now offered in Michigan on behalf of its owner with receipts from recent servicing, an accident-free Carfax report, and a clean Illinois title.
Mechanically, almost every piece of rubber imaginable was replaced. Every single hose - coolant, brake, fuel, and clutch hydraulic - was replaced, as were all of the suspension bushings and ball joints front and rear. The power steering rack was rebuilt and installed with new inner and outer tie rods. The entire engine was removed to refresh the engine bay paint and completely degrease the engine bay, as well as to completely reseal the engine, change the timing belt and tensioner, replace the water pump and thermostat, and sandblast and cadmium plate the major brackets and fasteners. All engine and transmission mounts were replaced as were all three driveshaft donuts and center support bearing. The fluids are all fresh, the pads and rotors front and rear are new, and the rear calipers were replaced with rebuilt units. The shift linkage was rebuilt using NOS components and shifts wonderfully. The car is ready to be driven hard.
We've seen a couple of low-mileage Milano Verdes trade recently, and we wouldn't mind socking away one of those for ourselves. They have their place and we definitely appreciate the completely original cars. This car brings something different to the table - the ability to drive anywhere with absolute confidence. The current owner has spent over $15,000 in a single year to take a perfectly fine car and make it bulletproof. If you want a Verde that drives, feels, and sounds like it would have new, this car is probably as close as you can get.
-Graham