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.
We watched a vey positive video review of an e30 BMW M3 yesterday, and it got us thinking about how our Milano Verde compares to our past 1991 BMW 318is. The 318is isn't quite an M3, lacking very much in power compared to the real deal, and missing the suspension and chassis modifications. But, as a reasonably powerful e30 with the lighter 4-cylinder, the comparison is somewhat valid.
Compared to the e30, our Verde always feels more special - from the sound, to the steering wheel angle, to the lower quality interior, to the way it rolls in corners (by design) - driving the Milano brings such a sense of occasion. We don't doubt that e30 M3s drive better and are worthy of $40k these days, but it's certainly nice that Milanos and Milano Verdes, which are arguably more fun to drive, are still priced somewhat realistically.
84 watchers, according to the eBay page at the time of this post. We already have a black Verde, so we're sharing this one with you all after a few days of talking ourselves out of buying it. It's not because this isn't going to be a great buy - it's a solid Verde, no doubt. No - it's because we don't have a place to park it. Why is that? Well, we've got a customer Verde on jackstands in the garage, stripped entirely of its suspension. And the other two (tight) spots in our 24x24' garage? The Maserati is in one. It should be in storage at a friend's place by now, but that would require its cover, which would first require a car wash, which would require windows that close. Currently waiting on the machine shop to produce a pin for the window regulator. Third spot goes to our black Verde, of course.
There are two types of Verde buyers: The curious, and the repeat offenders. The curious first-timers often buy the cosmetically sound but neglected cars, or the dilapidated projects, and once their wallets re-calibrate their expectations, they cut their losses and move along. The repeat offenders are always on the prowl for the cared-for drivers out there. Dents, dings, and worn interiors are simple enough to fix, but the various unorthodox systems on the Milano, if broken, do require more research and effort than on the typical Italian car.
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Year: 1988 Model: Alfa Romeo Milano Verde Engine: 3.0L V6 Transmission: 5-speed manual Mileage: 114,000 mi Price: auction
1988 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde (3.0L), 114,000 miles; I’ve owned this car for over 10 years, fun driver, but I don’t have time to drive it much anymore, so hopefully someone else will enjoy it and give it a good home. It’s a classic Alfa V6 (3.0L vs regular Milano 2.5L), with cool DeDion rear suspension, torsion bar and A-arm fronts, 5-speed manual transaxle and Recaro interior (seats, door cards, etc). Car is in good mechanical condition, but could use some cosmetics—though I didn’t bother as I liked it as a driver. In the last several years all the suspension bushings have been replaced, as have engine and transmission mounts, steering rack, tie rod ends, etc. It has Bilstein HD shocks, recent Performatek rebuild on shifter, Stebro mid and rear muffler... Cosmetically, the hood could use a respray (clear coat is cracking) and there is a dent on LR fender (paint still adheres).
Relatively new f/r calipers and rotors. Recent new injection hoses and matched injectors.
A/C works, sunroof works, newer headliner, passenger and driver lower seats recovered with OEM Recaro cloth.
ABS brake system (pump and accumulator) work fine, ABS light is on so likely a sensor needs replacement or adjustment.
This Verde is one of the good ones. Fresh engine and trans mounts were probably done in conjunction with the steering rack job. That rear engine mount and the steering rack are both weekend-crushers for the uninitiated. The suspension bushing replacement, as innocuous as it sounds, is a relatively time-consuming, though inexpensive way to bring an a worn Verde back to life. Paired with the fresh steering rack and tie rods, the steering on this Verde will feel like new. Stebro exhaust, Performatek shifter components, and the Bilsteins are all a great use of someone else's money. We don't love the ABS light, but that isn't insurmountable, and at least the accumulator is in working order. No seller comments on the engine, but the engine is usually the easiest part of a Verde to sort. If it's in good shape, service it properly and it will continue to function as intended for years to come.
There are plenty of venues for a bad deal on a Verde, so we are refreshed to find out the market price for a mildy scruffy but sorted example. Whoever buys it should get out and drive it - I've personally put over 7,000 miles on my Verde since April of this year. Maybe paint the intake manifold if you buy this one though?
