Amazon.com: Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible (9780837607078): Pat Braden: Books


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Sell Back Your Copy
For a $2.55 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible
 
See larger image
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible [Paperback]

Pat Braden (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

List Price: $34.95
Price: $28.05 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
You Save: $6.90 (20%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 9 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Monday, February 27? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Paperback $28.05  

Book Description

June 1994 Alfa Romeo
If you own or lust after an Alfa Romeo, this book is for you.

Few cars evoke the passionate experience that comes with owning an Alfa. Accelerating at 100-rpm increments just to hear the musicality of the rising exhaust note. Finding corners where the tires bite like newly sharpened skates on clean ice. Admiring the sensuous body styling and engine castings-all compound curves and aluminum alloy, so often copied in the designs of lesser cars.

Alfas can also be demanding, frustrating cars to own. They are not so much unreliable, as difficult to understand and troubleshoot when problems do arise. "Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible" gives you precisely the kind of experienced information you need to serenely buy, maintain and drive an Alfa.

Head gasket repairs, valve adjustments, camshaft timing, carburetor and SPICA fuel injection tuning, and driveshaft "donut" replacement are just a few of the many maintenance and repair procedures explained and backed up by hundreds of step-by-step photos. This tremendously valuable information is crucial to owning, understanding and driving an Alfa, even if you don't work on it yourself.

You will also get expert advice on things you should know when buying a used Alfa-specifically, where to look for rust problems, or signs of neglect or abuse-plus high-performance tuning for street and track, choosing accessories, and fascinating marque history.

Author Pat Braden has owned and maintained more than 50 Alfas and is a columnist and former editor of Alfa Owner magazine. Though many fine books have been published on Alfa Romeo, this is the only book that provides you with the experienced, hands-on guidance you need to keep you in the driver's seat. No Alfa lover should be without it.


Frequently Bought Together

Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible + Alfa Romeo All-Alloy Twin CAM Companion, 1954-1994: Four-Cylinder History, Care, and Restoration: Giulietta, Giulia, and Alfetta Families + Alfa Romeo Giulia GT Coupe: The Essential Buyer's Guide
Price For All Three: $69.06

Show availability and shipping details

Buy the selected items together


Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Bentley Publishers (June 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0837607078
  • ISBN-13: 978-0837607078
  • Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #647,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Introduction, January 24, 2001
This review is from: Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible (Paperback)
For those who have a decent understanding of how cars mechanicals are laid out, but who know nothing about Alfa in particular, this book is an EXCELLENT resource. Pat covers all the unique features of the Alfa engines in an interesting and engaging style of writing. The focus is slanted much more toward the 4 cylinder cars, but if you own a V6 you will find information here which is also very useful. Pat says right in the beginning of the book that you should also have a shop manual handy and that he will not repeat that information here. If you didn't read the introduction, as some people here appear not to have done, you would not know this. This is why you should read the introduction: it tells you what to expect from the book. If you are new to Alfa and you want to get your hands dirty, this is an excellent reference. Pat even gives good strategies for the hobbyist to work on things without the special Alfa tools required in some places. The hobbyist is also warned about which parts are dangerous, difficult to work on properly, or should be taken to a skilled shop for repair. He will not steer you wrong. All-in-all this is a fine work on the subject!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Bible? Anecdotes is more like it., July 2, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible (Paperback)
Pat Braden comes across as an affable, mellow Californian with a true affection for the cars. For anyone wanting to solve a particular problem, however, he comes up short. To call this book the "Bible" implies a sense of completeness that is just not here. "One Alfa Romeo Owner's Collection of Anectodes" is more like it. He spends more time on the cars he happens to like (i.e. Giulias) than the bigger selles, and ones most likely to be owned by readers (i.e. 2000 spyders). The most egregious example of incompleteness? No circuit diagrams! Oh, sure, the description of the book advertises them. What are they? The most over simplified block diagrams of a starter circuit that anyone with the most basic knowledge of cars could draw from memory. And some are not even labled (sloppy). But Pat seems like a nice guy. He definitely loves the cars, and has clearly spent many many hours in his garage going over them. So if you want to commune with a fellow Alfista in print, and sigh and smile, go ahead and buy this book. If you have an actual problem to solve, better go elsewhere.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars OK for Alfas in general, not great for Spiders, May 1, 2006
By 
This review is from: Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible (Paperback)
The title ought to be "Alfa Romeo Non-Spider-Owner's Bible." I don't know much about Pat Braden other than his peers' respect for him as an Alfa enthusiast and his love of the brand which leaps from the pages; it's an entertaining read. If I had to guess from his almost complete omission of them, I'd say he hated Spiders, at least all of them that came after 1970, so if you're a Spider owner, don't expect this to be your only book. I can't speak for other models, but I know that there's maybe 3 photos of a Spider in the entire book, and not a single technical issue I've needed help with used the super-common 2 liter Spider engine for the example. Other model owners may feel the same way, but knowing Alfa Romeos sold Spiders probably 10 to 1 versus other models in the states, that renders this book not too handy (as a bible) for 10 to 1 of Alfa owners out there. It's an enjoyable read, the author seems genuiunely knowlegeable (I say seems because I can't verify most of what he writes about the other models) and his love of the marque is inspiring. For a first time Alfa/Spider owner, it's borderline useless for practical examples, even vilified late-model Alfas like the Milano and the 164 get more attention. Clearly not worthless, but hardly a bible if you own the Alfa that most people are likely to get their hands on. Maybe I miss the point, but to me, a "bible" ought to tell you how many quarts of oil your car needs, at least verbally describe where your car's 2 fuel filters are, maybe show at least a single photo of your brake booster (I've worked on my own cars for 20 years and had never seen one before), maybe show you what's involved with changing the convertible top or swapping the dashboard, that sort of thing. There are 3 brief paragraphs on changing the convertible top, no photos whatsoever, and a couple words about how it's possible to cover or change the dashboard; barely worth the space. I'm not nearly a real mechanic, but I'm not new to automobiles, this just wasn't the book I wanted or needed.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews




Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject