Well, here's the site but who are these guys. Basically we're brothers and we drive Alfa's. We go by the rather strange 'handles' or 'usernames' of FriarJnr, the younger of us and the one doing the site, and BigBoy, yep you guessed it, the older brother.

BigBoy's Story......
It all started with an Aussie in October 2002 - he was emigrating back down under and picked me up for a beer one day in a 1991 Alfa Romeo 164 2.0TS. I was hooked as soon as I got in the car even though he appeared to use it as a mobile rubbish bin. A couple of weeks later I handed over my £200 and proudly started to drive home in my first Bella.
It was at this point that I noticed his lack of regard concerning tidiness also carried over to his lack of regard where maintenance was concerned. One headlamp was out, one wiper blade was torn (yes, it was raining), the two front tyres were slicks, a rear light was out and get this - a total of 17 bulbs, interior and exterior, were blown and with a 50 mile trip ahead of me at night! Anyhow, the next day was spent clearing out the mobile landfill site, replacing bulbs, getting tyres, changing oil and failing an MOT!!! Needed the rear arm welding up..... Once done however the car was a joy to own and use, never broke down or failed in anyway and boy did it motor!!! Just ask the guy in the Renault Clio 172 Sport who got toasted by a 13 year old, 150,000 mile Alfa 164........
Being so impressed with my new toy I decided to hand back my company diesel Avensis and to run the 164 - with this in mind I spent a small fortune on bits that would need doing but at the time didn't, preparing for daily use. These included clutch, discs, a couple of calipers and new handbrake cable. Kinda explains why I had no problems with it! Unfortunately the car was a victim of its own success, being so please with the reliability, performance and style of the car that I fell for a 147 2.0TS Selespeed in January 2004. I’ve now had the 147 for over a year and a half and 25k miles – been a delight! Only issues so far (other than inconsiderate pillocks hitting it in car parks) have been a speed sensor on the gearbox somewhere which caused the car to stall occasionally and running out of fuel once!!
Things I have done include: 17” Cloverleaf wheels, OMP Strut Brace, BMC Air induction Kit, Angel Tuning Re-map, Supersprint rear box (soon to have group N mid box too), clear rear lights and a few trim changes.
Reckon the car is probably around the 165-170BHP mark now – certainly the Alfa quoted 0-62mph of 9.3 secs is rubbish!
Have had a few ‘tussles’ (mainly due to rear lights – appear to attract attention… ;} ) and so far have managed to upset many a ‘better’ car mainly due to being able to out corner them – BMW: Ultimate Driving Machine my Arse!
Future improvements inc : slightly lowered suspension, new front discs/pads/pipes, side skirts, small rear spoiler and one day when the lottery sorts its act out I’d like the cam conversion or even the Autodelta Supercharger…

FriarJnr's......
The beginning of my story is a little more vague than my brother's. I do recall always liking Alfa's and recall my uncle owning one. However, they really caught my eye when the 156 first came out. I remember my brother mentioning them and then I discovered that they did a 2.5 V6 24 valve. That spec just seemed to roll off the tongue! I was too young then to afford one, yet alone get insured!! I finally took the plunge back in March of 2003. I had a little money to spare and my dear old Rover 216 Coupe had to finally be put into retirement, so I scoured the papers for a 2.5 156. I finally found one within my upper spending limit (+ £1,500!!!) and the rest as they say is history.
I can't say it's been the best relationship!!! I've got a long list of problems that I've had with the car but 98% of them have been down to two problems which took some time in tracing. Firstly, if your Alfa overheats when moving but cools when stationery IT IS MORE THAN LIKELY THE WATERPUMP!!! I spent months and loads of money having the cooling system flushed before finding this out. Secondly, if your Alfa suffers from power loss and flat spots IT IS MORE THAN LIKELY THE MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR (MAF). Again, a lot of fiddling and time was spent before this was discovered (loads of thanks to alfanige for finally fixing this!!!). These damn things break easier than a BMW drivers heart when they realise they've bought a naff car!!! (Both part that failed are NOT manufactured by Alfa by the way!!!!)
The car is a little tatty, obviously been in previous prangs, a lorry's hit the front and it still needs things doing to it, but my point is that if it had been any other car it would have gone by now. It is an awesome motor and it really shifts. And for a 1999 model with 65,000 on the clock, it still drives like a dream!!!
I am soon to be in a position to splash out more money on it. In the pipeline is a full Alfa body kit to be fitted (purchased courtesy of eBay), sports discs, lowered suspension, new wheels and chipping. Once all done you'll be able to find me gracefully sliding of various circuits throughout the UK on track days!!!