Rating: 
Summary: Owners Bible For Spica
Review: A nice read with lots of history and tidbits, however, not very useful if you are looking to make repairs or get information on post 1980 Alfa Romeos. If you have a Spica injection system this book is probably a must. I did appreciate the history and commentary. I don't think it quite rates the title "Alfa Romeo Owners Bible" as there are a few psalms missing.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly recommended work by an authority on the topic.
Review: An excellent work by a well-known authority Pat Braden whose previous efforts include books on Abarth, Ferrari (Daytonas), and Weber. He is currently a regular columnist for the Alfa Owner, publication of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club, and the Sports Car Market Magazine.No single work could possibly cover all the mechanical aspects of post war four cylinder Alfa Romeos (contrary to the previous posting's allusion) and neither does this. For that one can purchase one of the many shop manual reprints available from several independent Alfa parts suppliers. On the otherhand, Pat's work is an excellent (and interesting) overview of the subject written in the friendly conversational tone he is known. So buy a copy, sit in your favorite chair or under your favorite car, and be entertained.....
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended work by an authority on the topic.
Review: An excellent work by a well-known authority Pat Braden whose previous efforts include books on Abarth, Ferrari (Daytonas), and Weber. He is currently a regular columnist for the Alfa Owner, publication of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club, and the Sports Car Market Magazine. No single work could possibly cover all the mechanical aspects of post war four cylinder Alfa Romeos (contrary to the previous posting's allusion) and neither does this. For that one can purchase one of the many shop manual reprints available from several independent Alfa parts suppliers. On the otherhand, Pat's work is an excellent (and interesting) overview of the subject written in the friendly conversational tone he is known. So buy a copy, sit in your favorite chair or under your favorite car, and be entertained.....
Rating: 
Summary: Good Introduction
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Good Introduction
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Good all purpose beginner's guide...
Review: I enjoyed this book. It provided a broad perspective of the marquee and it's history. Although the book does not give great detail for diagnosis and repair, it provides enough information for anyone with common sense and mechanical inclinations. The best I've seen on the subject.
Rating:
Summary: Good all purpose beginner's guide...
Review: I enjoyed this book. It provided a broad perspective of the marquee and it's history. Although the book does not give great detail for diagnosis and repair, it provides enough information for anyone with common sense and mechanical inclinations. The best I've seen on the subject.
Rating:
Summary: What a great book, thanks Pat
Review: My preferred reading, so full of tips, tricks and golden words. It is a must for any Alfa owner. It makes it easy to understand everything a layman can do with his car.
Rating:
Summary: Not really usefull, nice read though
Review: Once you start working on an alfa, you will see that there are numerous differences in engine types, carburetors, and general setup. Especially as an owner of an 100% original Alfetta GTV (the one the book is mostly about) I was hapered by the fact that it doesn't cover dellorto carburators, which are the most common in europe, and it also fails to tell you how you get the engine out of the car, which is hell if you don't know how to do it with this specific car. thirdly there is no mention of cylinderhead differences, which makes you assume they are all thesame, which they are not. Too bad, but completely useless once you start revising the engine, or any part of the car, because only part of the information is available. You'd be better off buying a maintenance manual from Alfa themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Bible? Anecdotes is more like it.
Review: 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.
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