RE: Shed Of The Week: Alfa GTV

RE: Shed Of The Week: Alfa GTV

Author
Discussion

Nickellarse

533 posts

188 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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Everyone raves about them, but I just think they are fugly. And they will cost you money, your marriage etc.......

Haggleburyfinius

6,593 posts

185 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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Chris Type R said:
http://www.alfaworkshop.co.uk/alfa_romeo_gtv.shtml

"With Alfa Romeo GTVs there should be no rust as the cars have all been galvanised from the factory however with cars now well over 10 years old it is worth checking the floor pan for corrosion."
Mine suffered exactly this.

Haggleburyfinius

6,593 posts

185 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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The Crack Fox said:
Haggleburyfinius said:
Despite costing me £300pcm in repairs to keep it on the road, I miss my GTV like crazy.

Every time I see one I get lustful.

I left mine outside for 2 months when I went on holiday and when I came home it had basically rusted away frown
Christ! Every time I get close to buying a GTV Spider as a cheap summer toy I read something like this that stops me.
The problem is that they get under your skin and you find yourself looking froward to "making them better" at the Alfa specialist each month.

These cars have soul.

Read the thread in readers cars about the loony in Holland and his GTV and its outrageous bills.

IanMorewood

4,309 posts

247 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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The £500 one the add is a bit sketchy on important details such as when the Mot was done.

andy97

4,691 posts

221 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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Strip it out, get it properly race prepared and race it in the Alfa Racing Championship Twin Spark Cup.

interloper

2,747 posts

254 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but it utterly beats me how anyone can describe a Gtv as ugly? The detail and proportions are spot on. Great shed, glad it sold though with 6 cars between me and Mrs interloper we really are at car-pacity!

carinaman

21,226 posts

171 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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When will this one reappear marked up?

Isn't there an advert for a Sargassi green one for £500 in Glos. that's rusted where it's been jacked up on the sills?

Checking behind the plastic bits where road crud may collect would be a wise move.

I left some premises lastnight and there was a silver 1999/2000 one with the more ornate teledials and the rear wing. I did a walkaround, it looked very smart.

DeltaEvo2

868 posts

191 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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People who say that the GTV and the Fiat Coupe are ugly need to go to Specsavers and the Fiat 20V Turbo was fantastically quick. Miss that car.

B17NNS

18,506 posts

246 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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article said:
complete with 'private' (anybody know what that means?) numberplate.
Yes. Everybody does. Including you.

Lovely things. Find one with tan momo and bask in the gloriousness of the interior cloud9

GX337

64 posts

198 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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Just sold my gtv v6 in stunning proteo red. Theres no other car on the road like it for the same money. Special engine and styling, Known as the mini ferrari in v6 guise. Was always an occasion to drive and got more looks at it than my 997.

Hrimfaxi

1,036 posts

126 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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Awesome. Always had a soft spot for these.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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Fantastic cars, I got a Spider last year and just can't stop using it. Replaced the rad and brakes without too much trouble, rear hub bearing wasn't too bad either. Don't asks about the clutch master cylinder! I still have the scars and Carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands from two full days of fighting with that little bstard. It revs to 7K and is a lot quicker than the figures would suggest, not Scooby quick but good fun with the roof down. Here's my babe.




or here https://www.dropbox.com/s/z4tg7cdwcg6q04p/Spider.j...


mikey P 500

1,236 posts

186 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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Qualify as a try petrol head as I owned one of these about 8yrs ago. Really was pretty poor in about 6mths of ownership it required 3 RAC rescues all unrelated. Over heating (radiator and thermo stat), clutch master cylinder completly failed and something to do with the reader sub frame was wrong too which would have cost hundreds to sort. Didn't even think it drove that well either (very average) although did look pretty (mine was red).

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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mikey

I can appreciate what you said about yours. Radiators are pretty poor and rot from the bottom up, fairly cheap to fix if you catch them in time. Thermostats all fail every couple of years, they stick open so the engine never warms up, again a quick fix for about £20. The clutch slave normally fails first, easy job, then the mater fails two months later! The clutch master must be fitted before they fitted any other components to the bare shell because it is almost impossible to change, I could write a book on how hard this is to do! The rear sub frame problem is because some numpty jacked the car up using the rather handy steel cross bar between the rear wheels, this is a very bad thing to do on a 916 Alfa and can never be repaired without replacing the rear suspension. Possibly a future classic if you don't mind spending every weekend screwing it back together (as I do).

DUMBO100

1,878 posts

183 months

Friday 6th March 2015
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I loved mine. A black 51 plate with tan leather. I paid £11995 for it in 2004

muppet42

326 posts

204 months

Saturday 7th March 2015
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B'stard Child said:
My brother had one in twin spark format - it didn't break him financially so he traded it it for a chrome bumper 1.8 MG BGT.... I think that tried harder to break him!!

Love the looks but am I the only one who thinks it should have been designed with a removable hard top - the lines always make me think that's what they should have done
...

I've driven two of the TS GTV coupes, one with the later dash and they were...okay. They were courtesy cars so not in anywhere near mint condition but the engines on both were nice, free revving things. Put me in mind of an MX5 4-cylinder though maybe that was just me biggrin Cabin and boot were tiny though (yes, the latter could be partially solved by removing the spare. Thoroughly modern way of doing it too given what current manufacturers are doing...) and the build was, erm, poor to say the least but as said, they were courtesy cars. Plus I've driven various Fiats all my life, so know what to expect(!)

Without looking for one though, I went the other way and bought a Coupe...



...it's an N/A so about the same in concept/power terms to the TS but being a 5-cylinder, I think it has more character. Okay, the MPG is marginally worse but I always get around the quoted 28-30 in mixed driving tongue out As a package though, I think it's a better option than the Alfa. More spacious interior with useable rear seats, bigger boot where the spare is actually not in the way and though mine has had issues (rear axle bushes, front wishbones, etc), it's marginally cheaper to get maintenance done too, cambelt aside of course biggrin

I'd always choose the Fiat over the Alfa and if it were a V6, I'd get a 20VT smile

magicalex

22 posts

135 months

Saturday 7th March 2015
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I bought a 98 gtv twinspark for 400 yes four hundred quid five months ago and immediately sold the chav-spec after market stereo that came with it for fifty so I'm all in for 350

So far she hasnt missed a beat, the variator is knackered though so it sounds like diesel on start up but that and wrong wheel drive aside shes an absolute hoot to drive - bought as cheap disposable runabout but I love it way more than I expected to!

alexinapot

13 posts

117 months

Saturday 7th March 2015
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Haggleburyfinius said:
..

I left mine outside for 2 months when I went on holiday and when I came home it had basically rusted away frown
You must have had a duff one - probably accident repaired. Mine is 1999 and lives outdoors all year round. Never been garaged cos it won't fit. Gets dirty but not rusty.

daveinaravecave

1,144 posts

134 months

Saturday 7th March 2015
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I bought a '00 TS model 8 months ago for £500 with no history and still using it as a daily. It'd had 4 new types and new rear brake discs pads and calipers as well as a fresh MOT. The front calipers ended up being a bit sticky after a few months so replaced the front brakes too. I've probably spent about £800 all in replacing various parts on it and it's thirsty on fuel, but it's one of the most fun cars driven due to the amount of grip it has. It's a bit slow off the line as it's geared to 40 in 1st, but after that it's similar in pace to EP3 and FN2 Civic Type R's. Either that or the two I've had a blast with weren't driving them right.

I got a phone call earlier today about a V6 GTV at a decent price and just waiting for the pictures to be sent over so I may find myself owning 2 of them very shortly smile

sef535

60 posts

186 months

Saturday 7th March 2015
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cant really argue at that price lovely looking motor with plenty of life in it if its looked after !!!