RE: SOTW: Alfa Romeo GTV T Spark

[W00DY]

They're also unlikely to fit P6000s but it looks pretty tidy and has clearly had money spent on it.

[Bella Smallville]

Great shed of the week there guys!!

If I hadn't just bought myself a 145QV for £600 that was on PH that I was also very surprised that was not shed of the week as well!

[da_murphster]

Riggers said:

After all, even if it does go epically wrong, you're only going to lose £975 quid.

That is just not true!

I naively bought a 190k 156 v6 for about £1700 - looked great (interior holds together well, galvanised means body looks good)

Cost me the same again over the 18m I had it - got to the stage where I had to renew my AA cover in g/f names as my premium had gone up so much (got recovered home for Christmas last year!)

Main problems with these cars is they are just not built for maintenance - wheels bearings - big job, changing oil filter - nightmare, changing the rear spark plugs - PITA.

I also found sourcing second hand spares to be difficult and expensive. The V6 was a peach and caused no problems….unlike the rest of the car.

I was lucky in that I found a cheap enthusiast garage that made it bearable but in the end I got bored of chasing faults and pretty much gave it away on fleabay – probably worth a fortune if I broke it.

To buy this shed I would suggest buying a ‘spare’ car for parts, having a sense of humour, deep pockets and a backup plan.

I would only buy another alfa if it either had a warranty or an absolutely flawless enthusiast service history.

Everyone did love it though – considering it was my ‘shed’ people do come and talk to you slightly misty eyed about Alfas!


Edit: All said though, I was going out to buy a oil burner passet when the 156 distracted me - I'm pretty certain I would have no stories to write about that - is part of the 'soul' of an alfa the nurturing you have to do. I'm glad I have scratched the itch but wont be doing it agaain quickly. My TVR cost me less to run!

Edited by da_murphster on Friday 12th November 11:37

[Agent Orange]

Brilliant shed! Got to say that shape is ageing well.

Another car I've considered in the past all be it the 3.0 V6 version. This has made me have a sniff around...

Not shed money but yummy...

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1747353.htm

The Crack Fox said:

I love these, great SOTW, but no mention of how they drive ? It's not all about the looks, is it ?

Probably the worst way to compare a car but when selling my Corrado 2.0 16v I test drove one of these on the same afternoon as going to test drive a Corrado VR6. I'd already set my heart on a VR6 but as the GTV was on the way I'd have a look.

Steering felt good but I wasn't so keen on the ride. It felt a bit more fruity than the 2.0 Corrado but didn't bowl me over. After driving a VR6 I'd completely dismissed the GTV. As I say a poor comparison and I regret never trying the 3.0 V6 GTV.

Timeless cars the GTV I feel.

Edited by Agent Orange on Friday 12th November 11:42

[Rumblestripe]

One of my favourite modern Alfas (the other being the beautifully understated GT) cracking shed though but.

Edited by Rumblestripe on Friday 12th November 11:34

[Rusty-C]

I'll have mine with 30,000 less miles and minus the tack spoiler

www.pistonheads.com/sales/2079212.htm

Edited by Rusty-C on Friday 12th November 11:39

[Mooster]

da_murphster][quote said:

stuff

Agree with most of that, my 156 cost me a bomb in the two years it was on the road, although that was doing 400 miles a week.

ALL the suspension, timing belt, driveshafts, clutch, auxiliary belt tensioner (more than once for that...), crank sensor, glowplugs....
Plus no end of electrical gremlins and breaking down three times.

Currently off road again as it keeps draining the battery and needs new brakes. My £750 Saab 9-3 Aero has been utterly reliable in 6k miles as a replacement!!!

Alfas are generally great fun to drive though, lovely interiors and most are pretty looking things. Top shed, but go in with your eyes open for potential spannering in future

[Dr G]

Rusty-C said:

I'll have mine with 30,000 less miles and minus the tack spoiler

www.pistonheads.com/sales/2079212.htm

Edited by Rusty-C on Friday 12th November 11:39

Cloth lets the interior down sadly, these really, really need the contrasting leather to look their best.

I'd need that V6 howl to put up with the inevitable running costs either way

[thegreenhell]

Riggers said:

The Crack Fox said:

I love these, great SOTW, but no mention of how they drive ? It's not all about the looks, is it ?

I'll leave that up to you guys - I've never driven one!

(Though my suspicion is that they don't drive that badly - the multi-link rear suspension was quite trick for the time and I doubt 155bhp is enough to cause horrendous torque steer)

They are well balanced and handle fairly nicely, with just a hint of predictable understeer that can easily be trimmed to neutrality or beyond with the throttle. The steering is nice and direct, without being over-sensitive like a lot of more modern cars. The only drawback is the car's weight, which at almost 1400kg really blunts the performance.

Here's a standard phase 1 car on the Nurburgring:

http://www.vimeo.com/3091651

[Gizmo!]

Alpha? Alpha



Nice car mind. I've always wanted a V6 Cup, black with tan, but the fact they're FWD saddens me

[Riggers]

da_murphster said:

Riggers said:

After all, even if it does go epically wrong, you're only going to lose £975 quid.

That is just not true!

I naively bought a 190k 156 v6 for about £1700 - looked great (interior holds together well, galvanised means body looks good)

Cost me the same again over the 18m I had it - got to the stage where I had to renew my AA cover in g/f names as my premium had gone up so much (got recovered home for Christmas last year!)

Main problems with these cars is they are just not built for maintenance - wheels bearings - big job, changing oil filter - nightmare, changing the rear spark plugs - PITA.

I also found sourcing second hand spares to be difficult and expensive. The V6 was a peach and caused no problems….unlike the rest of the car.

I was lucky in that I found a cheap enthusiast garage that made it bearable but in the end I got bored of chasing faults and pretty much gave it away on fleabay – probably worth a fortune if I broke it.

To buy this shed I would suggest buying a ‘spare’ car for parts, having a sense of humour, deep pockets and a backup plan.

I would only buy another alfa if it either had a warranty or an absolutely flawless enthusiast service history.

Everyone did love it though – considering it was my ‘shed’ people do come and talk to you slightly misty eyed about Alfas!


Edit: All said though, I was going out to buy a oil burner passet when the 156 distracted me - I'm pretty certain I would have no stories to write about that - is part of the 'soul' of an alfa the nurturing you have to do. I'm glad I have scratched the itch but wont be doing it agaain quickly. My TVR cost me less to run!

Edited by da_murphster on Friday 12th November 11:37

Ummm - that will only happen if you actually spend the money. My point is that if anything more expensive than, say, 500-600 quid goes wrong with it, you take the £975 pain and sell it for spares.

I appreciate what you're saying, though

[IanMorewood]

Like the colour combo and would have been half tempted a few months ago, chances are though big bills are just around the corner.

[jamieboy]

Gizmo! said:

Nice car mind. I've always wanted a V6 Cup, black with tan, but the fact they're FWD saddens me

They're FWD, no argument, but the rear suspension makes them feel less FWD than you might think.

A bigger problem for you might be that the V6 Cup never came in black, never came with full leather, and the half-leather wasn't tan.

You could get black-and-tan on a (much nicer to look at and mechanically identical) non-Cup V6, though?

Edited by jamieboy on Friday 12th November 11:58

[jontbone]

IF I was tempted to scratch that Alfa itch, if would have to be one of these with the V6 lump....

[The Angry Gopher]

Leave the common sense on one side and buy it! I would, if I didn't have several sheds of my own draining every last resource.

[Rusty-C]

Dr G said:

Rusty-C said:

I'll have mine with 30,000 less miles and minus the tack spoiler

www.pistonheads.com/sales/2079212.htm

Edited by Rusty-C on Friday 12th November 11:39

Cloth lets the interior down sadly, these really, really need the contrasting leather to look their best.

I'd need that V6 howl to put up with the inevitable running costs either way

Not fussed about the leather, but the V6'd be nice, but reputedly spoils the handling.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Nice pick for SOTW!

[redstu]

jontbone said:

IF I was tempted to scratch that Alfa itch, if would have to be one of these with the V6 lump....

I bought a 156 v6 last year , I just wouldn't have been interested in the lesser engines. Not from what Ive experienced but from what I have read the V6s are more reliable.

A V6 in this car would make it very attractive, but perhaps less agile and it consume a lot more fuel, but thye noise from the V6 would be worth it.

[Killer2005]

I didn't realise GTV's could be bought for such a price. And I was looking at an MX5 next

[TSE]

Well as a GTV owner myself (on my third now) I have to say that it never fails to make me smile and still looks great to this day.

My current one, a 1996 P Reg 2 litre TS in Alfa Red is actually coming off the road in January. Both my wife and I can't bear to sell it, and it needs a little tidying up now... but rather than just a 'tidy up' we are going for the full on restoration route, to make it absolutely 100% perfect. It's going to be a long and expensive project but I will post up the results at the end. Some people might say it's money badly spent, but each to their own!

My one has been previously owned by the chairman of the Alfa Owners Club and has a full Alfaholics stainless exhaust system.

Great SOTW!

Roy