'68 Alfa Romeo Gt Junior
Discussion
I take delivery of my 1970 GT Junior 1300 in a couple of weeks so read your posts with great interest thank you very much. Mine has just been fully restored .. not by me as I have no mechanical talents! Its pretty much standard except for the wheels, lowered suspension and front seats, however I think it wont be long before I will be pestering your friends at alfaholics.
Sounds wonderful, I'd be interested to hear how you get on!
I had the pleasure of being featured on Drive Tribes recently.
Seeing as I live close by, those nice folk at Donington Park gave me the Heritage Loop to play on for the day.
If anyone's reading this and has something older and interesting, 'The Toms' who wrote and shot this feature may like to hear from you.
http://tomeditorial.uk/
https://drivetribe.com/p/dHiAxPWNQNC1wZj2nTnTrg?ii...
I had the pleasure of being featured on Drive Tribes recently.
Seeing as I live close by, those nice folk at Donington Park gave me the Heritage Loop to play on for the day.
If anyone's reading this and has something older and interesting, 'The Toms' who wrote and shot this feature may like to hear from you.
http://tomeditorial.uk/
https://drivetribe.com/p/dHiAxPWNQNC1wZj2nTnTrg?ii...
joesnow said:
Sounds wonderful, I'd be interested to hear how you get on!
I had the pleasure of being featured on Drive Tribes recently.
Seeing as I live close by, those nice folk at Donington Park gave me the Heritage Loop to play on for the day.
If anyone's reading this and has something older and interesting, 'The Toms' who wrote and shot this feature may like to hear from you.
http://tomeditorial.uk/
https://drivetribe.com/p/dHiAxPWNQNC1wZj2nTnTrg?ii...
Thanks Joe .. and what a great site drivetribe is .. I had the pleasure of being featured on Drive Tribes recently.
Seeing as I live close by, those nice folk at Donington Park gave me the Heritage Loop to play on for the day.
If anyone's reading this and has something older and interesting, 'The Toms' who wrote and shot this feature may like to hear from you.
http://tomeditorial.uk/
https://drivetribe.com/p/dHiAxPWNQNC1wZj2nTnTrg?ii...
joesnow said:
I've longed for one of these for many a year. I love the looks - its just so right, the advanced mechanics for the era and the tangible coolness. It seems to transend class too somehow, accepted as a great, yet obtainable for modest outlay. Aesthetically, for me the 105 coupe is up there with the expensive italian classics, but is far more of a realistic proposition!
This one is a GT Junior 1300; Alfa made the GTV cars, and then introduced the Juniors which started with a 1300cc engine and lower interior spec so more cool people could afford one in light of fuel taxes in the mid sixties. Its also a 'step front' - the earlier and more sought after series due to the increasing interest in converting these cars to race spec. Later 'smooth front' cars are outside the era for classic racing, but personally I prefer the step front look, as do many other classic Alfa fans. The car had a bare metal repaint in 2009; new sills, floors and front end. At that time the engine was swapped for a freshly rebuilt 1750 engine, thought to be the best compromise of revvy and torquey twin cam, and a rebuilt gearbox - so it is a car with all of the hard work done. There are still a few issues, but they're pretty easy to sort. Parts are readily available, and easy to fit with a bit of competence and the right tools.
The one thing I know I need to do is buy some new seats. Its fitted with leather Megane items currently which are comfy, but too high and shallow for my 6'4", meaning my knees poke up at 8:15 either side of the lovely Hellebore wood rimmed wheel and my hair brushes the roof. I'm thinking along the lines of a classic fixed bucket with head restraint. I've found some Cobreau Alpines in quilt stitched leather with black cord cushions at the right price. I'd like to fit a period or retro radio too, as it has a jazzy Alpine h/u fitted at the mo. My aim is to get the car back to period fast road spec throughout, and use it lots! It needs some tidying first.
You mention in one of your posts that you were going to contact the DVLA to find out more of its history, did this work for you?This one is a GT Junior 1300; Alfa made the GTV cars, and then introduced the Juniors which started with a 1300cc engine and lower interior spec so more cool people could afford one in light of fuel taxes in the mid sixties. Its also a 'step front' - the earlier and more sought after series due to the increasing interest in converting these cars to race spec. Later 'smooth front' cars are outside the era for classic racing, but personally I prefer the step front look, as do many other classic Alfa fans. The car had a bare metal repaint in 2009; new sills, floors and front end. At that time the engine was swapped for a freshly rebuilt 1750 engine, thought to be the best compromise of revvy and torquey twin cam, and a rebuilt gearbox - so it is a car with all of the hard work done. There are still a few issues, but they're pretty easy to sort. Parts are readily available, and easy to fit with a bit of competence and the right tools.
The one thing I know I need to do is buy some new seats. Its fitted with leather Megane items currently which are comfy, but too high and shallow for my 6'4", meaning my knees poke up at 8:15 either side of the lovely Hellebore wood rimmed wheel and my hair brushes the roof. I'm thinking along the lines of a classic fixed bucket with head restraint. I've found some Cobreau Alpines in quilt stitched leather with black cord cushions at the right price. I'd like to fit a period or retro radio too, as it has a jazzy Alpine h/u fitted at the mo. My aim is to get the car back to period fast road spec throughout, and use it lots! It needs some tidying first.
Edited by joesnow on Tuesday 12th July 12:11
Jonny TVR said:
You mention in one of your posts that you were going to contact the DVLA to find out more of its history, did this work for you?
I did it for my Junior a few years ago and it worked really well, I got quite a few previous owners and was able to track them down. Well worth it.Jonny TVR said:
JimmyJam said:
I did it for my Junior a few years ago and it worked really well, I got quite a few previous owners and was able to track them down. Well worth it.
That sounds good .. how do you do it? is there a link?
Awesome, what a great car and story so far. Im glad you managed to keep the car rather than it getting sold off at auction!
One of these was on the initial short list for me when looking for a classic car but i just found them too unfamiliar, i'm much more comfortable with german stuff and the 2002 won me over, sadly haven driven it yet having spent the last 18 months building the thing but use will be much the same as yours, sprint days, track days and road trips etc. i cant wait and your thread here has got me even more excited for it. Of course ill also want it to feature heavily at my future wedding whenever that may be!
Scott
One of these was on the initial short list for me when looking for a classic car but i just found them too unfamiliar, i'm much more comfortable with german stuff and the 2002 won me over, sadly haven driven it yet having spent the last 18 months building the thing but use will be much the same as yours, sprint days, track days and road trips etc. i cant wait and your thread here has got me even more excited for it. Of course ill also want it to feature heavily at my future wedding whenever that may be!
Scott
Mr Dunamis said:
Hi Joe,
I am looking to buy some Corbeau Alpines like yours and wondered if you had a your fitting kit fabricated yourseld or did they come with the seats?
Cheers Adrian
Hi there. We used the original runners, but yes, I did have some cross members made up. I'd advise having a seat fitting beforehand, because, as i've said before, they are very snug, and I'm a 36" waist. Once in and settled, they are comfy. I drove the car to the Goodwood Revival last year, Derby to the event and back in a day without much difficulty, so not too bad.I am looking to buy some Corbeau Alpines like yours and wondered if you had a your fitting kit fabricated yourseld or did they come with the seats?
Cheers Adrian
scottos said:
Awesome, what a great car and story so far. Im glad you managed to keep the car rather than it getting sold off at auction!
One of these was on the initial short list for me when looking for a classic car but i just found them too unfamiliar, i'm much more comfortable with german stuff and the 2002 won me over, sadly haven driven it yet having spent the last 18 months building the thing but use will be much the same as yours, sprint days, track days and road trips etc. i cant wait and your thread here has got me even more excited for it. Of course ill also want it to feature heavily at my future wedding whenever that may be!
Scott
Cheers Scott.One of these was on the initial short list for me when looking for a classic car but i just found them too unfamiliar, i'm much more comfortable with german stuff and the 2002 won me over, sadly haven driven it yet having spent the last 18 months building the thing but use will be much the same as yours, sprint days, track days and road trips etc. i cant wait and your thread here has got me even more excited for it. Of course ill also want it to feature heavily at my future wedding whenever that may be!
Scott
These sort of cars are passion projects, but when they're right and being driven on the right road in the right weather, they are just brilliant.
Are you doing any sort of blog?
I'm saving up for the bodywork now, so the car is tucked away for the time being.
I should have got it underway, but bought a peach of a JDM DC2 Integra instead, in January, which is just great fun and very quick. I just couldn't let it get away! Great stable mate to the Alfa and long suffering B7 RS4.
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