Back to a GTV V6
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Steering wheel was done by Jack of Royal Steering Wheels (http://royalsteeringwheels.com/)
Done in nappa and perforated leather with tan stitching together with extra padding - cost me about £110 on an exchange basis
You can specify pretty much whatever you want, below is a pic of the wheel he did last year for my 328i Sport
Done in nappa and perforated leather with tan stitching together with extra padding - cost me about £110 on an exchange basis
You can specify pretty much whatever you want, below is a pic of the wheel he did last year for my 328i Sport
Some money spent in the last few weeks.
Wasn't happy with the condition of the 17" Teledials but not easy to find sets. After a bit of searching I found a set that were straight but needed a refurb - finished in light shadow chrome so not as per original but really happy with the finish - fitted a new set of FK452's as well. Got a deal at £600 all in.
I'd noticed a faint knock when on right hand lock and suspected an inner CV joint, as this is beyond my capabilities I booked it in to the Simplyalfas in Stourbridge, they confirmed my thinking but I also asked them to give the car a full check and draw up a list of what they felt was needed.
I had already bought a set of slightly lower Eibach springs and rear shocks so wanted new front shocks as well.
Eventual list ran out to being:
Inner CV joint
Fitting Eibach springs
Fitting rear shocks
Supply and fit of Koni front shocks
Supply and fit Brembo front discs and pads
Supply and fit front anti roll bar drop links
Supply and fit front anti roll bar (bushes aren't available so no choice but whole new bar)
Supply and fit new rear bump stops
Supply and fit new front shock boots
Grand total of £1,409 invested ( invested makes it easier to justify than cost) but now mechanically 100%
Drives fantastically now and nice to know it has been given a thorough look over and sorted
Wasn't happy with the condition of the 17" Teledials but not easy to find sets. After a bit of searching I found a set that were straight but needed a refurb - finished in light shadow chrome so not as per original but really happy with the finish - fitted a new set of FK452's as well. Got a deal at £600 all in.
I'd noticed a faint knock when on right hand lock and suspected an inner CV joint, as this is beyond my capabilities I booked it in to the Simplyalfas in Stourbridge, they confirmed my thinking but I also asked them to give the car a full check and draw up a list of what they felt was needed.
I had already bought a set of slightly lower Eibach springs and rear shocks so wanted new front shocks as well.
Eventual list ran out to being:
Inner CV joint
Fitting Eibach springs
Fitting rear shocks
Supply and fit of Koni front shocks
Supply and fit Brembo front discs and pads
Supply and fit front anti roll bar drop links
Supply and fit front anti roll bar (bushes aren't available so no choice but whole new bar)
Supply and fit new rear bump stops
Supply and fit new front shock boots
Grand total of £1,409 invested ( invested makes it easier to justify than cost) but now mechanically 100%
Drives fantastically now and nice to know it has been given a thorough look over and sorted
That's a lovely looking GTV, funny how time changes opinions, the Aero kit was a must have but now I think they look much better with a naked bootlid. Is that Lightning Blue IIRC, think it replaced Sail/Vela Blue which was a bit darker. Must admit fancy another of these, quite like Meteor Grey with Red Leather, remember selling one with full electric leather recaros, you could get the seat much lower than the standard seats which to me has always been a problem having a long body.
crostonian said:
That's a lovely looking GTV, funny how time changes opinions, the Aero kit was a must have but now I think they look much better with a naked bootlid. Is that Lightning Blue IIRC, think it replaced Sail/Vela Blue which was a bit darker. Must admit fancy another of these, quite like Meteor Grey with Red Leather, remember selling one with full electric leather recaros, you could get the seat much lower than the standard seats which to me has always been a problem having a long body.
My last one had a full Cup kit on it, I know its down to personal preference but I prefer the car with nothing on itIt is indeed Lightning Blue
New job commenced today.
Car has a black and tan interior and I have never really got on with the grey cloth pillars and headlining so decided to tackle it
Stripped out A, B and C pillars plus the complete headlining and going to re-trim them all in black suede
Car came with grey sunvisors and grab handles, black sets are quite rare but chanced upon a complete set that cost me £35 delivered.
Stripping everything out was fairly straightforward apart from the C pillars that had 4mm hex bolts that had to be accessed from the boot - absolute swine to get to and totally unnecessary
None of the panels to be trimmed are exactly straightforward but what the heck, if you don't try these kind of things you'll never pick up new skills
Car has a black and tan interior and I have never really got on with the grey cloth pillars and headlining so decided to tackle it
Stripped out A, B and C pillars plus the complete headlining and going to re-trim them all in black suede
Car came with grey sunvisors and grab handles, black sets are quite rare but chanced upon a complete set that cost me £35 delivered.
Stripping everything out was fairly straightforward apart from the C pillars that had 4mm hex bolts that had to be accessed from the boot - absolute swine to get to and totally unnecessary
None of the panels to be trimmed are exactly straightforward but what the heck, if you don't try these kind of things you'll never pick up new skills
Lovely looking car OP. 
Just bought a green v6 from 1998. It will need a lot of time and effort spending on it to get even half-way to yours...but there are a lot of things right about it which makes me happy I bought it.
Going to give the suspension a proper inspection on Wednesday and take it from there.
Just bought a green v6 from 1998. It will need a lot of time and effort spending on it to get even half-way to yours...but there are a lot of things right about it which makes me happy I bought it.
Going to give the suspension a proper inspection on Wednesday and take it from there.
GM182 said:
Lovely looking car OP.
Just bought a green v6 from 1998. It will need a lot of time and effort spending on it to get even half-way to yours...but there are a lot of things right about it which makes me happy I bought it.
Going to give the suspension a proper inspection on Wednesday and take it from there.
This is my second GTV - best bit of advice I can offer is not to fall in to the trap of Powerflexing everything in sight. My first was fully Powerflexed, this one isn't and to be honest I can't tell the difference Just bought a green v6 from 1998. It will need a lot of time and effort spending on it to get even half-way to yours...but there are a lot of things right about it which makes me happy I bought it.
Going to give the suspension a proper inspection on Wednesday and take it from there.
Andy665 said:
GM182 said:
Lovely looking car OP.
Just bought a green v6 from 1998. It will need a lot of time and effort spending on it to get even half-way to yours...but there are a lot of things right about it which makes me happy I bought it.
Going to give the suspension a proper inspection on Wednesday and take it from there.
This is my second GTV - best bit of advice I can offer is not to fall in to the trap of Powerflexing everything in sight. My first was fully Powerflexed, this one isn't and to be honest I can't tell the difference Just bought a green v6 from 1998. It will need a lot of time and effort spending on it to get even half-way to yours...but there are a lot of things right about it which makes me happy I bought it.
Going to give the suspension a proper inspection on Wednesday and take it from there.
Finished the headlining this morning - bigger job than I first imagined but considering I have never trimmed anything in my life before I am happy with the results.
As standard it cam with a light grey headlining and covering on A, B and C pillars, always thought it looked odd as rest of the interior is tan and black - knew one day it would need to be done - it was in perfect condition but I just did not like it.
I had quotes for it be done but could not justify the £250 - 300 I was quoted so no option but to roll my sleeves up and do it myself.
Stripping everything out was relatively easy apart from the C pillars. For some unknown reason Alfa decided to secure them with two 4mm nuts, one behind the rear quarter panel trim and one in the boot that was easily accessible if you have two left hands. each with seven fingers about 14 inches long.
Once removed it was the slow, laborious job of removing the existing trim, everything was still stuck firmly down so it was just a case of pulling off the nylon lining and then scraping away the foam with a wallpaper scraper, being especially careful with the headlining as its only fibreboard so easily damaged.
Once stripped of all foam everything was sanded down to remove any small imperfections - again time consuming but I knew the key to a decent end result was a good level of prep.
Textured nylon with a foam backing together with spray adhesive was ordered from here http://www.as-trim.co.uk/ - not the cheapest but good service and the proper materials to do the job properly.
I started with the A pillars, not having any idea of what techniques there were to get the best results I applied some common sense and logic and took things nice and steadly. I decided the best course of action was to spray the panels rather than the material, leave it for 10-15 secs and then worked from the centre out, firstly making sure that the visible parts were crease free. I knew form a little practice with small samples that once the material was on there was no chance of lifting it up and trying again - if I made a mistake that piece of material was scrap.
Once the visible parts were finished it was a case of trimming the returns and tidying, time consuming but satisfying to get it done properly
The B pillars were relatively straightforward, the C pillars more tricking because of the returns and creases etc but the part I was dreading was the headlining itself, by far and away the biggest panel.
After much pondering I decided to start with the rear section and do it in foot long sections, spraying and applying the material until the full panel was covered and then doing all the edges.
The headling shape on a GVV is quite complex with recesses for grab handles, sunvisors, interior light and a full width crease half way back - thats why I bought proper headlining material as it has a bit of "give" to allow for this kind of thing.
Halfway through this panel I stupidly sprayed some adhesive on one of the sections of material that I had applied, fortunately Auto Finesse Tar and Glue remover was to hand, a quick spray and rub with a nylon brush removed the glue with no ill effects.
Once everything was trimmed it was then simply a case of re-fitting everything. The car originally had grey sunvisors, grabhandles and locating plugs in grey, only a small number of GTVs ever came with them in black but I was incredibly lucky to locate a used but mint complete set of everything bar the locating plugs for £35. The locating plugs were sourced from my local Fiat dealer, same part number as the Alfa items but cheaper
Heres the results, not 100% perfect but I'm very happy with it - all done for about 1/3 of the cost of having it done by a trimmer but immensely more satisfying than simply writing a cheque
As standard it cam with a light grey headlining and covering on A, B and C pillars, always thought it looked odd as rest of the interior is tan and black - knew one day it would need to be done - it was in perfect condition but I just did not like it.
I had quotes for it be done but could not justify the £250 - 300 I was quoted so no option but to roll my sleeves up and do it myself.
Stripping everything out was relatively easy apart from the C pillars. For some unknown reason Alfa decided to secure them with two 4mm nuts, one behind the rear quarter panel trim and one in the boot that was easily accessible if you have two left hands. each with seven fingers about 14 inches long.
Once removed it was the slow, laborious job of removing the existing trim, everything was still stuck firmly down so it was just a case of pulling off the nylon lining and then scraping away the foam with a wallpaper scraper, being especially careful with the headlining as its only fibreboard so easily damaged.
Once stripped of all foam everything was sanded down to remove any small imperfections - again time consuming but I knew the key to a decent end result was a good level of prep.
Textured nylon with a foam backing together with spray adhesive was ordered from here http://www.as-trim.co.uk/ - not the cheapest but good service and the proper materials to do the job properly.
I started with the A pillars, not having any idea of what techniques there were to get the best results I applied some common sense and logic and took things nice and steadly. I decided the best course of action was to spray the panels rather than the material, leave it for 10-15 secs and then worked from the centre out, firstly making sure that the visible parts were crease free. I knew form a little practice with small samples that once the material was on there was no chance of lifting it up and trying again - if I made a mistake that piece of material was scrap.
Once the visible parts were finished it was a case of trimming the returns and tidying, time consuming but satisfying to get it done properly
The B pillars were relatively straightforward, the C pillars more tricking because of the returns and creases etc but the part I was dreading was the headlining itself, by far and away the biggest panel.
After much pondering I decided to start with the rear section and do it in foot long sections, spraying and applying the material until the full panel was covered and then doing all the edges.
The headling shape on a GVV is quite complex with recesses for grab handles, sunvisors, interior light and a full width crease half way back - thats why I bought proper headlining material as it has a bit of "give" to allow for this kind of thing.
Halfway through this panel I stupidly sprayed some adhesive on one of the sections of material that I had applied, fortunately Auto Finesse Tar and Glue remover was to hand, a quick spray and rub with a nylon brush removed the glue with no ill effects.
Once everything was trimmed it was then simply a case of re-fitting everything. The car originally had grey sunvisors, grabhandles and locating plugs in grey, only a small number of GTVs ever came with them in black but I was incredibly lucky to locate a used but mint complete set of everything bar the locating plugs for £35. The locating plugs were sourced from my local Fiat dealer, same part number as the Alfa items but cheaper
Heres the results, not 100% perfect but I'm very happy with it - all done for about 1/3 of the cost of having it done by a trimmer but immensely more satisfying than simply writing a cheque
GTV was taken off SORN on Friday so nipped out for a quick shakedown drive this morning and managed to grab a few pics
Managed to get a half decent soundclip of the exhaust as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHgv0XHUWxg
Managed to get a half decent soundclip of the exhaust as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHgv0XHUWxg
welshsteve said:
Nice example of a v6 you have there,
I have just bought wv53zze same colour and interior but not even close to the standard of yours yet.
There is still lots to do to mine - mechanically its pretty much A1 but need to get some bodywork imperfections sorted out this year - thankfully zero rust thoughI have just bought wv53zze same colour and interior but not even close to the standard of yours yet.
Edited by welshsteve on Thursday 21st February 23:09
Had a great run out last Sunday with a small collection of others from the alfaowner forum, great weather for driving round the Peak District - 250 miles of hard driving, no oil used, no water used - just lots of super unleaded
Andy665 said:
Some money spent in the last few weeks.
Wasn't happy with the condition of the 17" Teledials but not easy to find sets. After a bit of searching I found a set that were straight but needed a refurb - finished in light shadow chrome so not as per original but really happy with the finish - fitted a new set of FK452's as well. Got a deal at 600 all in.
I'd noticed a faint knock when on right hand lock and suspected an inner CV joint, as this is beyond my capabilities I booked it in to the Simplyalfas in Stourbridge, they confirmed my thinking but I also asked them to give the car a full check and draw up a list of what they felt was needed.
I had already bought a set of slightly lower Eibach springs and rear shocks so wanted new front shocks as well.
Eventual list ran out to being:
Inner CV joint
Fitting Eibach springs
Fitting rear shocks
Supply and fit of Koni front shocks
Supply and fit Brembo front discs and pads
Supply and fit front anti roll bar drop links
Supply and fit front anti roll bar (bushes aren't available so no choice but whole new bar)
Supply and fit new rear bump stops
Supply and fit new front shock boots
Grand total of 1,409 invested ( invested makes it easier to justify than cost) but now mechanically 100%
Drives fantastically now and nice to know it has been given a thorough look over and sorted
Beautiful job on the detailing.Wasn't happy with the condition of the 17" Teledials but not easy to find sets. After a bit of searching I found a set that were straight but needed a refurb - finished in light shadow chrome so not as per original but really happy with the finish - fitted a new set of FK452's as well. Got a deal at 600 all in.
I'd noticed a faint knock when on right hand lock and suspected an inner CV joint, as this is beyond my capabilities I booked it in to the Simplyalfas in Stourbridge, they confirmed my thinking but I also asked them to give the car a full check and draw up a list of what they felt was needed.
I had already bought a set of slightly lower Eibach springs and rear shocks so wanted new front shocks as well.
Eventual list ran out to being:
Inner CV joint
Fitting Eibach springs
Fitting rear shocks
Supply and fit of Koni front shocks
Supply and fit Brembo front discs and pads
Supply and fit front anti roll bar drop links
Supply and fit front anti roll bar (bushes aren't available so no choice but whole new bar)
Supply and fit new rear bump stops
Supply and fit new front shock boots
Grand total of 1,409 invested ( invested makes it easier to justify than cost) but now mechanically 100%
Drives fantastically now and nice to know it has been given a thorough look over and sorted
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