RE: Alfa Romeo GT Blackline | Shed of the Week
Discussion
Geoffcapes said:
I can't believe no one has mentioned the Recaro seat's in these. By far the comfiest seats I've ever sat in.
Had my GT (1.9JTDm) for 3 years, and with a decay and remap was pumping out 200BHp with a shed load (no pun intended) of torque, used to embarrass M3's of that era.
And yes, they are better looking than the fat ar5ed Brera's. And handle far better.
My GT. with Jet fins!
Very nice, looks as though that has the same oxblood leather as my white one, as well as the jetfins. The seats are so comfy, we drove to Vienna and back in ours, what a superb experience.Had my GT (1.9JTDm) for 3 years, and with a decay and remap was pumping out 200BHp with a shed load (no pun intended) of torque, used to embarrass M3's of that era.
And yes, they are better looking than the fat ar5ed Brera's. And handle far better.
My GT. with Jet fins!
Edited by Geoffcapes on Friday 10th May 09:26
Dale487 said:
Controversial opinion - the GT is a better looking car than the Brera
I agree entirely but to my mind, that's a relatively low bar - the Brera is a truly ugly car. The GT is lovely. Perhaps not as stunning as some Alfas, but still lovely. I wouldn't want a black (or red) one, but at this money, beggers really can't be choosers.
andyA700 said:
Geoffcapes said:
I can't believe no one has mentioned the Recaro seat's in these. By far the comfiest seats I've ever sat in.
Had my GT (1.9JTDm) for 3 years, and with a decay and remap was pumping out 200BHp with a shed load (no pun intended) of torque, used to embarrass M3's of that era.
And yes, they are better looking than the fat ar5ed Brera's. And handle far better.
My GT. with Jet fins!
Very nice, looks as though that has the same oxblood leather as my white one, as well as the jetfins. The seats are so comfy, we drove to Vienna and back in ours, what a superb experience.Had my GT (1.9JTDm) for 3 years, and with a decay and remap was pumping out 200BHp with a shed load (no pun intended) of torque, used to embarrass M3's of that era.
And yes, they are better looking than the fat ar5ed Brera's. And handle far better.
My GT. with Jet fins!
Edited by Geoffcapes on Friday 10th May 09:26
I absolutely loved that car. Never missed a beat.
Geoffcapes said:
andyA700 said:
Geoffcapes said:
I can't believe no one has mentioned the Recaro seat's in these. By far the comfiest seats I've ever sat in.
Had my GT (1.9JTDm) for 3 years, and with a decay and remap was pumping out 200BHp with a shed load (no pun intended) of torque, used to embarrass M3's of that era.
And yes, they are better looking than the fat ar5ed Brera's. And handle far better.
My GT. with Jet fins!
Very nice, looks as though that has the same oxblood leather as my white one, as well as the jetfins. The seats are so comfy, we drove to Vienna and back in ours, what a superb experience.Had my GT (1.9JTDm) for 3 years, and with a decay and remap was pumping out 200BHp with a shed load (no pun intended) of torque, used to embarrass M3's of that era.
And yes, they are better looking than the fat ar5ed Brera's. And handle far better.
My GT. with Jet fins!
Edited by Geoffcapes on Friday 10th May 09:26
I absolutely loved that car. Never missed a beat.
I had one for eight years. Bought it with 150k on it and took it to 268k before I part-ex'd it against my Vantage. The dealer then used it as a loan car for a while and it was recently MOTd with more than 275k on it.
Deceptively practical - with the rear seats down, I once had a full-size washing machine AND a boxed full size Dyson vacuum cleaner AND a microwave AND a toolbox in the back.
It only let me down twice - once when a battery earth cable frayed and again when a gearchange cable popped off the selector mechanism. Otherwise, it was exceptionally reliable (helped no end by the fact I worked part-time at Motormech in Birmingham - a particularly well-regarded Alfa specialist).
I put winter tyres on it most winters, as I like a bit of landscape photography. It got to South Wales and back with no dramas during the 'beast from the East'
One of the very few cars I actually miss, despite it being one of the cheapest.
Alfa in the snow by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
Deceptively practical - with the rear seats down, I once had a full-size washing machine AND a boxed full size Dyson vacuum cleaner AND a microwave AND a toolbox in the back.
It only let me down twice - once when a battery earth cable frayed and again when a gearchange cable popped off the selector mechanism. Otherwise, it was exceptionally reliable (helped no end by the fact I worked part-time at Motormech in Birmingham - a particularly well-regarded Alfa specialist).
I put winter tyres on it most winters, as I like a bit of landscape photography. It got to South Wales and back with no dramas during the 'beast from the East'
One of the very few cars I actually miss, despite it being one of the cheapest.
Alfa in the snow by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrNigel_O said:
I had one for eight years. Bought it with 150k on it and took it to 268k before I part-ex'd it against my Vantage. The dealer then used it as a loan car for a while and it was recently MOTd with more than 275k on it.
Deceptively practical - with the rear seats down, I once had a full-size washing machine AND a boxed full size Dyson vacuum cleaner AND a microwave AND a toolbox in the back.
It only let me down twice - once when a battery earth cable frayed and again when a gearchange cable popped off the selector mechanism. Otherwise, it was exceptionally reliable (helped no end by the fact I worked part-time at Motormech in Birmingham - a particularly well-regarded Alfa specialist).
I put winter tyres on it most winters, as I like a bit of landscape photography. It got to South Wales and back with no dramas during the 'beast from the East'
One of the very few cars I actually miss, despite it being one of the cheapest.
Alfa in the snow by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
Lovely picDeceptively practical - with the rear seats down, I once had a full-size washing machine AND a boxed full size Dyson vacuum cleaner AND a microwave AND a toolbox in the back.
It only let me down twice - once when a battery earth cable frayed and again when a gearchange cable popped off the selector mechanism. Otherwise, it was exceptionally reliable (helped no end by the fact I worked part-time at Motormech in Birmingham - a particularly well-regarded Alfa specialist).
I put winter tyres on it most winters, as I like a bit of landscape photography. It got to South Wales and back with no dramas during the 'beast from the East'
One of the very few cars I actually miss, despite it being one of the cheapest.
Alfa in the snow by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrI had a diesel flavoured example in Stromboli grey and had a three year love affair with it.
Suspension clonk of some sort for ten months out of twelve and electric windows with a mind of their own.
Also suffer from the Ferrari gooey switchgear/buttons issue.
Rotten sills kill most as they did mine, you only have to look at them to see that they are a massive water trap.
I would have another one in a heartbeat.
To use a Clarksonism, one day it will be working and you'll catch a glimpse of yourself in a shop window..........
Oh, and if I tell you the headlights are soooo similar to the Veyron's you won't be able to unsee it.
Arachne and Elmo by Jayson Cork, on Flickr
Alfa Romeo GT by Jayson Cork, on Flickr
Alfa GT by Jayson Cork, on Flickr
Alfa Romeo GT by Jayson Cork, on Flickr
Suspension clonk of some sort for ten months out of twelve and electric windows with a mind of their own.
Also suffer from the Ferrari gooey switchgear/buttons issue.
Rotten sills kill most as they did mine, you only have to look at them to see that they are a massive water trap.
I would have another one in a heartbeat.
To use a Clarksonism, one day it will be working and you'll catch a glimpse of yourself in a shop window..........
Oh, and if I tell you the headlights are soooo similar to the Veyron's you won't be able to unsee it.
Arachne and Elmo by Jayson Cork, on FlickrAlfa Romeo GT by Jayson Cork, on FlickrAlfa GT by Jayson Cork, on FlickrAlfa Romeo GT by Jayson Cork, on Flickrusername_checksout said:
ballans said:
Am I right in thinking the V6 in these is not a Busso but a GM unit?
The last Alfa to come with a Busso I believe?The replacement V6 was a worked-over GM unit; Alfa did a lot to make it their own. Great unit, sounded fantastic in the higher revs and loads of torque.
Om said:
The engine is its weakest feature. They were an early DI engine and suffer from coking up so slow down over time - and they weren't that quick when new. Economy was low 30s on a run and they need frequent cambelt changes. Totally reliable though.
The only other thing of note was that mine (and I am told others) corrode the sills from the inside out. Alfa added a tube of sound deadening foam on the inside of the sills to reduce noise. As you can imagine, foam that holds water next to even galvanised metal is not ideal. Not the end of the world - remove foam and a simple weld for a couple of hundred quid solved it, but something to bear in mind. Worth noting mine was 12 years old at that point and this was likely exacerbated/accelerated due to an idiot fitter/mechanic crushing a sill when not using the jackpoints which I am sure hastened its appearance...
When buying mine, I looked at a bunch of others, and they pretty much all had crushed sills at the jacking points. Talking to a few Alfa specialists at the time, the issue is that the design meant they needed to widen the body at the sill level, but still used the original 156 platform’s jacking points which were further inboard. So any careless mechanic or home DIY repairer was likely to slap a jack or lift arm just an inch or two in from the edge of the sill, and bingo, a cosmetic sill cover of 0.5mm Italian steel is going to fold in like a coke can… The only other thing of note was that mine (and I am told others) corrode the sills from the inside out. Alfa added a tube of sound deadening foam on the inside of the sills to reduce noise. As you can imagine, foam that holds water next to even galvanised metal is not ideal. Not the end of the world - remove foam and a simple weld for a couple of hundred quid solved it, but something to bear in mind. Worth noting mine was 12 years old at that point and this was likely exacerbated/accelerated due to an idiot fitter/mechanic crushing a sill when not using the jackpoints which I am sure hastened its appearance...
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