RE: Shed of the Week: Alfa Romeo GTV Twin Spark
Discussion
Nice motors, I've had a GTV on an off in both 2.0TS and 3.0 V6 form since 2001, but like all these old cars there is lots of tat about where they have been bought for a few hundred quid and run on a shoestring with no maintenance. They are getting much thinner on the ground. The one in the advert is quite modified, its an early model and has the early less attractive interior but it's been externally modified to look like a later model.
court said:
You've got me thinking about 147s again. Had one new in 2003 and loved it. This is as good a base as any for less than a bag of sand - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201... 3dr in black with tan and new belt/water pump.
Might be more tempting if the seller had not obscured the number plate to prevent potential buyers checking the MOT history ...RicksAlfas said:
waynedear said:
My 2.0 8v twinspark has 144bhp ??
Does it have a catalyst? They lost a few.148bhp was referenced in the article and is the usual quoted output for a 2.0 8 valve.
Mound Dawg said:
Good cars. One of my pals has one that he bought for £400 as a cheap trackslag. Performance is similar to my 75 Twinspark so we enjoy chasing each other around. There's very little in it apart from corner exits where the 75s rear mounted transaxle and limited slip diff launches it away whilst the GTV tends to wash out a bit. He's got a Quaife diff for it that should sort that out though.
this looks cracking fun, keep up the good work!SidewaysSi said:
Great car! I have been running a 2.0TS 147 as a runaround for 2.5 years and it has been great.
I did get the belts done but it has been perfectly reliable and really good fun to drive. It is an agile little thing and despite its lowly value, a fun driver's car.
Same here: 147 2 litre is great. We did the Ardens last week and it's bonkers. Fab brakes and enough grunt to play with as long as you keep speed.I did get the belts done but it has been perfectly reliable and really good fun to drive. It is an agile little thing and despite its lowly value, a fun driver's car.
Its phase 1 twin spark hence the seats and all black dash won't have windows that drop when you open and close door but electrics a bit simpler. Had a 1998 phase 1 V6 for 9 years sold it to a mate in the same village and it is still going strong as a weekend car. I fitted Q2 diff and Koni shocks made a big difference.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/w1fMM63Q[/url]
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/w1fMM63Q[/url]
Peppka said:
Its phase 1 twin spark hence the seats and all black dash won't have windows that drop when you open and close door but electrics a bit simpler. Had a 1998 phase 1 V6 for 9 years sold it to a mate in the same village and it is still going strong as a weekend car. I fitted Q2 diff and Koni shocks made a big difference.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/w1fMM63Q[/url]
AFAIK 98 would have been phase 2 (phase 1 was 95-97), and the chrome insert in the scudetto on your pic also suggests phase 2 (although many, many phase 1 cars have had that insert added later on)[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/w1fMM63Q[/url]AC43 said:
How do Italian engineers make 4 pots sound sooooooo good?
And why can't anyone else, at least in mass market cars?
Modern alfa 4 pots dont sound as good as the old ones, even the later (euro3 standard) twinsparks sound less glorious then the E2 16vs and 8v twinnies. Mainly has to do with stuff like pre-cats in the manifold etc.. to control emissionsAnd why can't anyone else, at least in mass market cars?
I doubt you can find any new on sale 4 cilinder that sounds as a good as an early 16 twinspark.
Edited by VitorioVeloce on Friday 28th September 12:40
In 2010, I finished university and needed some wheels for job interviews and whatnot. I wanted a coupé with more that four cylinders and had up to £2k to spend.
Short-list was a leggy 3.0 Peugeot 406 Coupé, a Ford Cougar 2.5 X, or a GTV 3.0.
The Peugeot was beautiful, but if I was going to get one, I wanted the later 24v version and they were rare. The GTV 3.0 was a tad over budget unless I got a high-miler, which worried me. The Cougar was the 'sensible' option, and just happened to be a really nice car to drive, too, so that's what I got.
What's remarkable, though, is that I could have had my pick of GTV TS's for under £2k with reasonable miles, all of which would not have shed a penny i the intervening 8 years.
Short-list was a leggy 3.0 Peugeot 406 Coupé, a Ford Cougar 2.5 X, or a GTV 3.0.
The Peugeot was beautiful, but if I was going to get one, I wanted the later 24v version and they were rare. The GTV 3.0 was a tad over budget unless I got a high-miler, which worried me. The Cougar was the 'sensible' option, and just happened to be a really nice car to drive, too, so that's what I got.
What's remarkable, though, is that I could have had my pick of GTV TS's for under £2k with reasonable miles, all of which would not have shed a penny i the intervening 8 years.
This is an early Ph 1 (4 spoke steering wheel and Bosch ABS 2SI) which throws up a few notes of caution particularly with availability of certain parts. The ABS unit would actually be my biggest concern as this particular one cannot be fixed when it goes wrong and annoyingly they are pretty prone to ABS ECU issues. It also isn't shared with any other common cars so these are getting very rare in a serviceable condition.
There are ways to fool the MoT tester but you won't have working ABS, can't retrofit 5.3 either...
The suspension issues with these aren't a cheap shocks and springs job but usually the myriad of bushes on the rear to change, not difficult but time consuming if doing it yourself. If neglected they wear the ally subframe away, mine needed welding to fill the grooves in it that were evident when I stripped it down. Thankfully all bushes are available and you have the choice of standard or poly, I went for standard and pushed new bushes into the old arms.
They don't rust too badly but lots of it isn't obvious until you take wheel arch liners and underseal off, sills can be terminal though and hidden under the plastic so beware with that. Rear 3/4 panels rust from inside to out as well so check carefully along the edge just above the plastic sill trim.
My early Ph 1 Spider is 2 years into a resto now, hopefully back on the road for next Summer if I pull my finger out. If I was doing one again I'd probably go for a later Ph 1 (Bosch 5.3 ABS) or a Ph2, great cars though.
There are ways to fool the MoT tester but you won't have working ABS, can't retrofit 5.3 either...
The suspension issues with these aren't a cheap shocks and springs job but usually the myriad of bushes on the rear to change, not difficult but time consuming if doing it yourself. If neglected they wear the ally subframe away, mine needed welding to fill the grooves in it that were evident when I stripped it down. Thankfully all bushes are available and you have the choice of standard or poly, I went for standard and pushed new bushes into the old arms.
They don't rust too badly but lots of it isn't obvious until you take wheel arch liners and underseal off, sills can be terminal though and hidden under the plastic so beware with that. Rear 3/4 panels rust from inside to out as well so check carefully along the edge just above the plastic sill trim.
My early Ph 1 Spider is 2 years into a resto now, hopefully back on the road for next Summer if I pull my finger out. If I was doing one again I'd probably go for a later Ph 1 (Bosch 5.3 ABS) or a Ph2, great cars though.
Edited by wal 45 on Friday 28th September 13:14
I actually replaced the plastic scudetto with a chrome one just 3 screws. Mine had the same dash and seats as the shed 2 litre GTV so phase 1.
I doubt you can find any new on sale 4 cilinder that sounds as a good as an early 16 twinspark.
VitorioVeloce said:
Peppka said:
Its phase 1 twin spark hence the seats and all black dash won't have windows that drop when you open and close door but electrics a bit simpler. Had a 1998 phase 1 V6 for 9 years sold it to a mate in the same village and it is still going strong as a weekend car. I fitted Q2 diff and Koni shocks made a big difference.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/w1fMM63Q[/url]
AFAIK 98 would have been phase 2 (phase 1 was 95-97), and the chrome insert in the scudetto on your pic also suggests phase 2 (although many, many phase 1 cars have had that insert added later on)[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/w1fMM63Q[/url]AC43 said:
How do Italian engineers make 4 pots sound sooooooo good?
And why can't anyone else, at least in mass market cars?
Modern alfa 4 pots dont sound as good as the old ones, even the later (euro3 standard) twinsparks sound less glorious then the E2 16vs and 8v twinnies. Mainly has to do with stuff like pre-cats in the manifold etc.. to control emissionsAnd why can't anyone else, at least in mass market cars?
I doubt you can find any new on sale 4 cilinder that sounds as a good as an early 16 twinspark.
Edited by VitorioVeloce on Friday 28th September 12:40
I have a 2002 Spider V6. Proper old school sports car designed and built in a age before driving aids overwhelmed us. Love the look of the car, the engine sings with a Ragazzon exhaust fitted, music to the ears. The only weakness is the hood mechanism in particular the motor, a problem you won’t have with the GTV. V6 all the way boy!
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