RE: Shed of the Week: Alfa Romeo GTV Twin Spark
Discussion
As has already been said, this looks a little too barried for my liking. But a cracking choice of SOTW otherwise.
Closest experience I've had to this is the 98S 156 1.8TS we ran for a year in the mid-noughties. I loved it. Only sold because eldest was on the way and Mrs PB wanted something a bit smarter to carry her around in - it was in that lovely metallic blue they did but every panel had a scratch or a dent on it. Noisy variator too, of course. We'd picked it up as a bargain at BCA in Tewkesbury as a result.
Closest experience I've had to this is the 98S 156 1.8TS we ran for a year in the mid-noughties. I loved it. Only sold because eldest was on the way and Mrs PB wanted something a bit smarter to carry her around in - it was in that lovely metallic blue they did but every panel had a scratch or a dent on it. Noisy variator too, of course. We'd picked it up as a bargain at BCA in Tewkesbury as a result.
GTVs feel quite exotic. They look sexy and have oodles of character.
Probably the worst seats of any car I've owned. Crap ground clearance, crap turning circle, hopeless rear seats, useless boot and the panels are very thin and vulnerable to dings. A 147 or 156 is a better prospect in every way, but don't have quite the same character.
GTVs are wonderful old things. Of course it's the V6 that everyone wants, but they are daft money these days. A good TS really is a bargain by comparison.
I had one of the rare Phase 3 GTV V6s, with the 3.2 litre engine and it really was something special. But then again, would probably cost ten times as much as this week's shed.
Don't discount a 147TS. I had a cheap 147 1.6TS for a while. It got driven absolutely flat out everywhere. It sounded good, in a raspy sort of way and was great fun.
Probably the worst seats of any car I've owned. Crap ground clearance, crap turning circle, hopeless rear seats, useless boot and the panels are very thin and vulnerable to dings. A 147 or 156 is a better prospect in every way, but don't have quite the same character.
GTVs are wonderful old things. Of course it's the V6 that everyone wants, but they are daft money these days. A good TS really is a bargain by comparison.
I had one of the rare Phase 3 GTV V6s, with the 3.2 litre engine and it really was something special. But then again, would probably cost ten times as much as this week's shed.
Don't discount a 147TS. I had a cheap 147 1.6TS for a while. It got driven absolutely flat out everywhere. It sounded good, in a raspy sort of way and was great fun.
Sigh.... you know its a good shed when you are straight on the classifieds. Exhaust on this one is a bit naff but wouldn't cause me sleepless nights and probably sounds ok.
Marvelous looking car, the TS is a little dinger of an engine. Know a chap locally who has one in this colour (which is the best imo) and always gleaming. Has tan seats in his i think which look the dogs. Its a thumbs up from me.
Marvelous looking car, the TS is a little dinger of an engine. Know a chap locally who has one in this colour (which is the best imo) and always gleaming. Has tan seats in his i think which look the dogs. Its a thumbs up from me.
About an hour and a half drive from me here... not bad but black would not be my first choice. Italian sounding name of the seller bodes well (maybe?)
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/alfa-romeo-g...
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/alfa-romeo-g...
Mr2Mike said:
Love the styling of these and the interior but the engines put me off. The V6 is wonderful but horribly thirsty for a DD, and the twin spark is slightly fragile, thirsty and not very powerful.
7 twinspark gtv’s, bucketloads of miles, many at the limit and I have never had a fragile engine issue, thermostats, clutch slaves and an alternator gave me a bit of gip Itsallicanafford said:
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!Top shedding. Really makes me want to drive my V6 GTV more often.
These cars are by no means perfect, better drivers cars of the same era do exist. Don't buy one thinking you're going to get a focussed B road sports car because you aren't. But what you do get is a great sense of occasion (in the V6 at especially). Yes there are quicker diesel saloon repmobiles out there but some things are not quantifiable by numbers.
We used to have a 4 pot TS and whilst they do sound pretty good, the busso is in another league. Was never really powerful enough to lug around ~1400kg either.
These cars are by no means perfect, better drivers cars of the same era do exist. Don't buy one thinking you're going to get a focussed B road sports car because you aren't. But what you do get is a great sense of occasion (in the V6 at especially). Yes there are quicker diesel saloon repmobiles out there but some things are not quantifiable by numbers.
We used to have a 4 pot TS and whilst they do sound pretty good, the busso is in another league. Was never really powerful enough to lug around ~1400kg either.
I have owned both a Corrado VR6 and a 916 GTV 3.0 V6 in the past 5 years as weekend drives. Both great cars in their own rights and slightly flawed with their own idiosyncrasies. Both engines great, possibly lean more toward the Corrado in terms of being able to fit 4 people in and slightly more reliable and better handling imo.
I really like the TS engine - smooth, free revving and a decent step up in power post 4k revs.
Gearing on the 147 is little tall and it's not that economical but can't fault it. The quick steering is a joy on these things. Makes them really very agile indeed.
Would kill a same value Focus etc for fun.
Gearing on the 147 is little tall and it's not that economical but can't fault it. The quick steering is a joy on these things. Makes them really very agile indeed.
Would kill a same value Focus etc for fun.
Not bad - real shame it has been modified - at least not too extreme - apart from that well dodgy looking spoiler on the front and I’m not sure about those pedal covers - surely not standard or a factory option?
I drove one I was thinking about buying back in 2001. I was put off as even back then, when the car on test was only a few years old, because it had rust on underside of the boot lid and the aircon had packed in. That said, it sounded great, looked great and if I recall correctly handled nicely too. The interior wasn’t the last word in comfort and ergonomics but it always loooked pretty special.
The shed might be a good buy, but if it was mine I’d have to factor in a fair bit of cash to return it to standard spec. again - the exhaust might get a stay of execution if it is not boomy or loud as it doesn’t look too bad (compared to the other mods).
I drove one I was thinking about buying back in 2001. I was put off as even back then, when the car on test was only a few years old, because it had rust on underside of the boot lid and the aircon had packed in. That said, it sounded great, looked great and if I recall correctly handled nicely too. The interior wasn’t the last word in comfort and ergonomics but it always loooked pretty special.
The shed might be a good buy, but if it was mine I’d have to factor in a fair bit of cash to return it to standard spec. again - the exhaust might get a stay of execution if it is not boomy or loud as it doesn’t look too bad (compared to the other mods).
I love mine. Bought for £900 2 years ago as a stop gap car unseen off eBay in Aberdeen (!). Flew up drove the 400 miles home without missing a beat, and if I sell it now my 16 year old will kill me! Took me and the boy 600 miles for the Goodwood Festival revival this year as well. None of the electrics work and it need some a new headliner but just look at it...]
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/fSHYsIpo.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/VVL0w2K8" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/VVL0w2K8.jpg)
Edited by Chris1973 on Friday 28th September 23:16
Edited by Chris1973 on Friday 28th September 23:34
I love mine. Bought for £900 2 years ago as a stop gap car unseen off eBay in Aberdeen (!). Flew up drove the 400 miles home without missing a beat, and if I sell it now my 16 year old will kill me! Took me and the boy 600 miles for the Goodwood Festival revival this year as well. None of the electrics work and it need some a new headliner but just look at it...]
Edited by Chris1973 on Friday 28th September 23:16
Edited by Chris1973 on Saturday 29th September 17:33
jayjay73 said:
I have owned both a Corrado VR6 and a 916 GTV 3.0 V6 in the past 5 years as weekend drives. Both great cars in their own rights and slightly flawed with their own idiosyncrasies. Both engines great, possibly lean more toward the Corrado in terms of being able to fit 4 people in and slightly more reliable and better handling imo.
Had coil overs on my corrado , best handling fwd car I’ve ever driven . SturdyHSV said:
I've been trying to sell my GTV V6 for about 4 years now.
I'm yet to write the advert, I just keep tidying up any little bits ready to sell it and then...
It's just far too pretty and sounds magical.
Good shed.
I would be happy to hand you some money to buy it. I miss my old V6 GTV a lotI'm yet to write the advert, I just keep tidying up any little bits ready to sell it and then...
It's just far too pretty and sounds magical.
Good shed.
I own a V6 and absolutely love it. It's a 20 year Italian so it does cost me a bit I didn't go into blind and hopefully it is an appreciating classic!
When searching I did try a twin spark and thought it was a great engine and the short test drive revealed some tidying handling around the back streets of N Birmingham.
In my eyes they are flawed in that they are not as well built as a German or Jap equivalent, are hopelessly impractical and have a terrible turning circle. That said the pros, great looks, fun to drive, sense of occasion and if looked after properly.... reliable! Don't understand the poor seats comments as I did 1400 miles to France & Germany and found them great.
Dad & brother both had twin sparks (147 & 156) and loved them so a definite if slightly bias thumbs up from me!
When searching I did try a twin spark and thought it was a great engine and the short test drive revealed some tidying handling around the back streets of N Birmingham.
In my eyes they are flawed in that they are not as well built as a German or Jap equivalent, are hopelessly impractical and have a terrible turning circle. That said the pros, great looks, fun to drive, sense of occasion and if looked after properly.... reliable! Don't understand the poor seats comments as I did 1400 miles to France & Germany and found them great.
Dad & brother both had twin sparks (147 & 156) and loved them so a definite if slightly bias thumbs up from me!
Good to hear V6 prices are rising, having bought for £2k and spent £4k (including new tyres all round).
The engine sound is wonderful, I've lost my radio code and don't miss it. A bit drony on long dual carriageway drives though, and 22mpg means it's just for local weekend blatting. Cambelt & water pump is a worthwhile insurance policy if you plan on keeping it.
It says something for the engine that without any tuning or non-stock bits, at 18 years old and 102k it still read 220bhp on the rolling road.
The 2 litre would use less juice and be less nose-heavy though, so a darned good shed and a pretty tasty colour.
The engine sound is wonderful, I've lost my radio code and don't miss it. A bit drony on long dual carriageway drives though, and 22mpg means it's just for local weekend blatting. Cambelt & water pump is a worthwhile insurance policy if you plan on keeping it.
It says something for the engine that without any tuning or non-stock bits, at 18 years old and 102k it still read 220bhp on the rolling road.
The 2 litre would use less juice and be less nose-heavy though, so a darned good shed and a pretty tasty colour.
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