RE: Shed of the Week: Alfa Romeo GTV Twin Spark
Discussion
I had one, in blue. I went to see it an and soon as the guy opened the door i knew i had to buy it, the "fighter style" console and low slung seats were a world away from my Honda Civic saloon.
MOT/Service/Exhaust came to about £850 at a specialist, lots of niggles with wipers/starter motor/suspension clonk/window alignment/AC not cold enough etc . The boot was hilarious, a laptop bag would fill it. i sold it for only a little bit less than i paid for it, bought a Nissan 200sx instead (s13)
Idly browsing V6 Spiders as a 2nd car
MOT/Service/Exhaust came to about £850 at a specialist, lots of niggles with wipers/starter motor/suspension clonk/window alignment/AC not cold enough etc . The boot was hilarious, a laptop bag would fill it. i sold it for only a little bit less than i paid for it, bought a Nissan 200sx instead (s13)
Idly browsing V6 Spiders as a 2nd car
VitorioVeloce said:
AFAIK 98 would have been phase 2 (phase 1 was 95-97),
‘98 could have been either, phase 2 was introduced during the year. My S-reg (Aug ‘98) V6 was one of the press launch cars for phase 2 in the UK, so earlier than that would be a phase 1.
Edited by jamies30 on Saturday 29th September 12:29
Ah, I had one of these - was my first decent car, bought from a dealer at 18 months old (P640 DCY where are you?).
Mine was a phase 1 car and I so loved it (must have done because the insurance at 23 was crippling!). Thrashed it furiously everywhere and it never let me down other than once trapping me inside. Ultimately traded it in for a shiny new Boxster in 99 (remember them!). Poor thing survived unscathed until the day it was due to be handed over when my girlfriend reversed it into a pillar!
Mine was a phase 1 car and I so loved it (must have done because the insurance at 23 was crippling!). Thrashed it furiously everywhere and it never let me down other than once trapping me inside. Ultimately traded it in for a shiny new Boxster in 99 (remember them!). Poor thing survived unscathed until the day it was due to be handed over when my girlfriend reversed it into a pillar!
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/PEYgvqR8.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/KBfb8scS" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/KBfb8scS.jpg)
I had an Alfa GTV TS, a couple of years ago. On the surface a really tidy looking, low miles car.
Turned out to be a bit of a money pit though. As much as I loved the looks, and each drive felt a bit of an event, the enjoyment was tempered by the fear of what would go wrong next. Sold it after less than a year at a bit of a loss. But would still consider another one, without doubt.
If you fancy a bit more Alfa reading, the thread is here. Also features the Autocar review of the Alfa GTV TS back in March 1996 -
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=16...
Turned out to be a bit of a money pit though. As much as I loved the looks, and each drive felt a bit of an event, the enjoyment was tempered by the fear of what would go wrong next. Sold it after less than a year at a bit of a loss. But would still consider another one, without doubt.
If you fancy a bit more Alfa reading, the thread is here. Also features the Autocar review of the Alfa GTV TS back in March 1996 -
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=16...
These were a bit of a shambles as a daily driver, but a sorted one for weekend use should be great.
Suspension wear is bad, so keeping the miles down should address that.
The TS is notorious for high oil consumption and if the previous owners weren’t diligent the 2.0 in particular can bork entirely later in life, same if the every 36K timing belt change (revised down from I think 76K around 2003) was ignored and it snapped, it hit the main bearing shells hard, and again you would never know there was an issue for thousands of miles. For some reason the 1.6 and 1.8 found in the 147/156 are more robust and take a bit less sympathy.
Stil - thanks to the big numbers of 156 and 147’s sold, there are plenty of engines in breakers that can be rebuilt or just thrown in. The TS is a wonderful engine that just needs serviced by the book and the oil checked at every fill up. Ideally one with a long term owner that knows the marque should be OK.
Mostly anything else that goes wrong will be in common with any old car, electronics, rust, etc.
If you get the variator dry rattle at start up, its not usually serious and gets resolved with a new one at the next belt service, which every 36K or 36 months isnt really an issue.
Suspension wear is bad, so keeping the miles down should address that.
The TS is notorious for high oil consumption and if the previous owners weren’t diligent the 2.0 in particular can bork entirely later in life, same if the every 36K timing belt change (revised down from I think 76K around 2003) was ignored and it snapped, it hit the main bearing shells hard, and again you would never know there was an issue for thousands of miles. For some reason the 1.6 and 1.8 found in the 147/156 are more robust and take a bit less sympathy.
Stil - thanks to the big numbers of 156 and 147’s sold, there are plenty of engines in breakers that can be rebuilt or just thrown in. The TS is a wonderful engine that just needs serviced by the book and the oil checked at every fill up. Ideally one with a long term owner that knows the marque should be OK.
Mostly anything else that goes wrong will be in common with any old car, electronics, rust, etc.
If you get the variator dry rattle at start up, its not usually serious and gets resolved with a new one at the next belt service, which every 36K or 36 months isnt really an issue.
Oooops I bought the shed!
It may be bad, it may be good but it's mine now. Impulse purchase as a winter project and a price far far lower than advertised.
Mechanically it will be getting full service, cam belt & thermostat to start with. Interior needs a lot of work and there's a bit to do on the exterior too. Drives nicely, loud but not boomy on the motorway. Good part history.
The winter project begins!
It may be bad, it may be good but it's mine now. Impulse purchase as a winter project and a price far far lower than advertised.
Mechanically it will be getting full service, cam belt & thermostat to start with. Interior needs a lot of work and there's a bit to do on the exterior too. Drives nicely, loud but not boomy on the motorway. Good part history.
The winter project begins!
Edited by McGrumpy1 on Monday 1st October 20:27
Had a 2.0 Twin Spark Spyder and straight-swapped it for a 3.0 GTV in red with tan leather - Great deal I thought!! Loved both but in different ways. Strangely though, it was the fizz of the 2.0 TS that I missed the most, better balanced and more suited to the car in my opinion. The 3.0 V6 was a bit too quiet and refined for my liking. Nice but not the same level of fun you got with the Twin spark. Would sell a vital organ to get either back now though!! https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/imgs/8.gif
RicksAlfas said:
Good luck. Keep us updated!!
Yes will do, first job this weekend is to photograph it as standing so that hopefully by the time I'm finished I'll have a record of before and after.In the meantime I'm sure I'll be making the most of the knowledge out there to guide me through what needs doing.
only1ian said:
.. constantly resetting the air bag warning light wasn’t! If you adjust the seat too quickly it disconnects the airbag microswitch under the seat.
Many thanks! Just got a sheddy one that needed this to be sorted, saved me quite a bit of time.
Edited by Nerdherder on Tuesday 15th January 07:30
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