Paging SteveH

I would appreciate your views on this car/price etc as a second/fun/runabout
type. Ta. Obv I'd rather have a lot of others they have for sale but this
more like my price range......

http://www.auxchateauxdusudouest.com/fiche.php?session=395e9e34ae63c38b7c4e0245ddc7fc9c&fiche=51

Dave

PS. You seen the Sky show "vroom vroom"? The number plate for the
insufferable bore/annoying bloke/Sunday driver segments is, IMO, amusing for
the last 3 letters.

 

I'm not as anorak clad as Steve, but that looks like a *lot* of cash for the
car.
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

I have no idea on their 2nd hand value in any country. But you need to bear
in mind that 2nd hand cars *do* cost a bit more over here than in the UK -
I'd add 10%+ to UK price minimum if buying from a dealer..... But then,
like I said, I don't know how much a restored one'd be in the UK - I just
like the look and, when we were in the UK we considered getting a restored
3.0 Capri and in comparison it's as naff/retro cool (delete as you feel fit)
but cheaper. Just. For the condition.

Dave

 

Save yourself a stack of cash and get a mid 70s 2lt version. Quicker,
more civilised for day to day use, and, IMHO, better looking.

The purists say the early ones are the best, I know someone who had a
couple and says to buy a late one.


Lovely cars, oily bits are totally bulletproof, body rots like, well,
you know.

 

Are they the lower ones with the wider arches?

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

Cheers for the quick response.

I'm not sure that the later ones *could* be better looking though... It's
proper car porn in the flesh... Like Jenna Jameson with wheels and petrol
and stuff.

Bodwork is, luckily, not so much of a problem out here, but if there's
better models to go for I might just give it a miss and buy the '97 Prost F1
they've got (only E67k....) and lob my Mobylette engine in it... Or the
'60 Ferrari GTE. After all, I've got my 90bhp diesel estate for everyday -
this'd just be the fun one, mainly for Kate's use... Maybe I should stick
with the original plan and get a new MX-5. At least I'd have a decent
warranty.

Dave

 

Yeah. Twin lamps, wider arches, bigger engine, updated interior.

http://www.renown-classics.co.uk/phdi/p2.nsf/imgpages/renown_alfa-gtv-ne
w-web1.jpg/$file/alfa-gtv-new-web1.jpg

In fact, the one pictured is up for £5.5k at that dealer.

 

WavyDavy scribbled on the back of a napkin:

Blimey, this is one of the nicest ones I've seen, ever. It's also the
more sought after model with the 'step' bonnet.

I'd disagree with Steve that the 2l is nicer to drive - the 2l is more
torquey but IMHO the 1.6 is revvier and smoother. By today's standards
none of them are truly fast cars anyway.

From here it pretty much looks correct in all the details you can see,
too.

The price - well. Back in the dark ages I started to restore a 1750 GTV
so I've got a good idea how much it costs and how much effort is
involved in restoring one of them properly. I would hazard a guess that
it'd cost more to restore and depending on the state of the car before,
a *lot* more.

I'd also disagree with SteveH on the bulletproofness of the oily bits.
It's fairly easy to kill the engine on an Alfa if you have no clue as
to what you're doing. Keep in mind that even the 1600 carries around
about 7l of oil that wants warming up before you rev it hard. People
who don't follow that rule have been known to kill the engine in less
than 20k miles.

Gearboxes lose the synchro on 2nd sooner or later and are fairly slow
to change gear anyway. Loss of synchro can be accelerated by hamfisted
quick gear changes.

 

The 2lt puts out around 130bhp, ISTR (certainly did in the Alfetta /
Alfetta GTV / Giulietta / early 75) - much quicker than a 1.6. I know
someone who's had both, and much prefered the 2lt. Personal preference,
though, innit?

Oh yeah, there's no doubt they cost a hell of a lot to restore, the only
thing is that a 2lt will be a good few thousand less in similar
condition.

I'm not sure about that - is it just the 1600 that's iffy? - I certainly
know that the 2lt TSpark (effectively the same engine as the 2lt GTV
with the TSpark head and variable timing) has a reputation fordoing
hundreds of thousands of miles without requiring anything more than oil
changes, a camchain and valve clearances. They don't even burn oil like
the new 16v TSparks do.

I just ignore that - it's a common Alfa gearbox fault - every Alfa I've
ever had has had dodgy synchros (even the 156 has a dodgy synchro on
1st) - it doesn't mean the car is going to break, it's just something
you learn to drive around when you've owned a string of older Alfas.

It's all down to personal preference anyway - I prefer the looks and the
2lt engine of the later cars, some prefer the purity of the original
1300 & 1600 step front cars. Of course, I'd never consider buying a late
2lt and swapping the lump for a 2lt TSpark from a rotten 75.... it's
reasonably tricky to do, but specialists in the 105 series cars can do
it without too many problems, leaving you with a 150bhp Bertone GTV.
Which would be *very* nice.

 

Timo Geusch wrote:

Yeahm, but once the synchro is gone, they carry on for ever.

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

I've known it happen with the 16v TSparks, but never with the old twin
cam lumps.

*ding*

 

Catman scribbled on the back of a napkin:

Ho yuss. Not exactly unknown in Germany. Dunno if it's less of a
problem here but in ensures decent prices for secondhand engines over
there.

Oh, I know that...

 

SteveH scribbled on the back of a napkin:

I think it pretty much always did. The 1.6 is 'only' 20bhp down but has
considerably less torque, hence the 2l being quicker in the real world.

Without a doubt - as I pointed out this is one of the most desireable
Bertones this side of a GTA, hence the price which is a tad on the high
side but I think, justifiable.

Nope, it's all of them. The problem is usually behind the wheel, though.

That's not the point. If you look after them they'll go on forever but
if you thrash them from cold you'll be looking at a new engine rather
soonish.

Oh, as you said they'll go on forever like this. I know that, you know
that, Catman knows that. Trouble is that most non-Alfaheads don't know
that...

It appears that we've been reading the same magazines again then...

I love the shape of these cars and the sound, and they're also
reasonably sporty. However for the technogeek in me, I'd still probably
get a Lancia Fulvia. They were a lot more advanced and IMHO just as
pretty if you discount the Zagato.