Faults:
Everything even not imagined:
- the A/C was replaced from pump to evaporator, to condenser.
- the interior was in poor shape, esp the deep pile carpet which kept dirt.
- the interior lights were dim at best.
- the headlights corroded at mounting and adjusting points and had to be replaced: very dear!
- electrical connector are under-engineered from factory and had to be soldered at critical points for reliability: coils terminals, temp sensors (I once had a no-go at traffic jam and had to be towed, turned out to be a loose connection at the resistor)
- ignition amplifier is definitely misplaced at the nearside front coz this introduced all sorts of, again, electrical mal-contacts and affected reliability.
- Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection components are unreliable at the main system dual relay set, causing intermittent no-start and problems. Believe me, it took me the whole 7 years of ownership to figure out and I finally replaced the dual relay set with my custom buit set to cure the problem. Too bad, I took a modified Motronic system from a 164 and discarded the ignition module in the meantime.
- The OE powered window is only malignantly powered to drive you mad by driving the wire drums at useless speeds, at best, or all together, to drive the window immobile at all.
- Gas strut for the rear hatch lost interest in itself and packed up at 75000 miles. Dear unit at GBP45 for parts alone.
- rust at the front screen bases at corners, appearing at an early time of ownership. Forced me to completely strip the body for rebuild this year.
- door trim panels got damp and replacement is non-existent from the dealers.
- short and tiny hoses at the fuel injectors invite problems at age, esp if driven at traffic often. Replacement a must for safety.
- slow starter motor.
- slow screen wiper.
- No rear screen wiper, considering the rakeness of the rear screen, makes no sense in design concept.
General Comments:
- ill engineered in ergonomics, esp the ape-driver position, causing bad back at "Gran Tourismo Veloce" dsitances of travel.
- excellent mileage at a consistent 29 miles per Imp. Gallon.
- again, badly made in transmission dept, due to the propshaft rotating at engine speed and the rubber (rubbish) couplers.
- styling-wise, an absolute head-turning and sexy beauty, esp with full Zender body kit, painted in red (Alfa Rosso #530) or silver. I never had a more beautiful car than the GTV6.
- Much involving driving, the engine note is sweet at all revs, that is, if you can tolerate the rumbling from the propshaft. The engine begs to be thrashed and it can be good at 80 phm the whole day if you use synthetic engine oil and add an oil cooler.
- This car asks to be driven not just by an automobile enthusiast of the marque, but by a competent auto hobbyist or a professional who maintains and monitors his cars regularly and sympathetically.
- Do not buy an Alfetta GTV, and esp GTV6 if you are looking for a garage to take care of her. Do it yourself competently, instead, and reward in driving pleasure is immeasurable.
1st Aug 2013, 20:13
I had an Alfa Romeo GTV Alfetta from 1983 until 2003. I used it until I hit a large rock on our property and bounced over the top of it, and it broke the rear clutch housing. That put paid to that; it was pretty rusty by then so I never restored it.
That car was a classic; it ran for years with barely a spanner on it.
One problem, which was a pain in the butt, was that the carburettors would get a little bit or moisture in the jets and she would run a bit rough. I fitted a diesel filter with a glass bowl at the bottom of it, that could be drained and the problem was solved; never had the problem again.
I used to change the oil and filter about every two years, and at that time loosened the pinch bolt for the duplex timing chain adjuster and would nip it up again.
I had that car running like a charm on petrol, then I decided to fit LPG to save money. I got special LPG adaptor plates for the Dellorto carburettors from Italy. First off, it ran bad, always had a flat spot and surged at about 60 kilometers an hour. Couldn't find out what the problem was. Then one day I was travelling with a tail wind and it ran perfect; that got me thinking, and it turned out that all that was needed was an air directional adjustment into the air filter and the problem was solved. It seemed the wind was upsetting the air flow and upsetting the flow of gas from the LPG mixers on the Dellorto Carbys. Funny how it took to LPG after a while, but in the early stages it just didn't run well on it. The LPG mechanic said to me that some cars took to LPG like a duck to water, and others simply hated the stuff and he had no idea why.
I never had a problem with the synchros on my car, as I ran a special oil in the box, which made it really smooth and easy to change gears. A good friend of mine drove the car and told me he had never driven one that was that smooth, and I told him it was just the special oil I used in it. I never ever had to double clutch the car to change gears.
The only grizzle I had with driving the Alfa was that it had no power steering in tight spots, and the clutch got awful heavy in city traffic, and being tall my head used to touch the roof. Apart from those few things, it was good car.
When my car retired, it had 457,000 kilometers on it. That motor was still going when it got retired. The old Alfa may have been a rust bucket, but she handled well, and what I liked most was you could practically rebuild the engine in the car without removing it if you had to. I remember I had to replace the water pump at 330,000 kilometers, and it took a whole 30 minutes to do it.
Cheers, John Duczek