ALFAGTV6.COM

[SlewofDamascus]

Hello folks,

This is not [nearly] my first time visiting this site. I just bought a 1982 Balocco GTV-6, sight unseen, on Ebay. I did the once before, flew to NY, and had to give the car to a local Alfa club in Memphis after she gave way resoundingly.

You'd think I'd have learned my lesson, wouldn't you? Apparently not.

Let me explain my motivation as I explained it a couple of days or so ago to my racing blog:

"The purchase was driven by sentimentalism (don't you hate those kind of
sappy people). My father owned a 1984 silver, Alfa Romeo GTV-6. The
smell of the car still resides within my memory, and my father, being
the impeccable man that he was, kept this vehicle in immaculate
condition. His GTV-6, which was Silver with blue leather and included a finished hardwood steering wheel and an absolutely stunning, dark maple shifting nob, was a masterpiece in style that very much matched my father's own style. It was, on the one hand, complicated, but powerful, while at the same time refined and reserved in its delivery, saving it's most dramatic statements for the proper moment, leaving behind an indelible impression. That was my father and his Alfa.

We took many day trips together in it (just as we had in his
Fiat 124 sports coupe w/mag wheels). Being in the car with my father,
who loved to drive (picture driving hat and driving gloves) was the
only "real" time we had together. Alone. Just the two of us. He was an
important government man (as was my mother for that matter - smile) and my parents traveled a great deal doing the government's business. It was in those true moments - perhaps on some winding road through
the California foothills, or through its redwood forests, or following
the setting sun on its majestic coastline - that we silently bonded.

My father's Alfa Romeo GTV-6 disintregated with his home and our family's beloved 17yo cat in the Oakland Hills fire of 1991. Luckily my parents were in Napa for the day (lucky in the sense they were not trapped in the wildfire, one of the the worst urban wildfires in American
history), but they came home to nothing, not a single home remained standing on one of Oakland's most remarkable streets. The fire had been so hot that there was no record of his car whatsoever, the firefighters later surmised that the neighborhood was virtually incinerated at a temperature probably higher than 2000 degrees f.

People died in this fire, I believe 18 people. And while my parents
lost everything, every single thing they worked a lifetime to proudly collect (my mother's first editions, for example), they were lucky not to lose the most precious gift they had left - life; others had not been so lucky.

My father oversaw the rebuilding of his house, and was just moving back
in when he died, on the virtual 4-year anniversary of the fire in 1995
at 79 years of age.

I am not rich, by any stetch, but I am now in a position where I can
try to memorialize my fatrher a bit in restoring (from the ground up)
this 1982 Alfa Romeo GTV-6 special edition (#251 out of 350 total, I
think). It needs restoration, and I'm going to paint it silver (smile)
and hopefully in a year or so it will be ready for a memorable trip or
two of its own.

Here's the Alfa I am going to restore (which I have been the proud
owner of for about 45 minutes):

http://tinyurl.com/2ncbs2

Thanks for letting me share my happy moment."


Now, of course, I have to go see what I have gotten myself into. I read or re-read (since I had read quite a bit the last time I did this) quite a bit on the necessary upgrades, from the belt tensioner to 164s cams to an upgraded cooling motor. I'm making a list.

I am a long time fan of Italian machinery, I currently own a '98 Ducati ST2 and also a '04 Ducati 749s (both with signifigant aftermarket upgrades). And while I have taken the ST2 apart and put it back together (everythhing but the engine - smile), I am not all that comfortable doing some of the bigger projects that hopefully this car will prove to be a good candidate for.

I am interested in what anyone might think about the car in question from the same Ebay peek I had.

I did a carcheck on the vehicle as well another background check at about a $35 cost. The records exist between 1992 and 2000, with one final entry in 2007, all for passing the smog test, no failures. There were no title changes and from what I can tell talking to the owner, this was a government siezure. It appears the Alfa had not been run for quite a few years, but the seller swears it runs like a champ.

Do you all think I'm safe riding her back to the Bay Area?

Do you thing a $10k to 15k investment is erealistic for a ground-up restoration, including minor engine improvements like porting and so on?

Anyway, that's my [long] story, and I look forward to any help at all that the members might be inclined to offer as the restoration project moves forward.

Thanks.

David. B

[Greg Gordon]

Hi David,
I am sorry about the fire. At least your family was ok.

That looks like a pretty nice car! I have always liked the Ballacos the red and black colors look great on the GTV6.

Greg Gordon,
www.hiperformancestore.com

[mjr]

David, I have a hunch that you have baught a winner there. good cars on ebay usually warrant the effort of a really good stab at advertising them. This guy has posted a LOT of pictures and a nice description, he obviously thaught the car was worth the effort. It looks fairly corrosion free, so you are 50% the way there already.

[SlewofDamascus]

Greg, MJR,

Thanks for the good thoughts. I hope you are both right. I will find out soon enough. Thanks for the replies.

[SlewofDamascus]

David, I have a hunch that you have baught a winner there. good cars on ebay usually warrant the effort of a really good stab at advertising them. This guy has posted a LOT of pictures and a nice description, he obviously thaught the car was worth the effort. It looks fairly corrosion free, so you are 50% the way there already.

Greg,

I just got done doing a partial review of your website. I have a feeling we are going to a do a lot of business (smile). I am already interested in the upgraded air filter system, which I'd like to buy asap. Also the silicone plenum hoses, as well.

And the supercharger, etc.? Oh boy!!!! I have a feeling this is a going to be a FUN project!

Thanks.

David B.

[Fernando]

Welcome to the family David.I see the dreaded Alfa disease has already started it's work on you...

[SlewofDamascus]

Welcome to the family David.I see the dreaded Alfa disease has already started it's work on you...

I'm afraid so, Fernando, I've been scouring the net for all things gtv-6. I wonder what this will do to my Ducati disease? I most certainly can't afford both (smile).

Thanks for the welcome, I appreciate it.

David B.

[Alfettish]

I have a dismantled 900SS in the garage, it'll be on the road one day...

[Fernando]

Your probarly both pretty happy with Casey Stoner's current form on the Duke in Motogp then ?

Don't feel alone,I have already asked Barry to provide me with a list of upgrades and there costings for my current 3.6 motor.... I told him I need to work towards goals in life otherwise what's the point...

[Alfettish]

Also he grew up in a town very close to me...

[GregoryV]

Did you get the car yet:? Any pics? If you don't have to touch the paint then maybe you can get away with the $10-15K, but paint alone can be $10K these days, depending on what you consider ground up.

Look forward to seeing what it looks like.

GV

[SlewofDamascus]

Sorry for the delayed response, G, I hven't checked this thread in quite some time.

Actually, the first attempt turned out badly, but I did find a great GTV-6 - it's black, 62k, NY bred (but with virtually NO rust) - as good as an example as one can hope to find; I attribute my good fortune to the law of averages - smile.

The vehicle is in the hands of an excellent shop, where I had it shipped immediately after my purchase. I actually haven't physically taken possession of it. It's undergoing a makeover, and I will unveil when the time is right.

I am very excited about the project, we are planning some truly unique upgrades. Painting will be the very last undertaking, when I can afford to have it done properly (as you suggest). The black paint on it now is okay, maybe better than ok - the PO, who was also the only owner in its history, stored the Alfa every Winter, and garaged it every night during the warmer months, he claimed it never spent a night outdoors - the shop, after a detailed examination, believes that to be true.

Thanks.

David B.
'86 GTV-6

[x-rad]

Gee...can't wait to see her.....kinda like a new hot chick at your old favorite bar!

[brookstroutr]

x-rad,

You're too frikin much. How about a new bar?

David,

My stories not as touching as yours albeit similar. I owned an'83 Silver/Blue from '84 til '91 which I put 90k abused miles on her. I purchased her with 5k from the VP of Behr of America (manufacturers for theis A/Cs & BMW at the time) for whom the car was supplied. They had already done the cylinder head gasket change at the factory prior to delivery.

Anyway, I pined so much about missing the car, I told myself "Self, go find another f*kking GTV6!" So I did. I bought my '84 off eBay. This is my 53rd personal car. I looked for a year and cannot be more happier. These cars, like my others, are such under-rated that's it's got it's pros & cons for us. european car included the GTV6 in 5 of it's "Keeper Coupes" which I own 2 now and have possessed same for almost 20 years.

The investment is cheap (or frugal if you prefer) for the value. I told my friend recently that I have less money invested in all 3 of my cars, labor excluded, than he's got in his '00 GMC pickup with better mpg and lower insurance costs. Mind you, I've restored these with upgraded stuff.

Hey, what happened to the Ballaco? I'm not a fan of the "bling/bling" thing Ballaco anyway.

[SlewofDamascus]

I like the analogy, X-rad, but unlike the new hot chick, we are not always disappointed by the GTV-6.

You know, I hadn't thought of it that way, Brook, but you're certainly correct about the pound for pound value of the GTV-6. They are undervalued and unappreciated. While it has nothing to do with my purchase and makeover, I don't expect the market to ignore this fine period-piece gem indefinitely. By the time the GTV-6 earns its just acclaim, however, I'm afraid that its numbers will have susbstantially declined.

I will always believe that Corporate Alfa doomed the GTV-6 to the margains by skimping on the interior design of the model. Were the GTV-6 to have a classy, wood-grained interior - where real thought had been put into its interior design aesthetic, the question of value would not be in question. Everything else is there, a classic V6, a classic body style, and then........ ...nada, nothing, kaput. In fact, rather than being indifferent or benign, the interior is quite ugly, in fact. Just my humble opinion, of course.

Regarding the Ballaco, it was mis-represented, and I was able to get out of the deal (not entirely unscathed, but nevertheless free from its many, many needs). Eventually, I lucked into a good one, which is now being upgraded.

Thanks.

David
1986 GTV-6
Black-62k