ALFAGTV6.COM

Just posted on alfabb.com and was advised to show up here as well!

Hello

I am considering fixing up a 85 GTV6. I just got the car for free if you consider $100 US dollars for fuel and $100 to rent a tow dolly free. (as my wife tells me....there are no free cars )

I grew in South Africa and learned to drive in a Alfasud. I also owned a (really bad) Spica Alfetta in college. So I am not a total stranger to Alfas. 20 years later mostly playing with Porsches I am craving a Alfa again. I rode in a really nice GTV6 in the late 80's and was really impressed.

So when i saw the free ad on craigslist I bit. The folks had many, many calls but i was the only one who committed to a pickup in their time frame.

4 years ago they bought the car and parked in their vacation home's dirt back yard. They then blocked it with a container so they could not get it back out. (not intentionaly) So the car sat outdoors for 4 years.

When i got there the car had 4 flat tires with bad cracking. I got 2 to hold air so the dolly would work. The back yard was sloped and bumpy so we had a hell of a time dragging it up with my truck. My 4wd was not operational at the time so it was a wheel spinning/clutch burning good time.

Visual assessment

• Good straight body with no apparant rust
  Paint is history
  Recaro leather seats pretty bad, some foam damage
  Front end lowered to much, way too much negative camber
  tires are history
  unmodified car
  missing low beam light
  Beige leather Recaros in bad shape
  15" Campy wheels
  Dash cracked
  Front air dam trashed
  Car has tropic air
  nice door panels
  bad install of roof mounted antennae

Anyhow to the car. I got it home and last Friday night i had a look at getting it running... I flushed the fuel out of it and put some oil in the cylinders. I disconnected the coil and turned it over till we had oil pressure. The battery was still good and took a charge.

It started right up and idled nicely.

Initial mechanical assessment

• Clutch hydraulics shot, no fluid in system, fillup did not fix, do not see any leaks
  Water pump shot, sounds like a cement mixer, coolant runs out freely
  Check engine light on
  Exhaust muffler looks aftermarket, bunch of rust shoots out
  Some oil leaks, does not look too bad
  Power Windows work (slowly)
  Lights/gauges work
  Good Hard brake pedal
  Steering rack shot (major play, clicks)

So to drive it at all it needs a water pump, steering rack, timing belt, clutch slave or master. It also has 4 years of registration due. Needs paint, seats, tires, muffler minimum to be a decent car. I am not looking to do a full restoration but just make a "nice" car.

I know these are not exactly "valuable" cars but special in their own way!
I guess the million dollar question is....Is this worth it?

Another factor is I am in California and we have very strict emissions testing. Do these car pass smog well when running correctly?

Below are a few pix of the prize and one of my current Porsche!

thanks Daron

Well some would say the porsche isn't worth it, wouldn't they?

By the way she looks great in that RSR style scheme- so 70s- I love it!

So in the same way that you may never recoup costs, its all about the enjoyment of the end driving experience.

So many options exist now for the GTV6s, and the end decision is up to what you want to use the car for- a street car with a 3.0 in it and aircon is smog passable from what can be seen on the forum, and with good suspension mods, they are very enjoyable. Or go for Greg Gordon's blower setup on the 2.5. Hard to beat, really!

Check out CChan and Rhodes1's recent takes on a US modded GTV6- no disappointment there, at all

That car looks pretty good. It's a desirable color and year. If the body is as solid as your initial inspection suggests, it has a lot of potential. Good luck with it.

Greg,
www.hiperformancestore.com

youve got a cool collection there...the gtv6 looks great..that VW hauler..damn ive only ever seen 1 of those 2dr extended cab PU's before..and the porsche..wow

something tells me you could actualy buff that paint out and make it "presentable"

Free cars, still waiting to see that one.

If the body is as good as you say the rest should be a nice experience, good catch. But too much negative camber? Looks allright on the picture?

Another one saved !!

Well done. Make no mistake, it will be a challenge and you will need deep pockets if you want to fully restore it but as others have said, it all depends on what you want out of it in the end.

This should be your first decision.