My name's Lachlan and I've had my GTV6 for 7 years now.
It was my first car and I got it when I was 17 (lucky me!) as a two-owner car with lovely red paint, "no rust" and that beautiful sound. I've had 3 or four cars since then and each time I got another one the understanding was that I must sell the GTV6
........ But I could never bring myself to do it, so after saying goodbye to my boring but "reliable" Ford Falcon wagon, my Alfa has come out of hibernation. And at a good time too, I am just finishing my 3rd year at university studying Mechanical and Mechatronic engineering, and each car I have owned I have been gaining mechanical experience to the point where (with guidance from other Alfa owners, the workshop-bibles and my poor, poor savings account) I am prepared to start working on my 6 myself.
The paint is fading on the roof, bonnet and boot-lid, small amounts of rust are also appearing, but mostly just small surface-rust with the only two sections I'm worried about being the base of the driver's side (RHD) quarter-panel, and the area around the rear-left tail-light, both of which have rusted through.
My mechanical experience has been growing over the years, starting with an old VH Holden Commodore V8 wagon (which I bought for a bottle of Vodka!!!) and got it up and running for rego for $250, then to a 1956 VW Beetle on steroids, then my TERRIBLY boring EF Ford Falcon wagon and finally my 1970 series 2a Land Rover LWB Ute. Also I have recently helped my mate rebuild his engine and gearbox on his Harley Davidson, so I'm gradually getting there.
I'm very good at following instructions and using my head to sort out effective solutions (part of being an engineer) and believe the Alfa will be a challenge.
I've come to the conclusion that this is a car I can never get rid of, so I plan on doing a bit of a refurb on it to see it through the next 5 years (by which time HOPEFULLY I will have a job and decent money...... and a decent garage!). I'm handy (but not brilliant) with a spray-gun, so I plan on emptying the chassis, getting it soda-blasted (efficiency and price) and primed. I'll get any rust treated professionally, then paint it myself. I know it won't look brilliant, but its the only way I can afford to get this work done soon, and it NEEDS to be done soon
Any change I have left from $4,000 will go in to suspension/tyre upgrades. The car has enough power for me at the moment, I would just like to utilise that power as best I can through corners.
I want to put the car in Supersprints with the NSW Alfa Club so I can get some enjoyment from my hard work, and also meet some like-minded Alfa lovers
It would be great if I could meet up with any local (within 250km, I don't mind the drive, I've got an alfa
) GTV6 owners who do their own work, to drain them of some knowledge!Also, if anyone has done a CHEAP full-body resto (less than $3k, so you did alot of it yourself) let me know how it went.
Cheers all, happy Alfa-ing!
Lachlan
