Considering GTV6 Purchase

[RogerB]

I'm thinking of a local "for sale" GTV6 as a long term project for me and my son. I'm not looking for a perfect or original example, but I don't want a lost cause, either.

I went and looked at it today. It supposedly has no rust but has been repainted. Current owner has pics from the PO of the body stripped of paint. I just forgot to look at them, today. Paint is not perfect. One sag and some orange peel, but the car looks good from 10 feet except for the normal dings you'd expect. Body really does look solid underneath. No mustiness or wetness indicating leaky hatch or sunroof. Rubber aging is typical.

Interior is rough, but could be used as is. Seller is selling with leather upholstery kit. Some plastic lower dash trim is missing. The passenger side window won't lower. Wear seems typical for a car of this age.

Engine was purportedly rebuilt. I can't really confirm as yet. Reported miles are 88k, but I wonder if it shouldn't be 188k. Block and oil pan were oily from valve covers down. On my Ford Contour, this is a common issue with the valve cover gaskets. Same with old Alfa V6's?

Transaxle was oily. Normal?

Speedo didn't work.

A/C compressor was missing, but rest of plumbing is supposedly there. I know some people pull this stuff out on purpose, but how bad is this if I want to repair it?

Idle was rough and loping. Not what I expected. After I drove it around for a little bit, my son and I started smelling some oil smoke. We stopped and popped the hood, and the intake accordian tube was loose at the VAM. I felt fortunate I hadn't pushed it. Could this have caused the rough idle? Could this have caused a lean condition bad enough to heat things up and cook some oil off the manifold? That's my theory. After this we went straight back to the shop at a very sedate pace.

So, what's your impression? I know it needs stuff, but it seems like a series of small things, to me, at least for the most part. Do I dive in with eyes wide open, or run away?

[kelly1mm]

Any air leaks in the intake system can cause all kind of problems. Look at Greg's site on the L-jet system. Good resource for making an informed decision as well on the GTV-6.

Here is the link:

Silicone Hose Kits

Leonard

[Romeo85]

Rip in the intake track can cause idle and regular running issues. It really comes down to the price.

I know the vehicle you are talking about, did the owner disclose the purchase price to you?

[GVVGTV6]

Hard to know without the price and seeing the car, but If there is no receipt for the engine work, don't believe it!

Pulled A/C, missing lower dash panel, someone that took care of the car wouldn't have let that happen even if the transaxle and engine were leaking oil and greased up.

Smell of oil is probably the transaxle leaking on the exhaust and/or engine oil leaking on to the exhaust.

Agree - rough running could just be new vacuum hoses...

What seems like small things can add up real quick to a lot of money/work, so it depends on what you have in mind for father and son "project".

The big ones are how tired is the engine — do you mind rebuilding it? not cheap even if you do all the work. How worn is the clutch? How good are the syncros? Do the driveline donuts have visible cracks in them?

And of course paint body can cost a fortune but it sounds like this one is OK.

My 5 cents!

[RogerB]

Some of the good:

Second gear syncro is new. Brakes are fresh. Suspension boots and ends look very recent. Front dampers are Koni Reds. Rear has Bilsteins and some kind of red springs.

I need to call this guy today and see if he has receipts and a little more info. Frankly, I'd expect a rebuilt engine to be cleaner.

[AvorioVeloce]

I saw some mis matched red paint on the inner fenders in the engine bay shots.

I asked for more photos of this area, it took about 3 days but I got them a little while a ago. I was considering bidding until I saw this rust on the inner fender. I would prefer to get a GTV6 with messed up paint and no rot than compared to this car. Good Luck to whomever wins the auction, Im sure with a little work it would be a good driver.

[RogerB]

Funny I didn't notice that even in person. Guess I was blinded by the beauty.

Another tidbit. I don't know if I mentioned that the speedo is broken, but it is. I checked the Carfax today. The miles reported in the ad matches the miles reported to Carfax as of July 2004. Granted, there may have been very few miles put on it since then, but it's hard to tell. Impossible, really.

All I can tell is that prior to this, it was a Southeast car, hailing from NC and then VA. Last record is for an issuance of title in VA in 2005. Is that normal? Why would a VA title issuance be the last record on a car that's in KS?

[AvorioVeloce]

No doubt, it is one beautiful car!

Its a bad rust spot, but you could drive this car safely for several years before you really have to worry about it. I wouldnt let this stop you from getting the car if its cheap and meets the reserve.

As long as the paint is not that bad, it would be a very rewarding car to drive. Especially if you fix it up with your son. Best of luck

[RogerB]

I'm pretty sure I'll pass on this one. An hour left and it's over $2500 and reserve still not met.

I wasn't even looking for a GTV6, but now that I've seen one in person and driven it, it might be hard to put that crack pipe down.

This is the second Alfa V6 I've test driven and both were in pretty craptastic condition, but both left an impression on me that no other car has. (The other was a Milano Verde with really bad partial respray, no brakes to speak of, and so tired it might be dead suspension. Guy wanted $3500 for it. ??)

[AlfaMale164S]

With Many enjoyable miles behind the wheel of GTV6s over the years, they are an enjoyable car when sorted out and taken care of. Keep looking. There are often good GTV6s for sale in the Alfa Owner, usually from passionate Alfisti.

[alfamatty]

Man, this thread has really got me in a sad state of being. As a long time spider enthusiast ( a dozen or so in the last fifteen years) I bought my first alfa with a v6 on ebay. It was/is an 83 GTV6 original grey and although it ran a little rough when I went to pick it up, by the time I got it home three hours away I had made a couple of adjustments and tightened up some vacume hoses this little sucker ran pretty good for the 750 dollars that it sold for. For two months I enjoyed the exhaust note and power of that stock engine. I remember on one occasion dropping it into third gear at a low 15 mph and shifting into fourth at around 90 mph I still had some road left when finnaly hitting fifth but that gear doesnt offer much. Still 115 mph on Highway one between Santa Cruz and Davenport in a stock seven hundred dollar car was sweet. Heres the problem, I didnt know about the timing belt tightening problems. And one sunny morning while taking my roomy for a ride up Bonneydoon Rd. bragging about the sound and performance. The car simply went silent. "She no work!" upon investigation it all seemed to be in order. Spark, fuel timing belt still intact. Point her down hill and see if she'll fire up again using the two mile grade and third gear to bump it. Wrong! Oh yeah the belt was on there alright but couldnt tell at a glance that it had slipped enough to bend the valves. damage was done so I didnt beat myself up for the long bump start but felt a little shame in that feeble attempt at getting it to fire. So now its five years later and that ****er is still up in the "bone yard" or also known as "Laterno flats" waiting for someone to put life back into it. Too bad it not likely to be me because of, well it doesnt really matter why. I'm sure youve heard it all before. Money, time, logistics, place to do the fix. I havent been up to check it out for a couple of years but I know she's there waiting for some attention. I got as far as removing the intake manifold but stopped short of removing any head bolts or other unique looking valve actuating hardware. so its still in a pretty unmolested state. It was about that time that I embarked on a 67 duetto conversion to a 2L with new style tranny and pedals and ate brake calipers. That got mostly finished and was sold two years ago when I moved out of Santa Cruz. So it seems to me that the GTV6 is unfinished business. Someone needs to step into the proverbial batters box and "swing away" wish it was me but not this year. I dont think that the mice have made an apartment complex out of it yet, but they may have filed for permits. Any one with some motivation and even a little gratuity should contact me and make this situation right. It really was fun to drive and always got positive comments from those folk not of the Alfisti clan. Or If any one has an Alfa six cyl to donate I would get creative and find a weekend and a shade tree to do it myself. I am guessing that this is not too likely however. My Email is alfamatty@yahoo. And ph # in San Mateo is 650.342.4809 I need to get down that way and clean out about three storage tents in different parts of the county. Mostly 2L stuff. I was very invoved in that which is Alfa, back in the day. Ah, youth.

[Alfaguy35]

Alfamatty,
PM sent.