New makeover for '83 GTV6

91spiderNV · #1 (**permalink**) 11-09-2007, 09:32 PM

This is Greg Gordon's GTV6 I purchased from him a few weeks ago. Drove it back from Tulsa to Reno in three days with a side trip to the Grand Canyon and a favorite Sierra hiking trail. Car drove great and handled all the mountains passes and 80-85mph on the highways. Not bad for a motor with 200k miles.

Took it to the local Earl Schieb shop in Reno and with a coupon did a repaint in Viper Blue, and put on a set of Ronal wheels and General Exum tires. I think it looks pretty good.

Greg, his dad and Misty have a pretty good setup there in Tulsa. You find the typical Alfa stuff but all the Supercharging and new modifications goings on was quite impressive. They know their stuff about supercharging and what works and what doesn't.

I highly recommend Hi Performance product recommendations even though the car has some of the "one of a kind" stuff like the side pipes. Who needs a stinking muffler.

Here's a few pics, I may put two racing stripes down the middle to get the full Viper look.

#2 (**permalink**) 11-09-2007, 10:40 PM

Before pic:

#3 (**permalink**) 11-09-2007, 10:43 PM

I figured I'd throw in a before pic so people could see the transformation.

I didn't mention this before (on the "for sale" thread), but the wheels work really well in the whole aesthetic. Furthermore, I think stripes will work very well, in fact enhance the whole look.

Great to hear about the trip to the Grand Canyon. I had a strong feeling this GTV-6 was a winner, and you proved it! Good going.

David
'86 GTV-6
Black-62k

sh0rtlife · #4 (**permalink**) 11-10-2007, 12:31 AM

not so sure about the total loss of all of the black on the car but still would be proud of it....LOVE it in viper blue

how come you kept the markers?....TOTALY look out of place

ToonRboy · #5 (**permalink**) 11-10-2007, 10:09 AM

...And I thought I had an Earl Sheib paint job!!!

Greg Gordon · #6 (**permalink**) 11-10-2007, 06:29 PM

It looks great! Before it looked a little depressed with it's faded paint and literally thousands of rock chips in the forward facing surfaces. Now it looks exciting and ready for action.

ToonRboy: sure it's probably an inexpensive paint job, but this vehicle is not a show car, it's a car that's had serious use, and hopefully will continue to get serious road and track use in the future.

The car should serve it's new owner well. Despite the high mileage, the motor is still in good shape, the old L-Jet system is set up well, and I think the suspension is about ideal for a lower budget street setup.

Greg

ToonRboy · #7 (**permalink**) 11-11-2007, 08:15 AM

Well, I'd rather have a faded-out alfa owned by an experienced Alfa mechanic (like yerself), than a bright shiny one that wasn't upkept internally...

Quote:

not so sure about the total loss of all of the black on the car but still would be proud of it....LOVE it in viper blue

91spiderNV · #8 (**permalink**) 11-11-2007, 01:30 PM

I haven't added the white stripes yet!!! I'll post those photos when I get it done.

Car has already been on the Reno-Fernley Track for a little test n tune. Handled and ran great. SCCA time trials in the future with some brake mods, coil overs? The blue color will help with visibility on the track.

I wanted to try a color different than the usual red, black, silver Alfa colors typical of the '80's. I know the Alfa purists will object, but hey..you have your own car.

I'm not one of those restoration people, bring everything back to original types. That's why Greg's car was so appealing with all the mods he has done to it to keep a car with over 200k miles running.

TCL · #9 (**permalink**) 11-11-2007, 01:56 PM

I like the blue. Here's an image capture from a video of a GTV-6 racer that looks to be a similar shade.

#10 (**permalink**) 11-11-2007, 02:05 PM

Well said, 91Spider, well said.

David

ToonRboy · #11 (**permalink**) 11-11-2007, 02:08 PM

Donna yu worry a 91, we a gonna see yu cummin anda going!

It probably would have came out better if you got rid of that side moulding before painting her. IMO you're gonna regret having painted the bumper rubber.

You'd be surprised at how many colors the Alfa's actually came in.
Alfa Romeo Colour Codes

Color Chip Selection
My car was originally gray. It was repainted in AR547 (which I really didn't like, but contrasted better with tan leather - it came to grow on me...)

TCL - Thanks for the perspective. That car does look good. Pure track car. Andy Warhol did some work for BMW too. What I've found? - I generated a lifetime of tickets with my Red Verde as compared to my Silver Milano - drove the same speeds, as usual. Just an FYI.

Anyway 91, have fun with it & don't be afraid to "trade some paint!" while you're out there! hehe

steve11 · #12 (**permalink**) 11-11-2007, 03:19 PM

Hello, Your GTV6 looks great!!!! I am thinking of having mine painted at earl schieb as well. How does the paint look in person?? Looks great in the photos. Did you prep it? Mine has some clear coat peeling and I am afraid they will not prep it well enough. Any advice? How much did your paint job cost?

Thank You, Steve

spaten136 · #13 (**permalink**) 11-11-2007, 03:41 PM

you can never do enough prep work yourself. i never leave the prep work to the shop doing the paint. I would take care of any rust issues myself, and basically send the car to them ready to paint. not only will you save yourself some money, but you also can be sure that the new paint job will last for years to come. i have seen many a great paint job go to waste a year or 2 down the road because of not enough prep

Greg Gordon · #14 (**permalink**) 11-11-2007, 05:23 PM

I am glad it's already been to a track in Reno and I am even more happy you like the handling. It's amazing how well these cars handle with the stock springs and torsion bars when everything is set up well. This car has what I describe on my website as a "stage 1" suspension. It's basically stock with the addition of a SZ spherical bearing, poly bushings everywhere else, a Verde anti-sway bar, and it's set at euro ride height. Of course a car with RS racing coil overs is in a whole different league.

91spiderNV · #15 (**permalink**) 11-11-2007, 05:25 PM

Gotta catch Earl when they have the coupons. So I go the top of the line $759, lifetime warranty paint job for $549 with coupon, plus an extra $100 for the door jambs, plus I paid an extra $150 for the extra sanding/prep the car needed to get all the chips out of the front end. Grand total $800.

Car did not have any rust to deal with, so prep was pretty easy and straight forward.

If you don't speak to the shop guys about spots on the car that require extra attention, they'll do the average job. I made them re do several spots on the car before I accepted the car and they had no problem doing the extra work.

I'm not into concourse cars, I prefer to drive them street/track. A new paint job for track is always good luck. I still have to put on the Alfa Quadrafoglio Shamrock sticker.