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'84 3.0L Alfa Romeo GTV6 / Silver

9K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  Greg Gordon 
#1 · (Edited)
Drive-line and exhaust work: Veloce Motors . Complete fuel, oil, injector, coolant, brake-line replacement and air-intake: Harold's Auto . Head-liner, trim-carpeting, and new leathers: D.L. Upholstery. Euro-package install, new underbelly coating, wheel-well, trim painting: J&M Body Shop.

The car started as a rust-free 2.5L Maratona until I decided to give it a face lift from the inside out. The dash/instrument panel was perfect, but the Farrah-Fawcett-fiberglass trim work + rear hatch louvers were safely "stored" in the garage attic (for some nostalgic nap time). After a lowmileage 3.0L transplant, the rest of the car received a suspension, drive-line, and wheel upgrade to my liking. Yellow H.Beams will be installed next. The Maratona badge was kept on the glove box and rear hatch ... to remind me of its true origins. Separate from the stock cosmetics, the car is a pure mechanical joy to drive through the winding roads of Oregon.

Cheers,
 

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#6 ·
Please forgive the dingy high beam and stripe kit that does not go down the front fenders.

I have two new Carello highs (US units won't fit), but I am saving them for installation after the car is repainted.

Stripe kit is OEM from Alfa. I have a replacement set, also for installation after the repaint.

Waiting patiently to get to the head of the line at my shop of choice.

Rex
 
#10 ·
Lenny: did you have to replace the wheel studs to fit your spacers? I am trying to fit spacers on my Silver Car and the OEM studs are too short to secure the wheels with even a 15 mm spacer, which is what I was thinking about. If so, what did you use? If you recall the spline diameter, that would be very helpful too.

As my wheels have 45 mm offset, this would be an effective 30 mm offset. It sounds to me like with a 35 mm offset and 12.7 mm spacer, you are looking at an offset of somewhere around 22.3 mm on your rear wheels. Do they rub the fenders?

I was told that 30 mm is the max you can run without rubbing.

Thanks,
Rex

PS: hoping to get the stance on my Silver Car to look as good as your Silver Car.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I believe the studs/bolts were extended by the original owner prior to 1996, though I will need to remove the entire wheel to be 100% sure. The lug-nuts do seat about 90%+ onto the bolt so if I remove the the rear spacer, the car will probably need new/deeper lug-nuts.

There's no front or rear wheel/fender rub. The rear is just shy of 1/2" or 12mm clearance between the tire and the inside of the wheel-well. Having said that, the front wheel (on maximum turn angle/wheel lock) is about about 5/12" inch (8-10mm) clearance from the bottom-front portion of the wheel-well edge. Since the tires taper quickly from the rim, there's no issues but if the tires were more "square-facing", then I'm sure wheel rub would occur. Adding a spacer to the front wheel would not be an option as it would also throw off the car's lines/aesthetics. I could take some closer shots of the car/wheel area, but the weather is turning for the worse right now so the additional pics will have to wait.

Lenny: did you have to replace the wheel studs to fit your spacers? Do they rub the fenders?
Fortunately for me, I love the pin-striping as it forces my eye towards the middle/front-end of the car. From the pic posted by REXCAR above, its a good comparison for others to judge against.

I have to agree with you about the exhaust ! It sounds great but my previous ANSA exhaust looked much better. On that note, I thought ANSA's construction & material selection were a bit sub-par. Perhaps things have improved since then ... as the straight-out pair would be more fitting.

Beautiful car. I'd lose the pinstripe--it takes away from the natural lines of the car. And, I'm not sure I'm feeling that Volvo exhaust. Make the pipe come straight out there without the two curves.
The wheel, tire and respective sizes are found here: http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/4831578-post8.html

Please share, what wheels are those? And size?
On the intake side, the K&N solution definitely enhances the throaty acceleration. For the vacuum, air-intake and other lines, including the rear gas tank, injectors, etc, they were all replaced with an entire black silicon kit from Silicone Hose Kits - 7 colors - all other fuel, coolant and oil lines were replaced with high quality lines too.
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Cheers,
 

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#12 ·
Beautiful car. I'd lose the pinstripe--it takes away from the natural lines of the car. And, I'm not sure I'm feeling that Volvo exhaust. Make the pipe come straight out there without the two curves.
 
#14 ·
And, I'm not sure I'm feeling that Volvo exhaust. Make the pipe come straight out there without the two curves.
That is the original style factory exhaust. The location of the Ansa style twin tips in the center of the body have a tendency to allow exhaust fumes back into the cabin, which is why Alfa moved the tip to the driver side on the GTV6. The earlier Alfettas which had a center exhaust exit had the tip rounded down to prevent this occurrence.
 
#15 ·
About the stripe. I see where you're coming from on the visual, but if you're going to have a stripe, get the Balocco or GrandPrix stripe. It's fatter and quite awesome. It's those thin stripes that are sort of "Honda dealer threw this on when I bought it to make an extra $85" looking....

Anyway, all that being said, beautiful car. I like the de-Maratonaed look. But yet, you're keeping the stuff for preservation. I like it. Love the wheels tool.
 
#17 ·
I like the pinstripes (and the rest of the car is obviously excellent) as well as the wheels and spacing.
Then again I haven't owned an Alfa in 30 years - but have always admired the GTV6 - and it's been 25 since I sold my last Italian so I know little of that which I speak of.
 
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