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1984 Maratona "Ran when parked..."

144K views 1K replies 60 participants last post by  horsewidower 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Finally, finally made its way to my home. I purchased this GTV6 from a buddy last year, but the impetus to get it home really didn't happen until he decided to move.

The car has been sitting for about 3 years. We resisted the natural inclination to start it to help get it on the trailer, because I wanted to drain the old gas first.

So on a very wet, Northern California, President's Day, we yanked (and by we, I mean him...LOL) yanked the ignition switch (lost key), aired up the tires and pushed it out of his back yard, onto a trailer, and hauled it the hour and a half to my home.

Now it will need to wait it's turn to get into the rotation.
 

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#658 ·
You can also swipe needles out of a Milano gage cluster. Challenge there is to position the speedo needle on the shaft correctly. Since my GTV6 has a Dakota Digital translator box in it, all I needed to do was get close, then adjust the translator to set the proper speed indication - referencing GPS on the phone. The tach has a hard stop in the mechanism, so alignment there is easier. Plus GTV6 tachs are only "reasonable estimates" anyway. :)

Love a running, driving car - looks good too!
 
#659 ·
The speedo looks like it has the dreaded needle curl. I thought it odd that the odometer works but not the speedometer.

The tach was swapped with one that had the needle fixed. I think it's an electrical issue as it is the only gauge that doesn't light up when the lights are turned on.

I've got to get some heat insulation on the tunnel. The IPhone crapped out from the heat. It was on the console. And, the emergency brake handle was also very hot. I wondered if I didn't get the exhaust leak free, but there is no combustion odor.




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#660 ·
https://www.amazon.com/Evergreen-Sca.../dp/B0006O5G7W

Order just 1 package and you will have enough to re-do the needles of your gauges and all of your friends' GTV6s as well. Snip off most of the droopy, bent needle and glue a strip of this on the stub. It's a bit wider than the original gauge needles, but works well.
I used that stuff on mine too and they look good but the instrument movement is sensitive to the weight of the needle and I now have some non-linearity. I had a choice between reading correctly at about 40 mph and under-reading at 80 or reading correctly at 80 and over reading at 40. I figured that for me at least the second option would be cheaper.
 
#661 ·
Hot park brake handle is not an unusual situation. Wife's cell phone was unhappy in the console and the shelf below the glove box (non-A/C) during our latest 1250 mile jaunt. Thin wall headers I have on the car probably don't help, but at least I don't have a cat adding heat below. If you find a good resolution, I will likely copy.
 
#662 ·
I'll probably start by wrapping the downpipes all the way to the Cat, plug any and all holes and see about any shielding additions that might be advantageous. Then pull the carpeting and insulate the tunnel.


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#663 ·
Just 'cause:
 

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#664 ·
The column switch continues to be a source of amusement. It's a bit of a "Forrest Gump", you don't know what you're going to get from one day to the next. Today, the left turn signal works like gangbusters, but the right has taken the day off. LOL In addition, the low beam is staying in the up position instead of falling to the high beam.

I need to get this worked out before I try and aim the beams.

Bob
 
#665 ·
Are your bulb sockets in good nick, corrosion free with good pressure still from the sprung power supply tabs under the sockets?
I've played the 'guess which lights will work today' game with my Alfetta, and a quick wiggle of the bulbs confirmed the culprit was back there, not the switches.

Don't know if this can be a problem with these cars, but on a non-Alfa we owned, worn-off brass shards from the contacts (just from long term wear) stuck in the grease allowed sporadic tracking of power to places you don't want it
 
#666 ·
What a pisser...brakes went soft as I was driving the last several miles to work. Luckily I have a tire and brake store about a block from my office. Dropped it off, there, with the request that they give it a once over, fill and bleed the brakes. They said "you know we can't get any parts for this car". My response was that they were just trying to get me home, and if they thought it wouldn't make it that I'd be calling AAA.

First thing anyone with a vintage vehicle should get after the initial purchase is a AAA card.
 
#669 ·
Well...they think it's the master cylinder/booster. They did manage to bleed it and run enough fluid through it to give it some pedal. I'll leave work early and nurse it home. That work was on the list, so not really a change in direction.
 
#670 ·
Booster would make the pedal harder but brakes still work, just much more leg effort.
If bleeding helped then probably a master unless you see an obvious leak else where.
Careful getting it home but that’s exactly what I’d do :)
 
#672 ·
I tend to agree. I'll order a master cylinder and install. I'll pull a vacuum on the booster and see if it's any good.

Brake lines on the front are brand new, although not stainless braided. I've got a new one for the rear also.
 
#673 ·
And....the wedding is over and the family is gone. My son and daughter-in-law are on the way to Hawaii.

So we're back to the regular program. Top on the list is dealing with the brake issue. Then I need to deal with the drivability issues of controlling the heat in the passenger compartment and the headlights and turn signals. I picked up the battery cable connector box from Peter...very nice part, thanks. So that will deal with a part that has been very troubling.

I'm thinking of tinting the windows, as an additional heat control device. Does anyone have any experience with that? I haven't gone to get quotes, yet.

I'm at bit unhappy that my backside is bigger than the seat is meant to handle. Or, at least as reupholstered. I'll eventually need to deal with that.

As ever, consistent work will get us where we need to go.
Bob
 
#675 ·
Good to know. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you sharing your experience. There are several ways to learn, learning from others is one of the best.
 
#676 ·
Well, I'll be.

A bit of positive serendipity. The brake master cylinder that I purchased for the GTV, but haven't installed yet, fits the GTV6. So, I'm ahead of the game instead of waiting for a part. Oh if this project had worked like this from the beginning...

Bob
 
#677 ·
Picked an original Maratona brochure from Europe. I didn't think I'd ever see one of these, let alone be able to obtain one.
 

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#678 ·
I went down to Richmond and visited with William. He had some spare parts and a tool that made removing the steering wheel not much more than a tighten and tap (with several increasingly energetic blows) operation. Thankfully, his busted column switch was the exact flip-side of mine. So, I should be able to put together a switch that works correctly. My headlight switch doesn't work, his turn signal stalk and canceling mechanism had broken. I'll frankenstein something together. But...no zip ties.

Pulling the horn cover is pretty easy, just grip the edges and pull it off. It takes 4 screws to take off the horn ring, there are two different lengths, corresponding to the different colors. Once that is off, you just have to pull the grounding wire connector off the ring. (dog gone it, the pictures rotated...just rotate them with your mind, :laugh2:)
 

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#679 · (Edited)
With that out of the way, you can easily get to the nut. I loosened it up, but left it with all the threads engaged.

Taking the tool that I borrowed, I removed the all-thread from the tool and screwed them into the threaded holes provided at the base of the steering wheel. Then it was just a case of installing the all-thread threw the slots in the tool, tightening the all-thread nuts and snugging the tool against the steering shaft. I did lubricate the all the threads. No reason to fight friction.

A couple of wacks with a small ball peen and the steering wheel was loose.

I thought I was going to need to mark the steering shaft and the wheel in order to make sure they were properly realigned, but either that was done at the factory, or someone else has been here. You can just make out the dimples.
 

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#992 ·
1984 Maratona "Ran when parked..."

Taking the tool that I borrowed, I removed the all-thread from the tool and screwed them into the threaded holes provided at the base of the steering wheel. Then it was just a case of installing the all-thread threw the slots in the tool, tightening the all-thread nuts and snugging the tool against the steering shaft. I did lubricate the all the threads. No reason to fight friction.

A couple of wacks with a small ball peen and the steering wheel was loose.

Digging up a post from earlier in this thread - steering wheel removal. I am trying to remove mine and it’s giving me a heck of a time. One of the all threads keeps slipping the threads when it gets too tight,but I’m pretty sure I’ve got the right size. I’ve had it under pressure and daily soaking of pb blaster plus hitting it with a small sledge hammer. Not budging an inch! Any additional tips out there?

When the wheel does come off, is it attached to the ribbed hub-like piece behind it? If so, that will be the next challenge if I ever get the wheel removed. My replacement wheel does not have that piece.





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#680 ·
With the steering wheel removed...the usual electrical tomfoolery is revealed. I know I shouldn't be surprised anymore but "one can only hope!"

Someone had tried the fix the headlight switch, but put it back together with zip-ties, a large wire lead was just twisted together and then badly taped.

When I went to find the other end of the switch wiring, I found a relay in the fuse box that had its cover badly taped back on. SMH
 

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#681 ·
So, given that mess, my inability to get my hands up under the dash to do any effective work, the non-working speedometer, and tachometer, the non-working heating system, and my need to measure for the Vintage Air box...

I think I'm going to just take the dash out.

That way I can see any (perhaps that's too optimistic, perhaps it should say "all") damage that was perpetrated under the dash, and address it at one time.

There are many days when I wonder how this thing didn't burn to the ground...while being bemused by the thought of how much time I would have saved over the last almost two years if it had.
 
#682 ·
Dash out on a GTV6 is not so bad.

I found big wires from the ignition switch twisted and taped when I bought my first Verde. There was a non-working amp in the trunk and speaker wires running all over the place. It had obviously been owned by a young punk.
 
#683 ·
Dash out on a GTV6 is not so bad.
That's what I'm thinking, and it will eliminate the nagging concern over what else could be hiding under there.

Bob
 
#684 · (Edited)
Bob, pulling the dash amounts to 4 bolts, and removal (first) of the instrument bezel, the gauge assembly itself, the HVAC box (if you want), and a steady careful wedging outward process. Once you get the gauges unplugged, you'll also see several other items like relays, and there's also a ground terminal on the black horizontal rail above the fuse block. Careful of the ignition control module located just to the right of the LH eyeball vent, behind the dash. IIRC the wiper relay is back in that area also. And again, IIRC there is a strap that bolts from the lower dash to that black rail also.

Dropping the fuse block down out of the way will give you the room you need on that area of the dash.

A 10 mm bolt clamps a slotted tab on both L and R sides, in the upper area of the kick panels (remove the ECU cover for access). On the driver side there's a bunch of grounding ring lugs-- very important so we used a star washer under that nut. Remove the top of dash air diffusers, along with their sleeves, and you can lift out the offset tubes that supply air to them from the plenum. Through these two holes, you access the 2 upper dash retainer nuts, which tighten onto welded studs there on the bulkhead. Use a hex driver, not a ratchet, so you don't smack the windshield glass.

You're right-- once you get in there you can fix and clean up all the half-fast tricks any PO might have committed.

As they say, assembly is the reverse of disassembly! But it does require some patience and an assistant, if available, to slide the dash back into position and get it right. It's a tight fit.
 
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#685 ·
I think the messed with relay has to do with the HVAC. Which makes sense because the HVAC doesn't work and has wiring hanging all around it.

I need to clear some surface space in the workshop in order to organize the parts as they come off. I'll probably get to this sometime this weekend.

Bob
 
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