[shadmonk]

hi Everyone

my forst post here.. im new to Alfa, coming from having owned Marcos, Ginetta, alpine-renaults..

i just sold my '77 alpine renault and im kinda decided now on having a GTA rep to run along side my '63 ginetta G4 race car

It will be road/track day car. I really like the wide body flared arches look, but i want a step nose car.. So would i be right in saying that the step nose cars that wore arches were GTA 1300 juniors and not the larger engined variants .??

If so, would it be a bad idea to make a flared step nose and run it with 2litre for reliability/performance...?
is it a shame to have to cut the arches if they are good..
are tyres for the 8-9 inch wide rims gonna be extremely expensive..?
would it be wiser/more desirable to keep the car with standard bodywork..?

i may have found a donor, a '71 GT junior..
help with the above appreciated, thanks for any advice

shad

 

[spannerman]

Hi and welcome to the BB. I think there were quite a few various models of the wide body cars including 1750 and 2000 models. At the end of the day you have the freedom to build your car however you like and desire to. No matter what you decide, there will always be people who like or dont like what you do and quite often voice their opinions here on the BB.
There are lots of parts specialists all over the world with the bits you need to build your car. Fiber Car in Italy make the gaurds and Alfaholics UK make the wheels to suit but Im sure there would be others on the market with a bit of searching.
Good luck with your project and keep us posted

 

[Veep]

were are you located? on the Alfaholics site is one for sale, you cannot build it for that money imho..so if you are in the UK, contact the seller... You may be just in time to attend the Alfaholics trackday at Castle Combe in a few weeks..

 

[alfazagato]

That is the truest thing....you can buy a completed car for less than it will cost you in parts and specialist's work, to build one. There is another for sale at Classic Cars in London with all the goodies.

 

[Alfajay]

No matter what you decide, there will always be people who like or dont like what you do and quite often voice their opinions here on the BB.

Well stated

I am one of the people on the BB who will voice the opinion NOT to trash a nice '71 GT Junior to build another GTA clone. Either buy the real thing, or else buy a car already destroyed, er I mean converted, into a wide body.

What leads you to believe that a 2L engine will be more reliable?

 

[Zagato_Olaf]

GTA 1600/GTA 1300 Junior replica

Hello members,

Here is a very nice replica GTA 1300 Junior built on a GT Sprint body (from 1967).
It will have cost lots of money and will be great fun to drive. Here is an example of how it can be done. Have a look at: Alfa Romeo GTA Replica | Garage Steutel, Almkerk No connections by the way!

Quite a few nice replica's around. Buying an existing one is an option too. Unless of course the building is the fun and/or you want it exactly your way!

Ciao, Olaf

 

[shadmonk]

hi guys

thanks for the opinions

i went to see the white one for sale in london.

But i think id rather spend a bit more and have it done how i want. I wont be doing the work myself though..

I also feel it may be a shame to convert a nice car, but the replica will still hold its value and appear to others if i ever came to sell it.

I want a 2litre for power, but did the step-nose wide body ever run with a 2litre engine?

the 13x8 wheels that would be used for the build, Can anyone tell me what tyres this would need. i guess 225 45 13?

The alternative ofcourse would be a GTA replica without the flares... maybe this would be less controversial?

 

[shadmonk]

oh and Olaf, it is indeed very nice!.. this is a vid i found of the car (i think)... but they call it a GTAm.. I thought GTAm would not have step-nose but later quad light

 

[PSk]

hi guys

thanks for the opinions

i went to see the white one for sale in london.

But i think id rather spend a bit more and have it done how i want. I wont be doing the work myself though..

I also feel it may be a shame to convert a nice car, but the replica will still hold its value and appear to others if i ever came to sell it.

Eventually original survivors will be the most desirable. It will take time and we are probably not there yet but replicas of GTA's or GTAm's (the wide body look) are all over the place.

BTW: The cost to tidy up an already modified replica attempt will likely be cheaper than starting fresh. You will get a stack of parts that you will not have to buy and even if you have to strip the car down again, same effort.

Please give it some thought. Tidy original cars are becoming very rare.
Pete

 

[Veep]

Classic cars London has no step front...
I thank you mean the white GTam replica with the TS engine.
Engine alone like that will set you back at around 10000 euro...
I still think that building yourself , if you have to let someone else do the work, is no good idea, unless you have around 40000-50000 euro to spare...
I considered the white car in London, is now also at Classic Alfa for sale for still a bit less...OK no step front, then take the one on the alfaholics site..

I know what it will cost to build such a thing , build a step front racer a few years ago. Am planning for a GTAM too, and at the moment calculating the project...

 

[shadmonk]

yes sorry the one in london had no step front.. im surprised it has been for sale for many months now.

 

[Veep]

its just on the site of classic alfa, think it will be sold soon, for this money.
Cars like this have to be advertised international.
If they put it on ALfaholics it will be sold within a month, or there is something wrong with it. the cars that are long on the alfaholics site are too expensive for the specs they have.

 

[shadmonk]

but being RHD, i think it maybe has less appeal abroad..

 

[alfazagato]

Lots of racing cars were RHD as most circuits run clockwise, and the driver is on the inside of the corner.

 

[shadmonk]

oh wow, thats new to me..

 

[Veep]

besides that, changing to lhd won`t cause a bankrupt..

steering and dash and pedalbox to change. can all be obtained easy. Dash can be a fibreglass one and the left over parts are worth some money again.

 

[shadmonk]

another way of looking at it is lets say a car isnt in very good condition, it may not be worth restoring to its original spec (eg if it was an entry level model), and so the alternative of creating a replica of the racing version means the cars' future is better and will be cherished and used and seen by many for years to come...... rather than languishing unrestored.

 

[Veep]

problem with bad condition is that the parts that are changed going to wide body are not the problem, the big money for restoring such a body is the same since it will be the floors, sills etc that take all the work.

And don`t forget about the extra cost going to wide body: the parts, the work adapting the body, more expensive wheels if you want to go to 13 inch, and then also extra cost for brakes maybe to fit inside.

don`t want to put you of the idea, but know which direction you are going.
As told, I am planning a wide body myself (GtAM replica), but I have almost all the technical parts lying around, including an extra race engine. And I want to build to FIA G2 class, so I am limited in changes.

 

[scole]

Back to one of your questions and Olaf can help with this, but I think the only 2 liter engines ever run in a step nose were the early 1750 mono block engines that were to be used in the GTAm were put into a wide body GTA for a few races of testing. I am not sure if the actual homologation of this happened with the FIA though which would mean it would not be legal in our club. Most other clubs though do not care about the details.

 

[shadmonk]

thanks for that.. My feeling is i may be better sticking to a GTA replica (without flares) and will opt for a 2 litre for best power output, as im not intending to race this in any series, but a good track day car which i will use on the road also.

Im assuming the 2 litre would be the best option for power while still being a period engine