[PSk]

Guys,

This is getting out of hand.

Moderators please move this thread to "GT (1965-1974)" as that is where it belongs. The "Giulia GTA, GTA 1300 Jr., and GTAm (1965-1975)" area is for real cars. Nothing else nothing more and due to the highest respect we have for real GTA's and GTAm's that is how it should stay, otherwise it will be polluted with millions of threads about replicas.

GTA's are like real 8c Alfas, Alfisti Gods ... nuff said

Enjoy your replica Shadmonk , and I apologise for the hard time you are been given. A moderator could have solved this in seconds.
Pete

 

[giamba_ps]

......but not gta , the carpet , dash , and dash top , shift lever ( non sliding kind ) , shift boot, inner door handle, window handle, side vent window handle , door opening handle, wiper arms ,door panel , and steering wheel ( looks like a repro...but not sure ) are all incorrect if you are trying to simulate a real gta.

 

[spannerman]

I just have to say something.

MY GOD, SOME OF YOU PEOPLE ARE PATHETIC. GET A LIFE......

Does it really matter what is posted where. Will the world stop revolving? Will governments topple? I'm sure If someone who starts a thread and thinks they aren't getting the info they want can try another section. Im also sure the moderators do enough work without checking every single post for a hint of a (gasp) replica.
So all you do gooders just bugger off and allow everyone to enjoy their Alfas and to do what they want to them.

 

[italcarguy]

Just saw this thread and saw the numerous requests so I moved it to the GT section.

 

[Veep]

a little food for thougt: no GTA without the GT/GTV, no GTAM without the GTV 1750....
Let`s not forget what the GTA/GTAM in fact is: a derivate of the streetcars, with bottem line just one aim: competition.
It`s just that there are so few of them... Some say its not good to build replica`s, and sometimes its the same people that say its not okay to race with the real thing either(and I mean RACE...)

So no problem with as many replica`s, clones and whatsoever to keep the GTA/GTAM spirit going as so many are becoming garage queens...
and seem to sell for silly money (imho).
I don`t understand that now this one had to be moved, while there are still other topics, even on modern Alfaholics TS engines! that not had this attention (just scroll through the topics..).

So to TS,I hope you had some inspiration on this forum!
Attend the Alfaholics trackday in Castle Combe in a few weeks for some more, if my car is running well I will be there too.

 

[68 GTV]

Shadmonk

Don't worry about the attitude of some posters. I have been a member of many clubs and organisations and there are always a few "characters". Both my parents raced in the 50’s and 60’s and they would modify their cars to gain whatever competitive advantage they could whilst staying within the regulations. The racing cars of the sixties and seventies had such wide wheels due to tyre technology of the era. Modern tires do not have to be as wide to get equivalent or better grip levels. But if you want wide arches go for it! Enjoy the car and whatever you want to do to it.

I have a spare 2 litre nord with gearbox in my garage that I haven't got round to selling (was in my 67 stepnose)

<5000 miles since full rebuild by Lombardia (loads of receipts)
<1500 miles since new sychros fitted to g'box
Lightened flywheel, early cam covers, crossover cast inlet manifold

I have a video clip of it running sweet as a nut just before I removed it.

Drop me a PM if you are interested. I am only down the road from London and you are welcome to come kick tyres over a cuppa

There are folks here who would lynch me for what I have done to my stepnose

Jim

although looking in the previous posts in this section there are nmerous ones regarding GTA 'replicas'...
im confused

i find it worrying that its such a big deal to some people.. I only wanted to discuss a potential build, but now we just seem to be discussing where this thread should be.
Is there so much snobbery among Alfa owners?

 

[Veep]

There are folks here who would lynch me for what I have done to my stepnose

give me a hug! AND PICTURES, LOTS OF PICTURES!

 

[shadmonk]

ok glad its been moved so the 'real' GTA section doesnt get further diluted with this nasty 'replica' stuff..

So anyway im glad for all the advice so far. Im still deciding on a suitable car to start project on, but my preference will be using fibreglass panels (except maybe front wings)
- is it difficult to convert a non-stepnose to stepnose using fibreglass replacement panels?

Reading previous threads, people have mentioned that the car may lose strength with fibre panels, but beneath the rear wings there seems to be additional strength provided by the inner wings etc. Do the front wings really contribute to the strength of the monocoque significantly? Would a full cage be sufficient to restore any lost rigidity?

Im a fan of glassfibre and if well bonded to the metal i dont see how it could be much weaker. Original GTAs with alu panels bonded and riveted to the steel chassis would be of similar strength im guessing.

And on a different note, i agree with VEEP above, when the prices of cars become so inflated they will inevitably be used less and garaged more, while also becoming further from the reach of the average enthusiast. Afterall when the GTA was made if was not a high-end luxury model competing with the likes of italian exotica. Yes they were made in low numbers but this was for homologation purposes rather than for exclusivity.

 

[harryf]

a little food for thougt: no GTA without the GT/GTV, no GTAM without the GTV 1750....
Let`s not forget what the GTA/GTAM in fact is: a derivate of the streetcars.

Veep, you are correct. In fact surely it is the GTA which is just an inferior replica of the vastly superior and original GT? It is the GT that was made first and was the original, pure design.

The GTA is merely a later copy made partly of Aluminium (as anybody knows thats a vastly inferior material, prone to stress cracking and can't be easily welded). The roof is pop riveted on for goodness sake! And the ignition system is apparently so poor they seem to have had to use 2 plugs per cylinder to get it to work (The GT only needs one, so must be twice as good). Worst still the Cigar lighter is nowhere near as good as on the GT. Later cars had Giugiaro's masterful styling ruined by hideous big arches.

To add insult to injury the whole package cost substantially more than the original and pure GT. Apparently they were so unsuitable as proper cars that some owners were too embarrassed to take them on the road and had no alternative but to race them. Incredibly, they may even have had a few good race results.

I shall make it my task to check the GT lounge and excise any mention of the obviously vastly inferior GTA. And any GTA owner who happens to post in the wrong lounge must be made to feel unwelcome and uncomfortable for having the temerity to try and pass his car off as an 'original GT'.

 

[PSk]

I just have to say something.

MY GOD, SOME OF YOU PEOPLE ARE PATHETIC. GET A LIFE......

Does it really matter what is posted where. Will the world stop revolving? Will governments topple? I'm sure If someone who starts a thread and thinks they aren't getting the info they want can try another section. Im also sure the moderators do enough work without checking every single post for a hint of a (gasp) replica.
So all you do gooders just bugger off and allow everyone to enjoy their Alfas and to do what they want to them.

Mate, I only requested it be moved so there was more content about Shadmonk's car than these sorts of discussions. If you look back you will see that something like 50% of this thread is debating/arguing where it should have been posted. Not healthy for this site. This will now stop .

Pete

 

[Zagato_Olaf]

I just have to say something.

MY GOD, SOME OF YOU PEOPLE ARE PATHETIC. GET A LIFE......

Does it really matter what is posted where. Will the world stop revolving? Will governments topple? I'm sure If someone who starts a thread and thinks they aren't getting the info they want can try another section. Im also sure the moderators do enough work without checking every single post for a hint of a (gasp) replica.
So all you do gooders just bugger off and allow everyone to enjoy their Alfas and to do what they want to them.

Hello Spannerman,

In my opinion it does matter where a topic is posted. Certainly if you want to search the BB for specific information. If you are looking for a 'fast road/track GTV', life will be easier if you just have to look at the 'GT 1965-1974' chapter. Looking for a 'replica GTA' does the same in the 'GTA, GTA 1300 Junior & GTAm 1965 - 1975' section. Just my 2 cents.

Ciao, Olaf.

 

[shadmonk]

Yes.. i think it was better off in the GTA section also, but too many GTA purists were getting annoyed that the topic was top of the GTA thread list

anyway.. any ideas on the thoughts i posted above?

 

[la_strega_nera]

Hasn't been a "real" post in there for best part of a week.
Buy a car. Do what you want with it (short of putting a jap motor in it). F&*^& the Purists.

 

[PSk]

Looking for a 'replica GTA' does the same in the 'GTA, GTA 1300 Junior & GTAm 1965 - 1975' section. Just my 2 cents.

Ciao, Olaf.

Actually I have a counter point.

If I was building a GTA replica I would want to find threads about real GTA details so I could make my replica accurate and thus get an as authentic experience as possible, this is made easier by only real GTA and GTAm threads in the GTA section ... otherwise you have all the "other" threads to ignore.

In the end as a lot of Alfisti like modifying their cars and while this is great it is starting to become so one sided that there is like 9 posts on modifications to 1 post on authentic topics, can't we atleast keep one area uncluttered?

This place is becoming like the Alfa Romeo Owners club of New Zealand. Stay with me as I do have a point . One day somebody said to me that the club is so involved in motorsport that it did not cater for the other interests of the other club members. I had never even thought about that because I was racing my Sud and thus my needs or wants were being met. My point: This BB is becoming "Alfa Romeo Modifications and Replicas Bulletin Board", we need to keep the right balance to ensure it stays as the best Alfa site on the net.

Heck soon the engine conversions (Jap, V8's, etc.) will be the most popular and then we are not really talking Alfa Romeos any more ... sigh.
Pete

 

[alfazagato]

Pete, I think you have the nub of the problem. If you are building a Replica....identical in every respect, aluminium panels, twin-plug engine etc.....then the GTA forum is the right one for you. If you start to depart from that precise aim then you are building something else and it is no longer a GTA replica. Perhaps the base car model is the right forum for this sort of discussion.
From a personal standpoint I have no objection to what is being done to cars....its what makes this whole hobby interesting....but it can go too far. What will a Maserati engine/drivetrain GTV be, never mind your Japanese engined confections? Certainly not Alfas. Will the cars be welcomed on the Maserati or Subaru forums?
Also for the sort of money that will have to be expended on these "re-arrangement" cars you can buy a real GTA needing work....or is that too simple?

 

[Veep]

Also for the sort of money that will have to be expended on these "re-arrangement" cars you can buy a real GTA needing work....or is that too simple?

for the money to buy a real GTA needing work you will have the replica 200% ready to do what you want/build it for. And a GTA needing work will need the same sum again to get it properly refurbished. By this time the replica probably will be a faster and better drive than a real historicly build right GTA ever will...
Unless you put the same powerfull engine, non-original suspension setup etc etc in the GTA too, but if you do you probably will get shot for doing that to the real thing (even if the mods can be put right by just some hours with tools.)

A GTAm replica with FIA HTP is just for sale, with sliding block. For money you will never never may take a look at a real one.

But what is the point in having the real one if a good build replica is the nicer drive! Guess why I build replica`s/clones...: because I like to drive, and not just look and pamper these thing. It still is a piece of metal...that has to be used well.

 

[alfazagato]

Real GTA sold at Coys earlier this year for £47k ish ( I can't recall the exact price)!!!! Build what you want.

 

[Veep]

ok, thats around € 54.000, is excl VAT and premium for Coys ??. What is/was the condition?
Nice money to acquire a GTA, for the ones that want a real one.

 

[alfazagato]

No, I believe that figure, actually £46,600 is inclusive of commission and VAT on the commission. Condition was not brilliant, it was a well campaigned racing car, but a great base for a restoration.
Its all a question of what you want...the real thing (but with work and the satisfaction that brings) or a new creation which is neither fish nor fowl.

 

[shadmonk]

no way i personally could justify 50k on a GTA.. which is essentially a hot version of the GT car. Maybe a lancia, ferrari, detomaso yes.
The appeal of the GT cars is that they are affordable and can be tuned or uprated easily with good parts supply.
I just spent 25k restoring a 1963 Ginetta G4 to original spec- using the original chassis, block, box, axle.. That is a car so rare that to do otherwise would be wrong. Estimated only 200 series 1 cars made, and how few must be left now.
The GT 105s are a different kettle of fish, ofcourse still very desirable but also lend themselves to tuning, mods and racing so well... which is great.

so back to the topic,, would it be easy to convert a non-stepnose to stepnose?