GTV6 1980 - 1986

Manufacture

The car was manufactured on 8th February 1985 and sold on the 1st July 1987 in Singapore.  The body colour was metallic Nisida Grey.  (email from Marco Fazio, Alfa Romeo Archivist, 29th April 2014).

Early Life

The car had been purchased by a British ex-pat and it stayed in the Far East until 1993 when the owner returned to the UK.  Due to various customs delays, the car was stored in dry, heated conditions for 3 years (at Her Majesty's expense) before the importation process was finally completed and the car was registered for use in the UK on 8th August 1996.  

At some point the car was sold to an unknown owner who kept it until May 2002 when it was purchased by a John Massaro of High Wycombe as his "daily drive".  During John's ownership, the car featured in an Auto Italia Magazine article that compared three Alfetta GTVs of varying specifications (July 2004).  The piece noted tha John had fitted Bilstein shock absorbers to reduce body roll.

New Owner

I had always lusted after a GTV6 and got very close to acquiring one in 1986 but my fiancee sensibly convinced me to use my savings as the deposit for a house and to stick with my Alfetta 1.6 GT.   By 2001 I was in a position to try again and I made the mistake of buying a very cheap GTV6 which turned out to be something of a basket case.   Things didn't go very well and by summer 2006 I had stripped the car and scrapped the body.  

In Spring 2007 I resolved to try yet again, but I was determined to find a structurally sound car - luckily D690 JJD came up for sale!  As noted, the car was a daily drive and by 2007 it was suffering the effects of such a life and the owner decided to move the car on.  The car was placed with UK Alfa transaxle expert Alex Jupe to sell and despite its rather tatty cosmetic appearance, the excellent condition of the car's structure (due to its limited time on British roads) meant that it provided a great opportunity to acquire a classic Alfa at a reasonable price.

I purchased the car in April 2007 with 87,000 miles on the clock and immediately increased this to 87,600 by driving it home to NE Scotland!  (The Section picture above shows the car in 2007 on its arrival in Scotland).

2007

• Installed 30mm RS Racing front anti roll bar including drop links
• Repair (welding & painting) of spare wheel well and windscreen surround
• New timing belt
• Installed Lucas DX 160 driving lights (original 1980s lights previously fitted on my Alfetta 1.6 GT in period).

2008

• Installed RS Racing Suspension kit comprising front coilovers, front caster ball joints, rear shock absorbers, rear spring pan spacers, rear springs.  Included adjustment of front torsion bars to lower the car.
• Engine removed and cleaned
• New rear crankshaft seal and rocker cover gaskets installed
• Installed new bonnet liner

2010

• Pipercross foam air filter installed

2011

• Fitted classic 5 spoke Revolution 15" wheels and 205/55 tyres

2012

• New clutch slave cylinder
• New thermostat
• New brake balance valve
• Painted and refurbished front calipers fitted
• Fitted New Timing Belt

2014

• New exhaust system: CSC stainless steel manifolds and straight through centre section, ANSA back box
• Fitted classic Hella Comet Fog Lights with covers
• New propshaft centre bearing and support
• Refurbished isostatic gear linkage

2015

• Full respray in Melanzana (Aubergine) over Silver

2017

• New fuel filter and fuel pump
• New fuel cut-off switch
• New vaccum hoses and air intake flexible hose

2018

• Fitted new timing belt and water pump
• Replaced AAV with manual valve

2020

• New dipped and full beam headlights installed

2022

• Fitted new coolant reservoir and new brake fluid reservoir
• Fitted new fuel lines
• Alternator refurbished
• General refurbishment of engine compartment
• Reinforced front anti roll bar mounts

2023

• Fitted new clutch master cylinder with independant reservoir (previously shared brake fluid reservoir)

2024

• Fitted new alloy radiator and twin electric cooling fans