The Alfa Thread

[LateFan]

Centerline yellow sport springs, shocks OEM Koni. Rear end 4.56, same as stock (these came from 72-79 105 cars). Adjustable front control arms.

The only reason I can afford to do all this is I bought all the pieces years ago and they're sitting in boxes under the car.

My son was excited to see me out there (after spending last winter replacing an Audi A4 engine, which was not fun). He took pictures.

The air box has to come off to even see the upper control arm bolt, which is like 22mm. There's no swing room with a ratchet or wrench between the carbs and the body shell - I'l have to figure that out.

But that let me check the carbs again, as there was confusion back in the 80s about which carbs got swapped to which engine I had. So all is good - 40DCOE27 like they're supposed to be.

Garage is a mess - that was storage underneath there for a long time. Found an old piano dolly, and an E30 belly pan!

[BlackbirdM3]

Centerline yellow sport springs, shocks OEM Koni. Rear end 4.56, same as stock (these came from 72-79 105 cars). Adjustable front control arms.

The only reason I can afford to do all this is I bought all the pieces years ago and they're sitting in boxes under the car.

My son was excited to see me out there (after spending last winter replacing an Audi A4 engine, which was not fun). He took pictures.

The air box has to come off to even see the upper control arm bolt, which is like 22mm. There's no swing room with a ratchet or wrench between the carbs and the body shell - I'l have to figure that out.

But that let me check the carbs again, as there was confusion back in the 80s about which carbs got swapped to which engine I had. So all is good - 40DCOE27 like they're supposed to be.

Garage is a mess - that was storage underneath there for a long time. Found an old piano dolly, and an E30 belly pan!

[ATTACH]107875[/ATTACH]

I ran the Centerline yellow springs on my GTV. I also had the adjustable upper control arms. One note, before you put those in, get poly bushings as the rubber ones that fit into the body will self destruct in short order. (ask me how I know.) Removing the control arms once those bushings are dead is not a pleasant task. (It took about 6 hrs per side using everything I could think of to extract them from the body) My thought with the Bilsteins was that due to the higher compression damping rate of them, they might help reduce the body roll due to the horrible roll center that will occur with the springs. Yes they are 1400 lb springs but even so, body roll is still hard to control even with a big front bar (that can tear the mounts off the body.)

Just thoughts from when I had the GTV, and further thoughts for setting up my Sprint when the time comes.

Will

[jeffnhiscars]

kinda sounds reminiscent of a tiny little dude with a REALLY loose butthole ripping a fart.

I won't ask how or why you are familiar with that particular sound

..but I owned a 74 GTV2000 and if I hadn't stumbled on e30s I might just be driving an old Alfa

[LateFan]

I also had the adjustable upper control arms. One note, before you put those in, get poly bushings as the rubber ones that fit into the body will self destruct in short order. (ask me how I know.) Removing the control arms once those bushings are dead is not a pleasant task. (It took about 6 hrs per side using everything I could think of to extract them from the body) My thought with the Bilsteins was that due to the higher compression damping rate of them, they might help reduce the body roll due to the horrible roll center that will occur with the springs.

I'm doing that as we speak - ordering the lower arm spherical bearings, which people install in the upper arm where it bolts to the shell. Some guys are saying those upper aftermarket rubber bushings lasted them 1000 miles, and the whole damn thing had to come apart again. And like you said, the rubber isn't bonded well on the new ones, so it migrates out of the hole and jambs so you can't get it out! Also getting poly to replace the castor arm bush. Hard to pay $200 and throw away 4 brand new bushings.....oh well, do it once, do it right.

I've heard many people say Bilsteins were too stiff / harsh for a 105. Either way, the Konis are what I have and they're pretty new.

[LateFan]

..but I owned a 74 GTV2000 and if I hadn't stumbled on e30s I might just be driving an old Alfa

Yep. And the tough part is to get back into one now costs a bundle compared to when they were just used sports cars. Look at 2002 prices. Maybe E30s will do that someday, but they built SO many. I think there were 6000 roundtail spider shells made by Pininfarina, about half of those were 1600 Duettos. How many of those were wrecked or rusted away?

How is an E30 so different from that GTV? Small coupe, RWD, good seats, sporting engine - just a different design philosophy and suspension design. And 20 years of car evolution....and 700 pounds....

[BlackbirdM3]

An e30 is only about 400 lbs heavier than an Alfa GTV. As for the Bilsteins being too stiff, I heard the same thing about running the Turner J stock springs on an E30. As it turns out, its the perfect setup for my M3. The fact that you have good Konis is a very compelling reason not to go with something else.

In other Alfa related news, there was a '71 1750 GTV at my work. All original, driven by the original owner. It was a beautiful silver on black car. Most impressive.

In further Alfa news, it looks like my Sprint might actually head to the body guy. I spoke with him this afternoon and he said he'd be ready by June 2nd, and the car would be at the top of his to do list. Its only been 8 months... We'll see if he is indeed ready for the car next month.

Will

[Vincent Brick]

I have seen three 4Cs in the last 18 hours, which is awesome, except now I want one but I'm not loaded. Nice to see new Alfas on the road.

Early '70s 2000 GTV is one of my dream cars. Tried to get one once but wasn't able to sell the AE86 I had quick enough, now it seems their values have since extended past my reach.

[JRKOUPE]

cool

[LateFan]

now it seems their values have since extended past my reach.

Ain't that the truth. Frustrating. I not that long ago passed on an early 911 for $13,000 'cuz it was a weird metallic mint green color.

Then about 5 years ago a local guy was selling a plain jane white '71 911T on The Samba. Decent shape, nothing too special, $21,000. I talked with him to see what the deal was - I felt like he was dreaming at that price and figured it would come down. He sold it in less than a week - a guy flew up here from CA and took it home. That was it - the train had left the station.

[JRKOUPE]

eye italian bmw

[LateFan]

eye italian bmw

Yeah. If you squint, isn't that just a 4-door 3 series with a pug nose?

I read something yesterday that - claimed - when the 4C production run is over (they cost a lot to make), they'll use this new Giulia chassis to make a 2-door coupe M4 competitor. Who knows if any of it is true.

I also read that Fiat-Chrysler has more debt than cash and may be in trouble.

[JRKOUPE]

Ain't that the truth. Frustrating. I not that long ago passed on an early 911 for $13,000 'cuz it was a weird metallic mint green color.

Then about 5 years ago a local guy was selling a plain jane white '71 911T on The Samba. Decent shape, nothing too special, $21,000. I talked with him to see what the deal was - I felt like he was dreaming at that price and figured it would come down. He sold it in less than a week - a guy flew up here from CA and took it home. That was it - the train had left the station.

ha...

bought a 70 T 9 yrs ago...1 owner......12k.....every1 thought I got robbed..go buy a 1 owner T now.....blood orange....5 spd.....all orig...new paint.....110k miles..........40 k?..maybe more. Geez an S then was 18-25....now 65 on up!!!!!

[JRKOUPE]

Yeah. If you squint, isn't that just a 4-door 3 series with a pug nose?

I read something yesterday that - claimed - when the 4C production run is over (they cost a lot to make), they'll use this new Giulia chassis to make a 2-door coupe M4 competitor. Who knows if any of it is true.

I also read that Fiat-Chrysler has more debt than cash and may be in trouble.

exactly.

[LateFan]

Insane, isn't it? None of us could probably ever have bought an old Ferrari or Duesenberg or something.....but they built a zillion 911s, and they were just something you thought maybe you could get someday. That's the frustrating part - they were so common at one point. And they rusted.

An old friend has a '59 356 Convertible D (I think that's it) - only because he's had it since he was in grad school and it was a cheap old sports car with a shitty top. He drove it across Mississippi and Texas with his long hair and dealt with small town cops.

Now it's in boxes and he's learning to weld and is gathering parts. I keep sending him ads for similar cars - I don't think he has any idea how much it's worth now.

[JRKOUPE]

insane...


the trick is to see whats next that you like...and buy it before it skyrockets.

GTV, 2002, e36M3 are all on that list IMO....look at lo mi m3 e36.....over 20k now.