Alfa Romeo GTV6 restomod (Part 1: Brakes & Box)

Something a little different then…. The car is question is an 1982 Alfa Romeo gtv6 2.5 and the project is to recommission and improve it.

Around 20-years ago this car underwent a bare metal restoration and restomod of sorts way before it became a thing. I suppose blokes in sheds have always been modifying cars and manufactures like Alfa who were strapped for cash in the 80’s and 90’s tended to re-use mechanical components with many components shared between the Alfetta/ Guiletta/ gtv/ gtv6/ 75/ SZ and 164. The advantage being upgrades could often be retro-fitted to the older models. This gtv6 was fitted with a later 3.0 12v engine from the Alfa 164 which increased the power output from 160-190bhp. The gearbox was sourced from an Alfa 75 twinspark which had the advantages of better ratios, improved linkage, LSD and a single plate clutch over the v6 twin plate, an advantage which only manifested itself in 2019 when it transpired that the single plate clutch costs £170 versus £850 for the double (IF) you can find one!

This gtv6 also benefited from the well regarded Harvey Bailey handling kit, power steering and a nice Ansa stainless steel exhaust. The gtv6 had been parked up since 2008 with a host of problems which oddly didn’t fix themselves over the period! So 10-years later in August 2018 it was loaded up and sent to NI Alfa Romeo specialist JRC Auto to begin the recommissioning process.

There was a long list of “potential problems” issued with the car all of which were “actual problems” however its best to tackle big projects step by step.

Brakes:

First problem to tackle was badly routed and corroded brake lines. The whole car was like spaghetti junction and there wasn’t a lot of logic, performance or safety associated with the current installation. Below are a couple of example pics of brake line oddities:

With some careful thought and attention the entire brake line system was removed and carefully replaced, routed and safely secured. Below are  a few much improved images:

Gearbox: 

With that work completed attention turned to the gearbox. While sitting up for 11-years the clutch plate had welded itself to the flywheel and liklihood was that the slave cylinder was also kaput! The gearbox was removed and a list of necessary parts drawn up which included: Clutch kit, slave cylinder, diff mount, rear guibo, hose and handbrake cable (since it is inboard and wise to change while the gearbox is out).

Next up:

So with new brake lines and clutch completed the project took an unexpected turn due to a chance meet on instagram with a fellow Alfisti. Stay tuned for part 2 (Wheels)