Barnfind GTV6...ok shed find

[bonno]

Mike
With regards to your LHS mirror, it might be worth fixing by cleaning, prep and repaint in lieu of sourcing a new or good second hand unit (cost and availability). The corrosion in the lower part of engine bay LHS is a little worse than I anticipated and will require a replacement section to be fabricated in.
cheers
bonno

[Mike]

Ah yes, the bumper is in remarkably good nick. The car was parked nose into a garage hidden away from loght on the front end. 

I love my little 3P.  A super car in all respects. Deove it across Aus with Dave who is also on this forum.  Good times.

Yes def. Some fab work for the bumper section.  A bugger but it is what it is. 

As for wing mirror I actually have a spare I think on my spare Gtv.  Will have to check that.  It can certainly be salvaged. Just surface..although impressive surface none the less.  Not sure why it coped such a beating.

Ive had a closer look at the driver gaurd and it looks to habe had a very localised tap.  The poor paint prep on the repair has introduced some humidity damage which will require it to be rubbed bak and addressed.  The missalognment between gaurd and door appears to be in the door hinge.  I think I can get the allignment right by adjustment.

Today the head will be inspected closely and a plan made. 

In liue of more GTV6 pics...128 goodness 😀

[Fetta GTV]

That little 128 is a sweet car, what an adventure we had.

[Mike]

The great Australian bight! I was scared to back it up to much 😀

[Mike]

So yesterday we were wondering why the vales were sticking on no3 exhaust.  Totad the valves are out and as you can see there has been moisture in the cylinder which has likely resulted from a quick start up..back out of deiveway..back back innand shut down.  Moisture wpuld jave remained behind and 4 years later..walla..sticking valves.

Actually no3 exhaust had to be tapped out with comviction.  Seats looks good but will recieve a light skim and lap.  Valve stem seals are supple but will be replaced and all springs will be tested.  Valves appear straight and according to orevious owner were replaced.  Need to confirm they used correct sodium cooled exhaust valves.  I belive they were from factory?

If assumption of moisture is correct then some comver remains for rhs head and given the need for a light head skim Ive decided to remove both heads and have new guides seals and seats plus head face.

Onward.

[17fitty]

Interesting read and great find-look forward to reading more-great 128 as well

[Mike]

Friday!  I love Fridays...who doesnt?

Anyway, nothing happened on thursday.  Went to tje footy to watch a poor display of gootball as the cats took on the Ealges.  To my dissapointment the Cats could not get it done.  Well thats my afl fix for another 5years...about the frequency that I get to a game...always in the shed!!  Much better.

Onto the subject of tyres for a moment.  I fitted up the 17a8 rims the other day..the white ones in the pics.  They need a bitof maching to work and truth be told they are for my intergale not the Alfa.  It was always my intention to get tyres onto the factory rims,  but I do want a nice set of alloys as well at some point.  I personally think 3pc 16inch will be the go..although tyres for 16s is not getting any easier with Yoko my goto with the azenis.

For the factory fitment gtv6 15inch rim Ive got these options:

GTV6 on 15" original wheels:
195/60R15
Pirelli P1 @ $193ea
Michelin XM2 @ $186ea
Prices are fitted.
Question...what are people running and what are they happy with?  The obvious choice is Pirelli and I think I will go this way..but amusingly after all my years of Alfa ownership..Ive never owned a new set.

At any rate I'm a aways off needing tyres I suspect...between engine paintwork and rust Ill be lucky to have her on the road this side of xmas.

[Alfapride]

I'm very happy with pirelli

[poohbah]

For what its worth Mike, I've got 15x6 Simmons rims wearing Goodyear Eagle 205/55/R15s on my GTV.

Steering was pretty heavy til I replaced the small diameter sports steering wheel with standard GTV wheel.

I have started thinking about replacing the tyres as they are getting long in the tooth, but have discovered that it it is a little bit of a challenge to find equivalent Goodyears in that size.

[rowan_bris]

I have 195/55/15 Yoko Advan Neova AD08R which are nice and sticky

[GG105]

Mike, this is a great read. It parallels my journey with my 82 split dash GTV6 except yours doesn't look like the mechanicals were worked on by a half blind gorilla. I also got a shock when we I saw the state of the water jackets and head gaskets when we pulled the heads off and mine was running!

Suggest you pull the sump, clean it out and check the oil pump before you start it. We found with my car that the bores were a bit glazed, four good runs on the dyno sorted this.

I echo Aggie's comment, first GTV6 I can remember seeing with a straight front bumper, gold!

I have rust repairs to do on my white car also, windscreen surround has been repaired previously, I'm going to remove mine and have a look anyway.

Good stuff.

John

[Mike]

John, it can be scary to open them up and see all the crap.  They will run in very poor condition it seems.  Cant imagine all the crap in thete helps heat transfer!  Wa water is extremely mineralised but dadly people still seem to top up with it rsther than use demineralised..such a simple thing that can ruin an engine very quickly. Agree. I will pull sump for peace of mind.

Luckily none of my bores are glazed or watermarked. They still have very visible cross hatching. Vary happy about that and once again supports mileage.

The heads are both off now and once again plenty of rubbish in water.  Exhaust valve on no4 was again a little rusty and overly tight. Also noted one of the head studs has been munted but will clean up.  Question is..how the hell did the nut come up to torque....
So once again the right decision to remove heads.  Today the head rebuilds will be specced.

Good one on tyres..I have advans on 2 other cars and love them. It will be toss it between Pirelli for orininality vs yoko for a sexy look and performance.

[Mike]

Heres a question some may have experience with.  If the gtv6 heads are off...and I wanted to tickle the 2.5 busso, do people have experience with what the busso repsonds best to?  I can up yhe comp. A little with a shave..although this shortens the usable life of the heads.  Not sure if there are any deficiencies in the ports that should be addressed?  Cams...factory sufficient?  It is a road car primarily but not a daily.  If any sensibly priced hp can be released I may invesrigate while I have the chance.  I always run 98 so will look at leaning on the comp.  It would not be a full build. I am fond of revs but belive the 2.5 is borderline accepyable on down low torque so prefer not to impact that adversly.

Really just asking is there are any simple tricks the busso repsonds well to without getting carrried away. 

[bonno]

Hi Mike
Here is a  Youtube video clip which you and fellow forum member GG105 (SA Alfetta GTV6 3.0L) will give you the inspiration and drive when you are feeling down and question, what did I get myself into taking on this project.
Enjoy
1994 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti DTM Sound – Accelerations, Downshifts & Fly Bys.
https://youtu.be/f1j5Jq8ILmY
Cheers
Bonno

[Mike]

Haha..yes quite motivating but not in my league!

I've always liked the 155.  They look great.  When I need motivation I jump in this.  Not a 155 but the same guts 😀