1984 Alfa Romeo GTV6

This story probably starts way back in the early 1990's when I was joining the ranks of licensed drivers, and my dad (a longtime Alfisti) had a somewhat rusty, but slightly hopped-up Alfetta GT that was his fun/trackday car at that point in time, and I got to cut my teeth on that car. Or maybe it starts back in the early 80's, when I was bouncing around in the backseat of a 1974 Alfa GTV 2000 my dad had bought new. In any case, Alfas and Italian machinery are still etched in my mind. My dad owned and operated an eclectic independent foreign car repair shop specializing in SAAB and Alfa Romeo, but not exclusively, so I grew up with a mix of Alfas to Volvos to SAAB to Citroens to Rovers to Peugeots to Maseratis to Lotuses rolling by daily. My dad was riding and restoring Ducatis while I was learning to ride a bicycle without training wheels.

Once I reached the point of buying my first car in the late-90's, none of the European cars like Alfas, Lotuses, Lancias, Triumphs, Ferraris, MGs that I lusted after offered the combination of price and practicality that I needed, so I 'settled' for Japanese performance cars like a Toyota AE86 Corolla GT-S, and an AW11 MR2. Those ownership experiences lead me down a wonderful path in my 20's through my 40's that was awesome and enjoyable, so no regrets, but that Italian passion remained in the back of my mind.

In the spring of 2024 I did my first Overcrest road rally in my 2013 Scion FR-S and got a little (very very minor) flack for not bringing a fully-analog sports car. That specific debate is beyond the scope of this post (but, in my defense, no touchscreen, no automatic transmission, electronic nannies can be fully switched off except ABS, no auto start/stop, no external cameras) The event was awesome, and the type of thing I want to do again whenever possible. In any case, post-event discussions included what type of car I might build for future events, and I surprised myself a little bit when I blurted out, "An Alfa GTV6!"

Sometime in the spring I started researching and religiously following the market. I decided I didn't want anything immaculate and completely collecter-edition, but I also didn't want a major project. Prices were all over the place. Alfa only sold 4800 or so of these cars in the Sates originally back in the 80's, so they aren't exactly thick on the ground these days.

In late summer I found my target, decent price, looked good in the pictures, called the seller and despite being a classic car reseller, he is an Alfisti and owns a 1982 GTV6, which bolstered my confidence, so I bought it!

Congratulations! 

As a former owner of a 164S that I tried, for four years, to turn into a reliable daily, I believe you made a great decision! 

I'm hoping your new gem has had (or will have) an exhaust upgrade. The Busso's such a sweet sounding powerplant, that more Busso in your ears is better. Those melodious tones definitely drive engagement. (To the point that I fantasize about building a rear/mid sports car around one from scratch.) 

Wishing you much joy in your ownership experience. 

Looks great in the pic!

Way cool. There's something special about old-school Alfa Romeos.

I've always thought these were cool.  A guy in high school got one (for his 16th Bday, no less) and always parked it right up front, illegally.  Got a ticket everyday...

Sooo cool!!! I need you to take me for a ride next summer if I am in town!!

Very nice, my 81 is the only car I have sold that I miss and want back.

Very cool.  Always liked Alfas, and the GTV6 has always been one of the best sounding!  

You can check the box for being a 'true' petrolhead now, according to Clarkson... 

Congrats! Those things are so, so cool...

These things got really cheap 6 ish years ago. They were very tempting. That engine sound! Mmm! Hope you enjoy it immensely!

I know nothing about these other than I love the way they look, and I love the way they sound. Looking forward to following along!

I've always wanted one of theae cars, but I've never been brave enough to buy one.

In reply to Slow_M :

It came to me with stock manifolds mated to a custom stainless exhaust with no cats, no resonator, slightly oversized pipes, and only one smallish performance muffler. It is *awesome* for a rip through two or three gears once, or maybe twice. Like can't-control-yourself-from-laughing-out-loud awesome. 😁 After that you begin to realize it is quite loud, and drones badly at cruising speed, so it will likely be modified a bit so I can drive it more than five minutes at a time, and so my neighbors don't start grabbing their pitchforks. 😂

Here's a test drive video of my car the seller posted: 1984 GTV6 test drive He revs it up at times, but doesn't fully rev it out, however 3:00-4:00 gives a nice idea of the sound. Never mind the California stops, passing on the right, lack of signaling, etc. 🤨 I guess they do things differently in L.A.

In reply to Slippery :

Will do! We will have to go for a drive!

In reply to TurboFource :

Thanks! The topside is nice and shiny and it presents really well in photos. It has a whole lot of good, plus a few 'opportunities' as it were. As with anything 40-years-old and Italian, there's a little rust and some...er, interesting former repairs if you know where to look and start really digging into it, but it is far from rusty or beat up as these cars go.

Part of the appeal of this example was the various mild performance upgrades, including suspension that lowered it to European ride height (U.S. market cars were raised to meet bumper height rules or something.) It was described as Shankle torsion bars, springs, and sway bars, plus Koni yellow shocks.

The car also came with amazing condition Recaro SR-3 seats with orange spectrum gradient upholstery.

Very cool seats, but they don't exactly fit my aesthetic preferences, and also might ruffle some feathers in the workplace given that I work at a different aftermarket automotive seat company.

I know these are worth a fair bit to the right European car nut, so part of the plan from the get-go is to sell them to recoup a chunk of the car purchase, and be replacing them with some sweet scheel-mann seats.

The last major feather in this particular car's cap is a transaxle with no second-gear synchromesh issues! 🤯

I worked at an independent euro car repair shop in the 90s. The owner was an Alfisti through and through. He had a GTV6 with a larger Milano engine in it. It would grab rubber in the first three gears. I learned this on the way back from one of the many lunch runs I was tasked with. 

Molto bene!

Awesome car.  My dad had an '82 GTV6 as a daily driver that I rode around in the back of at elementary age in the late '80's.  Cut my teeth at track days driving it as a teenager.  He still has that car today 35+ years later! (though it was retired from daily driver a few decades ago)... They do sound glorious.  Nice buy! 

Those recaro seats are mint!  I understand the work thing but I'd be reluctant to remove them...

Nice purchase.  I've always liked these even without the parental influence.  My nephew has an older one, which partly explains why I have this.

docwyte said:

Those recaro seats are mint!  I understand the work thing but I'd be reluctant to remove them...

I'm with doc.. I'd just reupholster the centers and call it a day.

Regarding the seats, the first problem with the Recaros is that the way they were mounted limits how far back they can slide, and the adapters and rails were made in a way that raises the seat probably 1.5"

I'm 6'2" so I'm not comfortable with my knees sharply bent and almost hitting the steering wheel, my head hitting the front of the sunroof, ducking to try and see traffic lights (let alone fitting a helmet in the car) and a 6" empty gap behind the back of the driver's seat with it all the way back. I don't see an easy way to remedy this because the center tunnel widens as you go back (for the clutch and transaxle) and the outboard edge of the seat is already pretty close to the inner rocker, so too much E36 M3 and not enough sack to go lower/further back.

So, if I'm having to come up with new seat mounting anyway, and I also prefer to come up with new upholstery anyway, I can spend effort and money on these Recaros that still might not fit, or I can sell them and put in some scheel-mann seats, and that opens up a bunch of potential cool opportunities to take the Alfa to work-related promotional events (some of which involve track time, or fun backroads drives) that probably wouldn't happen with reupholstered Recaros that don't really fit me, so I just don't see a strong case for keeping them.

Hopping back in time to delivery day! The transport driver didn't want to pull in to the business park where I work (an area full of warehouses set up for doing lots of shipping and receiving with loading docks and tons of big rigs coming and going) so he called and asked me to come meet him in the center lane of the arterial nearby! 🤔

I'd guess they had to wait a while as I walked the half-mile over there, and then waited for a gap to Frogger my way through the heavy traffic. When I arrived, they had it lowered out of the enclosed transporter and were closing up the truck and the car seemed to be warm, but whatever...they chose the bed despite my clear explanation regarding the delivery address at the outset, so I felt zero regret if they get to lie in it.

I was super-eager to hop in and drive it back to work. The location where they dropped it had the car pointed the wrong way for an immediate return, and with the nutso traffic, I just had to take it the long way around! 😜

First impressions:

• Sounds amazing!
• Super-high clutch pedal
• Gas gauge on Empty...not working, or really low?
• Seat position is less-than-optimal
• Intermittent slight pulse in the brake pedal
• No second-gear synchro issues!

Good Lord... everything about that car RULES. Looks great, and it's even the right color! Count me in the "those seats are amazing" crowd, but I totally understand changing it up if they don't fit in the car properly. 

I'll be watching this one. I've always wanted an Alfa, and these seem almost approachable in terms of Alfa stuff. 

Alfas have always been my absolute favorite Italian marque. My "money is no object" Euro sports car would be an early 70s GT or GTV 2000. So gorgeous...

That's a great looking example of a GTV6, I hope you really enjoy it!