Alfa gtv v6 project black edition

[jonalfaspider 107]

Hi Guys, i have been on the forum for a year now so thought i would share my v6 project.

 

I have been on alfa owners forum and had alfas for the last six/seven years, I  started with a complete standard ph1 rosso red ph1 ts spider, bought it blind knowing nothing about cars n alfa's  . I tweaked it to how i wanted and made a few upgrades but within the year the bottom end failed  . 

 

how i got her, colour coded, silver window surround, 18 wheels, lowered 30mm, ph2 grill

 

After that I go a blue ph2 gtv and this was the most reliable car i have had, i put 30k miles on her every year and still flew through its mot. I learnt alot working on the car improving my spanner skills. I didnt do much to that gtv just maintained her and again added 18 wheels and leather interior.

 

 

by now i was a fully addicted alfaholic  and bought another ts gtv as my favorite colour is the rosso red. I ended up selling on my blue gtv for a profit and she is still going strong to a member on alfaowners. 

 

I went all out spent a small fortune and got her spot on, 

 

http://www.squadra916.com/forums/garage/vehicle/157-alfa-gtv-ts/?tab=images

 

There was just one problem.............it wasnt the same as my first alfa it wasnt a spider lol!  

Edited February 3, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[jonalfaspider 107]

So my current alfa set up 

 

my mint ph1 ts spider she has had alot of work,

 

 

but is just how i want her

 

 

a video of her finished although i might lower her a little

 

 

so with a few skills learnt i had alway fancied a gtv v6 but they command much more that the twinspark so with s small budget i spent along time hunting and eventually found one   

Edited February 1, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[jonalfaspider 107]

A black Alfa romeo gtv v6 with a knackard gear box, engine management light on, no mot and has been sat for a few years. I went up to leeds 100miles away and had a look. 

 

The seller clearly loved it as he refused to sell it to a breaker. I had to go and have a look as i always fancied a black gtv so took a 200 mile round trip to look at it, The seller called it "beast" and was asking £1666 for it that included a devil badge on the key so i didnt know what to expect    

 

 

Edited July 24, 2016 by jonalfaspider

[jonalfaspider 107]

The seller well he was a character, a artist and a really nice guy, he explained one day when he was backing it out of the drive the gearbox went. plus a few other problems ment it had been sat for a few years. 

 

[jonalfaspider 107]

well i had a good look round and maybe i should have walked away as the list of issues seemed to get alot longer,

 

engine- so gear issue, engine management light on, running rough, lumpy, exhaust blowing in four places, loosing water/steam front the coolant tank and engine stabilizer looks battered.

 

exterior- no damage and only a couple of dings but lots of scratches down the passenger side where the car had been driven in and out of the drive scratching against plants/bushes on the drive way, but no rust. front grill damaged past repair and both badges faded. 

 

interior- ok just pimpish red lol! heating doesnt work, gear leaver busted, water in passanger footwell and airbag light on. 

 

underneath- suspension looks tired and reading mot sheet needs new dog legs and steering gaiter, brakes felt knackard with binding pink brembos. 

 

it also hasnt had a cambelt in 10 year so ...... I bought it! woohoo my first v6   

 

He called her his devil and set a fair price we both agreeded on........ £666 and i had her collected (£100) a couple of days before xmas 19/12/2013

Edited May 1, 2022 by jonalfaspider

[jonalfaspider 107]

The first thing i do when i get her home was give her a clayx4, clean and polish.

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[jonalfaspider 107]

so i start with the gear issue, and assemble the shatter broken gear surround and try selecting the gears, after a while i can engage 1,2,3,4 but not 5th and no reverse

 

after a bit of research i discovered this is a common problem on the v6's and this could well be my gearbox problem. so me and my dad stripped it all down and could see the problem the casing was shattered. I ordered a replacement houseing and we fixed the gear linkage/housing. It was a nightmare job and took a whole day, a right fiddle **** of a job, although it only cost £50 in parts so not expensive in money but it was in time. dropping the exhaust and tightening it up from underneath was great fun but hey i have all gears now.

 

The gears were still very stiff going but i could now select all gears. I then replaced the two little linkage bushes on top of the gearbox end and all sorted, nice and smooth and they were only £5 from car4parts amazing the difference they make.

 

 

so what a result no expensive replacement gearbox that i feared just a few scrapped knuckles.

Edited February 1, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[jonalfaspider 107]

So with money put aside for a gearbox i didnt need the money was spent else where

 

 

 

THE GOODIES 

new front grill and badge £50
new rear badge £25
new Italian leather gaiters for handbrake and gearstick £40
clear side lights (didn't go with black as dont want that all black chavy look £15
hid bright white £45
new alloys wheels I already had on my old gtv 
new italian leather gaiters £35
black leather interior £200
new black gtv mats £30
Sony mp3 Bluetooth £120

 

So interior stripped out and had a look at the heater controls. sold the old interior recovering £350 and old alloys sold for £200.

old alloys off, clear indicators, grill, new badges and alloys on

 

 

A nice teasing pic 

Edited July 17, 2019 by jonalfaspider

[jonalfaspider 107]

Im tempted to spray my centre console black but not sure so after finishing the interior off, door cards in, carpet, leather interior, italian gaiters and sony cd player all fitted it was im eto sort the engine out.

 

connected the v6 up to laptop and showing a maf fault I managed to source a good used bosch maf for £35 so happy with that while swapping the maf over I found a big crack in the air intake hose leading up to throttle body at the back on the corner. 

while i was playing with the engine bay i thought why not give it a quick once over, i had some shinny chrome pipes i bought before i even had a v6 (they were a bargain at £35)i couldn't resist.  

i popped down to halford and bought some metric heat proof paint and after removing the two covers and giving them a blast decided i would paint the fuel rail silver and cambelt cover black, so back down to halfords. I spent about £30 on paint.

I need a intake hose and while looking i spotted another ebay bargain and ordered a used red silicone intake hose for £20 including delivery and ordered a nice shiney oil breather pipe for £3.99.

while taking everything apart i found the cause of the lump noise a large crack in the gaskets on the chrome pipes. I ordered two green chrome pipe gaskets as there were both cracked but only £8 from main dealer.

so maf sorted and engine light off, plus i painted the engine bay looks much better. I decided not to tackle the v6 camblet i will take it to a specialist, i did one years ago on my old ts but and v6 is way out of my league. 

to be honest the red isnt red enough for me and i still need to paint the lettering but looks way better than it did and only cost me just over £100

 

before/during/after (still got coolant tank and lettering to do)

Edited March 22, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[jonalfaspider 107]

another clean and polish

 

 

well my work car megane dieded so i had to replace it with something fuel efficient so i bought alfa number 3

 

a 156 jtd sport, 186bhp as does 50mpg perfect for work, looking good after a clay and upgraded to 18s r32 alloys

 

 

Edited January 31, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[jonalfaspider 107]

so alot of work todo on the brakes, I have started by removing the brembo's and they have seen better days

 

the brembo refurb kit on ebay looks good

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alfa-GTV-GTA-Brembo-Caliper-rebuild-kit-complete-with-seal-kit-2-calipers-/221092478382?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item337a237dae

 

 

so a fresh coat of paint and ordered some alfa romeo and brembo decals as couldn't decide.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220792863207?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291066537115?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

my turn to cook tonight 

 

Edited February 1, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[charlee 314]

What a write up

Your black GTV is transforming nicely. Looking good Why haven't you kept the red interior? It's a nice contrast to the black exterior. But you can't really miss with black on black

Your other Alfas look great too. The red Spider is really mint.

What are those wheels on the 156? They fit the car perfectly

[jonalfaspider 107]

Thanks Charlie, sorry but I have never been a fan of the red leather interior, it reminds me of a bmw's and it's very pimpish in my humble opinion.  The plan is to track down black carpet and headliner and go all black, then if I fancy a contrast or change I can just swap the tan leather off my spider as I have kept the back seats and head rest. I do like black and tan

 

I think Black and Tan goes nice just need to replace that Grey carpet. On the subject of swapping I am also on the look out for a boot with zender spoiler so if i can that look I just swap the boots over as and when i fancy it rather than drilling holes and painting.

I think I'm going for the cup splitter and side skirt but not a fan of the side vents I want clean looking lines. 

 

I have not had the 156 sport long but can't help have a play with it, took it in and had all belts done I fitted a new driveshafts, wishbones , drop links and track rods. The wheels I added are golf r32 alloys as they compliment the grill, like the gt blacklines compliment the front lights on the spider.

I might even put the blacklines on the v6 to see what the black 19s look like against the rosso red paint.

 

mmm blacklines and tan.....and then a cup splitter n side skirts

Edited March 22, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[Thanos 193]

Awesome stuff!

 

I like the old aftermarket wheels on the black V6. Are these OZ?

[jonalfaspider 107]

They were 17 fox alloys easy to get hold off if your after a set. I prefer 18 and 19s although I have acquired a nice rare set of 17s.

Not sure were to spend my bonus, a cup kit well splitter and side skirts or 19 ti wheels?

Heading down to Cheltenham on Tuesday to pic up a few bits

Full stainless steel exhaust and downpipe, powerflex dog legs, alternator, lower light, rear callipers and compensator. a coolant tank, heater relay, and the silver centre surrounds to trial spraying black.

 

all for the mot, this is the last mot advisory sheet

 

advisory 8,7 and 6 sorted 

 

the parts i pick up will sort the rest

Edited February 2, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[Thanos 193]

Not sure were to spend my bonus, a cup kit well splitter and side skirts or 19 ti wheels?

 

 

cup kit would be my choice..

[charlee 314]

+1

[jonalfaspider 107]

there is a place ten minutes from my house that makes the cup kit, i will have to pop in and check the quality, how convenient

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alfa-Romeo-GTV-CUP-FRONT-SPOILER-GRP-FROM-ORIGINAL-/231450689579?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item35e389402b

 

I think im going with this look, just the splitter and side skirts, i like the clean lines

 

 

i could alway save up for the ti alloys and add at a later date

Edited February 3, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[charlee 314]

I like the clean side wings more and more these days. But the side view looks a bit unfinished to me without the rear spoiler.

[jonalfaspider 107]

I don't think you need the whole cup  kit to look finished, i think this gtv looks good with just the front splitter nut i do like to be different and there are alot of full cups about.

yeah the spoiler is nice to i had it on my old red ts gtv but not on the blue, sometimes i like it without the spoiler and other time like it with out, so if i can find a boot with one already attached i can swap it over as and when. One of the things i love most about the 916 is playing around modding them and how easy it is to swap something out/over. While adding alfa centre caps i though the wheels would look nice silver so half tempted to have my alloys powdered coated. I will have to learn how to photochop

 

 

upgrading and modding is endless   

Edited February 3, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[greenmeen 11]

Looking good Jon - and done on a tight budget too - who says Alfa's are expensive to run....

[charlee 314]

They are expensive if you're not an enthusiast

[jonalfaspider 107]

cheers Tom, i love a bargain   i have to as always on a tight budget lol

 

doing the work certainly saves you pennys to spend on upgrades, i just had a look through your pics lovin the rear suspension looks mint painted red 

 

does anyone know this black gtv, looks like its got cup kit plus spoiler but not side vents, would love to see more pics

 

Edited March 22, 2015 by jonalfaspider

[Desame 33]

Those rims of the black bella, ain't do a shit...

 

Looks like american pimp car (imagine instead of black colour, a pink one! Trust me, you ll be suprised!)

 

Definitely a no-go..!

 

I think Jona yours are already very good! But since you are in an always-searching mood, why don't try Mak-Xlr rims? 

Edited February 3, 2015 by Desame

[jonalfaspider 107]

I agree don't like the alloys at all but it's black with the cup kit without the vents, the look after and I would really like to see a pic of a black gtv with cup kit without side vents from the front.

I am currently negotiating in buying a whole gtv with cup kit that's cheaper than the kit seperatly it's crazy, although don't need another gtv lol!