Alfa Romeo Owners Club of Australia Forum

Technical => 116 Series (Alfetta Sedan/GT/GTV & Giulietta Sedan) => Topic started by: GTV6FLETCH on July 22, 2020, 08:37:01 PM

Title: 74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission
Post by: GTV6FLETCH on July 22, 2020, 08:37:01 PM
Hey all,
very happy to say I have become the custodian of my late Uncle's pride and joy.
A 10/74 Le manns blue Alfetta 1.8 with 52000 miles.
From what I can remember and am told, he was a mechanic by trade and loved Alfa's and Fiat's , our immediate family all drove Alfa's and Fiats and he was the family mechanic.
My 1st car back in 1990 was a 69 Fiat 125 ( I loved that car ) , then I purchased my 2nd car , a 79 GTV 2L of said uncle .
At that time he drove a Fiat 132 as his daily driver and said 1.8 lived in his garage and was only ever driven on special occasions.
Mum drove a Fiat 132 GLS , Sister drove a beautiful green Alfetta 2L and I had acquired a few more 125's by then (Always had plans to totally rebuild one - never did though )
My Uncle and sister went through several 2L alfetta's for a few years whilst I had a few 2L GTV's .
Around 2005 our uncle passed away and he left his pride and Joy to my sister.
She took it to QLD from Sydney and had it registered and enjoyed it for a few years .
around 2012 she bought a Giulietta QV and the rego on the Alfetta lapsed and it then spent the last 8 odd years parked in a farm shed.
Until 2 weeks ago when I drove up to QLD with car trailer and brought it home to take over as caretaker to a very special car .
I intend to get it on club rego asap and relive many childhood memories from this beautiful car .
Cheers all
Adam...
Title: Re: 74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission
Post by: bonno on July 22, 2020, 09:30:38 PM
Hi Adam
I suppose your mission is to get her up and running and carry out any necessary work to get her back on the road ASAP. Best method of attack for this is to develop a simple plan, together with a budget and timeframe to have this done. The plan should cover the following areas;
Mechanicals (engine, drivetrain, clutch system, brakes including flexible lines, cooling and suspension). Due to sitting for over eight years, the engine may require some amount of work to fire up, (carby's, plugs, leads, points, distributor cap, etc), then fine tune to idle and run properly.
Electrics (lights front & rear, blinkers, instruments, horn, wipers).
This is not a complete list but a good starting point to keep you on track and on budget. 
Good luck
Title: Re: 74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission
Post by: aggie57 on July 23, 2020, 10:12:05 AM
Lovely!!  Quite apart from the great family history and very-hard-to-find-in-decent-condition model, my all time favourite colour for Alfetta sedans.  Well done and hope you get many years of pleasure from it.
Title: Re: 74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission
Post by: GTV-074 on July 23, 2020, 11:19:04 AM
Great back story Adam....

I love the elegant simplicity of the 1st series Alfetta sedans. Nice clean lines, chrome bumpers etc.

Good luck with the refurbishment.

Cheers.
Title: Re: 74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission
Post by: Paul Gulliver on July 23, 2020, 12:13:53 PM
Great story , great car . I think I will go a dig out some photos of by 1975 Alfetta and  spend some time living the dream.
Title: Re: 74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission
Post by: GTV6FLETCH on July 23, 2020, 05:53:19 PM
Quote from: bonno on July 22, 2020, 09:30:38 PM
Hi Adam
I suppose your mission is to get her up and running and carry out any necessary work to get her back on the road ASAP. Best method of attack for this is to develop a simple plan, together with a budget and timeframe to have this done. The plan should cover the following areas;
Mechanicals (engine, drivetrain, clutch system, brakes including flexible lines, cooling and suspension). Due to sitting for over eight years, the engine may require some amount of work to fire up, (carby's, plugs, leads, points, distributor cap, etc), then fine tune to idle and run properly.
Electrics (lights front & rear, blinkers, instruments, horn, wipers).
This is not a complete list but a good starting point to keep you on track and on budget. 
Good luck
Cheers ,
yup hope to get her back on the road asap ,
have added fresh fuel and new set of points and she runs great.
spent last night replacing one of the exhaust manifold gaskets that had blown out and she runs and idles nice now .
Just come in from the shed after having a good look underneath and am so happy that there is next to no rust .
I did find something that I am baffled by though,
in the inner rear drivers guard I found what I assumed is a drain pipe of sorts .
It is rubber and comes from above and just ends , it seemed to have a heap of dirt or what I thought may have been a mud wasp nest inside blocking it.
Tried a small screwdriver to dig it out , then a long screw and pulled out what seems to be a wooden dowel ?
pics attached, does anyone know it purpose and should it have a chunk of wood jammed into it ?
Title: Re: 74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission
Post by: GTV6FLETCH on July 23, 2020, 06:02:44 PM
Quote from: aggie57 on July 23, 2020, 10:12:05 AM
Lovely!!  Quite apart from the great family history and very-hard-to-find-in-decent-condition model, my all time favourite colour for Alfetta sedans.  Well done and hope you get many years of pleasure from it.
Thanks,
I am sure there will be many a happy day driving this one ,
I was never taken by the colour of this when I was younger , but I have to admit that for this shape / model it really suits it . ;)
Quote from: GTV-074 on July 23, 2020, 11:19:04 AM
Great back story Adam....

I love the elegant simplicity of the 1st series Alfetta sedans. Nice clean lines, chrome bumpers etc.

Good luck with the refurbishment.

Cheers.
Thanks  :)

Quote from: Paul Gulliver on July 23, 2020, 12:13:53 PM
Great story , great car . I think I will go a dig out some photos of by 1975 Alfetta and  spend some time living the dream.
Thankyou , post those pics, i'd love to see them.

Title: Re: 74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission
Post by: bonno on July 23, 2020, 07:24:19 PM
I bet you that is a relief that the car starts and runs with very little work needed. True testament of how well the car was maintained whilst on the road and keeping it in dry storage for eight or so years.
I am not familiar with that model Alfetta, but I suspect it is a drain hose from the rear vent located on the C pillar. There should be another one on the other side in a similar location.  Why it was blanked off is any ones guess. To check and confirm this, simply pour some water down and around the vent and see if come out the other end.
I have attached a link to another 1974 Alfetta sedan Ruby, which another forum member resurrected couple of years back. 
https://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=17416.0
Title: Re: 74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission
Post by: HAZRDS on July 23, 2020, 09:33:14 PM
Beautiful car. Love that colour. Great write up 👍
Title: Re: 74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission
Post by: GTV6FLETCH on July 27, 2020, 04:31:04 PM
Quote from: bonno on July 23, 2020, 07:24:19 PM
I bet you that is a relief that the car starts and runs with very little work needed. True testament of how well the car was maintained whilst on the road and keeping it in dry storage for eight or so years.
I am not familiar with that model Alfetta, but I suspect it is a drain hose from the rear vent located on the C pillar. There should be another one on the other side in a similar location.  Why it was blanked off is any ones guess. To check and confirm this, simply pour some water down and around the vent and see if come out the other end.
I have attached a link to another 1974 Alfetta sedan Ruby, which another forum member resurrected couple of years back. 
https://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=17416.0
yup, big relief .

I am now thinking that hose is a drain from the fuel filler as it is directly below it .
Quote from: Joe Cog on July 23, 2020, 09:33:14 PM
Beautiful car. Love that colour. Great write up 👍
Thanks Joe , another coastie I see . Where about are you ?
Title: Re: 74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission
Post by: HAZRDS on July 27, 2020, 09:50:44 PM
Yes just near Tuggerah. I hope to see your car on the road some time. 👍