74 alfetta 1.8 , my new mission

Started by GTV6FLETCH, July 22, 2020, 08:37:01 PM

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GTV6FLETCH

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...
Now
81-GTV-2.5L
86-GTV6-GP
13-MITO (WIFEY'S)
74-ALFETTA SEDAN 1.8
Gone
multiple GTV 2L

bonno

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

aggie57

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.
Alister
14 Alfa's since 1977. 
Currently 1973 GTV 2000, 2020 911 C2S MT, 2021 Mercedes GLE350, 2023 Polestar 2 LRDM
Gone......far too many to list

GTV-074

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.
Speed costs money - how fast do you want to go?

Paul Gulliver

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.
Paul Gulliver
Present
2017 Silver Giulia Veloce
1979 Silver Alfa 116 GTV Twin Spark
1973 Red Alfa 105 2.0 GTV

Past
2013 Giulietta QV
2006 Black 159 2.2 J
1970 Dutch Blue Series 2 1750
1975 Blue Alfetta Sedan 1.8
1981 Piper Yellow Alfetta GTV 2000
1985 Red Alfetta GTV2.0
1989 White Alfa 164
2000 156

GTV6FLETCH

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 ?
Now
81-GTV-2.5L
86-GTV6-GP
13-MITO (WIFEY'S)
74-ALFETTA SEDAN 1.8
Gone
multiple GTV 2L

GTV6FLETCH

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.

Now
81-GTV-2.5L
86-GTV6-GP
13-MITO (WIFEY'S)
74-ALFETTA SEDAN 1.8
Gone
multiple GTV 2L

bonno

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

HAZRDS

Beautiful car. Love that colour. Great write up 👍

GTV6FLETCH

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 ?
Now
81-GTV-2.5L
86-GTV6-GP
13-MITO (WIFEY'S)
74-ALFETTA SEDAN 1.8
Gone
multiple GTV 2L

HAZRDS

Yes just near Tuggerah. I hope to see your car on the road some time. 👍