1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT
This is a red 1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT, "49-States version" with the 2 liter engine, that has been garaged for the past 10 years. I bought the car in 1984 and have owned it for the past 32 years.
The engine was rebuilt in the year 2000 and has less than 5,000 miles since the rebuild.
This was the third time for me rebuilding the engine between 1984 and 2000. Each time I was experimenting with the latest aftermarket parts from both Shankle and Alfa Ricambi (both were/are Alfa hot-rod shops in the Los Angeles area).
The following things have been done to the car:
10.4:1 compression pistons; new engine bearings, bushings, seals, and guides everywhere in the engine; polished crankshaft bearing surfaces; high-lift and long duration cams, new valve springs for over 8,000 rpm engine speeds; a Wes Ingram SPICA fuel injection pump (built to match the cam and piston specifications) (I tried the dual side draft carburetors on the previous rebuild, but the tuned SPICA is so much better); new rubber disks just prior to a high speed balanced drive shaft (this allows the engine to rev into the 7,500 rpm range without vibration on the shaft); new clutch, throw-out bearing, and both front and rear clutch cover bearings; the 5-speed transmission was rebuilt and has good syncro-rings (however, I always double clutched for all downshifts into second and never rushed upshift from first to second because, as most know, the second gear syncro can be easily abused); high energy discharge Crane Cams brand ignition system and coil firing Bosch Platinum 4-point spark plugs through high-end spark plug wires; the stiffest race suspension available from Shankle was installed including front torsion bars (with welded in-place chassis stiffening structure), rear coil springs, koni shocks, and front and rear sway bars; the suspension has all urethane bushings and really is extra stiff; an engine oil cooler and remote mounted filters (one mechanical cleanable mesh filter and one standard cartridge filter are mounted with easy access from the lower front of the car as I grew tired of the difficulty of changing the originally located oil filter); the airbox appears from the outside to be stock, but I bought long velocity stacks, left over from the carburetor days and replaced the smaller diameter stock velocity stacks that were originally in the airbox with these non-restrictive stacks, the airbox is fitted with K&N washable air filters; the engine has fiberglass-wrapped high flow headers (although the fiberglass wrap should probably be redone) (I did the wrap to keep the heat away from the steering shaft joint which used to have a heat barrier material which long ago disintegrated); with the oil cooler, the engine has zero heat issues and I run straight anti-freeze so no water is in the engine to corrode the aluminum or leave deposits in the radiator, the radiator is in great condition and was replaced at one point.
The rear hatch has been replaced with one from a GTV-6. The benefits being they use a nice rubber mount for the glass with built-in moisture drainage holes which prevents rust. To match the rear window glass, the front windshield was replaced with the same GTV-6 style window molding. There is a brand new front bumper which matches the one already mounted on the rear. The original bumpers, together with their original mounts weighed 98 pounds (actually measured on a bathroom scale). These new ones are the European versions that weigh about 20 pounds total. The wheels are cast aluminum made by an Australian company and were available for many years through the Shankle catalog. The bolt centers on the Alfetta are slightly different than the spiders. These wheels were made to replicate the original spider design but with the bolt centers to match the Alfettas.
The following parts are in the trunk and have not yet been installed: front and rear cross drilled rotors with brake pads and rebuild kits for the brake calipers; a new ignition switch with new keys (the original one in the car started failing and this needs to be installed); a brake master cylinder rebuild kit (the rear brake fluid chamber leaks and needs to be rebuilt before driving); there is a new oil filter in the trunk as well. The last time I fired it up I noticed a leak in the rubber fuel line directly attached to the gas tank. This will need to be replaced.
I’ve enjoyed this car, but after ownership for over 30 years, I think my passion for all things Alfa has started to soften. I want someone else to enjoy this car and I’m simply ready to sell it.
Please message me if you would like to see the car and discuss in more detail.
The car is located in Santa Barbara, California