Alfa Romeo GTV
Description:
Alfa Romeo GTV 2000
Year of Manufacture: 1981
Model Type: Alfetta
Model Number: 116
Specifications:
Engine Type:
2.0 Twin cam
Cylinders:
4
Cylinder Capacity: 1969cc
Valves per cylinder: 2
Bore x Stroke:
84 x 88.5
Output kilowatt:
96
Torque Newton:
169
Forward gears:
5
1st .......3.30 2nd.........2.00
3rd.......1.37 4th.......1.04 5th.......0.83
Reverse.......2.62
Location of gear box: Rear
Location of engine: Front
Drive wheels:
Rear
Car History:
I bought the car for an Lady that has owned it for the last 21 years.
The car had covered 92000 km up to that point. The color of the car is
Olive Green. It had standard steel rims.
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Problem In countered:
The problem I encountered on the car was as follows.
1) Brakes
2) Carburetor tuning
3) Oil leaks
4) Front light focus
5) Distributor seized
6) Exhaust needed replacement
7) Tires in bad condition.
8) Rust
Brakes:
The problems on the brakes of this car were numerous. I had to
strip and clean the front calipers as they were binding. I had to replace
the front disk pads and flex hoses as they both were in bad condition.
I then replaced the master cylinder kit. Re adjusted the rear break pads
to the correct clearance. Now the brakes work as they should.
Carburetor Tuning:
The cars fuel consumption was terrible. I was getting 5 km/l which
is way out of spec for this car. I was getting fuel surge when take a left-hand
corner at any sort of speed. So the first thing to check was the float
level. It was way out. The idle mixture was out as well, as well as balance
between the two carburetors. After readjusting all this the car felt al
lot smother and more responsive. But the fuel consumption was still unacceptable.
Having had problems with these carburetors before I decided to let the
experts solve the fuel consumption problem. I send the car to Glenwood
motors how have raced and tuned these of Alfas for many years. On receiving
the car back I was told that the car now had a terrible flat spot, but
that the fuel consumption will be a lot better. I was told that because
the car had stood for so long the only way to clear the flat spot was to
let the carburetors lay in acid for a night. This then would clear out
the dirt trapped in the accelerator pump channels. I was not keen on doing
this so I decided I will sort out this little problem my self. I opened
the channels with a peace of thin solder and the problem disappeared.
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The fuel consumption
has improved. Another problem I found was that the throttle didn’t open
all the way. After fixing this the car feels a lot better.
Oil Leak:
The front crank seal was leaking so I replaced it. When fitted
it I must have damaged it because it still leaked. It cost me replacing
it a second time before the problem was solved.
Front Head Light Focus:
The head light focus was so bad that all you could see at night
was 10 meters in front of you. Putting on the bright light did not help
much as this would just brighten up the 10 meters. I removed, cleaned and
re fitted the lights and re adjusted them. Now at least you can see were
you are going.
Distributor seized:
Glenwood loosened the distributor when they replace the points.
I had to set the timing when I got the car back.
Exhaust:
The exhaust I had replace with a free flow system and now the car
is a lot quieter. Much to the disgust of some of my friends that believe
a Alfa must at least make some noise. I have had to have the last box moved
as the Watson link is banging against it. We found the rear silencer box
used was to long and this is why the exhaust was touching the Watson link.
I had it replaced with a smaller box and now my friends are a lot happier
with the noise emitted from the exhaust. The car now sounds like an Alfa
should.
Tires and Rims:
The Tires I replace with Yokohama A509 195x65x14 and I was lucky
in finding some Momo Vega Mag wheels. I had the Mags refurbished and fitted
the tire on them. Now that really looks great.
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Rust:
As you may know rust is a common problem on Alfas of this era.
The usual place you find it on the South African build cars is in the doors
and the back of the front wheel arches. And that is exactly where I found
it. I cleaned and repainted all the rusted areas with a rust inhibating
paint. In my travels underneath the car I found that the car has been in
at least two accidents. The one on the rear of the car the boot floor has
not been pulled completely flat. The one on the right front they didn't
paint the inside of the wheel arch so rust started to form there as well.
So when I decide I am going to re spray the car I will have to have the
back end redone. I think we are going to find a lot of body putty there.
Preparation for Kyalami.
Update 05/06/2002
Started with preparation of the car for the next race. The next
race will be held at the Kyalami circuit. I drove the car for a day to
see if there are some obvious problems with it. There seems to be a bit
of a hesitation below 2000 rpm. And on Idle there is a noise coming from
the propshaft. This could be a propshaft rubber that has cracked. I also
found a puddle of what looks like brake fluid under the rear of the car.
I hope it’s not the O-ring in the rear brake caliper that's leaking.
Update 06/06/2002
My suspicion about the propshaft rubber is correct. The rear one
has a broken. The O-rings in the calipers are ok but the left rear is leaking
on the inner pot. All this needs to be replaced before the next race. I
removed the distributor and found the advance plate to be sticking. After
a good clean and some light grease that all works fine again. The test
drive showed the hesitation to have disappeared.
Update 26/06/2002
Over the weekend I finally got the courage together to lift the
car off its wheels and replace the prop shaft rubber and the calliper seals.
I did the calliper first. I was suprised at how much I remember. The last
time I did this was in the mid 80's. The Porpshaft rubber came out with
no problems, but when it came time to fit the new one the little bearing
in the centre of the prop shaft would not go into the rubber. This kept
me busy for a couple of hours. After all was done I took the car for a
quick test. The brakes were terrible. It was pulling to the right. and
the pedal was low. I removed the front left wheel and brake pads and found
that the wheel bearing grease has leaked onto the pads. This means a new
set of wheel bearings. I cleaned up the pads and found that one had a crack
in the lining. This means a another set of pads as well. I still have to
readjust the rear pad gap to fix the pedal height.
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