daily service: GTV6 v 75

[Pottree@domain.elided]

In a message dated 09/26/2001 9:38:39 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
owner-alfa-digest@domain.elided writes:


> Finally - something I can weigh in on with confidence!
> 
> I have used my 1984 GTV6 as a near daily driver for over 8 years now, and
> have accumulated 80,000 of its present  112,000 total (I am gaining on
> your, Bernie!). In ALL that time, it has only failed me three times, and
> those times were due to a dead battery. ..

I've also had my 84 GTV6 in daily use for about 12 years and it has been both 
fun and very reliable, having never really failed me badly.  Once, I had a 
flat tire (not a fault of the car, nor even the tire, but someone who left a 
big nail in a parking lot); once I had a dead battery; once I had the A/C 
belt snap, which took out the alternator belt; once one of the coolant hoses 
sprung a pinhole leak after a long trip in boiling weather w/ the A/C on and 
impending overheating due to coolant loss had me pulling over (on the 405 
freeway at rush hour, how embarrassing!) and calling for help.  Other than 
that the car has never let me down or left me stranded (very little snow, but 
some ice and too much 100F + weather) -- once for what seemed no reason or 
provocation at all something spontaneously shattered int he gearbox, but even 
then I was able to limp to the shop.  Now I have about 145,000 miles and can 
say this is a very reliable car and with proper care should last forever or 
as long as Bernie's - which ever comes first.


> Therefore, I would expect that the effort to keep the GTV6 running to be
> much less that the far more complex 164. Regarding the Milano, it should be
> the same except for the added complexity of power steering and the Verde's
> ABS brakes. The issue about it being a hatchback vs. the more copious 164
> or Milano has zero to do with the reliability of a daily driver -- that is
> personal preference and need. 


True.  I also had a Milano/75 and it was a great car but need a lot more TLC 
and seemed much more fragile than the GTV6.  Perhaps this was due to its 
treatment prior to being adopted into our stable.  The 75 is much less work 
to drive if your daily driving includes a lot of stop-and-go traffic, 
parallel parking, and other urban situations.  Plus, the 75 A/C is great and 
the GTV6 A/C is marginal.

> 
> There is an issue about which year GTV6 as the later ones had hardened
> valve guides, hence lasting much longer before the inevitable valve job,
> and '85 and later had a removable cross member which made Guido replacement
> much easier. Remember, the 164 was introduced with the same awful hydraulic
> belt tensioner - only later ones had the much better mechanical one. Also,
> updated head gaskets and valve cover gaskets should by now be fitted to any
> decently maintained Milano or GTV6. Two of our MAARC club members have
> raced their GTV6s for several years with no failures and very little
> required maintenance -these cars are strong!


I do not want to put the malochia on things by mentioning this too loudly, 
but I have not have trouble with the top end on the GTV6.  I had it rebuilt 
at about 98k miles and at that time one of the valves was cooked and so 
replaced and most of the rest was in remarkable shape.

> 
> My only real gripe about the GTV6 is the absolutely stupid gas strut that
> is in the middle of the rear hatch, therefore eliminating any possibility
> of putting tall objects in the trunk.

That is a benefit, not a feature.  You are not supposed to put objects into 
the trunk so large that they will push the hatch cover up more than a tiny 
amount because that would impeded your rear vision, which is already 
questionable thanks to the slope of the hatch glass and the propensity for 
the rearview mirror to fall off the windshield.  I know that on the Alfettas, 
at least, there was a rust problem with the rear hatches.  Anyone with an 
Alfetta-body coupe ever changed out the hatch, I mean including lifting it 
up?  I think it is probably quite heavy, and the center strut is need to hold 
up all that weight and save your noggin.  Two outboard struts might also do 
the job, but then you'd have to buy 2 and not one -- and you could pile stuff 
in there and lift up the lip of the hatch cover until it meets the glass, 
which would not be safe (and probably not even legal in civilized places).  

However, if the big problem for you was the trunk capacity of the GTV6, you 
could remove the strut completely and replace it with a stout length of 
broomstick that you could wedge into place when you need to hold the hatch 
up, and rip out the hatch cover completely.  This would have the side benefit 
of providing a health upper-body exercise machine comparable to a $100 per 
month gym membership.


> 
> For me, a  big TWO thumbs up for the GTV6!


Add my thumbs.

> 
> Bill Bean
> 84 GTV6
> 
Charlie
LA, CA, USA
84 GTV6
91 Spider
bicycles

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