Alfetta GTV 2000 - Part 1

I should be better at the auction thing. I follow them all but almost never go, yet too often kid myself that had I been there, I would have bid on some interesting 'no reserver' for fun. It's more of a game I play with myself as I'm currently not in a position financially to buy anything, so it's all rather academic.

My mate Sean on the other hand did go, and he bought; he actually stuck his hand up and won. In fact he bought really well - a right hand drive 1978 red GTV 2000 with 38k from new and a huge history file. We went together; it was 2013.

The V6 was a car I'd imagined owning at some point in my life, but when I was much younger, I worked for a true car lover, and he bought his wife a lovely blue Alfetta GTV 2000.

I've always had a thing for the GTV of that era. The V6 was a car I'd imagined owning at some point in my life, but when I was much younger, I worked for a true car lover, and he bought his wife a lovely blue Alfetta GTV 2000. The good bit was that this was viewed as a company car and that meant I was allowed to drive it, which I did often. It begged to be driven hard and had a really neutral balance; it made a pretty fine noise too, especially on cam.

And now I have one. For that I must thank Sean, who asked me if I wanted it as he was emigrating and needed to sell. It made sense - he'd been keeping it at mine for the past few years and he was pretty much just looking to recoup what he'd paid; and that worked for me. Today it has 43k and a few spots of rust which at some point Nigel from Wellingore Garage, who looks after all the cars, will sort; and then it will be something quite special. But before then, I need to sort an MOT and get it out a bit to see if there are any other issues. It's going to be quite a nostalgic time layered with what classic Alfas do so well - put a bloody great smile on your face.

A final thought. I started to look the other day at classic saloon racing and it seems that it wouldn't be too much of an ask to get both the car and me into the right sort of shape to have a  go. At £4k, the purchase price for the car means I can take a few more risks; perhaps turning it into a race car at some point down the line might be an option. Be interested in your thoughts.