Rusty But Trusty

Not many cars can get quite as crispy as an Alfetta GT, and for our turkey weekend, here’s a prime example, in that even cars that were carefully stored outdoors in a dry environment (okay, near an ocean, kind of) can end up pretty rusty. That said, an optimistic eye (hey, you’re reading this site, you have to be at least a partial optimist) will show plenty of surface rust, but not much serious structural rust, so hopefully that assessment will prove accurate. After all, ugly is fine, but it’s a little harder to compromise on things like your seat falling through the floor. Check out this 1977 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT for sale for $650 in Carmel Valley, CA.

Looking at the car’s location shows a property owned by a likely connoisseur of some of the finer examples of oxidized metal found on rubber tires today. This car has been listed for a while, but the seller has now seen fit to drag it out of the bush it was parked in, and while the car is entirely original, even he has to concede it’s extremely rusty.

That negative bit of information out of the way, the engine is said to be free and will fire with a bit of carburetor cleaner, so there’s hope yet for the old girl. The car does appear to have donated some parts to another, as the tail lights and rear side markers are missing. The grill is missing, as are the exterior mirrors, and both the battery compartment and spare tire well have rusted through. It has not been registered since about 2000.

The interior looks rough, but does contain some parts, including some grill parts for what appears to be a GTV 1750. Seats are predictably split, and there’s plenty of moisture in there, but that’s not surprising given California’s recent rains. The top of the frame also appears to show a ruined steering wheel, and the dash is probably cracked. One great feature on this car is the Slow Down light, which was a warning about converter temperature, but is also an only-the-Italians kind of feature.

Here’s the engine, which has clearly seen some moisture, so it’s nice to hear that it spins and starts. So knowing that, what’s the best possible use for this car? Part it out to learn how an Alfetta is put together? Use it for low-budget racing? Coax it back into life on the road? Even a beater Alfetta is pretty fun to drive, and with its condition it’s a great learning tool you don’t have to feel guilty about messing up on.

Tags: alfa romeo, alfetta gt, coupe, Feature, italian, under $2000

This entry was posted on November 28, 2015 at 5:50 pm and is filed under Bad Ideas, Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.