15k: 1974 Alfa Romeo GTV – Vintage Racer

We will try to refrain from making any Smurf jokes about this car. Not even one smurfin’ joke (okay, maybe just that one). What we have here is an interesting beast – a claimed “GTV-AM” model. We are not Alfa snobs, and not sure that such a variation even existed – but perhaps it is a tribute to the GTAm factory race cars built for the European Touring Car Championship series. Regardless, the widebody flares and tricolore Italian stripes make us want to spill our espresso and casually wave “ciao” as we hustle this street-legal beasty past some posers in newer Ferraris and Lamborghinis. It’s in New Jersey and is offered here on ebay for $16k Buy it Now.

Our money is on this being a tribute car built from a standard US-spec 1750 GTV – the seller says that the add-on fender flares were made “from Alfaholics” – we assume that means they were made by an aftermarket company of that name, not made out of the dead bodies of recycled Alfa enthusiasts…

This car appears too “fresh” to have competed in any vintage races yet, and the seller says he enjoyed driving the car with his grandchildren on the street. We hope he gave them proper driving lessons in the finer points of rev-matching, heel-toe downshifting, and choosing the right line through traffic while terrorizing the neighborhood. Thanks, Pa Pa!

The interior of this bella azzurra macchina is interesting; there is what looks to be a homemade wooden armrest / center console resting on the carpetless blue painted floor, which is also blessed with a custom diamond plate floormat for the driver’s heels. We suspect that’s to prevent any slippage on the slick surface. The seats and door panels look newly refinished in contrasting brown, and the steering wheel…well, the wheel matches the blue theme. It is halfway between a street car and a race car – if the new buyer wants to take this car to the track we would recommend a real racing seat, full 5- or 6-point harness, and extending the half cage to a full cage with halo bar, a-pillar bars and door bars. For use on public stradale, it looks spartan yet comfortable enough to have a good time.

If the car is indeed really a 1750 GTV, it should have had a 1.8L fuel-injected DOHC four from the factory. The seller does not mention displacement, but claims a recent rebuild with headers, “Euro” cams and  a new clutch. These little Alfa Twin Cam engines were all-aluminum, had a hemi head, were free-revving and very long lived, having been built from 1954 to 1994! 40 years is quite a lifespan for any engine family and reflects on the inherent goodness of the design. They have great classic looks too – the Alfa Romeo script cast into the valve cover makes us think of old world craftsmen building machines with their hands while taking a coffee & cigarette break every 15 minutes. La bella vita!

What would you do with this little coupé in your garage: stare at it while you munch on biscotti on a Saturday morning, or spend all week prepping it for an unintentional off-track excursion?

Find a better homebuilt Italian Stallion? Email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com