Ivy League: 1969 Alfa Romeo 1750 GT Veloce

Back when I was 25, I was 4 years out of college, living in a one bedroom rented condo in a soon to be gentrified neighborhood.  In 1963, when Giorgetto Giugiaro was 25, he was working at the design house of Bertone in Torino, and created his first major design, the Alfa Romeo Sprint GT/GTV.  His iconic design will live on far into the future after he is gone.  I can't say that any of the TPS Reports I created will do the same.  Find this 1969 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV for sale in Long Beach, CA for $20,000 via craigslist.

This car is advertised on the LA craigslist and gives the location as Long Beach, CA, but I didn't notice green lawns and ivy covered trees last time I was in Long Beach.  The car is said to be a rust-free Texas car that the current owner purchased 4 years ago.  Maybe lush, ivy covered neighborhoods like in the ad photos exist in somewhere in Texas.  It looks good in its red paint, a few nits I can pick in the exterior photos is that the windshield has been replaced as has the rear window since the gaskets are incorrect.  I'd check the base of the windshield for rust - a common problem.  Also, the mirrors are some ugly black plastic add-ons.  The car would not have come from the factory with mirrors.  Mirrors added at the dealer would have been round chrome ones with an Alfa badge in the base.

In 1968 Alfa updated the Sprint GT's 1600cc DOHC engine with a 1750 cc unit and did some exterior and interior tweaks.  In the U.S. we did not see the 1750 GTV until 1969 due to the clean air act. When it did appear in 1969, it came equipped with the SPICA mechanical fuel injection system, while the rest of the world continued on with dual Dell 'Orto carbs.  The SPICA is a mechanical injection system based on a diesel engine pump and is similar to the German Kugelfischer system used on BMW's and Porsches.  The 1969 SPICA is different than the more refined 1971 - 1982 SPICA unit (Alfa skipped 1970 in the U.S.).  This car retains its SPICA, but has a strangely painted SPICA airbox in robin's egg blue.  This car also retains its dual brake booster system.  Again, the brake system in a 1969 is different than a 1971 or later Alfa and can be harder to source parts for.

Inside, the seats, known as the "flying buttress" seats, were a 1969 GTV only item and are highly regarded by the Alfisti.  These look to be in good shape with the correct basket weave material.  It's hard to tell about the condition of the wood veneer, but it still has its original wood "Personal" steering wheel and a goofy aftermarket shift knob.

The seller didn't include any pictures of the common rust areas of GTV's - like the rockers - but did include a picture of the trunk.  Unfortunately, they didn't pull back the carpet and remove the spare, so you could check the condition of a couple more rust areas - the spare tire well and gas tank.  Two things I notice in this picture is that the paint code sticker is missing from the trunk lid and the bolts holding the trunk lid on are natural metal finish and not painted.  This makes me think it was repainted at sometime in its life.

See a classic Italian Coupe that is still "affordable" by mortals? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com

Gianni is Daily Turismo's Pacific Northwest correspondent.  He's a lifelong Alfista and grew up riding two-stroke dirt bikes in rural Washington State when no one gave you dirty looks about all the blue smoke.  It's pretty obvious he wrote this bio in third person as he isn't nearly clever enough to put a bunch of witty jokes about writing third person bios in it.  He prefers Gretsch guitars through Fender amps with a touch of tape delay.