1974 Alfa Romeo GT 1600 Junior

Finished in Giallo Ocra with a Nero interior, this delightful Alfa Romeo GT Junior is fitted with a freshly rebuilt 1750cc engine, which ensures you have the performance on hand to match its stunning looks.

It was fitted as part of its ‘rotisserie’ restoration in 2022 during which, the seller tells us, “every part of the car was either replaced or restored.” ‘FWW 326M’ was also treated to a full respray and a new leather interior before the seller imported it from South Africa earlier this year. 

The work started with 49,561kms on the clock and given the odometer still only shows 49,625kms, you can see it hasn’t even been run-in yet – and yet despite this, the first thing the seller did when he received it was to despatch it to Peter Smart Classic Alfas in Dorset for a full service and some minor fettling.

 Only being sold because he’s relocating abroad, this is your chance to get your hands on a fully fettled and judiciously upgraded example of one of the best sporting saloons of its era.

The starting point for the Alfa’s 2022 restoration was the bodywork and underside, something the rotisserie helped enormously. After being stripped to a bare shell, every bit of rust was identified and cut out before new metal was let in.

The replacement panels included new sills to ensure the appropriate levels of rigidity were restored to the finished shell. The work must have been intensive but the pay off is that not only are the panels free of dents, dinks and other damage they also fit very well indeed. 

It was then treated to a bare metal respray in Giallo Ocra and what a colour this is! Full of period charm and so much more interesting than the more usual colours, this might be our new favourite shade for the 105-series.

And nor does the good news end there because the car was treated to re-chromed brightware and new window seals all around as part of the refit. 

The 14-inch steel wheels are freshly repainted and fitted with good chrome hubcaps in addition to a matching set of 185/70R14 Lanvigator Comfort tyres. The tyres are date stamped 2021 and we are told they still show 6mm of tread all round.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching tyres are a good indicator of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

However, the vendor reports:

“... being very picky, there is some very small microblistering near the offside corner of the boot lid and at the bottom of the C-pillar. I have had a quote from a local paint sprayer to bare metal repaint the area for £1,750.00 + VAT to give an indication of cost.”

We note there are also a couple of holes in the mesh front grille. 

The new leather interior looks terrific, doesn’t it? It’s a lovely place to be in standard form but the work that was carried out lifts it to a whole new level. Feast your eyes, for example, on the quality of the retrimmed front and rear seats, which are now as pleasing on the eye as they are to sit in.

And the rest of the work was equally comprehensive. 

The door cards and rear quarter cards were replaced too, and a replacement wood-rimmed Alfa Romeo steering wheel fitted. 

The carpets that were already in the cockpit were judged to be good enough to reuse after being cleaned; as you can see, that was clearly the right decision as they still look fabulous, including the driver’s heel pad that always wears.

The dashboard and wiring were renewed, the original switchgear and instrumentation were refurbished, and the lights, indicators, windscreen wipers, horn and heater work as they should. (Please see the video for a demonstration.)

Lifting up the (good) carpet in the boot shows a solid and well-painted floor alongside a shiny fuel tank. All good in there too, then. 

As for flaws, the headlining is a bit wrinkly around some of the edges on the C-pillar but that that is all we can find to criticise says it all, doesn’t it?

The original 1600cc engine was removed and the Alfa upgraded with a naturally aspirated 1750 twin-cam inline-four taken from a 1750GT Veloce. 

It won’t surprise you to hear that it was completely rebuilt with a new 80mm piston and sleeve kit, a set of Victor Reinz gaskets, new standard main bearings, and a replacement bottom chain.

The crankshaft was also polished, the cylinder head was renewed, the oil pump was fully serviced, and a new water pump was fitted. 

The five-speed manual gearbox was also stripped, checked, and repaired where necessary and fitted with new front and rear seals. 

All the components were powdercoated, and we are told that new suspension and brakes were fitted. 

The car’s fastidious UK owner sent it straight to Peter Smart Classic Alfas in Dorset when it arrived here to be serviced and checked over. 

The service was a full one and included changing the engine oil and filter, filling the gearbox and differential with fresh oil, fitting new sparkplugs, and draining and refilling the coolant system with new coolant. 

They also carried out a full check over of the vehicle, and a compression test revealed 175 psi across all four cylinders. 

Nonetheless, despite being assessed by them as being “very nice” they felt it would benefit from some further tweaking. This comprised the carburettors being stripped and refitted with aluminium mounts, new gearbox mounts being installed, the correct rear exhaust put on, and having its suspension Polybushed. 

This work set him back £1,666.49 and the invoice is on file.

It’s since had a full ignition service with new ignition coil, HT leads, points, condenser, distributor cap, and rotor arm – plus a new fanbelt and speedometer cable – and as you can see in the video, the 1750cc engine starts and idles and runs as it should, even from cold. There's also a new battery.

It also sounds terrific on the move with a lovely induction note from the twin Weber 40 carburettors and a suitably fruity exhaust.

As for how it drives, the seller tells us that “the engine pulls strongly with plenty of power and the gearchanges are smooth. There are no squeaks and rattles, and the car handles very well.”

The engine bay is very nicely presented being clean and tidy. We can’t see anything in there that would bother most owners, and all it needs is a wipe over with a clean cloth now and then to keep it looking this good.

The underside is just as nicely done. It’s been finished in a mixture of paint and underseal, with the wheelarches and sills left in Giallo Ocra to enable you to appreciate the quality of the finish. The rest of the undercarriage is well protected with durable black underseal.

Some chunks have been taken out of the fins on the oil sump, so perfectionists might like to budget for a replacement. The rubber sleeve on the brake master seal has split too, so that could do with being replaced while you’re under there.

The Alfa’s MoT certificate is valid until October 2024 – and it was gained with no advisories whatsoever.

The seller also has the UK V5C registration document in his name as well as the Nova Certificate showing all import duties and VAT have been paid. 

He also has the South African registration document which states "used" on it, which he explains means the car has not been in a crash.

The history file also contains invoices for the work that was carried out during its restoration, including parts bought from Classic Alfa here in the UK. He told us that the car’s previous owner owns a large engineering company in South Africa and carried out much of the work in-house.

 It also comes with the Certificate of Origin from Alfa Romeo Heritage in Italy.

We’re huge fans of the 105-series Alfas and while everyone used to insist on buying the full-fat GTV, we find ourselves being increasingly impressed by the simpler Junior. 

Neat and understated, the more basic model offers the classic enthusiast a beguiling combination of the likelihood of greater future appreciation as well as the prospect of being under-estimated by all but the cognoscenti.

And yet, the fear of rust (understandably) puts many off buying what it almost certainly one of the best sporting saloons of the era – but even that is not a problem in this case thanks to the car’s remarkably solid shell, thereby eliminating the only obstacle to buying a car that you, like us, have probably lusted after for decades.

And that delay in achieving your ambitions might not be as costly as you fear because, while the price of the GTV has now risen to what is frankly silly money, this Junior is likely to go for between £30,000 and £35,000.

 Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located with the vendor in Didcot. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.