Estimate: £16,000 - £20,000
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“Still, a well preserved GT has nothing to be ashamed of as far as form and performance are concerned when compared with cars designed and sold in recent years.” Andrea de Adamich, Foreword to ‘Alfa Romeo Giulia Coupe GT & GTA’ by John Tipler.
The 105/115 Series Alfa Romeos were the company’s mainstay throughout the 1960s and well into the late 1970s, building on the foundations laid with the 750/101 Series Giulietta and ultimately Giulia back in the 1950s. The everyday but far from mundane 105 Giulia saloon donated its floor-pan (shortened) and running gear to the range of Coupes penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro when employed by the famous Bertone styling house. Heavily influenced by his earlier Alfa Romeo 2000 and 2600 Sprint, the family resemblance is clear with large glass houses and slim to non-existent roof pillars. From virtually any angle the Coupe is a delightful looking machine, perfectly balanced on its tip-toe wheels, there isn’t a duff line to be seen.
At its inception, the GT Junior sat just below the range topping GT or GTVs which initially sported 1600, then 1750 and finally 2 litre engines, shortly after which the Juniors were also similarly upgraded essentially acquiring the 1600 engine from the earlier GTV. They had all the looks of their more upmarket siblings but were cheaper to buy and attracted less tax particularly in their homeland; a smart choice for those demanding style and value for money.
Exotic mechanical specifications were common to all the models in the Coupe range, including the Juniors. All aluminium, twin overhead cam engines breathing through two twin choke carburettors, five speed gearboxes, disc brakes front and rear and proper coil sprung suspension were all the sort of components your average British sports car owner could only dream of. Who knows what those who had to make do with a ‘sporty’ saloon from Ford or BMC thought.’
Even in 1600 guise the Junior engine gave a healthy genuine 108 BHP which was sufficient to propel the coupe past 115 mph, clearing 60 in around 11 seconds on the way – impressive for a small capacity 2+2 in the early 1970s.
As time went on, Alfa Romeo sort to rationalise their range and the differences between the GTV and Junior became fewer and fewer; body-styles, trim levels and dashboards became much less differentiated so that by 1971 the Junior shared the smoothed front end and curvaceous dash of its 1750 GT Veloce sister and there was little to choose between their trim materials - rubber mats as opposed to carpets in the GT J aside.
Production of this classic Sports Saloon remained viable right through to 1977 proving the old Italian adage, ‘Se non è rotto, non aggiustarlo' (‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.)
Registration Number: JDK 452N
Chassis Number: AR 115 05 *0001058*
Engine Number: AR 01608685
Clever interpretation of the tax rules and regulations is not exactly a new concept and Alfa Romeo took advantage of one loophole when exporting their products to South Africa. Right hand drive vehicles for this important market were built in Milan alongside those destined for other countries but they were removed from the production lines just before completion. The relatively minor final assembly (rumoured to be as little as bolting the wheels on, though instillation of the engine may have also been undertaken) was carried out once the cars arrived in their final destination country. The result back then of this 2 stage production process was a far more favourable rate of tax and hence a more competitive retail price but the result today is a bonus for the UK based Alfa enthusiast; potentially rust free right hand drive cars from warm and dry South Africa.
This GT 1600 Junior, like its very similar sibling ‘Deluxe’ version also in our sale, appears to be as close to a rust free Alfa as you are ever likely to see in the snowy, frosty, icy, well salted UK. Totally solid, bright as a button and in outstanding restored condition, this car was sourced and imported by a UK Alfa aficionado during one of his business trip to the home of the Rainbow Nation. We would stress this was not a car bought ‘sight unseen’ but hand-picked by someone there, on the ground, who knows his Alfas. Cars bought from a few blurry photos and a Hans Cristian Andersen description seldom turn out to be as nice as this one… As if this rigorous selection process wasn’t enough on its own, the owner then had both cars totally restored to the highest of standards, during which all aspects of the cars cosmetic and mechanical health were addressed from the bodywork, engine and gearbox through to the rear axle, suspension and trim - both interior and exterior.
The car’s body-shell was found to be in excellent condition and now perhaps needs to be scrutinised on the inspection ramps we provide at our sales to be fully appreciated. Frankly both structurally and cosmetically the body-shell is miles away (literally) from many of the British right hand drive cars that have suffered over 40 wet winters.
Repainted in beautiful bright red (of course) to a very good standard, the Alfa looks fantastic with a deep shine and gloss while all the closing panels fit and function to a high standard.
The engine has been rebuilt to ‘1750’ capacity which many consider to be the pick of the bunch; not only evocative of past Alfa triumphs in the pre-second war era it has arguably the best sweetness/power compromise of all the capacities. During the rebuild which obviously included new pistons and liners, the crank journals were measured and found to be well within tolerance and were hence simply polished without the need to resort to regrinding and the fitting of oversized bearings.
Having been inspected and attended to where necessary, the rear axle and gearbox, complete with new full Sachs clutch kit, were reinstalled. The suspension was stripped, sand blasted and refinished to a high standard before being fitted with new bearings and bushes as required along with a new set of Gabriel dampers. The braking system was rebuilt from pedal to discs with new pipework, refurbished and re-plated callipers and associated parts. At this stage the owner decided to delete the brake servos simply to satisfy his preference for a firm brake pedal blessed with an abundance of feel. Indicative of the attention to detail and engineering excellence applied to this restoration, the steering box was stripped and any wear to the appropriate parts was removed by hard-chroming and re-machining back to factory specification.
The very desirable, attractive, cross-spoke Momo 6X14 alloy wheels complete with centre caps were refinished to a high standard and fitted with new Yokohama tyres.
The correct, single, Alfa logoed door mirror is present while the chrome-work is very good with virtually no pitting to the cast items such as rear lights, front grill and door handles.
Inside the car the trim upholds the high standards set by the rest of the car. The seats have been superbly re-trimmed in good quality grey leather while the notoriously fragile dash top has been rejuvenated with a covering of black hide. The wood veneers to the dash and centre console have been replaced and match nicely while all the correctly trimmed door panels are present and in great condition. The interior is nicely finished off with a ‘Personal’ wood rimmed, Alfa Romeo logoed steering wheel. New carpets and a complete new headlining with the correct recess for the taller or top hat wearing back seat passenger complete the GT interior, which is now somewhat up-market in comparison to its original Junior ‘entry level’ origins.
The engine and its bay are as you would expect, very clean and tidy and the inner wing below the clutch and brake fluid reservoirs has been sensibly protected from brake fluid spillage with matching red tape.
On our owner conducted test drive, the engine certainly gave plenty of torque but was also infectiously keen to fizz right through the rev range while swapping cogs in the tight but fluid gearbox was an apparent delight. With taught but compliant suspension, sorted and direct steering and firm responsive brakes this Coupe is a wonderfully accomplished cross country machine that duly reflects the care and attention that has been lavished on the restoration of an already very sound car.
Though purists might not entirely approve, this lovely GT Junior with its smattering of mechanical and trim improvements is most appealing, particularly to the enthusiast who wants to actually get in it and drive rather than compare factory spec sheets.
