Q.Saving A 1974 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 Destined For The Junkyard

My friends Iliya and Nikita are both automotive designers currently working with Honda and GM respectively. The Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 has been the car that had been putting a smile on their face every time they head for a spirited drive around the coasts of Southern California, or into the mountain roads where the favourite playtime would be chasing 911s and BMW 2002s. The GTV has been a part of every memory for the three who have taken it literally to every extreme. One weekend it would be a Camping trip car while the other, it would be a companion at Monterey Historics. As one would expect, the more the three drove the Alfa, the more they felt sucked in by its Italian charm. While the car came into their garage fairly stock, the three wanted to give it a personal touch. It started with light upgrades to the tyres and exhausts, and a bit of weight reduction, things soon started to look more serious. The September 74, sliver, US-spec Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 soon went through a complete engine rebuild where new high compression pistons, camps, lightweight pulleys were added. The fuelling was switched to Weber 45s sourced from Italy. Suspensions were upgraded, included race springs and shocks plus new bushings all around. The Alfa’s character had completely transformed. Sadly it wouldn’t last for long. It all changed when the Alfa arrived at the mechanics about three hours late after getting loaded up in a trailer. They came to know that the car was loaded already damaged near the mechanic’s shop, and the driver wasn’t to be found. The car had been dropped off the flatbed during transportation. Instantly it was easy to see the car was pretty clearly totalled out. The rear of the car had taken the brunt of the visually assessable damage. It had landed on its rear end, bending the quarter panels and displacing the trunk. The fall was so severe that it had ripped several large gashes in the exterior sheet metal and internal structures. The doors now didn’t close perfectly. A look under the Alfa Romeo GTV 2000’s belly completely broke their hearts. Assuming that the car must have slid off the truck, the engine seems to have caught a ledge and ripped both pieces of the oil pan off the car, shattering them completely. 7 quarts of oil spilt out of the engine. Some of the brake lines were also ripped apart. The fall had left a gruesome scene that would be a car lover’s worse nightmare. In Iliya’s exact words… “It’s hard to really describe the feelings at a time like this, as a rush of emotions overwhelms you while fluctuating rapidly. It really feels like the world around you doesn’t make sense anymore. Disbelief and shock are the first things that race through your mind and it seems like life is playing a bad joke on you.” It was just worsened by the complete lack of information from the towing company making it saddening and imaginably frustrating. The next few months dragged on… The body of the Alfa sitting at their house, compounding the feelings of sadness and frustration every time they looked at it. After several months of waiting to get some solution to the situation, they couldn’t take it anymore. They decided to rebuild it on their own, starting off with a fresh new design and a brand new appeal. Their story has been covered in detail on this website- [url]https://columnm.com/the-dropped-alfa/[/url] Do check it out!