1982 GTV-6 color combos

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

In AD7-354 David Johnson, who is refurbishing his car, asks about 1982 GTV-6
seat materials (his being blue vinyl) and colors (his being a dark
charcoal/brown color).

On the seats, all of the factory literature I have on material refers to
leather, but often indicates "leather faced" or "leather wearing surfaces",
using vinyl elsewhere. Given the age of his car, seventeen years, I would
assume his vinyl upholstery could well be a reupholstery job. My 1982 project
car has blue which is leather and which looks like it was ready for a redo
about a decade ago.

On paint colors, the GTV-6 (in the USA) seems to have had a very limited range
of colors in any given year. I do not have 1982 chips, but the 1982 certainly
came in black (my car, which has faded to a dark charcoal brown but has the
AR-908 black identification on the sticker inside the trunk lid), red
(prominent in brochures) and silver, that being the color of every other early
GTV-6 I can remember seeing. The 1984 USA color chart shows black metallic,
chestnut red metallic, silver metallic, and Alfa Red, with black upholstery on
the red or silver, and tan upholstery also available on the red as well as on
the black and chestnut. The 1984 tan leather is more like what I would call a
"high yaller", definitely a brighter color than most would call tan. The 1986
colors are similarly limited, with silver pearl metallic, Alfa red, black,
white, and midnight blue, tan leather on the blue, black, or red, black
leather on all except blue, and black velour an option (in '86) on all except
the blue. The 1986 tan in the printed brochure is a more restrained tan-tan
than the yellow tan I have in a spare set of 1984 seats.

Confusing? The not-always-reliable d'Amico-Tabucchi lists GTV-6 colors from
1980 (which would be all countries, not just USA) as also including ivory, Le
Mans Blue, metallic light beige, hawthorn white, periwinkle blue metallic,
piper yellow (or topaz), metallic light grey, indigo grey, metallic cloud
grey, and pine green, but does not mention any brown until later.

David says "I am currently preparing my car for bead blasting and repainting,
and am thinking of changing the color, but I would prefer to stick with an
authentic production paint shade." I would recommend that if he plans to use
the car as a driver in a place where it gets hot in the summer he should
consider the modest air-conditioning capacity of most GTV-6s and opt for a
light and/or reflective color. The silver metallics are the most ubiquitous
GTV-6 color, and the shell white of the 1986 GTV-6 is, like the earlier
hawthorn (or biancospino) (which it may be, under a different name) just
edging into beige, very different than the arctic (or icebox) white of the
Spiders.

On upholstery, again if he plans to use the car as a driver in a place where
beautiful black leather seats under that huge windshield would get
uncomfortably  hot during a day under the summer sun he should think about his
thighs. I have reached an age where comfort matters, and I might find the
light grey velour upholstery used on the late Sport Sedans and Alfetta coupes
a humane option worth considering, perhaps shading it to a blue-grey if stuck
with a blue dash. The same cars also had a beige velour, and in leathers a
choice of cream, maroon, or dark brown. One could argue that these are native
Alfa colors and combinations, even if a generation earlier than the GTV-6.
Both the Sport Sedans and Alfetta Sprint Veloces came in AR 015 chalk white
with grey velour and AR 727 silver metallic with grey velour, either of which
would be handsome (to my eyes, anyhow) and relatively livable after a day in
the parking lot.

Don't know if any of this helps, but hope it may be food for thought.

Cordially, 

John H. 

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End of alfa-digest V7 #356
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