1975 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 GT Junior

This 1600 GT Junior was assembled at Alfa Romeo’s Rosslyn plant near Pretoria in South Africa in 1975. Its paperwork suggests that the last registration was issued in May 1989 in Randburg in what at the time was known as the Transvaal Province. This is now part of Gauteng and is in the outskirts of Johannesburg, not far from the Kyalami motor racing circuit.

It was recently bought from an Alfa enthusiast and collector, who said that he’d had it for many years and had kept it well maintained. More recently he got it resprayed and replaced the original 1600 engine with a 1750 series II unit from a GTV - the same engine type with increased bore and stroke. Now imported into the UK, the car has cleared the NOVA process and is ready for a new owner to register with the DVLA.

The Alfa is finished in what we believe to be Verde Pino (pine green). It has been repainted at least once in its life, including fairly recently, as evidenced by the slight colour difference between the exterior and the engine bay.

It doesn’t appear to be the best paint job ever done; there’s paint on some of the rear light fittings and the odd drop on the rear bumper too. There is also some paint rejection, causing micro blistering across both upper flanks and boot. A small patch of micro blistering, again we believe to be caused by slight paint rejection, above the offside front wheel arch, some scuffing across the back end as well as other blemishes here and there around the car.

Unlike the later Milan-built GT Juniors which shared the quad headlamp front end look from the GTV (although without overriders), this example still sports the early-style grille with two headlights. The overriders it wears have likely been added later but those at the front are not of the contemporary GTV type, unlike the rears. The chrome is in a fair condition, with a small patch of rust on the front bumper. Some of the chrome slats in the grille are also loose.

The windows previously had tint film on them, to reflect the South African sun, which has been removed although there are small traces left, particularly in the hard to reach corners.

The Alfa sits on original equipment 14-inch steel wheels which appear in a fair to good condition complete with their stainless steel exposed-nut hub caps. They are fitted with Kumho Sense tyres dated 2017 on the fronts and 2015 Sava Intensas at the rear.

The GT Junior appears to sit slightly high at the back, possibly due to some newer or incorrect springs being fitted. Overall, the exterior is in a reasonable and usable condition but there is certainly room for improvement in the finish.

The Alfa’s interior appears largely complete with most of the original elements present. The fluted black vinyl seating, dash top and door cards are in a good condition, with just a little area of damage or wear on the side of the driver’s seat.

The characteristically ‘70s straight-grained wood inlay on the dash is a little jaded and has been given a badge from a 1750cc GTV. It also has had a modern Pioneer stereo grafted into it along with some switchgear which no longer appears serviceable. The usual wood inlays around the centre console have been replaced by some form of aftermarket fitting.

The underside trim has become detached from the steering column and one of the stalks has broken off, but the deep-dished steering wheel itself looks correct both to the car and the period.

The doors open and close, but would benefit from some adjustment. The black carpets and mats look fairly recent and are clean and intact and the headlining also appears in good order.

Under the front-hinged bonnet, the bodywork around the engine bay is well painted and in good order with just some light rust visible on the subframe down below. The engine and ancillaries look clean and tidy with evidence of fairly recent renewal of some components such as the brake servos and two-tone horn.

Underneath the car all seems intact and it looks to have been cleaned up and liberally waxoyled fairly recently, probably at the same time as the outside. There are a few signs of rust here and there but nothing that appears to be of any significance.

Inside the boot, the linings are present and intact and there’s an Alfa-branded rubber mat on top although shaped for a different model. Underneath is a full size (14-inch) steel spare wheel sitting in a well that looks sound with no obvious corrosion across the floor. The boot lid itself is in fair condition with just a few areas of light rust around its edges.

We’re looking after this GT Junior during the sale at our HQ near Abingdon and would encourage a personal inspection by potential bidders. Use the ‘Contact Seller’ feature and we can arrange a visit - subject to Govt. guidelines - or a video call to look around the car in detail and ask us questions. There is precious little history that came with the car from South Africa, so bidders can only go on current condition.

We’ve had a mechanic take a look and it starts and runs but it may benefit from a replacement starter motor. The wheels and/or brakes are binding a little and whilst the brakes work, they fade slightly in use.

As mentioned, the previous owner mentioned that the 1.6-litre (1567cc) engine has been replaced with a 1750cc variant of Alfa’s twin cam “Nord” engine. You can see the evidence by the symbol on the engine block that we have put in the gallery.

The car comes with a NOVA clearance letter and previous South Africa registration document. We understand that an FCA Heritage certificate has been applied for.

As with all the 60s-70s GT Alfas, the perky GT Junior is a very popular classic car, and the late model cars in particular offer a well-balanced driving experience. This recent Pine Green import, whilst recently refreshed, would certainly still benefit from a full once over on the mechanicals and some cosmetic attention and titivation, but once done would be a welcome change from the ubiquitous red Alfa coupés.

As we mentioned before, asking prices for this series of Alfa Romeo have been rising over a number of years and the very best are already out of most people’s reach. We think this one, still with plenty that could be done to optimise its value, will fetch between £13,000 and £17,000.

Think of this solid example as a runner to enjoy whilst gradually improving it aesthetically to an everyday standard, or maybe as the basis for more extensive work to bring it up to peak condition. Either way, this has to be one of the best value ways into a bona fide classic driver’s car.

Inspection is always encouraged, within Govt. guidelines of course, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment 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, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.