Today we are reviewing a car that is particularly close to my heart, to put it lightly. I am of course talking about my very own 1976 Alfa Romeo GT1600 Junior. This was the car that attracted me into the classic car world. Without this car, there will be no InstacarHK YouTube channel, without a doubt. Back in the early 2010’s I was already into older cars, but being a generally reserved person, I only dared to play with German modern classics like Mercedes Benz’s R129, A124, C126 etc. and BMW M cars. In the meantime, a friend of mine bought this 1976 Alfa Romeo Junior. It was obviously a unique car and even rarer back then as the classic car scene in Hong Kong really only took off in a public scale in the past 5 years or so. At the time, I never understood why my friend bought the car. It looked flimsy, it was slow, and it was so outdated. Most importantly, an Italian classic car must be a nightmare to maintain with its notorious unreliability. Then on one fateful night, my mate handed me the keys and asked me to try the car. I drove the car from Repulse Bay to the Peak, where some of the finest mountain roads in Hong Kong can be found, and the drive was simply unforgettable. It was my first time driving such an old car and I was shocked how everything felt so raw, mechanical, and direct. Most importantly, the drive felt exhilarating, as if I was going in excess of 100kph the whole way, when I reality I was going at about 70kph, only slightly above the speed limit. It was something I have never experienced before and I was hooked since.
Very fortunately for me, a few years later my mate decided to sell the car and very kindly gave me the first right of refusal. I snatched it up without hesitating for a second. Bar a stubborn oil leak at the time (it has been rectified since), I knew the car was mechanically sound. As its full model name suggests, it has a 1,600cc engine, with double over head cams and twin Weber carburetors. This two door Alfa Romeo model is known as the “105 series” and started in 1963 with the Giulia Sprint GT model and production lasted all the way to 1977. During the time, Alfa released various models of the 105 series which can generally be distinguished by engine size. The ‘Junior’ models, as mine is, had 1,300 and 1,600 cc engines, while the bigger models had 1,750 and 2,000 cc engines (the 2000GTV of course being the top of the line flagship). All the models, regardless of engine size, had double overhead cams and twin carburetors. Horsepower ranged from the 1300 Junior’s 89HP to the 2000GTV’s 130HP. Mine being the 1600 model has about 110HP. Looks wise, the earlier cars and the Juniors always had twin headlights, while the bigger models had quad headlights which I personally prefer. The reason mine also has quad headlights is because mine is a later model and by then Alfa had ‘facelifted’ the Junior models by using many 2000GTV parts. Hence my car looks practically identical to the 2000GTV except for different wheels and smaller rear lights.
When I bought the car six years ago, it was in the resale red colour and the paint was looking very tired. While it was a rare Hong Kong car (i.e. registered in Hong Kong since new), and therefore had less rust than its contemporaries from climates such as the UK, it still had some rust that needed to be sorted. As such, a restoration was inevitable so I undertook the project about two years into my ownership. All rubber parts, many chrome parts, all the lights and about half the interior (carpets and roof lining) had to be replaced. The car obviously had to be repainted as well and, to my delight, when the paint shop removed the red paint, we found that the original colour under it was the baby blue you see today (officially known as “Le Man Blue”). I decided to repaint it back to its original colour and never regretted the decision – it fits the car so much better!
After the restoration I enjoyed the car for a few more years, bringing it to many drives and classic car shows and it was always a hit. In 2019, however, I made the huge mistake of selling it as part of a part exchange deal for my Ferrari 360 spider manual. It was a very hard decision to make but I could do with the extra funds and space that selling the Alfa would provide at the time. What made the experience even tougher was that literally two weeks after I sold it the new owner got hit by a speeding motorcyclist who lost control of his bike and understeered into the Alfa’s lane on a Sunday morning in popular morning drive spot Shek O. Fortunately for the Alfa, there was a Ferrari 612 that was in front of it which the bike hit first (and therefore took the immediate and major impact) before the bike bounced off the Ferrari and hit the Alfa’s front end. The result of which was that while the Ferrari was a complete write-off, the Alfa only suffered cosmetic damages to its front headlights, bumper, and grille.
Shortly after the car was repaired, the car was put up for sale again in late 2020. Against all advice and rationality, I decided to buy it back because the car meant so much to me and I felt like I needed to buy it back and keep it from harm’s way again. I checked the car thoroughly with my garage and we also studied the photos from the accident, and was convinced and confident that all the damages were indeed cosmetic only and there was no structural damage caused by the accident. As a result, a deal was made, and once again I am with my beloved Alfa Romeo Junior. I have enjoyed reuniting with the car for a few months now and got right back to bringing it to drives and events. Will I sell it again? Hard to say, as Hong Kong will always be a challenging place to own a lot of cars at once. Until then, however, I intend to continue to enjoy my nippy little Alfa where it all began for me!
A huge thanks to Mrs. InstacarHK for helping me film this episode!
See our review video here: