GTA Atmo Buyers Guide

Who can inform an Alpine virgin about what to look for when buying a GTA Atmo?
I've heard about dodgy electrics, chassis/subframe rust and parts availability. But how bad is it really?
All and any thoughts appreciated before I contemplate parting with my hard earned!

[The Saint]

Hi Les,
Welcome to the forum. There is a great deal of info, here within the forums... but not to scare you off too quickly, take a look at this link to a thread within the forum...
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7887&p=82344&hilit=front+cross+member#p82344
Most of these cars are showing signs of this kind of rust. Unfortunately, it is well hidden to those that are unfamiliar to how these cars are built.
I wish you luck, but if you do get to own one of these cars, you will understand why we love them so...
Vince..

Hi
Well you have made the right choice you've just got to find the right car, the Atmo now is probably the rarest Alpine about now but on any car that is 30 years old there will be rust they're not that bad the front box is the worst one and if it has not been dun it will need doing, the rest rats or someone else can sort it for a reasonable price. The Atmo has simpler electrics than the turbo but the carbs are old and if you want it to be reliable and exciting to drive put the holly conversion on. A well tuned up Atmo gives you a linear power delivery, however if you like the whack of a turbo then you need to go for the turbo. The Atmo is 6.5 stone lighter than the turbo and that's of the rear so the Atmo is a better balanced car on the corners.
Check all the electrics work in the car windows central locking ect, look out for oil leaks on the engine, noisy tappets plus make sure it has had regular oil changes, plus all the water hoses and front radiator, there is a bit more and I'm quite sure a few more people will post as well good luck.

[stephendell]

If you are looking at the yellow one aim for a big discount to deal with paint and corrosion. At least £2k off.

Thanks for the info. Seen the yellow one on ebay. A bit in your face for me. Don't want to pay silly money either so might take while!

Hi
Well you have made the right choice you've just got to find the right car, the Atmo now is probably the rarest Alpine about now but on any car that is 30 years old there will be rust they're not that bad the front box is the worst one and if it has not been dun it will need doing, the rest rats or someone else can sort it for a reasonable price. The Atmo has simpler electrics than the turbo but the carbs are old and if you want it to be reliable and exciting to drive put the holly conversion on. A well tuned up Atmo gives you a linear power delivery, however if you like the whack of a turbo then you need to go for the turbo. The Atmo is 6.5 stone lighter than the turbo and that's of the rear so the Atmo is a better balanced car on the corners.
Check all the electrics work in the car windows central locking ect, look out for oil leaks on the engine, noisy tappets plus make sure it has had regular oil changes, plus all the water hoses and front radiator, there is a bit more and I'm quite sure a few more people will post as well good luck.

Thanks for the info. I've heard of the Holly conversion. Any idea what this costs?
Another thing that comes to mind is lighting. Are lights/lenses available and does the nose have to be removed to fit?

Hi Les,
Welcome to the forum. There is a great deal of info, here within the forums... but not to scare you off too quickly, take a look at this link to a thread within the forum...
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7887&p=82344&hilit=front+cross+member#p82344
Most of these cars are showing signs of this kind of rust. Unfortunately, it is well hidden to those that are unfamiliar to how these cars are built.
I wish you luck, but if you do get to own one of these cars, you will understand why we love them so...
Vince..

Thought you weren't trying to scare me! Thanks for the info. Thread was interesting and I guess shows what could be waiting for the unwarry! Still think they are great looking cars.

[Alpineandy]

Thanks for the info. I've heard of the Holly conversion. Any idea what this costs?

Another thing that comes to mind is lighting. Are lights/lenses available and does the nose have to be removed to fit?

Mr Dell and others developed the Holley conversion.
So I guess he's the best person to answer that, but IIRC it's around a grand.

The light covers are produced in high quality plastic by RATS (probably on his web-site).
No the nose doesn't have to be removed, but the lights do.

It helps if you give a rough indication of your area in your profile, then there's a chance that someone in your area will give you some time over a coffee (or something ).

I've had my atmo 14 years and made sure I got an excellent one. I think the difference in price between an average one and a really good is so small that it makes sense to wait for a really good one, irrespective of whether it is an atmo or turbo, colour or spec. I think the history and condition of the interior will tell you everything. A car with a mint original interior and full history at Renault, RATS and Roadspeed will save you money in the long run.

[BIG_MVS]

Agree to try and buy the best one possible but they are that few and far between these days that you don't have much choice.

I would say though if you do have the opportunity, buy one asap as from next year when the new Alpine comes out prices for old models will rise. They have to.

Good luck with the search.

By the way I don't think the Yellow one is that over priced, really I don't. Even if it does need quite a bit of welding and a lick of paint.

Agree to try and buy the best one possible but they are that few and far between these days that you don't have much choice.

I would say though if you do have the opportunity, buy one asap as from next year when the new Alpine comes out prices for old models will rise. They have to.

Good luck with the search.

By the way I don't think the Yellow one is that over priced, really I don't. Even if it does need quite a bit of welding and a lick of paint.

Thanks for the reply, and sorry I didn't mean to imply the yellow one was overpriced. Seen a few others advertised which are way out of my budget!

[BIG_MVS]

No don't worry about it, Mr Dell said it needed to be almost half price so it was aimed at him!

Here is another write up bigging up the GTA.

http://www.whenindoubtflatout.co.uk/renault-alpine-gta

GTA has lower priced and better spares availability than A610 as brakes and hydraulics are mainly shares with the Renault 25 and master van, making parts plentiful and cheap.
There are some hard parts to find, but you are in the right place, rear lights without cracks being one of them (as the lotus Elan mk2 shares them) but generally an Atmo in particular is a a simple car.
Most bits can be bought quickly from Simon Auto's.The atmo engine shares lots of components with other V6 cars (delorean, volvos pm citroens etc) but even the other cars are getting rare.
Buy the best you can and make sure the rot has been repaired or its rot free (unlikely), an MOT is not enough. Mine looked OK even on a ramp but a more thorough examination showed quite a bit of work to do.
If you can get one where the paint is good enough for you and has decent glass and headlight covers, that will save you a lot of cash as paint is a + 3k job these days to do it properly and glass is expensive.
Otherwise they are old and French, so expect a few electrical issues.

Have fun hunting one down.

Budget on at least 8 to grab a reasonable one these days.Average cars needing rot repairs 4/5 and will need the same spent to get them up to scratch ,that's without cosmetics .You can buy them at 8 and still need to spend the same tho so expert inspection advised .

Budget on at least 8 to grab a reasonable one these days.Average cars needing rot repairs 4/5 and will need the same spent to get them up to scratch ,that's without cosmetics .You can buy them at 8 and still need to spend the same tho so expert inspection advised .

Food for thought indeed! I guess expert inspection is available through the club?