Ebay Duetto, help!!!

[backkraker]

Hello to all, I'm usually hanging on the Milano portion of this site. Anyway I'm very interested in the Duetto on Ebay item number 360007951540. Could you guys give of your wisdom about the condition, price and the main points to ask about.
Are Duetto's of this vintage holding there value? What are there weaknesses? How are they to drive? Anything in particular that devalues this particular Duetto?

Thanks in advance; Joe K.

[Zunige]

Roundtail Spiders achieved collectible status several years ago. Hence, they more than hold their value; They will actually appreciate. Typically, 1966 and 1967 examples with the 1600 cc engine are referred to as Duettos. The rest are simply Spiders. Collectively, all '66 through '69 Spiders are called roundtails. (In Italy, all Spiders - all years - are called Duettos.) The stock 1969 U.S. Spider came with a 1750 cc engine, SPICA injection and aggressive cams. It yielded 132 hp. It was the zippiest of all the Spiders, and I do mean all Spiders up to and including 1994. The European Spider of the same year was fitted with carburetors, and was even faster.

The ebay car looks good. Roundtails that are in concours condition easily exceed low twenties. Of course, concours also means original. The suspension upgrades and the carburetors certainly add to the performance of the car, but they will hurt the value a little bit. Not much though, and if you want to see how mods affect a car, you could check the Alfa Romeo Owners Club Concours manual. The "turbo fan piece" sounds like the owner fell for one of those late TV night "performance" gimmicks. In any event, if you are interested in this car, make sure you look at it in person or ask someone to do it for you. If the car is as advertised, even with the missing top, I think the price is fair.

Best regards,

[lgbalfa]

very nice car. the first thing i would do is change the steering wheel out if i owned it - it is very out of place. i like to keep things original - so i would also get a set of original hubcaps and put the covers over the headlights.

a car this old and unique, enrique is right - yourself or someone should look at it if you are interested since photos sometimes can be deceiving.

looks like a nice car though.

if i didnt own a series 4 spider, the series 1 would be my first choice.

here is another fine example of the duetto.

Hemmings Motor News: Auto Classifieds - Hemmings Auto Classifieds feature cars for sale nation wide.

hemmings is a great resource besides ebay to look for alfas.

[davelgee]

The exhaust manifolds on this car are later than '69 IMHO. The 1750 cars did not have the cast in areas for air pump fittings. The brake system seems to be correct for a 69 with the dual remote servos. The '69 Spica system is also unique in some respects and would be pretty hard to replace correctly - so the carbs (not Webber) could be something of a problem if your aim is to be original. All things considered I think the price a bit high, though not wildly out of line if the described condition is correct.

Just my .02

Cheers!
Dave G.

[101/105guy]

My $ .02 .....
Something strange about the trunk area. Should be painted body color. Also, no trunk rubber seal. What's with those two screws sticking up next to the spare tire well??
The seller runs an Alfa repair shop, so the mechanicals should be right. Have to test drive it to see. I would put a Euro air cleaner assy. on it and drive the heck out of it for a few years!!

[rogerspeed]

In additon to the above perceptive comments I notice the latches on the doors are painted the body color, not a good thing to my mind. The carb conversion is a "hard" type, in other words the spica manifold was retained and the carbs with adapters used, an early or euro car would have "soft" mounts between the euro manifold and the carbs, also with this car the throttle linkage has been adapted. It appears to only have one booster, would have come with two, maybe not a bad thing. There is no oil separator for the breather, it is piped directly to the intake, no convertable top. Also there was a sump guard, hence the hanging studs in the bat wing oil pan photo, does it ground clearence issues? I wonder if the two bolts sticking up in the trunk are for an aftermarket fuel pump. Big chunk of change, you need have it thoroughly checked.

[67duetto]

In addition to all the good comments.
If you are looking for originality. I'd take a closer look at the dimpled nose and will it pass the magnet test. Most Duetto were victims of being backed-up at the parking lot or in accidents, the dimpled nose is hard to repair.
This one seems to have a dimpled nose. Mine has the original dimpled nose of almost 8 inches long.
If you are interest to see what I am talking about, please go to the picture room and do a search of Duetto in San Francisco and select the Duetto in Cliff house picture.
Best of luck with you Duetto hunting.

[backkraker]

Thanks for all the great info and keep it coming. I'm going to So. Cal. to visit family and check out this Spider.
Thanks Joe K.

[backkraker]

Please comment on what kind of offer I should make and where to look for body rot if any
thanks again Joe

[Wille R.]

Before testing, have alook at this site about buying a Duetto: http://www.veloce.se/buy1.htm There is an Osso di Seppia FS here in Scandinavia. Cool car and in good condition, Euro Spider with carbs. So, there are some Duettos on the market in Europe too.


AlfaRomeo 1750 Spider -69

[greg]

My comments: car shoud have all rubber mats including trunk. Steering wheel is not correct.Missing correct badges and pieces from both bumpers.Has only one lollypop.Front turn signals should be yellow. I agree on all other comments.

Thx

[Peter]

also, the dash seems to be covered

[Andrew]

From the amount of non-stock stuff on the car, I would want to look it over pretty darn carefully, and would not be prepared to pay the market price for a stock condition car.

All of the comments above are good, plus there are various painted items in the engine cmpt that shouldn't be (exhaust, steering box) and what on earth is that airbox? Disgusting. Those look like Dell'Orto carbs, not the easiest to get parts for in the US. And the interior has various mods (extra badges and whatnot on the dash), which might mean holes have been drilled. Also, with five-star mags, you need long 2000 studs to hold the wheels on properly, yet this is a 1750 with short studs. Were they changed, or are the lug nuts holding on by about three threads?

All this just makes me wonder about the overall condition of the car and the thinking of whoever put it into this condition.

As I understand it, this seller's Alfa shop is his garage. I have bought some items from him, and they were fine, but his ebay descriptions and explanations were not always the clearest or most detailed.

Definitely look at the car in person, or have someone do so, before committing.

Andrew

[Anfanuts]

As above and more picky details here. No rear trunk logo badge (round ARM logo badge) and no Iniezone badge. The US 69's did not come with Euro headlight covers (and are a matter of personal preference if they are attractive or functional or not) and that is original, as are the red-red tail light lenses (but some preferred the red-amber Euro lenses). Rear left lollipop missing. Non OE red reflectors on door panels. Has it's four corner lights (amber in front and red in rear). Non OE driver-side mirror (looks like a GTV's, Talbot). Seems to be missing the Pinninfarina body badges in front of the rear wheels?? Some kind of Alfa logo badge on dash where the 69 brake trouble light goes. I'd check the brakes closer for non-OE besides the missing booster. Hiddeous steering wheel. Non OE emergency brake lever (straight). Non-OE tach & speedo (later model). Non-OE trunk carpets (were rubber mats). Bumpers look nice. Non-OE 1750 trunk badge (supposed to just say Alfa Romeo in block letters). Look like nice older CD-35 wheels. Possibly a good car but not great. Looks like a hasty reconstruct from pieces? Check body and mechanicals closely. IMHO it is overpriced but so have many other late 60's Alfa's (Spiders in particular) I've followed on e-Bay recently so who can account for taste. I'd be leery and very careful on this offering. Definitely inspect and make a list. While I may have a few non-OE bits on my car, I always keep the OE pieces. Good luck!

[Andrew]

I just noticed it has only one brake booster; it should have two. Probably it's been converted to a 67-style single-circuit MC with just one booster? There's just so much non-stock stuff on the car. Might be a good car at the right price, but the asking price is market price for a good stock car, and this will take a lot of work to bring back to stock. Not my kind of car, good as 69 Spiders can be if left alone.

Andrew