Spider Price Guide?

[Zinhead]

One thing that I think will limit price appreciation in Alfa's is the availability of other more exotic cars. With $20K, I might buy a perfectly restored Duetto, Sprint or Montreal, but for $30K I might be looking for a Maserati or Ferrari. While Alfa's have room to go up in price, generally an Italian car enthusiast willing to spend the dough will move op to other marques in the food chain.

For example, look at the British cars. 10 years ago, there was a strict hierarcy. Aston > Jag > Austin Healy > Triumph TR > MG. Prices for E-Types and Austin Healy's have gone up alot, but the same hierarchy still exists.

[MSshaefer]

I have had three Big Healeys Now interested in $5000 Alfa Spider.
Maury

[Rosso Veloce]

Hi Guys,

All good points, but does anyone remember why we're here?!? To help Joel find an Alfa!

Joel, you mentioned you'd like to be in the $5-7k range. For that, you should be able to get a '71-'74 in decent shape. If you can find one, I would give the edge to a '71. Although there are fewer around, they were the first year with the Kamm (square) tail in the U.S., and essentially the last year for the happy revving 1750 engine. Not to take anything away from the ubiquitous 2 liter engine, but you CAN feel a difference. Either way, you are not going to lose.

As for where to find them:

www.alfaclassifieds.com
www.hemmings.com
www.collectorcartrader.com (where I found mine)
Also good links at www.alfacentro.com

I would definitely buy a copy of "Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible" by Pat Braden. He offers invaluable advice on what to look for when buying an Alfa. You'll also see that there are very few "bolt-ons" to improve the performance significantly. The Alfa engineers' decades of race experience means you get an incredibly well-balanced machine. Probably the biggest thing you'll want to address is the suspension. If the bushings are original (hard, cracked) your handling in Hawaii (is that like "Sleepless in Seattle"?) will be quite sloppy.

I would suggest you buy one in good shape, drive it, get to know it, and then decide what changes you'd like to make -- once you stop grinning !

Welcome to the family, and remember: It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

[wesley55]

69Spider;


Is that Canadian or US dollars? Thank you for a thoughtful and intelligent post.
I have both a 66(67) and 69 Spider. The ATE brakes versus the Dunlop brakes, the antisway bars, the "improved" radiator shrouding and configuration, the interesting\"Rube Goldberg" hard to find dual brake master cylinder, dual boosters, hydraulic clutch all make the 69 more desirable from a driveability if not fixability standpoint. I find the electrical configuration on a 66\67 terribly disappointing. The fuse cover falls off on the road, never to be seen again, and the panel is exposed to all the dirt and heat from the engine bay. My duetto needs rewiring and you really have to ask yourself if you want to keep your car and drive it all the time, how you want to protect yourself during your rewiring job. Do you want to continue to expose your wiring to engine bay road dirt and oil fumes during rewiring to keep it con"coors" (Give me another European dark beer and I'll think about that.) I'm sure you'll surmise I'm a driver and believe in pride of ownership, but love increased power and performance\reliability. I also forgot to mention an alternator versus a generator in a 69 versus a 66\67. An irritating difference on the duetto is when you open the engine hood, you need to walk around and flip up the metal support rod located on the PASSENGER side. The 69 support rod is on the driver's side, much more user friendly. But it is spring loaded in the 67 unlike the 69. So more user friendly from that standpoint. If you want a roundtail, strike a deal NOW. Who knows how long hard to find restoration parts will be available. Most are available for the first time after many, many years. I've had a roundtail(s) since 1975. Three roundtails and one Kammtail. In the 70's, 80's, and early 90's few interior restoration parts were available, now they all seem to be. Some quality isn't as good, the window winder handles I got from OKParts weren't complete, but acceptable. They were missing the central cover, but that's just how they come. The 69 had emergency flashers too. But have fun. I'm keeping all my old parts on my restoration of the 69. I've slowly been collecting old parts for my 67 which weren't present when I bought it.

You need to resign yourself to never, never, ever, ever, parking your car where the nose or trunk get's backed into. You'll get tears and hundreds perhaps thousands of dollars of damage in an instant.

A well-running, fully sorted spider is just a joy to drive.

[ossodiseppia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wesley55 the window winder handles I got from OKParts weren't complete, but acceptable. They were missing the central cover, but that's just how they come.