Here's a slightly better engine shot...

 

A few more shots...

 

Looks like fun. I love the conversion. Mind posting pics of the cracks and interior?

 

Nice work.

 

I saw this car at the Glen last year. It looked to be very well prepared.

 

I know spiders are pretty cheap but that's a lot of car for the money. Even with the finishing needed...Some build

 

Agreed. Surprised at some of the negative comments on BAT. Impressive build.

 

On BringATrailer.com now....

should help the sale.

I'd change the wheels, but that's it. Fantastic car.

 

Ah Doug........

 

Wow, that is really something! The engine bay looks very neat. It is amazing how the V6s look completely at home in 105 and Spider engine bays. It must be a blast to drive.

 

The first photos are, I believe, from the 2010 Dearborn MI AROC convention concorso at Meadow Brook, are they not? I recall that Spider there... and yes it drew as many onlookers as the then-new 8C. Wish I had been able to hear it!

 

Wow is there any room to change the filter? But it is an amazing job of getting the engine and turbos in the engine bay!!!

 

Changing the plugs looks difficult too.

 

Pics

Good evening Doug. Your Alfa is beautiful and I am interested in it. Would you please email me photos of the interior, dash, door panels and such. Also if you have any photos of the under carriage I would appreciate those too.
Thanks
Chas

 

I've had many emails requesting more detailed shots of the underside of the car as well as any of the paint/finish issues.

I'll attach what I currently have in a couple of posts, and get some additional shots of the interior when I can get out to the barn (we got a heavy snowfall this weekend and the car is still in winter hibernation.

I'll start with the underside, where you can see the chassis stiffener and pan hard-rod attachment.

Cheers,

Doug

 

more detail shots...

Engine on stand during last years rebuild, and paint/surface issues. The car comes with a second hood without the louvers (the over crack has started as a result of the heat buildup over the left turbo, and can easily be addressed with a repaint and some thermal insulating material).

Interior details over the next few days...

 

one more...

A few more shots of the fender 'rip', and the roll hoop. The forward bar is removable for daily driving and bolts to a reinforced plate under the forward floor carpeting.

The drivers seat comes with a five point harness, and I have the original seat (which is the one with fresh leather currently sitting on the passenger side).

Thanks for all the inquiries,

Doug

 

BAT reply...

Yes...the BAT comments are always entertaining (everyones an expert, and certainly everyones entitled to their opinion...no matter how little they actually know), and I'm sure there are many on this site that will share in the vitriol. As I stated...the car is not for everyone.

My response: I love Bring a Trailer...I’ve been a long time fan, and I’m thrilled with the fact that the car that I have lovingly played with for so many years, could unleash such a wide range of responses. Some of you ‘get’ the car, and some of you don’t...and that’s a beautiful thing.
What I love about the car hobby, is that when most true gear heads run across something that they might not ‘get’, most of us will at least be gracious and informed enough to acknowledge the time, energy, and passion that went into the creation of the piece (as so many of you have). Everyone is entitled to there own opinion...but when the commentary, becomes simply vitriolic and childish, is just seems rather sad. Just say’n...
For those who are interested, a few things about the car:
As I stated in my Alfabb posting, I love Alfa’s...I’ve owned and restored a number of them over the years (some bone stock) and continue to race a vintage Alfa in V/H with SVRA, and VARAC, so I fully appreciate both their intrinsic physical and mechanical beauty. However...the 80’s and the 90’s were certainly not high watermark decades for the breed. As sports cars go, the Spider became quite portly and very anemic...it’s hardly rare, so I decided to tinker with what was at best a so- so ‘sports car’. It was my time, my money, and my passion...
While enjoyable to drive and to shine up every weekend, the stock 84 had become for me, quite boring to drive. Wine-country tours, show and shine competitions, coffee clutches, and concours, are just not my thing (but I do have an appreciation for all those activities). My thing...is to sit myself behind the wheel of a car that is interesting, engaging, and that makes a great mechanical sound, with the soul purpose of hitting a twisty back road, or road course, and have some fun with it. And that is what this car was unapologetically engineered to do.
Mechanically...the car is built to a high standard. Twin intercoolers (set in just behind the very controversial front splitter) keep the charge cool, while a custom made triple core radiator keep the engine cool. Those of you who know the 3Litre Alfa engine well, know that along with that fantastic mechanical sound, comes a great deal of heat, and the radiator is more than up to the task of keeping everything cool.
With respect to all the ‘stance’ hyperventilating (my little bit of vitriol) that seems to be a constant hot topic on BAT, my vintage racecar sits much lower than this car does...and it does so for a reason. It’s called engineering. The car is fitted with performance engineered shocks, springs (all of which stiffen the response as well as lower the centre of gravity in the car), brakes, and other ‘race-grade’ tweaks, so that when you want to go into a corner at speed it does what you want a sports car to do...stick. You have 300 plus horsepower with a great deal of torque (and the car be dialed in for much more), driven through a solid rear axle, in a 2200 lb package, so trust me, you need all of the help that you can get. It rides, corners, accelerates, and brakes, about as efficiently as a 30+ year old car can. So for me....what’s not to like?
The wheels and tires (I understand why they might be a polarizing element) are a not only a function of taste (or apparently, lack there of), but primarily chosen for their weight, fitment, availability, tire width and adhesion options. Sure you can go to a stock tire size and width. Just remember...E=MC2.
Inquires and interest in the car has been great (thanks BAT) and I will be posting more detailed photos of the car on Alfabb as soon as I can get back into the barn where it is currently hibernating (we got about a foot of snow up here this weekend).
Always eager to answer questions for those interested... Doug

 

Don't let the bastards get you down. The car was built for a purpose, and apparently serves that purpose well. Great job on the build, and good luck with the sale.

Bob

 

I think the car is wonderful and if I had a 105 of any sort and the money, I would seriously consider putting a V6 in it. I think they are a great match for those cars and look right at home in the engine bay. What's not to like about putting one of Alfa's greatest engines in one of their best cars? If it was Japanese engine, or a Detroit V8, that would be a different story.

 

I think that Teddy Roosevelt "man in the arena" quote applies. If someone doesn't like your (nicely executed!) 3 liter twin turbo Busso Spider just ask them to show what they've built that's cooler. Expect crickets.

 

I'd like to know more about the unpainted Duetto in one of the early photos. Looks slammed, etc.
Pete

 

The speedster (which I will add, was a complete basket case that I picked up a number of years ago) is the project that I am currently focused on (that photo is three years old).

The car, as we speak, is finished, and became the buck/mould for what will be a fibreglass/carbon-fibre bodied car that I will be building with a local race chassis shop, as a bespoke custom ordered car.

It's called the Velocetta...

Attached are a couple of photos.

 

Very interesting + + + +

 

A few shots of the prototype...

What can I say...I like to think outside the box, and tinker a bit.

 

Very very cool .

Only thing I don't like is the non-Alfa engine.
Pete

 

I seem to remember this car (the red one for sale) showing up at our NH convention in '04. I think you had just gotten the 3 liter in, and was having problems keeping it cool on the track. But it went like stink..

Glad to see it all sorted out, it looks fantastic and one hell of a deal for the asking price.

The black one looks wild. I think I remember you telling me of such a project when we chatted, great to see it in the flesh.

Good luck with the sale.

bs

 

Thanks for the kind words. At the NH convention, the car, with its the newly added turbos was literally 10 hours old when it arrived. Joe (the gentleman really responsible for the engineering on the car) and I worked for weeks to get the turbos on the car, got it on the trailer at 2:00am, and drove through the night to get to the time trials for 1:00pm that same day.

The car was running hot (the triple core rad came about as a result of that experience, as did the dual throttle bodies). I don't know if you remember, but when getting out of the gas at the end of the straights the car would look like it had blown up. As we figured out later, the large single throttle body was located a bit too far from the plenums, and as a result of the sudden change in vacuum pressure, oil was literally being sucked through the engine and fogged out through the exhaust during rapid deceleration.

The whole process of getting the bugs out of the car has been one huge learning curve, and while sometimes frustrating, it has ultimately been very rewarding and hell of a lot of fun.

 

Yes, I remember you were just piecing it together.

Btw, that tensioner is nice. Does that use a stock belt? You should sell those..

bs