Ebay Duetto, help!!!

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,

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.

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

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

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!

1969 Spider

Remember, when you ask a question like the one you are asking- THIS IS A TOUGH CROWD!

Bruno has multitudinous costly parts and he's burned (well maybe tinged, sunburned, mildly fried, you get the idea) me on descriptiziones, sorry, end of story, keep looking. Those carb rubber supports weren't worth buying Bruno, naughty. But he does have a lot of used parts if you really, really, really need a used part and you just can't, can't, can't get it elsewhere. So pay your money and-a-takes your chances. He's a true old time Alfisti, he can keep his babies running with cobbled together parts. Bravo Bruno, you are a great American. But with the availability of parts these days, we shouldn't need to cobble together our cars anymore, like we used to, because we were poor. Mama Mia the price-a she just a-too-a high!!!! Now you owe me a Christmas present.

But it probably runs really, really good because I'm thinking Bruno is a capable mechanic and can really tune cars. Bruno, I'd like to meet you and drive one of your Ferrari's. After all, Bruno put a Twinspark in a duetto, and that's pretty good. But the price is too high for what I'm seeing. But I remember when a buck was really worth a buck, in silver.

Wes