[Paradiso]

Amongst my cohorts on the "rice" side of the tracks, group buys are very popular and successful. By bringing a number of orders to a vendor at one time, we are able to negotiate a volume discount.
I am very serious about installing a chassis stiffener in my spider. No matter where you purchase it, the price is $469 (plus shipping and maybe tax).
Is there enough interest to try and put together a group buy?
I believe the stiffener was originally developed by Don Ereminas, and ideally I'd like to bring the business to Ereminas imports.
I'd be happy to coordinate, but won't do anything until there seems to be significant interest.
I will post to the alfa digest and to AR-Spider.com

John

 

[Bruce Colby]

I had one of these things on my '69 spider. I finally took it off because it kept banging against the frame. I've heard similar stories from others but some people don't seem to experience this problem. At any rate, removing it didn't make any noticeable change in the way the car rode or handled on the street. I didn't take it on the track because I have no rollbar. I suspect it doesn't really make the chassis significantly stiffer. If anyone has any objective data to the contrary, I'd love to see it. My advice would be to save your $.

 

[Paradiso]

Bruce, I don't see how it could bang against the frame unless it wasn't installed tightly or the components that it was attached to (trailing arms, steering box) were loose! Yours is the first negative comment I've heard.
Thanks for the input, getting others experience was one of my goals.

 

[Sniady]

Hmmm... I was reading some Alfa book's, and I read that spider's have added support's to reduce body roll. The book actually said that the Spider handle's a bit better then a GTV.

 

[67GTV]

Having owned both a Spider and now a GTV I can emphatically say, I'm not sure.

While my Spider handled very well, it was the occasional road abnormality that caused significant cowl shake. My Spider never lost its grip but the body flex sure made the butt checks clench up.

OTOH, perhaps the Spider's lower center of gravity helps it stick to the road as well as a GTV. Possibly.

Have I helped to clear things up? Nah.