[JaredW]

Someone showed me this link to a '76 Spider that looked to be in decent condition and on what the seller says, it agrees. But, I am extremely new to Alfas and especially Spiders. My question is, would the rust that's on the sides and back be too much, or is it still acceptable. I'm only asking because I almost bought a Spider with a considerable amount of rust in it and I just want to be sure that I'm not buying a money blackhole.

Thanks,
Jared

1976 Alfa Romeo Spider | eBay

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[ghnl]

Anything is fixable but rust in the sills is major. The sills/floors make up the main structural strength of the Spider's unibody (no separate frame). My general rule is the rust you can see is 1/3 of the rust that is there...

 

[Gubi]

That is a crap ton of rust. Those sills are freakin' gone. Run from this one as fast as you can.

Two rules I live by with classic cars:
1) If you can see rust, there's a heck of a lot more you can't see
2) Buy the best car you can, and if you can only afford a crappy one don't buy it

 

[Alfajay]

would the rust that's on the sides and back be too much

Yes, too much. For some reason, that era of spiders seem to rust at an astonishing rate. That '76 listed on ebay looks pretty bad. Who knows what it will ultimately sell for; it's current price ($1,825) might be its value as a parts car, but no way as a restoration candidate. Think $1,825 for the car, $18,250 for a bare-bones restoration.

You can do better.

 

[JaredW]

Thanks for all the help, especially so fast.

 

[AaronsSpider]

Ouch, that one is a potential heart breaker

 

[Mauricio101]

Run Away

 

[GTA Alfa]

That's nothing to be scared about if your handy with metal work and welding. At least what you see is what you get.

 

[6alfas]

Decide what your budget is and then look for the best car within that parameter. For an entry level price, you could buy the 76 for the mechanicals, then look for one with a good body/bad motor. Anything less than $5K will most likely be rusty and/or run poorly or not at all.

 

[0die]

The rockers are 3 different pieces on these cars. The outter is only cosmetic I think. You need to look deep inside those rust holes to the middle and inner rocker. Likely it's just as bad inside but unfortunately you can't get that kind of detail on ebay.

I have this car on my watch list out of curiosity...It's from Denver I think...guess the snow has taken it's toll...

 

[AAlfa]

That looks like a lot of rust. I would suggest paying more for something that is truly rust-free. That up-front investment will pay for itself many times over. The cost of eliminating rust is more than you would think.

 

[AAlfa]

P.S. drop this in your browser's search bar
"alfa romeo spider site:sfbay.craigslist.org"

Many rust-free cars in these parts.

 

[0die]

I guess $1950 was the magic number...

 

[6alfas]

I would say that's a deal for a good running car with decent cosmetics. Worth at least 2x that in parts.

 

[DFit]

Not saying buy it or not, but if the doors are sagging or interference with the door jambs opening or closing, it is on short time and not safe. Everything still lining up and solid, then maybe with a lot of effort and money. Not likely the floors still good either. The rust bucket I'm salvaging had a car stand go through the jack point when I lowered it. Good thing I don't trust Italian women or cars (A joke. Don't throw a rod). Still had someone ask if it was fixable.😱

 

[PSk]

The seller is a liar and obviously hiding things; "The car runs/drives/shifts well and all electrical components work (lights, radio, fuel gauges, small cosmetic lights, etc)"

I call BS on all electrical components working. Can't be true of any pre 2000 Alfa Romeo, surely
Pete

 

[Ranz]

LOL.
I hear you, PSK...just don’t bet anything vital to your physical integrity on it.

 

[sloboy89]

I call BS on all electrical components working. Can't be true of any pre 2000 Alfa Romeo, surely

Pete, I would call BS on you if I had the interest or need to get my cigarette lighter working. But then again, my car doesn't look much like the one for sale.

 

[powerdoc]

Having bought my share of rusty Alfa's (had a once-race-prepped 64 1600 veloce that I think came from New Jersey originally which was held together by road salt) I've never had one that was unsafe because of structural damage. Bodies are hard drivetrains are easy to correct. But of course the old question remains, why is the intrinsic value of the Spider so low? It seems like a Fiat Spider or even an MGB are worth more!

 

[1978alfa]

Rust because of poor quality Soviet sourced steel Alfa was using in the mid '70's.
Alfettas were just as bad or worse about rusting!
Notice, there were no underneath pictures posted!