I need an engine.

I highly recommend stopping by Santo's Italian Car Service, it's in Northridge. As I remember you right around in Chatsworth. Definitly stop by, or shoot him a call. Santo (818) 701-1614.

If you were to buy a used motor(not likely running) it would run you about 1000 +/-.

To rebuild a motor, (from what I hear) runs about 5,000 +/-.

p.s. these are just my estimates, I think there lower, but they might be more.

Alfa engines are exceedingly easy to rebuild and there is no way a rebuilt engine should cost $5000 unless it's being blueprinted and enhanced . . . a lot. The crankshafts are very tough and usually don't need any work. Cylinders and liners are about $375. A set of bearings and seals aren't very expensive either. If you're injection pump is unusable, then that will be an additional $700 or so.

Try looking on Ebay. There are cylinder heads advertised often. Rebuilt ones from a commercial shop usually cost about $500 with a core. At the very least you may be able to get a rebuildable core cheap.

Thanks guys for your help. I am going to pass on this particular 74, I just had a bad feeling about the people selling it. But since the Alfa I owned previously was a 74, I am convinced that is what I am going to get. (Or else a 75, or 76, since they don't really exist. They were just 74's sneaking in under the smog rules)
The search continues
...Keeth

Keeth,

I am not sure what you mean by the '75 & '76 models. In many people's opinion, besides the Roundtail, the '73 & '74 models are the next most sought after Spiders. They came with SS bumpers and are CA smog exempt, therefore switching to carbs would not be a problem. '75 through '82 models came with rubber bumpers and more and more smog equipment.

Kai,
This is what I meant. In California, Alfa never imported a "1975" model. They just continued with the "74" and all of its exemptions. So any Alfa sold here in 1975 was really and truly a 74. The same happened in 1976. Until April of 1976 when the feds caught on and said "whoa!"
That is when I bought my first Alfa. In April of 1976 I bought a brand new spyder. But it was a 74 with no smog equipment and the "old" bumpers. So unless someone has a late 1976 (when they were federalized), any "75" or "76" is really a 74 and still valuable.
Complicated? Yea. Sorry I got so wordy. But we do agree on the value of the 73's and 74's.
The search continues....

Keeth
...ex 74 Spyder
... former Swift Formula Ford