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New to the alfa world

3K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  ar1750gtv 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone.
I am a newbie to the alfa world. I just purchased a 1993 alfa romeo spider. I don't even have the car yet, it is in another state and I am going to be making a 1200 mile drive to get her home. The alfa only has 40k miles and supposedly is in great shape. My question is what things should I do before making the trip, I was thinking of taking her to a shop and getting al of the fluids replaced, and maybe the coolant flushed, is there anything else I should be aware of.
Thanks in advance for everyones help.

John
 

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#4 ·
As long as the owner has been taking good care of the car, it should be just fine for your trip. I would take it to a good Alfa mechanic and have him just give it a good check (which you should do with any used car anyway!). If he says it's OK, the just hop in and drive it like you stole it!!:D

Have fun!
 
#7 ·
Reminds me of when I got my car....first trip was the 1400 mile trip home! And that was after not driving an Alfa for 6 or 7 years! Turns out it was a great trip and I had a blast...the first 5 minutes was a strange feeling though. Give yourself an extra couple days just in case you run into a snag or two.

Hopefully your car is everything it was advertised to be. 1200 miles isn't a lot when you put it in the life span of the car but I'd be most concerned with the basics....tires, brakes, recent oil change, hopefully no active leaks. Perhaps the previous owner can recommend a local shop for you to have a quick inspection before you start your journey.

Where are you driving it from anyway? Maybe one of us lives nearby and can look at the car for you before you start travelling?
 
#9 ·
I don't know what you might want to see, but if you're going to drive with the top down, please take some good sunscreen, long-sleeves, good sunglasses and a hat with a brim!

Have a blast, and don't forget to rev high!

Ciao,
 
#11 ·
I think you'll be fine. You can size up the previous owner pretty quickly as to whether he took care of the car. He should also let you do a fluids check at his house if he's any kind of guy at all.

Last year I bought my 74 off of ebay. The PO was a doctor who knew nothing about the car, but it was obvious that he was taking it to a good Alfa mechanic. Car was in-tune electrically and fuel injection wise, and there were no leaks.
 
#13 ·
Must see thing along the way.

You must see as many twisty roads as possible along the way!

Also, welcome to the AlfaBB.

Are you a member of the Alfa Club of Colorado yet? If not, check out the link below.

We have an informal car show and gathering this Saturday. Feel free to attend. Send me an e-mail for further details.



Alfa Club of Colorado

Garrett
 
#14 ·
alfa shop closed on Saturday for service

I called the Ron Turismo alfa shop, but their service dept is closed on sat, that is the day I have to drive back. Thank you for the info.

Garrett I will check out the Colorado alfa club, thank you. Do you know of a good alfa mechanic in the Dener area.

John
 
#16 ·
If you're new to the 1991-1994 Spider I can offer one bit of advice before your roadtrip. The A/C on that car is an afterthought, a completely separate system not integrated into the existing climate control system. To get cool air, you need to move the sliding controls to "off" and "cool" positions. Then you turn on the A/C fan through a different switch that actually has two functions - in the middle you select the A/C fanspeed and the outside bezel rotates to select the temperature (These controls are in addition to the "normal" controls) On mine the cool air only seems to come out of the side vents.

Nathan

1991 Spider
1991 164L (sold)
1993 Mazda RX-7 Twin Turbo
1988 SAAB SPG Turbo
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9
 
#17 ·
Colorado Alfa Mechanics

John,

I can recommend two Alfa mechanics in the Denver area.

1) Dale Macgowan - Alfa West RSR, Inc.
3778 S. Kalamath St., Englewood, CO 80110
phone 303-789-9378, fax 303-789-9774

Dale and his father before him have been wrenching on alfas for over 40 years. Dale actually ownes one of the two duettos that were used in the movie "The Graduate".

As Dale is all by himself he can get very backed up with cars he's working on and sometimes takes a long time to get cars completed. But for rebuilds, etc. I wouldn't have anyone else work on my car.

2) Stewart's Ferrari of Denver
1480 E. County Line Road
Highlands Ranch, CO 80126

Bill Evenden is the Alfa authorized mechanic there and is very knowledgeable, especially on the newer model spiders and 164s. Their prices are reasonable (for a dealership) and the service is top rate!

These are my recommendations. I look forward to meeting you. Have a safe and fun roadtrip.

Garrett
 
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