I ordered parts & gaskets from Centerline when I rebuilt the 2L engine in our '84 Spider a few years ago. I'd have to find the reciepts to know if they were OEM gaskets or not but, at those prices, I doubt it. So far, so good.

 

400 vs 100 Give me a break. NO decision. Never had a problem w/ an after market. Remember in Europe there are many companies just like America that manufacture parts that meet or exceed the originals. That's where these parts are probably coming from & they probably make for Alfa as well.

 

I'm thinking the same. Just want to be sure the Alfa kit isn't magic or something like that.

 

i have an alfa OEM gasket kit. its sweet and comes in its own orange alfa box with all mostly REINZ gaskets. i might consider selling it to ya for say 200$

no matter what, be sure to buy the REINZ gaskets for your head, and lower and upper oil sump gaskets. theyre all the difference...

 

Its not a question of price or desiring a cheaper price but one of knowing if there is any difference in quality.

 

i was debating between an oem or aftermarket iap water pump.

decided on the iap and had no issues or complaints.

 

OEM I have a vague recollection that the Alfa head gasket was superior to aftermarket...but that was 10 years ago last time I rebuilt a motor.

When you order headgaskets, you have the choice of OE or "Reinz". In the Summer 2009 Centerline catalog, OE 2 liter gaskets go for $24.90, while the Reinz are about 2X that: $45.90.

I usually spring for the Reinz because I figure the price difference will be small part of the overall rebuild cost, and I'm too lazy to disassemble the head if sealing problems arise. But, I must admit that I haven't done any testing which shows that the Reinz gaskets work any better.

 

Ask around in the garage trade, they will tell you what works and what doesn't.
It goes for all spares. There are some really bad examples of over pricing OE spares compared to same part from different sources. Example: Fiat Punto door mirror, Fiat dealer $ 210, random auto spares outlet $ 100 (packed Magneti Marelli (Fiat owned) box).
Erik
NB! I, too, have heard, go for Rinz gaskets !

 

I am surprised that you have to pay $400 for a gasket set. I rebuilt my Spider motor about 3 years ago with an OEM set from DiFatta Bros and it was nowhere near that price - maybe $120 or so.

I have a large collection of NOS engine gaskets and there are obvious differences in quality, but I don't know where they came from as I bought them as a job lot from a guy that was getting out of 4 cylinder Alfas.