(First posted 12/1/2013) Clarkson once remarked: “You can’t be a true petrolhead until you’ve owned an Alfa Romeo”, a sentiment with which I would agree. Obviously this is easier in places where Alfas are still available new (Update: Yay, that now includes us!), but the pleasures and heartbreaks can still be experienced on the used market over here…
Alfa Romeo Spider. One of the cars which I wanted the most when I was a freshly licensed teenager in he mid-80’s. I just loved the looks of the thing. I had seen “The Graduate”, which probably did more for Alfa in the U.S. than anything else, but I was just as (if not more) influenced by the scene in “Fletch” when Chevy Chase takes the stolen ivory Spider on a romp across Southern California’s freeways and streets.
The Miata had been sort of the test case as to whether I liked the actual concept of owning a small convertible, I had always pined for the Alfa though. One day I saw an ad for a reasonably priced one locally and decided to take a look. It was silver with a burgundy interior, a combination I had not seen before.
I love a red interior and this did not disappoint in that regard. With about 130,000 miles and a price tag of $3000, I could not turn it down and went to the bank to get a not so fat stack of bills to trade with.
While many like/prefer the original “boat-tail” Spiders, I prefer the lines of the mid-80’s version. Having started my driving career in the 80’s, this is the era of cars I identify with most. I love that large soft rubber spoiler on the trunk, and the big bumpers don’t bother me in the slightest. The car was originally styled by Pininfarina and was on the market from 1966 to 1994.
Inside, the mid-80’s Alfa continued with basically the same interior it had since the beginning, the large wood steering wheel is fantastic to sit behind and use, the gearshift seems to come straight out of the dash and the controls, knobs, and buttons are scattered haphazardly across the console with obviously no regard for ergonomics. Later in the 80’s the interior would be significantly revised but would lose a lot of character in the process.
Compared to the Miata, well, I won’t kid anyone, the Miata is a better “car” than the Alfa, no doubt about that. It’s also significantly newer of course. The Alfa is roomier in the cabin though and has a more “raw” feel to it. Driving along some curving lanes is a delight in both cars, but the Alfa sounds better at full song.
Yes, the Spider is basically an old car that was kept in production for many years with updates over the years. Alfa though was always very innovative in their engineering. For example, most people believe Honda had the first production automobile with Variable Valve Timing. Not so.
Nissan actually had it before Honda but Alfa Romeo had debuted it in the Spider in 1980, way ahead of the Japanese. Fuel Injection was a feature of the U.S. market Spider since 1969. Disk brakes were fitted from launch, etc.
The engine was a 2liter 4-cylinder generating 115hp and 117lb-ft of torque. It is happiest in the upper part of the rev range and while not the quietest engine, has a noise that sounds great. A 5-speed manual was standard, although the last models produced in the 90’s could be had with an automatic, but really, what’s the point of that?
By the mid-80’s, the Alfa had gained Bosch electronic fuel injection to replace the SPICA mechanical version. Many people know someone who had a cousin and her aunt had an Alfa and it was generally considered a piece of junk. I believe that since the Alfa was not particularly expensive to buy and tended to depreciate rapidly that many were serviced by people not familiar with them.
Messing with unfamiliar mechanicals without knowing what you’re doing certainly can aggravate whatever condition may already exist. The Fiat convertible (completely unrelated) suffers from the same issue. Many say that driving them regularly in a spirited fashion seems to keep them running fairly well. The “Italian tune-up” theory at work!
Mine was the Spider Veloce version as opposed to the Graduate version. The Graduate was indeed a nod to the movie and was a decontented version of the Veloce. The Veloce had the beautiful 5-spoke Campagnolo Daytona alloys (magnesium, only weighed 12 pounds each), power windows, leather seats vs. vinyl, canvas top vs. vinyl as well as some other goodies.
When I got mine, it had several small cosmetic issues. The power antenna was missing; a quick search on ebay found a replacement, installation was easy through the trunk. Also somehow one of the headlight trim rings had gone astray, another easy fix.
Mechanically mine was fine. The only problem it did have was an issue with the vacuum sensor. One day I started to notice a loud whistling noise coming from under the rear parcel shelf. Five minutes with a Philips and I was under there and another five minutes on Google revealed that the problem was a silver device that apparently no longer held vacuum and would disable the VVT.
It was easy to order a replacement and install it, solving the issue. Again this is one of those cars that the internet has made much easier to keep healthy at a reasonable cost!
For me, a big part of the appeal was just looking at it. Somehow I never get tired of this design. The way the headlights look upright and alert, the small dainty hood that is hinged at the front and the huge flat trunk lid that I believe is actually larger than the hood all just look right. For me it was very much a fair-weather car, I would drive it down the hill to work and back on nice summer days and pick up my daughter from school in it.
Around the time our second child was born I decided it was time to move on. I advertised it on Craigslist and the man who bought it was much like me, he’d always liked them and it was very much an impulse buy to satisfy an itch he’d had for a long time.
Alfas are great cars, very interesting but very misunderstood, especially in the U.S. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with them that makes them bad cars, (to the contrary) it is more a problem with the typical owner.
You are a braver man than I; I’ll stick with my old Toyotas. Would love to drive one though. Good story.
Excellent! I was hoping someone would do a write-up on an Alfa Spider. The odd position of the shifter on these has always intrigued me. It looks like you’d have to be jammed up against the steering wheel in order to shift gears. I’ll have to get behind the wheel of one some day and see for myself about that. Besides, one must earn Jezzer Clarkson’s approval!
Surprisingly the shifter works great when you’re driving it, feels totally natural. For sure you need to try one.
One of my great lost chances: Back in 2009 I finally decided to get myself a sports car and started looking for an NA Miata. On the ride home from work one evening, I drive past the residence of a local guy who has a very good reputation for fixing and flipping 911’s to see a bright red 924S on the ‘lot’ (side yard). I was curious, decided to take a test drive. End of second test drive (the first, I was gentle with the car, he immediately suggested I re-run the route and this time put the foot in) and goodbye Miata.
Sitting in his garage was an identical Spider, about 95% complete and about to go on the block. It would have cost me an addition couple of grand over the 924, and it was a roadster (something I gave up with the Porsche), but it was so tempting. Once again, though, I chickened out and stayed with the German. Which rewarded me wonderfully over the next three years.
The Alfa Romeo Spider/Graduate may be, along with the W123 Mercedes 300D Turbodiesel, one of the only imported cars to achieve The ’57 Chevy Effect – being more numerous decades later than they were when new. The survival rate of these cars and the care that they get from owners must be sky-high, since they never sold in large numbers but are frequently seen, and are usually in very good condition. It is a testament to the enthusiasm that enthusiasts have for these cars.
My mom had a 69 that we fixed up the body, she had it for over 10yrs (mid 80s on). It was really a reliable car & boy the mechanical sounds that it made while shifting through the gears, it was great.
I remember there was a lever under the hood that switched the mechanical fuel injection to winter mode. It always started in the Mi. winters. Great engineering, wonderful engine & trans.
Jim,
Do you remember the so-called “Commemorative Edition” Spiders that Alfa built to recognize the end of the model’s production in 1993? They were badged and titled as 1994 models but all of them were actually built in April and May of 1993.
One of my English teachers from middle school has a ’93 Spider Veloce that he bought new in the summer of ’92 as a 50th-birthday present to himself. I was home in Vermont last summer and noticed that he still has the car. In 20+ years he has driven it just 50k miles – he doesn’t like to take it long distances anymore because he fears that it will break down somewhere. As of late August it had been laid up for a few weeks because it needed a catalytic converter and some electrical issues taken care of.
My takeaway – if you want a fun roadster, get a Miata. If you want to have a relationship with a fun roadster, get an Alfa. Alas, not that many people want relationships with their cars. I have always kind of liked these too, but have never had any firsthand experience. You are certainly right about the internet – with all of the info available these days, the need for the experienced Italian mechanic has probably been decreased by about 95%.
I had both, first an Alfa and then a Miata. Both were great fun, got to know a mechanic well with the Alfa (though not too well), the Miata, only oil changes…. Both are great ideas if they fit your life (though the Alfa is actually “roomier “).
Interesting car choice Jim! I’m not that familiar with these, but my former neighbors bought a dark red Spider as a 3rd car after their wine shop took off. A very distinctive front end.
You know I agree with you, I prefer the late 80s styling on this car to the earlier models as well. Maybe because I was starting to drive in the 80s, maybe it was Fletch’s influence (I have never seen The Graduate, before my time), but I have always thought these cars were outright gorgeous.
I occasionally toy with the idea of getting one, whenever I see a really good deal on one. It would appear that for around the same amount of money you could get either a Miata or an Alfa, and while I like the Miata it just doesn’t have the same soul as the Alfa. If my wife loved the look as much as I do then I would probably get one for her, but she prefers her MR2 Spyder which accomplishes the same basic mission without both the headaches or the Italian soul.
What a beautiful car,I’d no idea they had a near 30 year production run.Thanks for a great read Jim
Here’s a more in-depth CC on the long history and evolution of the Spider: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-alfa-romeo-spider-veloce-a-work-in-progress-for-four-decades/
Thanks Paul,very interesting and some great looking cars too
Perfect, thanks Paul, sorry I didn’t link it myself.
These were the last of the classic Italian sports cars. My uncle has a 1974 Fiat Spider, a very similar car. His is a survivor and is in surprising shape. He drives it in summer all the time. They are really a lot of fun to drive and make all the requisite zoom-zoom sounds. They are light and dance very nicely because of it. Sure, modern cars make bigger numbers but they have lost a lot of the feel due to excess isolation. Oh well, progress.
I also liked your comment about the shade tree mechanics. Backyard wrenchers make real repair shops a load ‘o dough by wrenching on these kinds of cars. They don’t have the tools, manuals or know how to do it. I saw a Fiat once where the guy hadn’t put the plug wires on right because he didn’t know the firing order. Sure, you can wrench on your Stovebolt Chevy truck but an Alfa is a different kettle of fish altogether.
I would love so much to drive one of these.
When my wife graduated from college, she had a choice between the 1990 Alfa Spider and the Miata. She took the Alfa, of course.
It’s been very reliable, and with roots in the 60’s, it’s easy to fix.
The Miata is, by all metrics, a better car. But the Alfa is the one that tugs your heartstrings. On a cool night, rolling through the hills, with the moon illuminating the countryside, there’s nothing better.
Exactly, and wow! 23 years of ownership is great, would love to hear more about the ups and downs.
Nice car Jim! Oddly enough, I grew up in the ’80s and have seen The Graduate, but not Fletch, though I did see the Alfa scene once while flipping through the channels. I have seen Fletch Lives though.
I do not usually like silver but it looks perfect with that red interior.
You are missing out, Fletch is true cinematography!
“You can’t be a true petrolhead until you’ve owned an Alfa Romeo.”
Although owning one won’t necessarily make one a petrolhead. I had a friend with a red one in the 90s. He understood nothing about cars, and learned little despite constantly having to have repairs done on it. One day he was driving along, and the gas pedal got wedged down by the carpet. He pulled to the side of the road, trying unsuccessfully to pull out the carpet. It didn’t occur to him to turn off the engine. He sat there on the shoulder in a panic while the engine burned to a crisp.
In a kind of CC-effect, I saw a Duetto yesterday. Must get some photos sorted to add to the Cohort page soon!
Closest I got to owning an Alfa was 10+ years ago when I had the itch for a different car & found what looked like a nice 1972-ish GTV2000 that I passed on when the guy would not let it be taken to a nearby specialist Alfa shop for a PPI.
Clearly he knew more about the car than he wanted you to know!
Below is a picture of my true love….and my fourth Alfa Spider. This one is a 1971 – in my mind sort of a high point as it’s the first year of the Kamm tail, and with the sway bars, and the last year of the sweet quick winding 1750 engine with 132 government- unfettered horsepower. Alfas are as much fun to drive on a winding road as you can get. There are better handling cars and faster cars, but the Spider is nicely balanced and just makes you grin. Yes, yes, yes, the Miata is a better car….but….
Alfa’s really are pretty reliable; their bad reputation comes from two sources: one is confusion with Fiat’s woes, and the second from Alfa’s mysterious SPICA mechanical fuel injection. It’s a great system, but God help you if someone touches it. Alfa used the system for racing and so decided to keep all most all information about it under their collective hat. So, many SPICA cars had their fuel injection changed out for Weber carbs just as happened with Corvette Fuelies. The later cars have a Bosch system that anyone can work on. The engines themselves are pretty bulletproof- DOHC, all aluminum with steel sleeves, hemi headed, sodium filled valves, seven quarts of oil keeping everything cool and happy. The gear shift prefers to be handled deliberately but the engine is from the “Oh Daddy, beat me harder” school.
The real enemy of all Alfa’s before the 80’s is the-old-devil-RUST. Oh, God how they rust. Oddly, or obviously the Italian electrical problems stem from rust causing bad grounds. If you can find an unrusted example, everything else you need to keep you and the car happy is available these days thanks to the miracle of the internet.
Your car is absolutely gorgeous! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a burgundy over burgundy one before, it works very well. I much prefer these wheels to the earlier “finned” ones, and your description of the engine is spot on (and made me LOL too…
Still rate these as my favourite Spider/Convertible of all time, especially in red and like Jim I prefer the later , if not the last, style.
Finding one in good order isn’t easy now, and values are going up. We can get imported Californian cars, without rust but with US spec emissions equipment and LHD, but even so, it’s not going to be daily driver nay more.
But on a sunny Sunday, who cares about LHD? Probably feels better.
You’re also exactly right about Alfas being often misunderstood. A modern Alfa makes a perfectly capable (actually very capable), entertaining and practical daily car, with added exclusivity, heritage and a great image for the driver. Very much enjoying my Giulietta on that basis, and getting entertained by the engine/chassis combination as well.