1987 Alfa Romeo Spider

Convertible

fuel injected

Manual

ZARBA5567H1052348

Clear

Gasoline

I just purchased this car from the second owner in California and drove it to Salt Lake City, Utah. I bought the car for my son who is no longer able to drive. The car had the coil go out on the way and it has been replaced with a new one. The seller said he had the components checked, but the coil problem was overlooked, which could have been easily avoided. Other than that it is a very nice car. I had it thoroughly inspected by a good Alfa mechanic and it should have no further issues as far as he could see. The paint on this car was professionally done and is beautiful with only a few small rock chips in the front due to normal driving and the paint being a couple of years old. It would cost at least $4,000 to duplicate this paint job. This car is absolutely rust free. I had the transaxle serviced, coil and coil wire replaced, and the brakes adjusted after getting back to Salt Lake due to the unforseen issues. The car was road tested and is in great drivable condition. This car is now esentially a completely restored vehicle, with just about every part new or with about 25,000 miles on the components, including the the engine. I have been in the resoration business for many years and this car is one of the best Alfa's I have ever found, including cars with around 30,000 miles. The Quadrifoglio is the top line of the spiders and the book value is over $12,000 for this one. For an Alfa enthusiast this would be a treasure and one to keep. The following is the ad from the second owner, which I based my purchase on; after the work I had done to the car, it is now a very accurate description: I purchased the car in 2003, and I am the second owner. When I bought it, it had just been through an engine rebuild, and the engine has about 25,000 on it since. Runs very strong, no major leaks or drama. Being a garaged CA car it's whole life, it has NO rust. The chassis has around 150k on it, but as you'll see below pretty much everything that can wear out on these cars has been replaced/restored. It runs & drives like a well maintained, low mileage spider. Transmission shifts smooth--no 2nd gear crunch unless you really try to make it happen. I use Redline NS in both the differential and transmission. Driveshaft was rebuilt and balanced, with new flex joints. It has IAP headers, along with a custom Stebro stainless steel exhaust. Not cheap, but very durable and has a great throaty sound. Suspension bushings have been replaced, where appropriate, with polyurethane bushings. Springs have also been replaced with centerline 'yellow' springs. This makes the car a bit rough on bad roads, but fine for our southern california back roads. If you live in an area with rough roads, you might consider switching back to stock springs. Other ancillary suspension components were replaced also, such as the suspension limit straps. The steering box was replaced just last summer with a good working used unit. Ball joints and such were also replaced at that time. Steering is good--as good as you'll find on any Spider. Clutch and brake masters, and clutch slave, have all been rebuilt or replaced. The clutch pivot shaft has also been replaced with the strengthened version, so the next owner shouldn't have any future worries about that common Alfa affliction. It also has stainless steel braided lines, for a very solid brake pedal feel. In addition to the headers, I have also converted to an electric fan. This works well--I'm not sure of the power gain (it seems small), but it is really nice to hear the engine wind up without all that racket from the mechanical fan. In the interest of full disclosure, there is one caveat to the electric fan setup--if you're sitting in 100F+ temps at idle (such as a long traffic jam on a very hot summer day), the fan isn't quite strong enough--the temp gauge will start to climb slowly. The fans are wired to stay on after the ignition is shut down, so a quick break will get things back in order. I've never seen this happen on any other occasion, even climbing a mountain road enthusiastically, so most likely no one else will ever run into it either. You can see in the pics that some of the hoses have been replaced with GG's silicone kit. I have the rest of the hoses, but I never got around to replacing them, as the original hoses still look good. Other than that, the engine is stock. The car was painted a slightly lighter shade of sliver, with pearl effect, in 2006. It looks pretty good still--a few rock chips and whatnot, and one larger scratch on the wheel well. Otherwise it still shines. The rear spoiler was also replaced when the car was painted, and it was one of the last NOS anyone had. I still have the old one, just in case of an accident. It doesn't look bad, per say--just a little faded. Tires have plenty of tread, and are Potenza S02's. Very sticky. The interior has had a lot of work as well. The seats were re-covered in 2008. They look and feel brand new still. For rainy days, there is a top-end Blaupunkt CD-stereo in the dash, along with Infinity speakers and an Eclipse amp (I think it's 50W per channel..can't remember for sure). There is an Infinity powered sub in the trunk. The car is also wired with a satellite (XM) radio antenna hooked directly into the tuner. The gauge cluster has been completely rebuilt. All gauges work and read accurately (!!!!). No, this wasn't cheap. The lights were replaced with 2.2W bulbs (from the old 1.7W), so the cluster is a bit brighter and easier to read at night. I still have the map light that plugs into the glovebox. I never tried making it work, but all the parts are there. There is a crack in the dash (a common issue with so-cal cars). I have a carpeted mat to cover, and it is not glued down--so it can be removed if one so desires. I always meant to tear the dash out and rebuild it, but the thought of keeping all the wiring straight scared the hell out of me, so I never did. It's probably the most annoying cosmetic aspect of the car. The top was replaced in 2008. It is a real OEM cloth top ordered from Europe, NOT an aftermarket replacement top. The rear window is still very clear, and it raises and lowers normally, without binding, and it does not leak even a drop in heavy rain. The passenger side window regulator was also replaced, and works smoothly. The drivers side is original and still works normally. A/C works--the compressor was replaced with a new unit in 2009, and converted to R134. It needs a charge, since it's been sitting all winter, but will blow cold (as cold as Spider A/C systems ever do, that is). I'm sure I'm missing some other items---if you have questions, please let me know. I have a shoe-box full of documentation and receipts for the work done/parts bought. If I didn't do it myself, Stewart at APC did. The last few years, it was mostly the guys at APC.