1971 Alfa Romeo Spider

Convertible

4 - Cyl.

Manual

AR1486393

Gasoline

1971 Alfa Romeo Spider - Honest, Driver Quality Car Description 1971 Alfa Romeo Spider - Black with black / brown interior, tan top. This has been a solid, fast and fun evening and weekend roadster. It's great fun to drive, sounds great and elicits smiles and waves wherever it goes. I've put 15 - 20 miles on it almost every night after work this Summer, going nowhere in particular, just driving. 69,274 miles, odometer works, but who really knows? I can't imagine it's got 169k. I will probably put some miles on it during the course of this auction. I'm a car guy, through and through, check out my eBay "About Me" page to see what I'm all about. This is my personal car, clean, clear title in hand. Call me (651) 216-1265 is my mobile, if you have any questions or want to schedule a test drive, I'm in the Minneapolis area (St. Louis Park). Cosmetically it's a 10 footer. It was originally a green car, the sort of slightly lighter than British Racing Green color you see on Spiders, GTVs and even Berlinas of this vintage. It was painted over in its current black at some point, a paint job of questionable quality to be sure. It has scratches, dings, and dents. You can see swaths of green in the engine bay and little chips and flakes of green here and there if you look closely in the nooks and crannies. The top is relatively new and in excellent condition, completely clear back window, etc., receipt for the new tan top is scanned along with the 90+ photos included below, it was installed almost exactly 5 years ago. There is very little rust on the car, it's well documented in the photos below, but it's still a solid car. A bit of rust in front of the passenger's side rear wheel well and a little bubbling beginning behind the drivers rear wheel well. There are also some bubbles forming on the leading edge of the hood. The photos clearly show the rocker panels and all of the original body seams on the rockers, proving that the car wasn't all rusted out under the doors and along the bottom of the sides before the repaint, and slathered over with bondo and re-done. The original body seams are all there, showing that the metal has always been intact. There are no holes in the floors or anything like that, it's been a Midwest car for as long as I can tell, but clearly loved and maintained. The guy I got it from purchased it from a local doctor in Iowa about 3 years ago. The doctor had the car repainted, he put the new top on, he had the engine rebuilt. I never removed the University of Iowa Hospital stickers on the car, they're still on there from the late 80s. That makes me at least the third owner, but I'm probably the fourth or fifth, I don't know. Driver's seat bottom was redone at some point, it is ready to be redone again, it's ripped at the seam. The passenger's seat has a small hole towards the back of the seat bottom as well. Mechanically, the engine is very strong. See the receipts below... 10 years ago there was a well documented engine rebuild to the tune of almost $2,000. All new KYB shocks, tie rods and ball joints in 2005 (at about 63,000 miles)New brake calipers and pads in 2006 New clutch master cylinder in 2008I put a new clutch slave cylinder in it last Fall, 2010New fuel pump and a whole fuel system clean out, flush, filters, etc. this Spring, 2011SCANNED RECEIPTS FOR THIS AND MORE BELOW 5 speed manual transmission, it does have the typical crunchy second gear synchro, I just double clutch to avoid grinding. The rest of the gears are fine. The car hums right along, even at 65+mph on the highway. The thing that really sealed the deal for me when buying it were the dual Weber carburetors and just how smooth and quick it is. I know, these days it's poor form to take off the SPICA and put on Webers, from a pure collector's point of view, but the Webers were on there when I got the car and have been great. This is a fun driver to be enjoyed, drive it and don't look back! The exhaust sounds great, you can' help but blip the throttle through tunnels and under over passes. The ignition is tied to a button that's hidden under the steering column, old school theft deterrent. You just turn the key and push this hidden button and the engine barks to life. The ignition key does not operate the door locks. The doors don't lock with the key. I've never locked it and I've never been too worried about someone driving off with the car, they probably couldn't start it anyway. I have one key for the car and it's the ignition key. Fuel gauge doesn't work. There is no cigarette lighter, the radio is ancient and not very good, I've only turned it on once. If a 'great sound system' is something you're looking for in a 40 year old Alfa, I'm not sure I can help you. How this car came to be in my possession: I acquired this car about a year ago. I didn't go looking for it, it found me... I was working at a new Mercedes-Benz dealership. A guy drove the Alfa from Iowa up to Minneapolis to trade it in on a used car. He got to the dealership, the used car manager called me down from my office (I was the resident 'old car guy') to look at "the old car in the parking lot". They didn't know what it was beyond an old "Alpha Romero", what it was worth, nothing, they just knew it was old and had a manual transmission. Long story short, the dealership didn't want it... this particular Mercedes dealership doesn't even deal in 10 year old cars much less 40 year old cars... not even to wholesale, they straight up the told the guy, thanks, but no thanks. Of course he was deflated... He talked me in to at least driving it. He had just driven it 2 1/2 hours on the highway from Iowa to Minneapolis... that was enough for me. The next thing I know, I'm running out to the bank to basically empty my savings account. I ended up buying the car from him myself... didn't call to consult my wife, I just bought it. It has been great fun over the past year, driving it last Fall and through this Spring and Summer, but it's on to the next thing for me. Why I'm selling: I am active in the local Mercedes-Benz Club and I need to put a vintage Mercedes in the garage again. I had just sold my old Benz a few weeks before this car came along, and I'm on a strict "one fun car at a time" rule, so, the Alfa is on the auction block. I don't want to put up with the eye rolling I get from the Mercedes Club folks when I pull up at club events in the Alfa any longer. I'm looking for more of a long distance highway cruiser really, and it will be a Mercedes-Benz. The smiles and waves this car garners always amazes me, I mean, in the sports car world, it's just an Alfa Spider, one of the cleanest best looking iterations of the Kamm tail Spider, yes, and relatively exotic compared to its British contemporaries, but I'm still amazed how many people at red lights or at gas stations ask what it is. Call Me with questions, if you want any more specific information, or if you want to schedule a time to come see the car. My name is DAVE, my mobile phone is (651) 216-1265. DO NOT call and ask me something like "Will this car make it to Chicago if I fly to Minneapolis to pick it up?" It probably would make it to Chicago, if you took the two days to drive the back roads, but who knows?. I always say: "Old cars are like hand grenades without pins, they're all going to blow up sometime." Car is for sale locally and the auction can be ended at anytime. Call me if you're serious about the car and want to set up a "Buy It Now" price through eBay. I'm happy to do that for the right buyer. See my other listings for more great items! 1970, very early Kamm tail car. Small, chrome bumpers. I put new MN license plate tabs on the car recently, after I took these photos, the new tabs expire in August of 2012. Original Alfa Romeo hub caps on steel wheels. Dent right above grille. Dent on nose in front of driver's side headlight. Top is in excellent condition and fits well. Close up of dent. Some bubbling beginning on leading edge of hood. Original green paint can be seen between chrome bumper and tail light. Clear back window, no yellowing, not dry or cracked. Driver's seat bottom was redone at some point, it's ripped and ready for a re-upholster agin. Classic style wheel and dash. Seat belts probably won't do much but keep your dead body in the car in the event of a bad accident. Classic. Cracks around vents on the dash. Rebuilt ten years ago, see service receipts and records below. It's not "Iniezione" anymore... dual Webers (40 DCOE) provide air and fuel. Original green paint remnants in engine bay. Wind shield is clean and clear, no chips or cracks there. Fill up often, gas gauge is inop. Pininfarina logo. Light rust bubbling beginning. The worst of the rust, behind passenger's door. Notice, original body seams... never a rusted out hulk that had bondo slathered over. Most recent service work was a complete fuel system flush w/ new pump. It was sputtering, now it purrs like a kitten in a creamery. My friends at Lake Country Classics put a clutch slave in it. I bought the clutch parts from International Auto Parts. It got a master cylinder in 2008. Receipt for new top install. Brakes and suspension. More suspension. Lots of engine work. Payment Immediate $500 Paypal deposit required after auction. Balance to be paid in full within 7 days of auction end. Cash is good. Shipping Car is sold FOB Minneapolis, MN, buyer is responsible for shipping. I work with several auto transport companies through my daily job, I can refer you to one that I have used in the past if you're interested. You will arrange and pay for shipping. txzj pxzj229 txzj-4 txzj1