1986 Alfa Romeo Spider

Quadrifoglio Convertible

4 - Cyl.

Manual

ZARBA5412G1040340

Gasoline

Time to put him on the market, as the 102 Roadster is pretty much ready to drive this summer. 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Quadrifoglio. appx 129,000 miles. Silver with black/gray interior and red carpet. The good and great: I bought it on Ebay from northern California. It was a "barn find", having been stored in a dark garage for 10+ years between 1995 and when I bought it in 2006. No rust at all. It didn't run, but I thought that would be easy to fix. In the end, here's what I've done to it: New battery New Bosch main fuel pump New tank pump New fuel lines Removed and cleaned fuel tank New fuel filter New rebuilt injectors New pressure regulator New cold start valve New thermo-time switch New main relay New plugs New cylinder head temp switch Replaced power wire from alternator to junction box New fuel tank filler hose New air-intake hose New tires New water pump New thermostat New plastic fan blade Radiator cleaned, checked and painted All new radiator hosesNew belt New red Koni shocks Replaced left caster-rod bushing New left tie-rod end New engine mounts New leather seat covers, professionally installed New paint less than 100 miles ago. Done by Vintage Class Motorcars, who did the body work on my 102 Roadster. They fixed all dings and scratches, so the car exterior is a 9.9 (nothing is perfect in this life, but this one's very nice). You can find my lengthy thread in the 1900/2000/2600 area to get a glimpse of the type of work VMC does. This was a top professional paint job, not just a cheap quickie to help the sale. I expected to be driving this car for a while, but my 102 restoration has been completed quicker than I expected. New door rubber seals - OEM type with fuzzy strip. 4 new speakers New electric antenna Rear seat belt suitable for child sitting in car-seat in rear area. Mounted to shoulder harness mounts, so can be easily removed. The Good: I found an unused padded Quad factory boot cover. I don't use it as it impedes the driver's seat from going fully back, and I'm 6'2". If you're shorter, it really dresses up the appearance. New aftermarket boot cover. Not as snazzy as the factory padded unit, but you can move the seat all the way back. It appears to be an original top in very dark blue, but as the car was in storage from 1995 until I bought it, the top is very very good. No tears, stains, or scuffs, and the rear window is excellent. I rarely put it up, as this car's mission is summertime fun. The car runs well, and the chassis is tight and true. Although I do not have many records prior to my purchase (I have a few), it appears to have been well maintained, and then parked when Alfa left the US. I don't know why it was parked, perhaps due to one of the failed parts I replaced? The mileage tells us that it was driven about 12,000 miles per year for 10 years, suggesting good reliable operation which comes only with regular maintenance. The interior is quite nice, particularly with the new leather seat covers. I bought black seat covers with red stitching (actually more of a graphite) rather than the original light gray, as I didn't like the look of the gray. It cost $600 to have them installed, plus the cost of the covers, as I had the cushions all steamed and re-formed, and the whole thing done by a professional upholsterer. No cracks in the dash. Power windows and mirrors work fine. All other switches, gauges, and systems work fine unless noted below. Alpine stereo/Cassette works fine. ZZ Top currently in the cassette drawer. I've got a new radio with multi-CD changer that goes with the car, but I haven't gotten around to installing it. It comes with: Factory silver Quadrifoglio hardtop. Not the original, which didn't come with the car when I bought it. I found this one on Ebay. It's pretty rough, and I've never used it, although I have mounted it to ensure fit. If I keep the car, I'll end up restoring the hardtop, which won't be hard, but I'm more interested in working on my 102. I have all of the hardware to use the top. Mucho extra parts. I'm an Ebay scrounger, and tend to buy things I don't need for the day I might need them. Thus, the car will come with a fresh clutch set (not new, but nearly-new), new-in-package Bosch main fuel pump, new in-tank pump, Cap/Rotor, various relays, transmission mount bushing, right-side tie rod end. Underside hood insulation mats that I bought but never installed. Most of a gasket set. New brass VVT mounting bushing. More stuff than I can remember. Fitted car cover with "Alfa Romeo" on the nose. What needs attention or ignoring - your choice: I removed the air conditioning compressor, condenser, electric fan, and hoses. We simply don't need AC here in northern NV, and I'm fond of less weight. I do not know if it all worked before removal, as the belt was not installed, and I didn't bother to check. I have all parts, and you can re-install if you want. Nothing was damaged prior to or during removal. AC blower fan works great. 2nd gear synchro is average and typical Alfa. Once it warms up it is scarcely noticeable, and I've long adapted my shifting to suit this unique and common Alfa demand. I would NOT consider any repairs at this time, as the trans works great otherwise, and it takes only a brief pause during cold upshifts, and very little when warm. I've got some Redline oil I plan to put in when things warm up outside, and rumors suggest this will help, but it really isn't much of a problem. Just offering "full disclosure". I have a new rear trans mount bushing that probably ought to be installed, but I haven't actually inspected the existing unit. There are no indications of problems, just that one ought to replace this piece when the motor mounts are done. I just haven't gotten around to it. Trunk carpets. They're all there and look fine, but the piece over the battery is torn along the top. Not noticeable when in place, but when you uncover the battery you can see it. Trunk is very nice. Passenger compartment carpets. No tears, or bald spots, and they have plenty of fluff, but they've got 25 years on them. A good professional cleaning might bring them up to an 8 - 9, or you could install the molded black carpet from IAP. I'm not really a fan of the red, so that's what I'd do if I was going to keep the car. The pictures make them look more pale than in real life. I can't figure out how to set the clock, or maybe the set buttons are dead, but I don't much care. When one is driving an Alfa, the world will await your arrival. Odometer broke. The car had 122k on it when I bought it, and the odo worked fine. It quit working at about 127k, and with my minimal useage that was certainly less than 1,000 miles ago. Probably an easy fix after removal of the Speedo. Speedo works fine. Tachometer works fine, but seems to be reading just slightly low. You can ignore this, or remove the tach to adjust it internally. This repair is documented on the AlfaBB.com Heater fan in-op. Switch seems to be intermittent as well, but the fan doesn't come on regardless of switch condition. I don't drive it in the cold, so haven't gotten around to fixing this relatively common problem. Valve adjustment. It's due. I have the shims, tools, and skill, and may get around to it before the car sells, or not. If you drive up and spend the night, we can do it while you're here. In short - a great car that I put far more into than makes economical sense, but I did it for fun and to have an Alfa to drive while I did the restoration on my 1959 Alfa Touring Roadster. This Quadrifoglio runs very well, and looks great, and needs nothing to enjoy. It looks new from the outside, and very nearly new-looking interior, and gets lots of turned heads. We're in Carson City, NV, near to Reno and Tahoe. I'm flexible on nearby deliveries, and happy to pick you up at the Reno airport. If you're close enough I might fly over in my small airplane and bring you to your new car. I would have no worries about driving this car anywhere. It's been sorted out, and had the expensive repair and upgrade items done. The only things to make it near-perfect are the interior carpet and engine compartment detailing. Sure, you could overhaul the engine and hop it up, but I don't think it needs an overhaul. Oil consumption is nil, although it will leave a few drops on the garage floor just to remind you it's an Alfa. Given the low oil consumption and excellent oil pressure, I expect it was overhauled somewhere in its past, but do not have documentation of this. I've got some receipts from the previous owner on work done at a well-known bay area shop. Maybe they have more history? I've skipped listing the costs for the things I've done to bring it up to snuff, as it doesn't really matter to the current market value. However, if you want a good Spider, you'll know how much you can spend on doing what I've done. This car won't suck your account dry like a lot of newly-acquired Alfas will do, and you can be proud to be seen in it from the day you get into it. I spent my early years as the parts manager for an Alfa Romeo dealership, and have owned many of them over the years. This car had been well maintained prior to my purchased, but had been parked for many years. I spent a lot of time and money on it to make it a great looking and driving car. You can enjoy it now. My only reason for selling it is that I have another (and much more historically significant) Alfa ready to drive. This car is priced far below similar cars in equal or worse condition. I have no delusions about the current state of the market. I simply want to allow this car to find a new good home before my other Alfa comes back from the upholstery shop, which will be in about 2 or 3 weeks. My reserve is set just above starting bid price because Ebay wouldn't let me set the reserve equal to the starting price. Probably the first bidder will win it, and we'll both be happy. Might take an interesting motorcycle or boat in trade. Interesting motorcycle does not include anything made in the US. Car offered for sale locally, so reserve the right to end the auction early. It can be inspected and driven at any time, but you might want to wait until there is less snow on the roads. On Feb-27-11 at 14:44:45 PST, seller added the following information: Some additional spare parts I just found: New shift boot New trunk release cable Set of spark plugs Interior door handle New part already installed Fan shroud (installed with new plastic fan blade) On Mar-03-11 at 21:14:24 PST, seller added the following information: Just bought a new bike, so probably no longer interested in considering a trade/part trade. If this head cold clears, I'll be digging into the valve adjustment this weekend. The snow is finally starting to melt, and we're not that far from drivable weekends. Remember, your bid is a commitment to buy and pay according to the terms.