re: Newbie needs info on Spider (long)

[Hal Taylor <taylor@domain.elided>]

Ken,

1. Alfa's last year in the US was '95, and I believe the last spiders
were
'94 model year.

2. My guess is that 10-12k should buy a clean '91-94 spider (assuming,
from
your line of questions, that you'd be looking for the newest possible).
I
list that range of years because they are all the same body style,
revamped
in '91 from the '86-90 cars.  A clean, low mileage '93 or '94 might
price out
of that range, but you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a good
'91-93.  This probably varies, to some extent, with region.

3. As for rust, well, if the car has been well-maintained, it shouldn't
be a
major problem at this point.  You don't say where you live, which really

factors in to a couple of your questions.  Climb underneath the car and
look
for rust.  Check especially the rocker panels, spare tire well and wheel

wells.  If it's not rusty yet, you should be able to keep it from
becoming
rusty.  But I wouldn't drive it on recently salted roads, personally.
This
is not to say that late-model Alfas are especially prone to rust, but
salt
eats cars.  And don't kid yourself that a spider is a great winter car.

4. Initially, look at a spider the way you would look at any car.  Make
sure
the body is in good shape and that it's overall condition is acceptable
to
you, in general terms.  It should start easily and run well.  Watch out
for
2nd gears synchros, which are a notorious problem, and tend to wear,
causing
some grinding if shifted hard and fast.  Alfa owners learn how to shift
their
cars...  But if you're in a position of asking what to look for, then I
would
DEFINATELY find an Alfa-specialist mechanic and have any potential
purchase
checked out professionally.

5. My spider is my daily driver, for a 27 mile (each way) commute.  I
would
say that it's reliability has been well above average.  It HAS needed
some
work, and hasn't been "dirt-cheap" to maintain, but it always starts
(well,
except twice: once, a bad connection at the battery terminal let the
battery
run too low, and recently I had a head gasket failure shortly after an
engine
rebuild.  Both flukes, and not something you should worry about).
However, I
live in Southern California.  It doesn't rain much, and doesn't get THAT
cold
(I had the top down last week, in late December).  The spider is also
noisy, and
tight on space when I have to pick up somebody at the airport (a
suitcase or
two is ok, but there isn't an excess of luggage space in a spider).

6. The Milano is a VERY different car.  Yeah, they're both Alfas, and
both
have that "specialness", but really, how can you compare a small, open 2

seater to a 4 door sedan?  The Milano Verde seems like a great car, and
I
love to get one (I've actually been thinking about it - Ted, are you
listening?).  I sometimes get tired of the spider's noisiness (it's
charming
on a windy road, but on the freeway, day in, day out, it's less
appropriate.
Depends on what kind of driving you do, and what kind of person you
are).
Also, I think my new top might let in a little water around the windows
in
the rain (although the old one didn't).  And it would be nice to drive a

couple of coworkers to lunch, once in a while.  So, I'd say, get one of
each.  In fact, depending on where you are, you can probably find a nice

spider and a nice Milano for about $12k.

7.  As for resources, let me first recommend print: Joe Benson's
Illustrated
Alfa Rome Buyer's Guide and Pat Braden's Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible got me

started, and I'd recommend them highly.  As for the web, many of the
Alfa
clubs have web sites, and there are quite a few good individual sites.
Try:

Overhead Cams: http://www.speedquest.com/ara/TOC/Cams/

Scott's spider site:
http://www.delanet.com/~sents/cgi-bin/ecsw.cgi?form_action=view_all_records

Willie's (european) spider site: http://hem.passagen.se/veloce/buy1.htm

Don't remember who's this is:
http://members.aol.com/AlfaSpyder/advice_index.html

The Alfa web ring has abunch of stuff:
http://www.giulietta.com/webring/webring.html

That should keep you busy for a while.

Good luck.

Hal Taylor
'86 spider veloce "Strega"
Venice, Ca

Ken Ross wrote:

> I am new to Alfa's and I am thinking of purchasing a spider
convertible as
> my first Alfa.  Would someone be so kind as to answer the following
> questions:
>
> 1. What was the last model year sold in the USA.
> 2. What can I get for around $10K-$12K
> 3. Is rust a major problem?
> 4. What should I look for in purchasing a spider
> 5. Is the spider a good daily driver.
> 6. Someone recommended a Milano Verde instead of the Spider as a daily

> driver; is this true?
> 7. Any good websites on the Spidyer?
>
> TIA.
> Take care,
>
> Ken Ross
> Kdross@domain.elided

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