Buying a 74 spider and the rebuild!!!

[gwallin@domain.elided]

Terry:
I'd say.... Get the 74 Spider.  I own one and love it.  The biggest
consideration is how it runs.
The rust: Most Alfa's rust (OK depends on where you are in the country, I
live in Houston).My passenger floor had a lot of rust.  Check the wheel
wells as well)
My biggest concern would be the engine, The engine has a lot of potential.
They do lose performance as they get older, but it is a durable power plant
if it is taken care of..  I think that it safe to say a general rebuild
need to be done between 85,000 and 95000.
But the performance you can achieve is awesome to say the least.
 I am in the process of rebuilding my engine.  I did allot of research and
comparisons and talked to allot of people on the digest, and here is what I
decided upon (keep in mind I didn't wanted to keep to let the cost get out
of hand..
The car, out of the factory was 109 HP, I figured that the last time I
drove it I was about 80-90 hp. (I'll get into why in a bit.)
After I bought the car I was told the engine was rebuilt with in the last
20,000. which was true.... but going thru the repair records and I found it
was rebuilt by Firestone.
They may be good with tires and suppression but not at engine rebuilds.  My
machining showed me the cams weren't tuned , the piston were put in
backward and a few other things that weren't good.
I decided to send the SPICA to Wes Ingram and also am purchasing the Euro
cams this should boost the HP 150 hp!
The car is now up on block under going a dashboard transplant as well as
some new wiring.

All in all I would go with the spider there is nothing like screaming down
the lane (at a high rate of speed) with the wind naturally cleaning you
hair.

Glenn in Houston
74 Spider, (being reborn)



Glenn Wallin
13715 Murphy Rd
Stafford TX 77477
(281)403-8837
(281)403-4337

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