Gordy's Spider

["Jon Inge" <joninge@domain.elided>]

Uh-oh, Gordy: sounds like you're getting hooked on Spiders again!  Just in
time for winter, too...or have you decided you simply MUST have a Spider for
the forthcoming Wine Tour?

You ask:

1) Why are the dash lights so dim in an '86 Spider? (I've already checked
the knurled knob knear my right knee.)
    You gotta be kidding, man - an electrical problem on an Alfa?  Prime
suspects would have to be the fuses and the grounds; a good clean-up and a
dab of dielectric grease should fix it.

2) How much trouble is it to replace the heater valve so I get warm when I
put the "heat" in the "on" position?
    Are you sure the valve is shot?  My 86 Spider heater refused to give off
any warmth for a few weeks after I got it, but re-bleeding the system (and,
coincidentally, fixing the driver's door window mechanism) produced the
required effect, to the extent that I have to turn down the heat a bit to
avoid cooking my feet even with the top down in winter.  And the heater fan
on mine doesn't work.  My understanding is that replacing the heater valve
on an a/c Spider takes the same length of time as replacing the heater fan -
IOW, a royal PITA of a job, minimum three hours to get to it, three hours to
re-assemble.  Which is WHY the heater fan on mine still doesn't work - no
need, as long as I carry a towel to wipe off the interior windows in
slow-moving traffic in the rain.

3) How much is an '86 Spider with 108K on the clock worth in your part of
the
US?
    How rusty?  Good/bad paint?  Mechanical condition?  Interior?  Could be
anything from $3k to $8k, I guess.

4) What would you do if the AC didn't work? Replace the cooldown stuff, or
disconnect the power-robber?
    Depends on why it didn't work, but personally I'd disconnect and
probably remove the heavy bits, storing them in case I ever sold it to
someone in a warmer climate, though I'd wonder about some parts
deteriorating in storage.  If the a/c's terminally shot and you're going to
dive in under the dash for the heater valve, may as well do this, too.  The
number of times I've actually switched on the a/c on my 86 in the last year
can be counted on one hand, and that was just to make sure it still worked,
not for any personal cooling benefit.

5) If the radiator/fan shroud is broken anyway, should I replace it, or just
pull the radiator, install an electric pusher fan, and be happy with the
additional power?
    Go electric if you pull the a/c; there's no room for a pusher electric
fan if you still have the a/c radiator in front of the engine one.
Otherwise, stay stock.  Or, if you do find out how to go electric with the
a/c radiator still in place, let me know!

6) Any other suggestions for INEXPENSIVE things I can do to this car to make
it go faster easily?
    Pass.

Good luck!

Jon
'86 Spider Veloce
'91 164
Edmonds, WA

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