For nearly as long as I’ve loved cars, I’ve been a fan of Italian sports cars. There is just something about them that gets my heart pounding. I’ve never been able to fully understand why I like them so much. Perhaps it is their styling, their flair, or maybe it is something else altogether that makes them captivating? While I might love them, I have learned one thing about buying an Italian car. That one simple fact is that there is rarely a true bargain Italian. Most are becoming extremely costly to buy and nearly all are expensive to repair and restore. When Jim S tipped us off to a bargain Alfa Romeo I had my doubts about how much of a bargain it really is, as a matter of fact I still do. The seller of this 1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta is asking just $320 for it here on eBay, but is it really a bargain or a money pit waiting to be filled with hard earned cash?
Call me crazy, but I actually like the late ’70s Alfetta. Sure it doesn’t have the fantastic styling of the GTV, but the quirky looks and advanced mechanical systems only add to the mystique and character. The twin cam four offers plenty of power and the near perfect weight balance, as a result of using a transaxle, makes the Alfetta a fun little car to toss around. The seller didn’t state which engine this one has in it and could be a 1.6, 1.8, or 2.0 liter. The engine looks complete, with the SPICA fuel injection system still attached. This mechanical fuel injection system can be notoriously difficult to keep working properly, but when it works it works brilliantly. After being parked for 24 years, it will be a challenge to just get the fuel injection working again and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Repairing and restoring all that advanced Italian technology is going to get expensive.
The interior looks to also be complete, but has seen better days. This wasn’t the most attractive interior to begin with, but it was definitely interesting and unique. The gauge placement is especially unusual, but was meant to give a sporting feel. The only gauge deemed important enough to be placed directly in front of the driver is the tachometer. All other gauges are placed in the center of the dash, where they are out of the way. Little details and quirky features like this are what make me like Italian cars so much. They aren’t all that practical and sometimes are downright frustrating, but at the end of the day all of these idiosyncrasies add up to give the car more character. While the condition might not be great, I see more than a few parts here that could be saved.
This car is best described as a parts car, although it is difficult to fully judge the car’s condition from these poor quality images. Restoring it isn’t going to be impossible, just impractical. There are just so many unknowns that make this a difficult sell. However, I have no doubt that there is more than $300 worth of parts here, so hopefully someone will jump on it before it is scraped. After spending so much time researching and looking at this Alfetta, I have a hankering to get in some seat time with my Fiat! So would you consider this a bargain or an overpriced parts car?
I had an Alfetta hatch in College, (my first of 5 Alfa’s!), the car looked pretty nice, but the rear end had been entirely rebuilt out of bondo. The car drove pretty well, had a tendency to lean a bit much in the corners and keeping the 3 bolt cast iron header from cracking was a challenge. I had it braised back together 3 times, before I found a suitable 4 bolt replacement. Ended up trading it to Jay Nuxoll (the NW Alfa king!!) for a Spyder. Fun Fun Fun!!
Somebody got a deal, it was worth more than that for scrap.
Was going to say, I’d instantly buy it if I already owned one but…I guess someone just did!
The engine alone is worth the $320. This could be the ultimate challenge to keep running at a LeMons race!
I often wonder about cars like this if it didn’t make sense to change it over to downdraft carbs, like a pair of 32/36 DGV’s. Making it run should be possible if such a conversion exists. I see it as a beater made to run and drive safety, then used and abused properly! The fact that it made 136k miles has gotta be some kind of record for one of these cars doesn’t it? Most out here in the Midwest are so rusty they fail the softball test. That’s where the rust holes are so big a softball falls through!
There is no such thing as a bargain Alfa
I absolutely love this shape; one of Giugiaro’s finest if still underrated.
hehehe softball test.
Italian cars are sensual. Driving them is like going to bed with a beautiful, enthusiastic and skillful woman. At times, she may be a pain in the a**, but when she’s on–God is she good!
This excluded the exotics, I’ve no experience with them–cars or women.
It would be worth it just for a few hours of enjoyment. Just buy it, clean it up a little and sit innit for a couple hours. Not worth restoring, but, a great way to say you own an alfa
People used to trade Alfas for Fiats to get better reliability.
To build on the Italian women thought, some are better to just look at. Living with one is impossible.
The price was right. More than likely, just a parts car as these cars were terrible when new. 2nd gear synchro was always weak and the twin cam six was a nightmare to repair. A perfectly restored car today has a weak resale value.
the alfettas were slow they weren’t terrible the 4 banger alfettas where slow and bad with rust. second gear is always the first gear to grinding just like porsche and alfa and porsche gear boxes are very alike. what do you mean the gtv6 and millano or any v6 car is a pain to work on thats what special tools are for like you always on v6 never let the cam belt to old and break because you will bend every valve. Alfas are like most italian cars they require MAINTENANCE they are very reliable if you take care of them its not like the toyota celica of that time that was pretty much maintence free. all italian cars of that time before and after required the same amount if maintence.
I owned a 76 alfetta gt. Loved that car. It got rear ended. It resides in car heaven now.