It’s time to play my favorite game of what got donated this week in California. This time, it’s a 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider, which is perhaps the only version of a classic Alfa model that you will see unceremoniously dumped at the donation lot. The shame of this one is that it is a fairly rare color that I believe is known as Foglia Green, which has to be one of the best shades offered on an Alfa Romeo. When almost every Spider is red, white, or black, it makes it just a little more tragic that it ended up in this condition. Find the Alfa offered here on eBay with no reserve and bids to just $1,056 at the moment.
Making this even more tragic is the old-school California license plate. This tells you that this poor Alfa has been baking in the California sunshine for quite some time, waiting to be rescued. Now, here it is, with its paint burnt off the hood and doors, but incredibly, the soft top doesn’t appear to be destroyed. The funny thing about California is there’s no sense of an old sports car being worth saving if you’re not a car person; it’s just an old car. The same thing goes for the Pacific Northwest where a car like this would be used as an around-town beater. The luggage rack on the trunk is wholly appropriate for an roadster, and unlike old Alfas in the northeast, the holes made from mounting it haven’t led to rust attacking the lid.
As per usual, the photos are average; the interior is a bit tired, and I’m sure up close you’ll see even more flaws from cracked plastics and dry leather. The good news about the Alfa Spider is there’s still a ton of parts available for it, and spares are generally not expensive. The good news about a car that has never gone through some major uptick in value is parts remain cheap and spares don’t get snatched up. I’ll bet you can replace this interior for $500, and there are plenty of rusty Spiders in salvage yards in the rust and snow belts that don’t have a single decent body panel to offer but minty interiors.
The Alfa Spider is not powerful – it’s more of what you’d call a momentum car, I suppose – but it has enough. 116 horsepower isn’t much, but that shifter sticking out of the dash makes it feel more sporting than it actually is. The one downside I’ve found is it doesn’t offer much in the “visceral thrills” category, unlike the GTV6 or the Busso-equipped Milano. With plenty of used engines out there, this is a low risk project if it turns out to be DOA – and the rare color scheme makes it even more compelling as a summertime rescue project.
Such neat cars, but by golly, I just can’t get past a green Alfa. Like seeing a red MGB, just isn’t right. 312 “viewers” and 24 bids and still a grand, man, that’s another harbinger of things to come, sadly.
Any auction on the site selling this car should not be used to gauge the market. It’s a charity that sells donated cars, it’s a dumping ground for people wanting to get rid a car often while clearing an estate, this car doesn’t run, needs paint and interior work, it also has 2+ days of bidding left. As with most auctions, serious bidders usually become active right before it ends, it would be surprising if the bidding doesn’t go significantly higher.
Steve R
A donated Italian sports car. What could go wrong?
Sorry, but there is a hell of a visceral feel in driving an Alfa Spider. They were known for that when they were introduced. The earlier models up to 1986 were great, and I have a 71 1750 Spider that is really “visceral”. I have also owned 911’s, two XKE’s, TR6, and they are all different but the Spider and 911 are really tossable. Of course, each to their own.
This looks like it might be a rust-free Alfa Spider, although the place to look is under the front carpets at the floorboards. Typically the cowl drain hoses at this point (118K+) miles are dried and cracked causing water to leak onto the floor. In addition, the heater fan is often rusted due to water invasion with no place for it to go. This car was originally red (as per the engine compartment) so the green is a repaint. The spoilers were black and this one is green. We don’t see inside the trunk beneath the spare tire, another point of rust typically. No undercarriage shots, so we can’t really see the rockers. Dashboard has the typical single crack (can be filled to mostly hide it). The seats and carpets appear to be in remarkably good condition. The top looks tight other than the clouding of the rear window. The radio has been removed and the power window buttons have been moved. It may be an A/C car as the knob for it appears (can’t tell from the limited engine pictures with a compressor sitting low on the right side). There is a separate A/C fan from the heater fan and a separate set of switches and temperature controls. The right door card looks kind of wonky. The bid is now below $1000. If it weren’t so far away, I’d want a closer look and if it really is rust free, these are easy cars to work on (other than the usual Italian electrical gremlins). It’s clear that they took their lessons from Joseph Lucas, prince of darkness.
sold 1500
Not powerful but like the Fiat X1/9 and British roadsters they’re pretty lightweight and corner on a dime. Find a twisty road in the country and you’ll feel like you’re going 200mph.
Located in: Orange, California
Item sold on Fri, Jun 13
US $1,510.00
33 bids