By the 1970s, Alfa Romeo was government-owned and on the march toward a merger with Fiat. Its factories were limping along at roughly half-capacity. Despite this, the Spider Veloce – with origins reaching back to the 1950s – received a number of updates. The Kamm-tail refresh to the lovely Duetto arrived in 1970, and shortly thereafter, Alfa’s new 2.0 liter twin cam was available to power the car. Here on facebook Marketplace is a series 2 example, with a claimed 53,000 original miles and an asking price of $4400. The car is located in Tucson, Arizona, and we have Araknid78 to thank for the tip. The car runs and drives, and while low mileage claims need evidence in my opinion, let’s see what we can discern from the photos.
We can tick off a decent presentation underhood. I like the tidy paint at the edges of the hood opening and in the bay itself, and the fact that nothing is too grimy. Granted, there’s work in here before you waltz off to Cars ‘N Coffee, but that’s part of the joy, right? This engine is that 2.0-liter twin cam four that we mentioned, equipped with single-butterfly manifold SPICA fuel injection and good for 110 hp. A five-speed manual, all ’round disc brakes, and a suspension neither too harsh nor too soft helped the second-generation Alfa Spider sell fairly well. Still, when the third-gen version arrived – with Bosch fuel injection and a couple more ponies – the upgrade made orphans of the ’80 and ’81 cars.
The Spider Veloce interior was redrawn to include two prominent gauge binnacles. The pedals were now hinged from the top rather than the floor, and the door panels received map pockets. The center console was now a fixture of the Spider Veloce; in first-gen cars, only the 1750 Spider enjoyed that feature. This interior is faded, a few bits have gone missing from the center console, and the carpet over the dash hints at damage. Then we have the Jaeger speedometer – its reach only extends to 85 mph. For a sports car from the 1980s, that’s a disappointment.
Finally, we have the exterior where the owner has changed the rear bumper from stock. No one loves the rubber bumpers, but the new owner will have to decide what he thinks of this option. No mention is made of rust and the photos don’t provide enough detail to tell, so I’d say a trim to Tucson is in order. The typical ’80 Spider Veloce sells in a range from mid-four-figures for a ratty, modified example up past $20k for very nice cars. So if this little car can pass muster on a visual inspection, the price is right.
Love to hear from anyone w some seat time in one of these. Always wanted to drive one. Nice looking cars. 🇮🇹
Michelle, you asked me some time ago avout “Bucket list” cars I’d like to drive….. I think this is one that on BOTH mine and Stans list!!!! I’d love to run this thing through the gears!!! Very nice.
Great choice! Personally I’d probably go for one from the Bosch fuel injection years, but what a lot of car for the money!
I have this car but it’s a 1989 with the Bosch FI. I have redone a number of items on mine (new top, new leather upholstery, new carpet, new clutch and hydraulics, new exhaust, heater blower replacement, floor pan replacement, door cards, gear shift bushings, wiring renewal, leather shift boot, new speakers). Mine looked very clean when I bought it with 103K miles for $2300. I’ve driven it a bit and I’ll soon replace the tires and maybe do some front end work. After that I’m going to look to sell it. It has modern conveniences (power windows, power mirrors, A/C, 4 wheel discs, leather).
So, to your question about seat time….I always wanted one because they looked cool. Engine sounds nice, brakes work great. But…it’s not all that fun to drive. It doesn’t handle really well in its stock form (perhaps it’s just that I need to do some work on the suspension?). It’s not particularly quick or responsive. The heater and separate A/C system is quirky to get working properly. It’s definitely cute looking and sporty looking, but in this case, or at least in my car’s case, it’s a book and cover type of thing. I much prefer driving my 2006 Miata, or 1990 XJS, or 1984 RX7 GSL.
If it’s as good as it sounds,that’s a great deal.
When I had my TR6,a friend of mine who owned a
small car lot had one of these,only it was Black. I
kept eyeing it until I asked him if I could drive it,&
he let me.
There’s a sharp corner that I could take at speed
in the TR6,but when I tried to do the same in the Alfa,
the back end started to come around (oversteer).It
took about three tries,but I was able to straighten it out,
& was quite pleased with my driving ability,but the guy
in the K car ahead of me surely wasn’t.
That car got more admiring looks from people than
I was used to.A real sports car.
Right on anglia. That k-car was jealous of the traditional rwd layout 😉 👍🏁
How is it possible for the owner to incorrectly spell BOTH Alfa and Romeo (“Alpha Romero”)? Truly irritating every time I see this. Looks like they did get it right in the title, but somehow lost it in the ad text. Also, the front bumper has also been modified with black pipe just like the rear.
I think the reason the ad copy is wrong but the title is right is because facebook gives you categories already spelled correctly in a “check the box” format for the title, so it’s hard to get that wrong. I could be wrong, but that’s my guess at the explanation. Thanks on the front bumper, I suspected that.
I am the proud new owner of a Duetto as of May; my first Alfa. It catches a lot of eyeballs and I would say it’s about 50/50 between those that identify it correctly, and those who say, “Romero”.
That front bumper mod is interesting. The US 5-mph bumpers from ’75-82 were just a continuous, flat rubber blade with the Alfa Romeo badge embedded in the center, obscuring Alfa’s signature chrome heart-shaped “shield” in the front valence, which only remained as upper and lower segments of vestigial chrome outline barely visible behind the bumper.
Here, aside from the black pipe segments replacing the left and right ends of the rubber blade, there’s also a chrome center piece completing the middle portion of the shield, carrying the badge, and on closeup appears to have an Alfa Romeo script molded into the bottom edge. I don’t recognize that center piece from any other Alfa, so I suspect that piece, along with the nicely-curved pipe segments, may have been a period aftermarket kit to replace the stock rubber blade.
And I’m sure that it has “disk breaks”.
The 85mph speedometer was, like the ugly bumpers, a government imposition. The law lasted only from ’79-’81. Mine was a ’74 European market car. It wasn’t fast, but I did coax it up to 200kph (indicated) on the A8 once. As a Euro car it had dual Webers, plexiglas headlight covers and slim bumpers. Unfortunately it was totaled by some idiot wanna-be rally driver kid in his Simca who ran a red light. I really liked it but liked the GTV that replaced it better. My current Alfa is another 105 series GTV, also converted to Webers.
A slight quibble with the speedometer comment. All of the fun with this style of car happens below 45 mph. Anything above 85 is stupid fast.
All cars produced for the US market circa 1980 had a maximum speedometer value of 85mph. Some genius at DOT thought if that’s all there was on the gauge that no one would exceed 85 …?
Uh, no. I had a Porsche 928 with an 85mph speedo (!) and had to have a friend drive 140 with me so I could know its top speed. Yes, two cars going way too fast is much safer than a realistic speedo!
I had a ’79 Fiesta,& the needle would just continue
past the 85.
very nice. thanks for featuring it