Potential is everywhere in the car world if you look hard enough. Or, sometimes, you don’t have to look hard at all. The Alfa Romeo Spider remains one of the more accessible classic cars out there, with endless options for both well-tuned drivers and cheap projects. This donated Spider Veloce falls into the latter category and is listed here on eBay by our favorite car donation seller. The Alfa doesn’t run when hooked up to an external power source but it did crank over, so hopefully it’s not far off from being a runner.
Bids sit at $2,723 at the moment, which is honestly higher than I expected for a non-running Spider at the donation lot. After all, slightly over $5,000 will buy you a car that runs, but I’m guessing the color is playing a role here. The dark green paint job could be original, as a few Spiders snuck out in this color scheme, but we see it far less often than red, black, and white. Seeing the California blue plates tells us that this Alfa has resided in a hospitable climate for many years, and really, the overall condition suggests that it’s been loved despite being donated.
The interior is still quite tidy as well. The mileage is listed as being over 108,000, which isn’t exactly nothing, so seeing the clean exterior and cabin condition with driver-grade mileage indicates to us it was looked after. Really, if this was a seasonal car and it doesn’t run because it was sitting – which likely made the decision to donate it quite easy – it’s not surprising that it doesn’t run. A fuel pump may have failed or the alternator may be on its way out. Whatever the cause of it failing to ignite, it seems likely to be a simple fix.
The ’86 Spider utilizes a Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection system, which is far from exotic. The coil may be bad as well, so there’s a number of simple and cheap fixes you can throw at this Alfa to get it to fire. The 4-cylinder powerplant generates 115 bhp and 119 lb-ft of torque and is by no means a sports car, but it’s perky enough. The engine bay doesn’t look overly-clean but also doesn’t show any major signs of neglect. There are always plenty of deals at the donation dealership, but it looks like there’s enough interest in this Alfa that it will fetch a fair price.
It needs three things to run..fuel, air and spark, all in the proper timing. Easy to check one at a time, before one starts throwing parts at it. For an Italian near-exotic, these cars used to be fairly common so I imagine what parts it needs shouldn’t be too difficult to find. Just stay away from anything made under a red flag. I’d take this on myself but garage space is at a premium for me.