Not another bl**dy Alfa ! ... ?!!

[23e Heure]

Looks like both do have that important "hump"

[Lightweight_911]

The original 'boat-tail' version of the Spider came in essentially 4 configurations:

1966-'67 - 1600cc 'Duetto' (never an official Alfa Romeo designation)

1968-'69 - 1750 Spider Veloce

1968-'69 - 1750 Spider 'Iniezione' (USA)

1968-'69 - 1300 Spider Junior


I'd ruled out the American models which were renowned for poorer throttle response & difficulty in setting up the Spica injection equipment (plus all of the extra indicator side repeaters, etc) so that left the carburettor models.

There was little point in limiting the choice further (eg interior/exterior colours) since by far the most important consideration was the condition of the body.

Most boat-tail Spiders seem to be red anyway - often referred to as 'resale red' - there are probably at least twice as many red Alfa Spiders now as compared to how many left the Factory that way !

So the search continued ...

After sifting through many more adverts & corresponding with several owners/sellers in various parts of Europe, I'd narrowed my potential interest down to 2 cars - a Grigio Chiaro Metallizzato 1300 Junior in Switzerland & a Rosso Italia 1600 'Duetto' in Italy.

The Swiss owner however had only had the car for 7 months but assured me that it was in perfect original/unrestored condition & that it was faultless both bodily & mechanically.

It certainly looked stunning in the photographs he sent me but, being metallic light grey, it was difficult to see if the 'hump' so I asked for a closeup picture of the front of the car ...

Yes, you've guessed it - no 'hump' !!

The red car was in Pedevena - approx 50 miles NW of Venice so I set about looking at flights & checking out suitable hotels nearby.

In the meantime I'd contacted the technical adviser for the Duetto Club Italia (a guy called Luciano Bono whom I'd been in correspondence with a few years previously when I was interested in buying his Alfa Spider S2) & it turned out he knew this particular car - which had originally been White !!!

So, back to the drawing board ...

[Lightweight_911]

So what happened next ?

How come I ended up with a car I'd previously seen advertised but rejected on the basis of:

- colour
- non-original seats
- modifications




- & the fact that it was RHD !!! ?

[mrk]

Enjoying this!
(Beautiful cars).

[DustyM]

So what happened next ?

Dunno, but we're waiting to find out.......

[Sam]

They kept ringing you and dropping the price?

You found something out that made it more interesting to you?

[Lightweight_911]

I started looking back through some of the adverts I'd book-marked on my laptop & re-read the long-winded/dis-jointed description of a particular RHD car.

Having driven several LHD Spiders - both with the hood up & down - on a variety of roads, I came to the conclusion that visibility shouldn't be a problem when driving a RHD car in Europe (in much the same way that driving a LHD early 911 in the UK is no hassle) so I shouldn't rule out this Spider solely on that basis.

As mentioned previously, this particular car had non-original seats installed - but they were Spider seats (albeit from a later S4 model) & the original seats came with the car.

The car also featured a number of other modifications/additions but,again, all of the original parts came with the car & any non-std parts (in particular a pair of extra lights mounted in the front bumpers) could easily be removed.

The colour was the only problem - it wouldn't have been my first choice (or my second, or third ...) but at least it was the original colour (the Factory paint sticker was still on the underside of the bootlid).

The big plus point however was that this Spider had been in the same ownership for over 40 yrs.

So after a brief phone call I arranged to drive up to the Wirral the following day to check the car out in person...

[Mike]

rhd......this is getting good now

[jtparr]

Trying to imagine what colour you wouldn't like Andy.....what did they come in

Cream
Red
Dark green..?
Silver
Pale yellow
Black
Dark blue.....would that be your least favourite...?


I had a S3 (black naturally) in the late 90's..not the best looking version at all..but in LHD it was never an issue on UK roads...

[Lightweight_911]

Jonathan - the std colours for Europe were:

- Bianco Pininfarina (White)

- Avorio (Ivory)

- Rosso Italia (Red)

- Blu Pininfarina (Dark Blue)

- Celeste (Sky Blue)

- Grigio Chiaro Metallizzato (Metallic Grey)

- Verde Inglese (British Racing Green)

- Nero (Black)

[jtparr]

Hymmm....methinks white and sky blue would be your least favourite....all this talk of spiders has got me thinking I would like another one..!

[Lightweight_911]

The car had only been advertised (half-heartedly) for a couple of weeks on a smattering of internet sites - mainly "carandclassic.co.uk" & "classiccarsforsale.co." plus AROC, "preloved.co.uk", etc but the seller wasn't desparate to sell & had pitched the car towards the top end of the market.

Then, the day before I'd called him to arrange a visit, he'd dropped the asking price significantly due to an unexpected business opportunity.

I made the trip up the M6/M53 with the expectation of being confronted with a car in a colour I wouldn't like & in a condition that didn't tally with the owner's description (or price) ...

Fortunately that didn't turn out to be the case.

The owner apologised for the fact that,due to the short notice, he hadn't been able to 'prepare' the car for my visit.

Immediate impression was that the car looked fantastic - the body panels/shut lines/paint finish were all the best I'd seen on any Spider I'd looked at - bearing in mind that this is an Italian car built by a small sub-contractor (Pininfarina) in limited numbers.

The colour didn't 'jar' either - in fact I quite liked it !

I spent time going over/under the car & sifting through the car's history/paperwork but I already knew that this was a good one - no expense had been spared during the seller's 40 year ownership & in addition to the original parts taken off the car - all of which were in excellent condition & laid out in the garage for inspection - the owner had accumulated further spares 'just in case' (RHD steering box, complete back axle including disc/calipers, etc).

The car had been used in the past for several continental trips - mainly to France - but had not been used much during the last 5 years as the seller had several other cars & his wife now found getting in & out of the car (particularly with the hood up) increasingly difficult.

The weather wasn't conducive to an extended drive but the car started immediately & settled into steady idle & after a short (~ 20 min) drive on a variety of differing roads I'd already made up my mind to buy the car ...

[alfacat]

Come on this is killing me,,,lol!

[Lightweight_911]

[Lightweight_911]

So, what exactly had I just bought ?

The car was a 1969 RHD 1750 Spider Veloce.

Here's one of the seller's photos - I've adjusted the colour balance slightly ...

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