A production run of 27 years is an impressive innings for any car, and in the case of the original Alfa Romeo Spider it managed to clock up two more years’ service than the MGB, making it the longest running mass-produced sports car of all-time.
This one is from the Spider’s ‘purple patch’, with the best engine – a 2.0-litre derivative of Alfa’s seductive Twin Cam – but before US Federal legislation forced it to have chunkier impact bumpers and a raised ride height. It’s delicate and pretty, whilst also being one of the few Kamm-tail roadsters to have delicate chrome.
First registered in Renfrewshire in 1973, the Spider belonged to two gentlemen with the same surname for the first six years of its life – one would assume either brothers or father-and-son.
In 1979, it passed into the hands of an owner in Lanarkshire who sold it again to a Glaswegian owner who kept it until the early 1990s. From his tenure onwards, the paperwork in the car’s history file begins, documenting work carried out on the Alfa throughout its life.
The owner obviously loved it, as there are repair and restoration bills for four figures tucked away in the lever-arch file that comes with the car – accounting for inflation, they’d have been big bills in today’s money.
That level of care continued into the 1990s and through another two owners until the current keeper acquired it in 2017. He bought the car for his wife but she has decided she prefers her modern convertible, so the Alfa is reluctantly for sale, the vendor having decided to free up garage space for another acquisition. For the past five years, the Spider has lived in a dry, temperature-controlled garage among the vendor’s other classics.61rFLzbKsCfOhKdOZsLXZ9d2AKJOLpZe8Md7MdXR.jpeg1.29 MB
The Interior
Black vinyl and carpets in great order
Wood-rimmed wheel
Tailored mats
All original and in good order
The cabin of the Alfa is well-presented with re-trimmed seats and door trims and good carpets. It also has a set of tailored floor mats that the owner had made up for it.
It’s in great overall condition and has a tonneau cover to help protect it, as well as to hide the hood when retracted. The only minor faults are some small cracks in the dashboard, which is otherwise on good order.h3UKy0o7faOtl1jATzzTqZX6xy3xwbMUEgljUbqQ.jpeg1.21 MB
The Exterior
Repainted in original Farina Red in 2014
Excellent roof
Good chrome and trim
Solid and cared-for car
The Spider has seen restoration work at various times in its life and has had a lot of money spent on it, though the work it has had done has always been a question of making good rather than a complete strip-down and rebuild.
Most recently, it was taken back to bare metal and resprayed in its original Farina Red by Veloce Sport, a well-known Alfa specialist, who brought it from good condition to the superb order the car is presented in today.
It is solid underneath, the panels are seemingly free from rust and untarnished, and the trim is all in excellent order with just some minor pitting to the chrome on the front grille.lhRDNWkeyNSiWI1AClh2WIrGfZe0dPosnu2RFfrm.jpeg2.11 MB
The Mechanics
2.0-Twin Cam
Manual transmission
Recent service and mechanical works
Reported to drive very well
The Alfa’s 2.0-litre Twin Cam engine fires up on the button requiring minimal choke and settles to a sweet idle once warmed up. The vendor says it is great to drive and that there are no known issues.
It has recently has a full service along with four new road springs, gear lever gaiters, a speedo cable, gearbox top seal, a new electronic distributor and replacement carb mounts, along with a full oil and coolant change. CMZj8r8fiIeQrQWiCgBlmV5YhrhOu1YKvtJZkcBA.jpeg1.18 MB
Summary
Original right-hand-drive UK-spec Alfa Romeo Spiders are very rare things, not least because our climate hardly serves them well in terms of longevity.
The fact this one has survived, then, is nothing short of a miracle, helped in no small way by a life of diligent care and enthusiast ownership. It’s a truly lovely thing, with a great story behind it.
Notice to bidders
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