Things To Look For When Buying A Spider - Alfa Romeo 1966 to 1994 Spider Faq

"C"mon,„ it whispers quietly, "quit reading the damned computer
let"s DRIVE!„

Things to look for when buying a Spider

Especially when considering a Series 2a, 2, or 1 Spider, the most important thing you need to
look for is rust. The cars are simple enough mechanically to be repaired by just about anybody
(more on this later), and interior trim is readily available and reasonably easy to replace yourself.
But the bodies of the cars can be rusted or bent to the point that it is not economical to fix them
at all.
In truth, Alfas do not seem to rust more or less than any other car of their era, although there are
certain areas that need to be looked at more closely than others.
Spiders tend to rust around the fender arches, the rocker panels, and the floorpans. Test the
floorpans by *looking* at them, both from the top and bottom if possible (crawl under the car if
you have to). If you can, tap lightly with a hammer and punch to make sure the metal is good.
Pay special attention to the driver"s side footwell, as this seems to be the first area to go on many
cars. On later model cars, or any Spider with a battery in the trunk, be sure to check the spare tire
well in the trunk for rust-through. Again, these things can be repaired, and replacement panels are
available, but, as they say, they ain"t cheap.
Collision damage should also be checked. Bring a magnet with you and make sure it sticks well
to all major body panels. Be sure that all the trim and the doors line up properly (if they don"t it
could be a sign of hidden collision damage). Take a long, hard look at the front nosepiece, as
people seem to just love backing into these cars, and I"ve seen entire sections of that panel
constructed from bondo and scrap metal. Look in the trunk under the mat for wrinkling in the
sheet metal this indicates a hit in the rear. None of these things necessarily disqualifies a car,
but knowing where things are could make the difference between paying enough and paying too
much.
The cars are pretty sturdy mechanically. However, especially with older cars, "PO"s„ (short for
Previous Owners) may have done unusual things to them in a misguided attempt to get more
performance (more on this later). Pay special attention to empty brackets, wires that don"t hook
up to anything, or misaligned mountings. As will be discussed later on, Alfas don"t normally
have anything "extra„ in the same sense as American cars, and missing pieces are usually the
sign of a hamfisted owner, an incomplete restoration, or collision damage (the body shop didn"t
put it all back together right).
Mechanicals should be checked in the same way as with any car. For further information on
checking the mechanicals of any modern Alfa, the reader is again referred to Pat Braden"s Alfa
Romeo Owners Bible (see above). Some mechanical generalizations:
It"s normal for a Spider to leak some oil. The engine is aluminum and expands and contracts
quite a bit. Oil pooling in the spark plug recesses is a sign of a leaky filler cap rather than any
major engine malfunction. It is NOT normal for a Spider to leak anything else like coolant, brake
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