Toy Car

kurtd

I am looking for a stylist convertible sports cars
to rebuild in my garage. I can spend up to
$15,000 for the car. I want a classic that you can
still buy parts for.

What do you recommend?

Thanks

Mr_Shiftright

Hi Kurt!

If your criteria are $15K, beauty, reliability, tons of parts, ease of restoration, fun and a good investment, there are few cars, if any, that fit the bill like this one: ( a REAL sports car!)

kurtd

Thanks! What year Spider is it?

rea98d

Cool car! Never heard of it before, but judging by the name, I'd bet she's Italian. She has to be from the 50's

dranoel

The photo looks like a mid-50's model. If it is a 1956 model, the specs were as follows: it had a 1290cc OHC 4 cylinder engine with a compression ratio of 8.0, and developed 65 HP @5500 RPM. It did 0-60 in 14.8 sec., did the 1/4 mi. in 20.0 sec., and had a top speed of 100 MPH. Transmission was a 4 speed manual. This rear drive car had 87 in. wheelbase and weighed 1940 lbs. I drove a similar car on several occasions in the mid 50's and remember it as a very attractive and good performing ( for it's day) sports car. Alfas were imported into the US until the early 90s.

Mr_Shiftright

And you could rev them to 7500 rpm all day long and never get a speeding ticket (almost never). Great fun to drive.

stickguy

Which years of the Alfa are the best to look at (the Spyder). I've been looking at Miatas, but wouldn't mind a nice Alfa if it was going to be reliable and not eat me alive keeping it running (the primary reasons I keep coming back to the Miata).

I assume somewhere in the early to mid 80's to get a good combo of price/usability? Do the late 80s/early 90s cars start getting pricy? I'm really curious what I need to spend to get a good car (I don't want a beater). I've pretty much figured that out with the M car.

thanks for the help

Mr_Shiftright

I'd say any Alfa Spyder from 1982-88 would be nicely priced, and probably $1,000 to $1500 below a Miata. These cars have all Bosch ignition and fule injection, just like those expensive cars from Germany.

They can be and are very reliable cars, (is anything more reliable than a Miata? A television maybe?) but they are not as refined as a Miata, so you will hear the engine and feel the bumps more, and they will rattle a little, too. But they are also probably more fun than a Miata for that reason, and a hell of a lot bigger interior and trunk space than the Miata as well. You can stay warm and dry, too.

With careful shopping, you can buy a nice Spyder for around $5,000, which is the price of a pretty ratty Miata.