Rusty But Trusty

You’ve heard it enough times, many classic cars are slipping out of the reach of mere mortals. Well sure, if you approach with a narrow focus, you can’t even get a project for under $10,000. But if you look carefully, and weigh your priorities, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got a little or a lot of money, as long as you can be diligent in your search and diligent with your tools. Conveniently, that supports the case for today’s pair of feature cars, both 1987 Alfa Romeo Spiders. Sure, in 1987, these cars seemed antiquated, but now you’re picking up a lot of the iconic 1960s style with upgrades like power windows, electronic fuel injection, and more. Which makes it like a Miata with more heritage and less bulletproof-ness. Check out this 1987 Alfa Romeo Spider Quadrifoglio for sale for $2700 in Chatsworth, CA.

What’s not to like here? Glossy black paint, the range-topping Quadrifoglio trim package… well, we are missing a driver’s sun visor, and the wheels are chromed for some reason, and the spoilers and bumper are painted. Perhaps that explains the salvage title – these could easily be salvaged for a minor bump, or perhaps something more meaningful – just depends when it happened in the depreciation curve.

Here you can see the gray leather and red carpet that was specific to the Quadrifoglio cars. It’s not a great shot, but what is visible in the picture looks good – no cracks in the dash, and a complete switch panel. Fading on the inside of the top is common, but of course implies something about the top’s age – just make sure to look the fabric over carefully.

Looks like you’ll need center caps too, and you’ll want to find out why the car’s shown in a body shop. How did the seller come by it? Was it him who fixed the cause of the salvage title? The car is said to run well, but to need a minor tune up and vacuum service – that suggests some kind of power delivery issue, like hesitation or stumbling idle. If this one’s too rich or shiny for your blood, but you still like black, how about http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/5247581766.html for sale for $1200 in Los Angeles, CA?

This is a bottom-spec spider with wind-up windows and steel wheels, but the power train is just the same. With this being a rainy picture, you can expect faded paint instead of the gloss you see here, and clearly the handbrake needs adjustment – there’s a little toothed wheel, accessible through a little hole in the center of the disc, which you can use to adjust the shoes against the inside of the raised part of the disc. The body is said to be in good condition, and the car has a new top, but it has sat for a year and won’t start – the seller suspects a fuel pump. These EFI cars rely on a fully-charged battery to start, so go over with one of those and a shot of optimism. Maybe today’s your lucky day!

Tags: alfa romeo, Feature, italian, quadrifoglio, roadster, spider

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