Alfa Romeos through about 1990 are interesting in that there are several so-called transition models. This is where a car was built, with, say, an upgraded powertrain in the original-style body. Spiders on the 105/115 chassis went through several such transitions – the original round-taill spider was built with a fuel-injected 1750 engine before the square tail car came out, the Series 2 car was built with Bosch electronic fuel injection, variable exhaust valve timing, and interior upgrades before the transition to the Series 3 “aerodinamica” cars, and so on. So if you want something a little rarer among the thousands of Alfa Spiders built, you might consider this 1982 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce for sale for $2900 in San Mateo, CA.
This car seems to be in nice, stock condition, perhaps original because of the pinstriping, normally applied by dealers. This car looks to be the enthusiast/base specification with vinyl seats, steel wheels, wind-up windows and polished metal mirrors, but the alloy wheels of a veloce-spec car. It’s said to have no mechanical or electrical defects, with a smooth-shifting transmission and good clutch.
Tires (which look a little on the small side) have half their tread wear left, and no rust is visible, the seller only mentioning paint chips and saying it has no body damage. It’s also had some typical 1980s upgrades including fog lamps and a dual chrome tip Ansa exhaust. With 128,000 miles, it’s quite possible most of the car is original, assuming it’s had good care all its life – this makes the price all the more sweet.
The interior is said to show minor wear, though it is clean, and the soft top is in average condition with minor wear on its interior and window. A not-too-flashy updated stereo and modern speakers are installed, but the rest of the interior looks to be original. The dash wears a cover, so for a California car you can assume it’s at least somewhat cracked.
this 1982 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
Unfortunately, there’s no picture of the engine, so this view of the trunk will have to do. It’s nice to see the original carpeting, and this car appears to have the flap at the rear of the trunk, concealing a compartment for the jack and tool kit, along with some emissions devices. The hard-to-find battery cover seems to be missing – since they were made of somewhat flimsy plastic, they tend to disappear. If you want the rare combination of the updated powertrain with the older-style body – a sort of factory resto-mod, and able to be backdated with metal bumpers – then this 1982 spider is worth a closer look.
Tags: 115, alfa romeo, Feature, italian, spider, sports car
Rusty But Trusty 
January 9, 2016 at 10:48 am |
I owned 2 ’82 Spiders. I was never a fan of power windows, a/c, digital clocks and other fluff in the 105/115 bodies. However, I did enjoy the Bosch L-injection, its reliability and smoothness. This is actually a very good deal, I just may be tempted to jump back into the mouth of the Serpent 😉
January 11, 2016 at 10:22 am |
I briefly had the pleasure of driving the rustiest chocolate brown ’82 that was donated to the car museum I worked at in Boston. That car was rough but never failed to start, even in the winter. Can’t remember if the ’82 was slightly stiffer than older S1 cars, not sure if there’s any basis to it but I found the S3 and S4 were a bit less shaky than my ’77.
January 9, 2016 at 11:57 am |
I’d be checking this out myself if it wasn’t 2500 miles away
January 10, 2016 at 11:50 pm |
Ad deleted by seller – not surprising! a good looking car indeed