Everyone should own an Alfa - A cheap 916 Spider for winter
Discussion
My never ending search for a Boxster S replacement has stalled - used prices are silly at the moment and i don't fancy dropping a load of cash on something in the middle of winter. Everything that i want has gone silly in recent months, so while I wait for the used market to right itself again, i turned to the bottom end of the market to see if i could pick up a cheap convertible over winter that i could have some fun with, not worry about and perhaps sell for a profit next year if/when the sun comes out.
My favourite part of car ownership is the buying hunt, I've had 61 cars so far as I get bored easily once the novelty of the purchase has worn off.
So with a self imposed budget of £2k and having to be a convertible i started my search on all the usual places. Many TT's, Z3's, A4's, E46 3 Series, MGF's, MX5's turned up in the budget that looked good in the photos, but were quickly dismissed once looking at the last MOT. I'm not expecting perfection at this price point, but something that didn't quote extensive rust on the underbody or oil leaks would be a good start.
I viewed a couple of cars - i even stretched my search radius and looked at a 2003 TT 150 which seemed nice in the photos, but had quite a bit of lacquer peel and no evidence of a cambelt change - at 130k it should have been on its 2nd or 3rd. The trader told me not to worry as he'd "popped off the cover" and belt looked good with writing on it, so must be fairly recent." he also followed on with "I've been driving for 5 years and never had a cambelt snap, its very unlikely these days" - i struggled to answer that one. The cambelt is a nightmare to get to without taking lots of stuff off i'd been told, my indy had quoted £500-600 for a cambelt change so I made an offer but we couldn't come to a price - he was a nice chap, no harm done and i'm sure he'll sell it soon.
A couple more days of searching and i found the mad old Italian i've actually bought. Ebay of all places with very little detail but not too far away and the option of a best offer. I went in low, got a counter-offer and accepted - all well within my budget. Its had a few MOT fails over the years, but the last was clean and was being sold by a mechanic after he had done a lot of work, but got bored and needed the space.
So what do you get for for so little money?
For me, its a year 2000 Alfa Romeo 2.0 Twin Spark Lusso with just under 80,000 miles, 3 previous owners, Cambelt and Variator replaced less than 1,000 miles ago, refurbed wheels with brand new Falkens all round, all the brake callipers have been overhauled, 3 keys including the brown one and it has MOT until August. with advisories
Its not perfect - it needs a damn good clean inside and out - there are some micro-blisters on the front of the bonnet and around the boot lock from a previous paint job, but at this price i'm not too fussed. I "think" the air con works - difficult to really tell when its cold outside anyway, and although the central locking works, you have to put the key in the lock as the rubber bit on the key is split. The leather gear knob is well worn so will swap that out for something cleaner and the aftermarket stereo is badly fitted so needs to be fiddled with.
It has a manual roof which seems to be a blessing as there are lots of horror stories on google of the electric/hydraulic roof failing and costing up to £2k to fix - the rear screen needs a restorative polish like i did with my previous MX5 so that i can see more than vague outlines in the rear view mirror. The leather, particularly the steering wheel could do with re-colouring in places. Other than that the plan is to drive and enjoy.
The 2.0 only has 155bhp (or did when it was new) so is never going to set any speed records, but is fast enough and the gear change is light and easy. In the brief drive home it handles like a front wheel drive convertible with a bit of scuttle shake thrown in, although not as bad as my only Saab 9-3. The leather seats are comfortable, but feel high to me, need to see if there is any height adjustment.
Its not as quick as a Boxster or handles as well and doesn't have the Porsche badge, but it is a hell of a lot cheaper for the same basic concept and is Italian so i can do my best Gino DeCampo impression while driving along eating my Cornetto
and if it really does go all wrong i can probably break it if needed.
Its a good 6 footer - hopefully with a deep clean and tidy, it will clean up well and do me good over the winter.
Some pics from the seller - will get some more as i start doing jobs.
My favourite part of car ownership is the buying hunt, I've had 61 cars so far as I get bored easily once the novelty of the purchase has worn off.
So with a self imposed budget of £2k and having to be a convertible i started my search on all the usual places. Many TT's, Z3's, A4's, E46 3 Series, MGF's, MX5's turned up in the budget that looked good in the photos, but were quickly dismissed once looking at the last MOT. I'm not expecting perfection at this price point, but something that didn't quote extensive rust on the underbody or oil leaks would be a good start.
I viewed a couple of cars - i even stretched my search radius and looked at a 2003 TT 150 which seemed nice in the photos, but had quite a bit of lacquer peel and no evidence of a cambelt change - at 130k it should have been on its 2nd or 3rd. The trader told me not to worry as he'd "popped off the cover" and belt looked good with writing on it, so must be fairly recent." he also followed on with "I've been driving for 5 years and never had a cambelt snap, its very unlikely these days" - i struggled to answer that one. The cambelt is a nightmare to get to without taking lots of stuff off i'd been told, my indy had quoted £500-600 for a cambelt change so I made an offer but we couldn't come to a price - he was a nice chap, no harm done and i'm sure he'll sell it soon.
A couple more days of searching and i found the mad old Italian i've actually bought. Ebay of all places with very little detail but not too far away and the option of a best offer. I went in low, got a counter-offer and accepted - all well within my budget. Its had a few MOT fails over the years, but the last was clean and was being sold by a mechanic after he had done a lot of work, but got bored and needed the space.
So what do you get for for so little money?
For me, its a year 2000 Alfa Romeo 2.0 Twin Spark Lusso with just under 80,000 miles, 3 previous owners, Cambelt and Variator replaced less than 1,000 miles ago, refurbed wheels with brand new Falkens all round, all the brake callipers have been overhauled, 3 keys including the brown one and it has MOT until August. with advisories
Its not perfect - it needs a damn good clean inside and out - there are some micro-blisters on the front of the bonnet and around the boot lock from a previous paint job, but at this price i'm not too fussed. I "think" the air con works - difficult to really tell when its cold outside anyway, and although the central locking works, you have to put the key in the lock as the rubber bit on the key is split. The leather gear knob is well worn so will swap that out for something cleaner and the aftermarket stereo is badly fitted so needs to be fiddled with.
It has a manual roof which seems to be a blessing as there are lots of horror stories on google of the electric/hydraulic roof failing and costing up to £2k to fix - the rear screen needs a restorative polish like i did with my previous MX5 so that i can see more than vague outlines in the rear view mirror. The leather, particularly the steering wheel could do with re-colouring in places. Other than that the plan is to drive and enjoy.
The 2.0 only has 155bhp (or did when it was new) so is never going to set any speed records, but is fast enough and the gear change is light and easy. In the brief drive home it handles like a front wheel drive convertible with a bit of scuttle shake thrown in, although not as bad as my only Saab 9-3. The leather seats are comfortable, but feel high to me, need to see if there is any height adjustment.
Its not as quick as a Boxster or handles as well and doesn't have the Porsche badge, but it is a hell of a lot cheaper for the same basic concept and is Italian so i can do my best Gino DeCampo impression while driving along eating my Cornetto
and if it really does go all wrong i can probably break it if needed.Its a good 6 footer - hopefully with a deep clean and tidy, it will clean up well and do me good over the winter.
Some pics from the seller - will get some more as i start doing jobs.
Fellow GTV owner here. I’ve always fancied a Spider but I don’t have room on the driveway for another car! If you’re stuck for parts, there’s a firm called GTV City in Scotland who are 916 breakers. I’ve had plenty of bits from them, highly recommended. Here’s a pic of mine because I’m a tart!
Superb choice Sir,
Check the cross brace under the radiator, it willl rot but easy to replace before the rad drops out.
Check the rear lower spring pans, they will be rotten, if you catch them in time you can plate them if not it's ebay time to find some new ones.
If you have time polybush everything and throw a decent exhaust on, the Cybox one sounds fantastic.
Wring it's neck, the TS motor loves to rev, anything above 6000 rpm is the sweet spot, don't expect economy.
Check the cross brace under the radiator, it willl rot but easy to replace before the rad drops out.
Check the rear lower spring pans, they will be rotten, if you catch them in time you can plate them if not it's ebay time to find some new ones.
If you have time polybush everything and throw a decent exhaust on, the Cybox one sounds fantastic.
Wring it's neck, the TS motor loves to rev, anything above 6000 rpm is the sweet spot, don't expect economy.
TypeR said:
Fellow GTV owner here. I’ve always fancied a Spider but I don’t have room on the driveway for another car! If you’re stuck for parts, there’s a firm called GTV City in Scotland who are 916 breakers. I’ve had plenty of bits from them, highly recommended. Here’s a pic of mine because I’m a tart!
That looks stunning and thanks for the tip on the breaker, I may well be using them in the not too distant futureYorkshireWhisky said:
Superb choice Sir,
Check the cross brace under the radiator, it willl rot but easy to replace before the rad drops out.
Check the rear lower spring pans, they will be rotten, if you catch them in time you can plate them if not it's ebay time to find some new ones.
If you have time polybush everything and throw a decent exhaust on, the Cybox one sounds fantastic.
Wring it's neck, the TS motor loves to rev, anything above 6000 rpm is the sweet spot, don't expect economy.
I need to decide how much I’m going to invest in it. Need a good poke around this weekend to see how good it is underneath, but for now I will live in ignorant bliss Check the cross brace under the radiator, it willl rot but easy to replace before the rad drops out.
Check the rear lower spring pans, they will be rotten, if you catch them in time you can plate them if not it's ebay time to find some new ones.
If you have time polybush everything and throw a decent exhaust on, the Cybox one sounds fantastic.
Wring it's neck, the TS motor loves to rev, anything above 6000 rpm is the sweet spot, don't expect economy.
Mr Tidy said:
Why is an Alfa compulsory?
I had a couple of 1970s Fiat Twin-cams and they put me off Italian car ownership for life!
Fiat didn’t buy Alfa until 1986. I had a couple of 1970s Fiat Twin-cams and they put me off Italian car ownership for life!
The faults and fixes are well known for these cars, anything surviving this long won’t be a lemon, but is still an old car, made up largely of Bosch components, so no better or worse than anything else. Twin spark is a great engine, as long as you keep on top of the oil like a VTEC.
Rozzers said:
Fiat didn’t buy Alfa until 1986.
The faults and fixes are well known for these cars, anything surviving this long won’t be a lemon, but is still an old car, made up largely of Bosch components, so no better or worse than anything else. Twin spark is a great engine, as long as you keep on top of the oil like a VTEC.
Fiat didn't so much "buy" Alfa as "bail them out"! The faults and fixes are well known for these cars, anything surviving this long won’t be a lemon, but is still an old car, made up largely of Bosch components, so no better or worse than anything else. Twin spark is a great engine, as long as you keep on top of the oil like a VTEC.
But in the 60s and 70s they were both making pretty advanced cars with twin-cam engines, 5 speed gearboxes and 4-wheel disc brakes in really good looking cars when BL were still trying to sell MGBs.
I don't remember seeing any Bosch components in my Fiats though, more Magneti Marelli and Veglia Borletti that weren't always too impressive.
Twin-sparks came along way after I had learnt my lesson about Italian money-pits.
Couple of decent length drives in the last couple of days after checking and topping up the fluids and it’s quite good fun to drive. The 2.0 twin spark needs to be worked but can hustle itself along quite nicely. Nowhere near as fast as the Boxster was, hardly surprising with 50% of the power.
I thought the ride was a bit solid, turns out all the tyres were inflated far too high, adjusted back to spec and it handles better and less crashy. Looking underneath, all the suspension has been cleaned and painted so looks very respectable. Also had a quick check over the interior and refitted the stereo correctly. And then found this tucked away in the back storage space.
very ‘Halfords’ - the Clarion CD changer isn’t connected to the Pioneer head unit so I’ve removed that. The Kenwood amp appears to be working, but the rear speaker isn’t so need to check the wiring to see what’s what.
The interior light doesn’t work, so will need to check the bulbs and fuses and hope it’s something simple.
If the weather is dry this weekend, I plan to see if I can improve the clarity of the rear window and clean and proof the roof
I thought the ride was a bit solid, turns out all the tyres were inflated far too high, adjusted back to spec and it handles better and less crashy. Looking underneath, all the suspension has been cleaned and painted so looks very respectable. Also had a quick check over the interior and refitted the stereo correctly. And then found this tucked away in the back storage space.
very ‘Halfords’ - the Clarion CD changer isn’t connected to the Pioneer head unit so I’ve removed that. The Kenwood amp appears to be working, but the rear speaker isn’t so need to check the wiring to see what’s what.
The interior light doesn’t work, so will need to check the bulbs and fuses and hope it’s something simple.
If the weather is dry this weekend, I plan to see if I can improve the clarity of the rear window and clean and proof the roof
Satisfying and simple job this morning. The roof has looked tatty since collecting the car, but most of it seemed to be dirt and debris. So I broke out the remains of my Autoglym hood renovation kit and gave it a good scrub. Quite happy with the results
Before:
After
Also gave the rear window a go with a cleaning paste. It’s slightly better but still not very clear so will have to another go. Although it appears to be the original window as it still has the Alfa logo stamped in it so after 21 years it probably won’t be crystal clear again
Before:
After
Also gave the rear window a go with a cleaning paste. It’s slightly better but still not very clear so will have to another go. Although it appears to be the original window as it still has the Alfa logo stamped in it so after 21 years it probably won’t be crystal clear again
Not done too much to this over the holidays - it doesn’t need that much as it drives really well and most of the stuff I’ve ordered from eBay has yet to be delivered.
New carpet mats arrived and fit well. Makes the interior look a lot better.
The CD changer turns out to be the original equipment, but as it’s not connected anymore due to the replacement head unit, I’ve no idea if it works.
The only issues I’ve found is that the temp gauge doesn’t get much above 55 and the drivers side speaker is blown. Will find a replacement set of speaker ps which should be simple enough.
A bit of Googling suggests that the temp issue is a common fault and probably the Thermostat - therefore should be a simple solution and cheap fix. But this is a 20 year old Italian car and nothing is ever that straight forward. For one, its not a simple thermostat that sits on the top of the rad, this is built into its own housing and can't be replaced without replacing the whole lot.
No problem, found a NOS item on Ebay that says its for my car - job jobbed.
New Thermostat arrived in the post looking like a deformed Octopus
Went out to the car today to see how many jubilee clips are needed to refit the many hoses only to find out this thermostat is not quite right - it has an additional appendage and that big black T-piece which my car doesn't have. Turns out there are 2 different options for my car - i chose the wrong one
Replacement ordered today which is now the right one - lesson of the day - don't be a lazy ass like me and open the bonnet first to see what the part looks like rather than relying on an ebay seller saying it fits your car....
New carpet mats arrived and fit well. Makes the interior look a lot better.
The CD changer turns out to be the original equipment, but as it’s not connected anymore due to the replacement head unit, I’ve no idea if it works.
The only issues I’ve found is that the temp gauge doesn’t get much above 55 and the drivers side speaker is blown. Will find a replacement set of speaker ps which should be simple enough.
A bit of Googling suggests that the temp issue is a common fault and probably the Thermostat - therefore should be a simple solution and cheap fix. But this is a 20 year old Italian car and nothing is ever that straight forward. For one, its not a simple thermostat that sits on the top of the rad, this is built into its own housing and can't be replaced without replacing the whole lot.
No problem, found a NOS item on Ebay that says its for my car - job jobbed.
New Thermostat arrived in the post looking like a deformed Octopus
Went out to the car today to see how many jubilee clips are needed to refit the many hoses only to find out this thermostat is not quite right - it has an additional appendage and that big black T-piece which my car doesn't have. Turns out there are 2 different options for my car - i chose the wrong one
Replacement ordered today which is now the right one - lesson of the day - don't be a lazy ass like me and open the bonnet first to see what the part looks like rather than relying on an ebay seller saying it fits your car....
Edited by mattman on Tuesday 11th January 21:12
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff