HI from NC!

[MrJD]

Do you remember anything in particular about Steve Moriarity's brother's car?

[giuliot60]

Not much more than I already mentioned. I never did see the car, but love those wheels.

Have you seen the car(s) yet?

[MrJD]

but love those wheels.

Have you seen the car(s) yet?

They are reproductions unfortunately.

I was tempted to go see the cars... but the guy is dodging my questions on e-mail. He sent me a pile of extra pictures, but won't answer things like if the floor pans are rusted out, if the timing belt has been changed, if the gauges work, if the car smokes/leaks lots of oil. (mind you, this was one e-mail of about 10 questions.) I just wanted to know what to expect before i drove 3 hours north.

He just replied with "do you want the car or don't you? Its old." kinda thing

Kinda makes me think I should walk away...

[aj81spider]

There are lots of Spiders out there. If I had it to do over again I would have been much slower buying a car and spent more to buy a really good one.

[giuliot60]

I agree with AJ. Take your time.

I was anxious (maybe even obsessed) about buying one and jumping on everything I saw, trying to give myself reasons why I should settle for a sub condition car, and willing to travel to the ends of the earth (well, maybe not that far) to get one.

But as it turned out, my car was only 4 miles from my house waiting for me to come along. It wasn't for sale. I just approached the owner and asked if he wanted to sell it, and there was no competition from other buyers. It turned out to be the perfect Spider for me. It was in my price range, no rust, good body and interior, decent paint, 81K on the odometer, and fuel injected. Well, I did want a red one also, but the metallic brown is really growing on me and is less common.

It might be cheaper to buy your wife a scarf that matches the color of the car instead of the other way around There are plenty of nice colored Spiders out there.

[MrJD]

Yea, i find cars every now and then... tough to find the right one though. I don't need to spend the money right now anyway I suppose. I just know if I don't use it, my wife will find a reason to.

[2ndwind]

Jon,

I too would wait. I got a rust-free car from KY for $3500. HOWEVER, I've put over $7K in it and it is still a driver (not show car). I will say it has been wonderfully reliable and fun for the recent 2 out of 4 yrs. Ive owned it. In retrospect I would look for a rust- free car with a lot of the proper maintenance and some upgrades done for around $5000. On occasion, you can find a $5000 car for less.

[MrJD]

I'm going to look at a 78 spider AND a 74 Alfa romeo spider this weekend. I like the looks of the fiat more... and I like the powerful engines in the alfa. We'll see.

[81SPIDERMATT]

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4141588120.html

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/4104924038.html

[giuliot60]

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4141588120.html

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/4104924038.html

The 85 in the Raleigh listing has been available for a while now, at least since early summer. It looks really nice and the price is reasonable, so I don't know why it hasn't been snapped up yet. Maybe there's something in needing a tune-up, or maybe because it's an automatic.

The other car seems familiar too. Did you already post this one MrJD?

[MrJD]

yea, nobody wants an automatic sports car... especially not an italian one!

Yes, I posted the 2nd one already. The lady on the phone was very nice, and I will go look at it if I don't like the ones this weekend. However, the lady on the phone said the 2nd car he posted is almost orange... which isn't what I am looking for.

I'm curious to see what I think about the Alfa Romeo... I don't think they look very good, but I hear their engines are AMAZING. 150 hp without breaking a sweat... up to 170 at the crank with simple work done to them. Hard to turn that down.

I also found a TR6 locally that I might go check out... At this point, I am certainly ready to buy something. A British straight six wouldn't be a bad choice.

[giuliot60]

I agree about the Alfa body, but I didn't know that about the engines. Someone also posted that there's isn't much room for your feet. I've never driven one, so I don't know for sure.

I love the TR6 as well. I know two people that own one and they're never on the road. And they're much more money. I drive my 81 every week at least, and all year long. I'm sure the Fuel injection has something to do with it. Always starts on the first crank.

The automatics on the Spiders are hardy, and easy to get repaired if they do breakdown because they are essentially Chevette transmissions. You could always do a swap to a manual, but factor in cost and labor.

[MrJD]

They're asking 6k on the Alfa

Just got some pictures




in really good shape....


And I think I recognize dual weber DCOEs there...

[MrJD]

Looked at the Alfa. Not impressed. Looked at the Fiat... fell in love, lol.

Going to get it at the end of the month if it is still available. Would you guys help me come up with a number for what I should pay?

[giuliot60]

Where is it in Charlotte? Post expired so I can't remember the details, but seem to remember it had a fair amount of work done to it. So you came out to Charlotte to look at it?

How does $3K sound as a start?