jeff@tesla.UUCP (06/05/84)
From: jeff (Jeff Frey) I've had a couple of Alfas: a 1964 1600 Spider (Giulia), which I bought new and put 38K miles on in two years in California; and a 1971 2000GTV coupe, which I bought used and put about 5000km on one summer in Germany. The newest Spider is probably pretty much like the 64 mechanically, with the exception of the carburetion, etc. The Alfa is a marvelous car, handles like a dream, with a 5-speed transmission that, when worked in (about 10Kmiles) is the smoothest I have known. Initial teething problems with the Spider were: battery installed backwards; Lots of lockwashers left out, requiring frequent tightening of everything; nothing much else. I joined the A-R Owners Club which (at that time) was very helpful in suggesting ways to correct design deficiencies (improper materials for hoses, for example) and to find parts. Parts could have occasionally been a problem, judging from what I saw at the dealer's, but I didn'T really need much during the time I had the car. It's a pity Alfa changed the body style; the older Spyders were prettier, I think. I considered a new 2000GTV once, but tried it and having the tacho in the middle of the dashboard was so annoying I couldn't bring myself to buy the car. Also, it DOES tend to look like a lot of other things on the road, which couldn't be said about the older GTV, or about the Spyder. Basically, an Alfa isn't a VW or a Chevrolet and, as with most cars of that type, it pays to have something else around to drive to work in when there IS a problem.... Jeff Frey