The Alfa Romeo Spider Owners Work Manual (eBook)

Buying Secondhand

Alfa Romeo 1750/2000

THE FACT that Alfa Romeo have convincingly won outright the World Championship for Makes may or may not explain the still-powerful attraction of any of the 1750 or 2000 Alfa saloon and sports-car range to the secondhand buyer. For all its supposed publicity value, success in motor racing is not always reflected in the successful maker’s production cars. And a superbly handling racing car does not mean that the firm which made it necessarily offer road cars with proportionally good handling, performance and character. Yet it is so with Alfa; every Alfa Romeo in the present car range has something about it that makes it stand out refreshingly from its competitors -even the Alfasud, which though underpowered, has extraordinary handling by any standards. None are by any means perfect. But all are fun to drive - a rare and precious thing in cars.

For a long time, Alfa have produced a typical range of cars -a compact saloon, a fixed-head coupé and a two seater sports-car, or spider. The 1750 engine introduced to the British market in March 1968 first appeared in a neat, Bertone-styled revision of the extraordinarily shaped Giulia saloon, which had been powered by a 1500 unit. The new engine had an enlarged bore (2mm more) and stroke (6½mm more) of 80×88 5mm which in fact put its swept volume at 1,779 c.c., the car’s name being a sentimental reminder of the immortally beautiful pre-war 1750 Alfas. A new, stiffer block casting was adopted, but apart from the use of an alternator instead of a dynamo, all the other details of the engine were the same - notably the handsone twin overhead camshaft alloy head with its two Weber twinchoke carburettors and elegantly branched exhaust manifold. The gearbox, like the engine an entirely characteristic Alfa unit, was a five-speed, with a long but stiff gearlever and one of the most pleasing and sweetly moving gearchanges we know -although the synchromesh was always a little weak, and needed cossetting before the gearbox oil had started to warm up. The makers were unusual in laying more stress than is usual now (or then) on warming the car up for two minutes or so before moving off - a hand throttle was provided for the purpose.

Another Alfa distinction was their adherence to a live back axle, which, by positive and geometrically ideal location (by A-bracket and trailing links), provided a back end with none of the usual vices of cruder live axles. Front suspension was the usual independent wishbone arrangement; coil springs were used as before, and telescopic dampers, plus a front anti-roll bar. For reasons presumably of production flexibility, steering was either Burman cam and peg type or recirculating ball - not the usual rack and pinion associated with good steering, yet providing steering of unusually high and delightful quality, with very little feel-blurring friction but no unpleasant over-liveliness. All-disc brakes were used. All of these points were of course inherited from the previous Alfa range, as were the bodies of the GT Veloce coupé and the Spider Veloce two-seater.

The saloon offered comfortable seating - more comfortable if the driver was not too tall and had short-ish legs and long arms (this applied to all Alfas as it does still to the majority of Italian cars), tolerable room in the back, and a usefully sized boot. We found the turning circles rather too wide, and the brakes at first a little fierce. Minor control layout was criticized. The four-lamp lighting system came in for high praise, but we didn’t think much of the ventilation, in spite of the provision of cabin outlets.

The Sprint GTV has always been a darling of enthusiasts, to a large extent because of its perfectly proportioned Bertone body, yet also thanks to its performance, character and handling. In most opinions, there isn’t a view of the car which is poor, which always made it a delight to own. The personality of the engine and transmission -Typically Italian in the best sense - eager, responsive, obedient yet restive, made the car feel as good as it looked, and as both are the same as in the saloon, the same comments applied. Handling and road behaviour - with the notable exception of ride - were (and are) superb, and because of the lower build of the car, that much better than the saloon. Ride was firm and joggly. The brakes and the way they were balanced front and rear impressed greatly. The body was reasonably practical, with a useful boot with a self-raising lid released from inside a door pillar. Headlamps, twin each side on this model, gave a flood of light that allowed the GTV driver to progress safely at night on country roads almost as quickly as he could by day.

One tended to approach the long-tailed Spider open two-seater a little suspiciously, questioning its perhaps too-styled appearance. A decent drive in the car quickly convinced one otherwise, that it had all the good characteristics of the GTV married to the delights of a good convertible which was also practical. The long tail meant a long boot, of great value on holiday for two. The hood remains an example to other (notably British) sports-car makers of how to provide a traditional soft top that is truly simple and quick to erect or take down.

Everything that’s Alfa . . . a 1750 Veloce Spider in full flight at Silverstone

What to look for

Being cars with a sporting flavour, any secondhand Alfa should be inspected carefully for any of the unfortunate results of hard use. On the engines of all 1750 and 2000 Alfas, one should look for cylinder head oil leaks, and down the sides of the block -these are common. Another usually small oil leak which may appear to stem from the back main bearing - oil from the bellhousing - in fact is more likely to be from the front of the gearbox, and we are told that generally it isn’t worth worrying about. There are two timing chains driving the camshafts; the top one is adjustable, but the bottom one is not, so that if the latter sounds as if it will need replacing, an expensive job is likely.

It is worth checking the water pump, since unlike other such units, it also includes the rev counter drive, which makes it more costly to replace, if that is necessary; such trouble is unusual however. A noisy alternator is another trouble which can mean expense.

The transmission is something which some sorts of enthusiastic driver can misuse easily. Clutches on all Alfas tend to be a weak link, or at any rate over-worked. The usual tests should be applied; checking whether the take-up of drive occurs early or late in the pedal movement as it is allowed back (if late, near the fully-released end of the pedal travel, then the clutch is going to need relining soon); if it is late, then checking for clutch slip by momentarily over-loading the clutch with an abrupt full-power start.

The gearbox has quite a good reputation. Even a brand new Alfa box will grunt if hurried from 1st to 2nd when the oil is still cold, so don’t worry too much if the synchromesh doesn’t seem as good as it is on a lot of humbler cars, like a Ford Escort, or Morris Marina. Check however for whether the gearlever will stay in reverse -jumping out is not unknown Back axle trouble is not common, but if it did need attention it could be costly, because until recently, no exchange service was available.

Steering itself is usually all right. If a clonk can be induced by turning the wheel, it is usually the result of the large nut holding the steering drop arm which has worked loose. It should not do this, and if it has been allowed to remain thus for a long time, the steering box will need renewing. If not, it is possible to get away with tightening it “very tight.”

This article first appeared in Autocacr 6 September 1975 and has been reprinted with their permission. All prices refered to are those applicable in 1975.

The handsome and very conventional 1750 Berlina, which was to become the 2000

The 1750 Spider had faired-in headlamps and minimal front bumper protection

Alfa Romeo cockpits are designed very much for the driver; note the bottom -hinged pedals

The rear of the 2000 Berlina, with the lamps slightly recessed in the tail panel

The classic lines of the 1750 GTV two-door coupé

The front suspension will in high mileage cars sometimes squeak when the front of the car is pushed down. This stems from the suspension bushes, which have no grease nipples, and are not cheap to replace.

Noises in the rear suspension are generally not worth worrying about. They can be removed sometimes by spraying the A-bracket pivots with oil (not grease). If they are serious, and will not go away when sprayed, proper stripping and replacement of worn bushes will be needed.

Brakes tend to take a beating in many Alfa drivers’ hands. In too many cases, through no fault of the car, “a lot of people go right through pads” - to the destruction of discs, which have to be renewed. So even if the brakes seem all right when you try an Alfa, take the trouble to inspect the disc surfaces to see if they bear the scars of metal-to-metal contact.

As far as the bodywork is concerned, it is well to be wary of cars that have obviously been used for a lot of towing. The proper towing hitch set up for an Alfa is a comprehensive fitting that strengthens the back of the car suitably. If it has not been used, there is the possibility of body damage aft of the back doors. One might wonder a little at an owner who had bought an Alfa, even the saloon, and used it for towing a caravan; the car is not meant for that sort of...