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Spider Graduate, New Black Paint, Cloth Top, & Pirelli Tires Virginia on 2040-cars

US $6,950.00
Year:1987 Mileage:90000
Location:

Alexandria, Virginia, United States

Alexandria, Virginia, United States
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Are you ready to take your summer up a notch on a sun-dappled winding road? This 1987 Alfa Romeo Spider Graduate is here to assist!

A factory-trained Alfa tech recently overhauled this straight and original car, including rebuilding the engine and transmission. We have driven it 3,000 miles since finishing the projects, so it's road-tested and ready to enjoy.

As the photos show the car is handsome. It has fresh paint in its original "nero" black color, which many consider the best color on this generation of Spider as the distinctive rubber spoiler and other trim blend well. The paint shines, and reflects the clouds and trees going by. Brand new cloth top with a  clear rear window. The interior is nice driver quality. The seats have been upgraded to black leather ones with red stitching from a Veloce model. They feel great but the leather is 25 years old and has some seam splits and flaws. Another notable Veloce upgrade: the beautiful five-spoke alloy wheels (plus a fifth in the trunk!) Mounted on those wheels are new Pirelli tires -- new tires make such a difference in ensuring Alfas handle beautifully. A nice modern addition to the car is a Pioneer CD stereo with four speakers (the Graduate came with only two; rear 6X9s have been added).

The owner overhauled both the engine and transmission. This man is a genius with trannies -- he has rebuilt several for me and he always hits home runs. This Spider has no synchro issues. It downshifts exceptionally smoothly. The engine has new rings, rods, bearings and a valve job. Carfax shows a discrepancy so to be on the safe side, we're assuming the car has 92,000 miles rather than the 72,000 that show. With the engine and tranny just gone over, the car's mechanicals have effectively been reset recently so the condition, not the miles, are what matters most.

Additional recent work this year includes: Front brake calipers, front and rear brake pads, a tie rod end, lower ball joints, clutch master cylinder, and gas tank replaced along with main and tank fuel pumps too. Add that to things like the new top and tires and we are talking about thousands of dollars invested to make this car reliable and strong -- and ready for your driving pleasure!

One thing my friend did, since the car was for his own use, was remove the air conditioner. Why carry all that weight if it's not working, and in these cars, with the top down and vent windows open, a/c is sort of superfluous anyway. If the buyer desires it, the a/c unit, minus the compressor, would be made available at no charge. But it's in Maryland, not currently in or with the car. As shown in one of the photos, the A/C knob is not attached.

This Alfa looks sharp and runs well. It's a very decent representative of the marque. Remember just 10 or 15 years ago when you could buy a 1960s Alfa, a Duetto or GTV, in this sort of shape for under $10,000? Mm hm... Well those days are long gone. '60s Alfas in this kind of nice driver condition bring $25,000 and more while many 1970s Alfas are climbing toward that range. Plus the reintroduction of the Alfa Marque with a dealer network this summer after a 19 year-absence is going to bolster interest. A 1987 Spider like this one is a solid investment, never going to go down and all but certain to go up in value even as you enjoy the heck out of driving it!

I am including photos that give an honest view of this Alfa and I have more if you want to see anything or I can shoot video of it running. I've owned a dozen similar Spiders and as an Alfa Romeo Owners Club officer and concours judge, I am glad to share my insights. Alfas that have been sorted as this one has are not hard or expensive to keep happy. Our Club, www.aroc-usa.org, has chapters to keep you connected around the country and there are great sources for parts online. I've never had to wait more than a day or two for any part and they cost no more than VW parts from the same era. The car is garaged at my house in Alexandria, VA, convenient to National Airport (DCA) if you want to fly in and drive home, or I'm glad to meet a shipper. If you're local come by for a test drive. Thanks for your interest!

Auto Services in Virginia

Williamsburg Honda-Hyundai ★★★★★

New Car Dealers, Used Car Dealers
Address: 7277 Richmond Rd, Wicomico
Phone: (757) 564-9700

Webb`s Auto Body ★★★★★

Automobile Body Repairing & Painting, Truck Body Repair & Painting
Address: 9092 Euclid Ave, Manassas
Phone: (703) 686-4295

Twins Auto Repair ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service
Address: 2700 Nine Mile Rd, University-Of-Richmond
Phone: (804) 643-0962

Transmissions Inc. ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Auto Transmission
Address: 11239 Jefferson Ave, Langley-Afb
Phone: (757) 596-3883

Sweden Automotive Inc ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service
Address: 4909 Trade Center Dr, Snell
Phone: (540) 834-4067

Surratt Tire & Auto Center ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Used Car Dealers, Tire Dealers
Address: 712 Richmond Ave, Churchville
Phone: (540) 886-1160

Auto blog

China-FCA merger could be a win-win for everyone but politicians

Tue, Aug 15 2017

NEW YORK — Fiat Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne has said the car industry needs to come together, cut costs and stop incinerating capital. So far, his words have mostly fallen on deaf ears among competitors in Europe and North America. But it appears Marchionne has finally found a receptive audience — in China. FCA shares soared Monday after trade publication Automotive News reported the $18 billion Italian-American conglomerate controlled by the Agnelli family rebuffed a takeover from an unidentified carmaker from the Chinese mainland. As ugly as the politics of such a combination may appear at first blush, a transaction could stack up industrially, and perhaps even financially. A Sino-U.S.-European merger would create the first truly global auto group. That could push consolidation to the next level elsewhere. Moreover, China is the world's top market for the SUVs that Jeep effectively invented, so it might benefit FCA financially. A combo would certainly help upgrade the domestic manufacturer; Chinese carmakers have gotten better at making cars, but struggle to build global brands, and they need to develop export markets. Though frivolous overseas shopping excursions by Chinese enterprises are being reined in by Beijing, acquisitions that support the modernization and transformation of strategic industries still receive support, and the government considers the automotive industry to be strategic. A purchase of FCA by Guangzhou Automobile, Great Wall or Dongfeng Motors would probably get the same stamp of approval ChemChina was given for its $43 billion takeover of Syngenta. What's standing in the way? Apart from price (Automotive News said FCA's board deemed the offer insufficient) there's the not-insignificant matter of politics. Even as FCA shares soared, President Donald Trump interrupted his vacation to instruct the U.S. Trade Representative to look into whether to investigate China's trade policies on intellectual property. Seeing storied Detroit brands like Jeep, Chrysler, Ram and Dodge handed off to a Chinese company would provoke howls among Trump's economic-nationalist supporters. It might not play well in Italy, either, to see Alfa Romeo and Maserati answering to Wuhan instead of Turin — though Automotive News said they might be spun off separately. Yet, as Morgan Stanley observes, "cars don't ship across oceans easily," and political considerations increasingly demand local manufacture of valuable products.

Alfa Romeo Tonale drops the non-hybrid 2.0-liter for the U.S.

Mon, Nov 21 2022

Until last week, we were expecting the Alfa Romeo Tonale to be sold with two powertrains here. When the compact crossover greeted the world for the first time in February, Alfa Romeo told us our market could expect a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder as the base option, putting out 256 horsepower through a nine-speed automatic to all four wheels. The premium choice would be a plug-in hybrid powertrain that paired a 177-hp, 1.3-liter four-cylinder turning the front axle with a 121-hp electric motor working the rear axle for a combined 275 hp. The PHEV would also be capable of 30 miles of pure-electric motoring in the U.S. Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato told Automotive News Europe during the media drive that the non-hybrid 2.0-liter is no longer an option for the U.S. because Alfa Romeo needs to go especially aggressive on reducing emissions here. In Europe, the Tonale can be ordered with both powertrains as well as a diesel. Here, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently proposed a new set of regulations that lay out tougher benchmarks for an automaker's CO2 emissions. If the regulations pass, 35% of an automaker's sales in the state will need to be zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) by 2026 and 100% by 2035. California, by itself, is on the cusp of passing Germany as the world's fourth-largest economy, according to Bloomberg. Furthermore, 13 states and the District of Columbia adhere to CARB emissions rules, nine of those follow California's ZEV program, and three more states will join the ZEV regulations over the next three years. Alfa Romeo sold just over 18,000 cars here last year, and it needs plenty of Tonales to offset all those Stelvios. Across the Atlantic, the Euro 7 emissions giving carmakers public fits are slated to come into force on July 1, 2025. For these reasons as well as Alfa Romeo's commitment to going all-electric this decade, Imperato told ANE the PHEV is "an existential need" in the lineup. An Alfa Romeo spokesperson in the U.S. elaborated to Car and Driver, "As a premium brand, the PHEV better aligns with what our customers want in this segment as it provides an elevated experience, greater performance, and more than 30 miles of electric range." The subtext here is that the Tonale's corporate twin, the Dodge Hornet, will offer both powertrains when it goes on sale next year.

2017 Alfa Romeo Model Year Preview and Updates

Tue, Jan 31 2017

Having taken a twenty year sabbatical from the U.S. market, Fiat Chrysler Automobile's Alfa Romeo returned for the 2015 model year with the ALFA ROMEO 4C COUPE, a singularly two seat, mid-engined sports car with a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, high-performance 1.7 liter turbocharged four-cylinder powertrain and competition-inspired bodywork. Although the 4C's price point isn't inexpensive, the amount charged is pocket change relative to what is required by Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche. The 4C Spider was introduced for 2016, while 2017 brings a modest list of modifications to the sporting two-seater, including Alpine Premium audio, the addition of Giallo Prototipo (yellow) to the 4C Coupe, an available carbon fiber roof treatment and updated wheel selection. GIULIA/GIULIA Ti and GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO: Although the 4C Coupe may have taken the figurative lead in Alfa Romeo's return to the US market, the substantive start will be taken in the 2017 model year by Alfa Romeo's midsize sport sedan, the Giulia. All variants of the Giulia combine a balanced chassis, responsive drivetrains and Italianate bodywork in a compelling four door package. And with a turbocharged V6 drivetrain, sub-4 second 0-60 and a record-setting lap (for a 4-door) of the Nurburgring, the Quadrifoglio will battle BMW's M3 in Europe's super-sedan segment. STELVIO (2018): While final specs are still TBD, following the Giulia later in the 2017 calendar year will be Alfa Romeo's 2018 Stelvio. Based on the Giulia platform and formally introduced to the public at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show, the Stelvio will tap into the country's appetite for compact and midsize crossovers with an upright – albeit curvaceous – platform, responsive four cylinder power and performance-oriented all-wheel drive. The Stelvio should arrive in US showrooms sometime in the 2017 calendar year.