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Junkyard Find: 1981 Alfa Romeo Spider

by Murilee Martin
(IC: employee)
July 1st, 2014 12:32 AM
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Prices for (non- 164) Alfa Romeos have been getting somewhat crazy in recent years, but it’s still possible to get a restorable 1970s or 1980s Spider for non-insane bucks. The proof of this is that rougher examples still show up now and then at the self-service wrecking yards I frequent. In this series so far, we’ve seen this ’74, this ’78, and now today’s ’81.

The interior is ugly, but it doesn’t show the atomic-testing-grade obliteration that Colorado convertibles get when left outside for years with no top.

Alfa Spiders love to rust, even in single-digit-humidity Colorado.

Not worth restoring, but a good parts car.

Its final parking place is next to a Mazda RX-7.














#1980s
#1981
#1981AlfaRomeoSpider
#Alfa
#AlfaRomeo
#AlfaRomeoSpider
#DownOnTheJunkyard
#ItalianCars
#ItalianSportsCars
#Junkyard
#Spider
#JunkyardFind
#Malaise
#MalaiseEra
Published July 2nd, 2014 9:00 AM
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The 1981 cars had the worst power of the Spica injection. The 1982 got Bosch injection that carried over for a number of years. I love the shape of the 91-94 spiders but dislike the dash changes that went along with the re-skin. The dual binnacle dash like in this one are super cool.
Kinda sad IMO ; I'm no Alfa lover but I grew up thinking they were special in a very good way . Oddly these from the late 1960's through mid 1970's are perennials in the So. Cal. self - service junkyards , rust & dent free , just sun baked In the first few years of the ' Charity Car Auction ' craze (when YOU got to write in the donated vehicles $ value) there were scads and scads of these from inside storage , they ran O.K. but rarely fetched over $125 at the auctions . Not worth the cosmetics needed I guess . -Nate