1966 Alfa Romeo Romeo-Giulia Spider

Description 1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spiders/n AR392838, engine no. AR00112*16275*Red with Black Interior Alfa Romeo, the legendary Italian automobile manufacturer began their rise to greatness fabricating cars in the handmade tradition of coach building excellence. Pre-war and early postwar Alfas were painstakingly assembled using often laborious and complex fabrication methods. In the early postwar years, there was a dramatically decreased appetite for such cars, and many producers of luxurious coachbuilt cars didn’t survive because they failed to evolve their product offerings to match the new economic reality. BMW produced the Isetta, while Alfa Romeo took a different approach by introducing the Giulietta. Incorporating the traditional Alfa Romeo values of sporting performance and technical innovation, these new cars transitioned Alfa Romeo from being a relatively small and low volume company to becoming an economically viable and successful mass producer of road cars. The charming and capable Giulietta’s success was due in part to its unique placement in the market. It was neither a large or expensive car, nor was it a small utility car like the Fiat 500. Instead, coupled the style and functionality of a larger car with a price that made it accessible. The balance of style, performance, and function permitted a more glamorous and useful approach to motoring that struck a chord with buyers on both sides of the Atlantic. Produced in a wide variety of variants, the Spider was always the most glamorous, with the eventual evolution of the Giulietta to the Giulia when a 1600cc version of Alfa’s legendary twin cam engine was introduced. This particular Giulia Spider has been preserved and maintained by recent owners with the idea of regular use and utility, serving the current owner as a fun car with driver cosmetics and a bit of performance updates adding to the overall appeal of the car. The paint shows good gloss overall exhibiting some stress cracks, minor chipping on the front hood edge, and a few other areas of chips and scratches. The chrome and other trim are sound and offer consistent visual presentation with clean finishes. The door handles show minor pitting and the bumpers and side trim exhibit some surface hazing. The car sits on properly finished painted silver wheels with stainless centers and correctly sized tires with good tread. Like most of these cars, this car has had some rust repair and the underlying bodywork shows evidence of other previous repairs, but here again, the car is now sound and visually consistent. Panel gaps show some variation in a few areas, however both doors open and close properly. The interior has been previously redone some time ago to nice driver standards using quality vinyl and new foam on the seats, which now show minor signs of use. An older replacement set of correctly fitted carpets, rubber floor mats, and door panels, complete the interior, all of which are clean and tidy. Factory gauges, steering wheel, and levers are all in nice condition and appear to be original to the car. The complete, clean, but older off-white canvas top is in good visual condition with some browning of the plastic rear window due to sun exposure. The top goes up and down smoothly and latches properly. Overall the interior, dash, and instruments are tidy and evenly matched in presentation to the rest of the car. The engine bay is quite tidy, having been updated with twin Dell’Orto carburetors and four open trumpet intakes. The components appear to be in good working order with the cast aluminum twin cam head topping the 1600 cc engine appearing nicely finished and ready for a bit more polish. All components have a serviceable visual presence, evidencing that the car is being enjoyably used. The trunk compartment is finished in satin black while the underside appears to be in good order, retaining a largely original driver standard with clean and proper finned aluminum castings and black painted metal finishes. The car starts and drives, displaying good power but some inconsistency in the carburetion. The car responds typically as one might expect from a car that is functional and complete, ready for more casual use and occasional attention from an enthusiastic owner. The car recently received a light service by Alfa specialist Glenn Oliveria. Most importantly, the combination of solid cosmetics, consistent presentation, and driver level mechanical servicing makes this particular Giulia an exciting opportunity for the restoration-minded enthusiast who might wish to perform selective restoration work while also driving and enjoying the car. Alfa Romeo Spiders, particularly the Giulietta and Giulia series cars, are enjoyable, unpretentious cars with a strong following to accompany the delightful driving experience one gets from open sports cars of this era. This driver quality Giulia Spider represents excellent value, having been priced in a way that offers the new owner plenty of opportunity to drive and enjoy it, but also realize significant upside by improving the car to whichever level the new owner desires.