Last July, I lamented on this very blog about how nostalgia is a funny thing, and for us Car Geeks it’s easy to fall into the trap of automotive nostalgia recalling fondly the good times with a given car, but conveniently forgetting about its warts. While I’m a firm believer that a car’s character, its personality, is largely defined by its character flaws. I also believe in the assertion that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. And I have summarily tossed everything I know out the window. In the immortal words of Brittany Spears: “Oops, I did it again!”

As I have shared before, my first car was an Alfa Romeo Spider – a 1977 Spica-injected rustbucket, but when it was polished it was absolutely gorgeous. My Dad purchased it as a station car from a gas station on the Post Road in Norwalk, Connecticut in June, 1984 for $4,500. I got hold of it when I got my license in 1987, and subsequently added about 50,000 miles to it over the next three years until selling it to an Italian car specialist in the Hartford, CT area for $750 and a ride back to my college campus in his yellow Ferrari 308GTSi.

What  I didn’t know until pretty late in our ownership was that our Spider was pretty unique. It had been used by the previous owners for cross-country rally-style events, and had been upgraded with an electric fuel pump. The whole time we owned that car it never left us stranded. It died once on the road, but just needed a firm whack on the trunk-mounted battery to resurrect it. It also came with European halogen headlights, Carello headlight covers, Hella 4004GT Talbot-style fender-mounted mirrors, and Hella foglights.

When I sold that first Spider, I told myself I’d have another someday, and finally bought it’s near twin in 2009. Another green car, a year newer, from Colorado. It only had about 18,000 miles, but the Spica injection was very unhappy. Numerous Alfa guys tinkered with it, and against my better judgment and my experience with the first car I jettisoned it in favor of Weber carburetors. By then, in addition to constant battles against aged rubber and some paint weirdness in the front clip, I was over the car and just wasn’t enjoying it, so I sold it on eBay to a guy in Spain and figured I was done with Alfas. It just wasn’t the same.

Then again in 2017 I got the itch again. By then, Series 2 (1971-1982) Spiders had gone up somewhat in value so, not wanting to spend much, I sought out a clean Series 3 (1983-1990) with the ginormous rear spoiler. I found a clean 1987 Spider Graduate in upstate New York that had been used sparingly but was remarkably rust free, and snapped it up for a song. Being a post-1985 this example had the monopod gauge cluster instead of my preferred bi-pods, and I just never got there with the spoilers. To me they just look like Alfa was trying too hard to make an old car look new. That said, the Bosch fuel injection made what was already a good engine run flawlessly and reliably – at least in my experience. And as I said back in July, I figured that would be my last foray into Alfaland, because the cars have just gotten old and compared to what I’ve driven regularly for the past few decades just feel somewhat fragile.

Surprise of surprises, this past fall I got the urge once again. What occurred to me is that with a small fleet of cars of varying ages and reliability, a classic – even fragile-ish – roadster is a car that I love to have the ability to enjoy sparingly. That, and I am an Alfa guy at heart, an Alfisti, and I like a car that regular people don’t automatically recognize but see as something unique, interesting, and just a little special.

I’d actually found another car originally, funnily enough another green one, but this time a 1976. It had the same pigskin-colored interior as my original, headlight covers, small European-style chrome bumpers, and had the US-spec side marker lights removed and replaced with steel. By the time I’d gotten the committee on board with the purchase, it had already sold – but by then I was committed. I set a budget and started seeking out another.

This 1979 car showed-up both on the AlfaBB as well as Facebook Marketplace, and a little interaction with the seller revealed a car that had been used sparingly, well-loved, and restored to a good driver standard. Sharp-eyed enthusiasts will no doubt spot the strangely laid-out replacement console, but for my purposes that was not a concern. What I was looking for was a good body, records of care, and a car that I could toss around the back roads and leave the top down when stopping at a roadside café for a spot of lunch. I’ve always liked Avorio (Ivory) as a color on Alfas, and this one reminded me of the Ferrari that participated in last year’s Turtle Rally. I mean, tell me you can’t see the similarities..?? Same designer, same rough time frame after all. Slight displacement and horsepower difference, however….

With average prices for good S2 Spiders averaging around $15K these days, I think they represent one of the best classic sports car deals out there. You get a sweet dual overhead cam engine, a simple yet effective convertible top mechanism, comprehensive gauges, reasonable handling and a sweet 5-speed gearbox all wrapped-up in the pretty Pininfarina shell. Besides, I have to admit that I prefer driving a slow car fast rather than a fast car slow – and this one feels quicker by the seat of the pants than any of its predecessors! This car came in a little lower than the average price, but that accounted for the fact it needs a few things. Some I knew about, and some the result of sparing use for the past several years. So far, I’m well inside budget and still have a little room to do some of the *other* things I want to do to it. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

As a 1979 US car, my spider left the factory with Spica fuel injection. At some point in its life a previous owner removed that in favor of Weber carburetors set-up with a proper European-spec intake and manifold. The previous owner also removed the catalytic converter and added a set of stainless steel headers. He also had the valve cover professionally coated in a heat-resistant black finish. It’s not original, but I like the look. It starts and runs beautifully, once you wake the carbs up – usually takes 2 tries to start, but it starts quickly and settles down to a perfect 800rpm idle. There is a rattle I need to find that happens around 2000rpm, and then goes away – stay tuned on that.

It is going to need tires, and while I’m at that I am contemplating replacing the later 14″ 5-star alloy wheels with a set of 15″ Maxilite GTAs, but that is less of a priority than some other projects.  I welcome thoughts on that change!  I’ve already swapped the stock muffler for a hard-to-source Ansa twin tailpipe muffler, because I just like the look and the sound.  If I keep it longer-term, I will at some point need to modify the tailpipe opening in the rear valance.

Another thing the car is desperately crying for is a set of the small European chrome bumpers. This car already has an aftermarket big clack rear bumper – which is lighter than the original, but those 1970s safety bumpers just don’t do the Spider’s pretty lines justice. Kits seem to be on backorder pretty much everywhere these days, but I’m keeping an eye out. But thinking back on my original spider, I’ve already swapped the sealed-beam headlights for a set of Carello European halogens, and I have already purchased a set of OE headlight covers to install at some point. I also managed to source a set of new old stock Hella 4004GT mirrors identical to those on my old car. I personally really loved the look, but I can argue it both ways. Again, I welcome perspectives. It would require some paintwork on the driver’s door if I install them and omit the factory mirror, but I have a couple of other small paintwork matters to be dealt with, so I’m not losing sleep over that.

I’ll also be removing the modern stereo either in favor of a period-correct unit or a “Pininfarina” blanking plate as would have come with the car originally. Time will tell. In the meantime, I have discovered a couple of other issues: First, the radiator came with a slight weep, so I have removed it and have a replacement en route. That’s the easy one. Second, it appears that either when the console was replaced or when the stereo was installed, someone played around with the wiring such that the dash dimmer is not connected (and the wires are MIA) and the taillights do weird things when the lights are on, but they function properly when the lights are not on…..  I’m trying a few things, but I’m somewhat electrically challenged so will likely give up and end-up outsourcing that project….!  Oh yeah – I also swapped the aftermarket wood shift knob for an earlier black plastic one. Again, you like what you like.

But I figure it this way: the bones are terrific, and the type of things the car wants are mostly things I enjoy doing. On top of that, it’s not so perfect that I’m afraid to drive it or make it my own, and that has huge appeal. I won’t be slapping mirrors or anything else on the 500SEC, so I kind of appreciate the blank canvas that this car represents – but I am partial to period-correct mods. Will it stay for the long haul? Who can say, really? All I know is I’m having fun for now, despite the short, cold, grey days. Still, like any good Alfa Spider, with the heat on and the windows up you can drive this car with the top down in pretty much any season. And that doesn’t suck.