1960 Alfa Romeo Guilietta Spider 

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This great little Italian spider is the result of an intergration of ideals between the prior owner and the Vermont based Restoration Performance Motorcars (RPM) from Vergennes near Burlington. The Alfa had been a race car for many years just how long is not known but it had photos and race log book history back to 1988 The car was stripped to a bare shell and all weak metal removed and replaced. The shell was then strengthened and stiffened by a hefty custom roll cage. Sheet metal alterations were limited to the inclusion of interesting aerodynamic headlamp covers and a tonneau to cover the passenger compartment, louvers in the hood and trunk opening for the gas cap. The original 1300 cc engine was stripped and rebuilt with a stock crankshaft, Carrillo rods, after market power pistons and the cylinder head was ported and polished and fitted with a hotter camshaft. The two side draft Weber twin choke carburetors were rebuilt and re-jetted and a Holly electric fuel pump fitted. The fuel tank was replaced and an approved 10 gallon ATL fuel cell with a classic polished alloy quick full gas. The lubrication system was protected by an Accusump oil pressure maintenance system and a oil cooler. The cooling radiator was a custom made in aluminum and the stock gearbox was rebuilt. A tiny Japanese alternator maintains the charge to the battery in the trunk.
The stock differential was remade as a locker, the coil over independent suspension was stiffened and fitted with Koni shock absorbers and beefed up sway bars. The original finned alloy drum brakes were rebuilt and fitted with hard racing pads. The 15 inch alloy Technomagnesio rims are fitted with Dunlop RS5 race tires .
The cockpit sports a roll cage hoop behind a black Cobra cloth padded race seat fitted with a full harness safety belt. The dash offers an array of modern Motometer insturments dominated centrally by the Rev counter and there is a nice polished fire extinguisher on the floor behind the gear lever.
After the first three or four races the owner decided that his Alfa needed some extra power and the car was sent to master engineer Bob Norwood in Dallas for a mechanical revision. Out came the fresh 1300 cc unit and in went a fresh 1600 cc engine from Spider Duetto that had been stripped and rebuilt using the stock crankshaft, special rods and aftermarket pistons and a cylinder head that was plished and ported, fitted with a hotter camshaft, big valves and stonger springs. The original gearbox was retained but the clutch was replaced with a Centerforce five plate multi-disc unit. The new engine was dyno tested before and after and ended with 103 bhp at the wheels with the torque of 92 lb/ft and a gain of nearly 30+ bhp from the original smaller bore engine.
The standard Alfa rear axle with and without a locked differential kept failing , so Norwood resolved the issue by using a Ford 9 inch live axle, shortened and fitted with the Alfa end plates and original drive shafts. Brakes and wheels remained unaltered.
Following the completion of the Norwood development phase the car was raced with reasonable frequency and success for several years from both Texas and the North East before finally returning to storage in Vermont.
The Alfa Spider has been maintained consistently throught the years, the engine is in superb condition and the car is consequently really "dialed in " and well developed. This is a very brisk drive, the engine is powerful and responsive but it is the incredible neutral handling that gets the car through the corners so quickly. There is virtually no body roll and the rear end stays down with only a slight drifting off-line to let you know that its working just right. All the expensive development has been done and the car is designed to be safe and reliable in addition to being very attractive.

Contact Information

Hyman Ltd Classics (314) 524-6000 St Louis Mo