Pristine in the 80s: 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider
We often talk about wanting to see what a car looked like before it became a barn find. Imagining the gleaming paint, the spotless engine bay, the rich and supple interior. We don’t often get that chance, but the seller of this 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulia listed here on eBay miraculously retained photos of the car as it appeared in the early 1980s, before it was seemingly relegated to the North Carolina forest. The Giulia is offered for sale near Asheville, NC with a reserve and bids currently sitting at just $255.
We’ll get to the before photos in a minute, but let’s first take a gander at what this Alfa has become. Sadly, the interior has been removed and the floors now show a significant amount of rot. There’s another photo in the listing that you’ll have to go check out which shows the pretty twin-cam roadster sitting in the forest, with its soft top tattered and the car looking sorely neglected. These are such pretty machines when fully sorted, featuring gorgeous Pininfarina bodywork that is unfortunately very susceptible to rust (Exhibit A, shown here). Now, let’s get into the before photos.
Wow – what an unfortunate transformation. The seller recounts that the handful of photos he’s included show the Alfa in the early 1980s, and that it has been parked since 1989. What happened between those very short years, likely totaling less than a decade? Now, you see some details like the missing side marker lights that perhaps point to a rushed paint job, but the other details look right, such as the seemingly freshly-chromed bumpers and grill, the hubcaps with the mirror finish, and the trim strip along the hood bulge. I believe I also spy a roll bar behind the headrests.
The engine bay is likewise in seemingly excellent shape, though I realize you can only tell so much from a grainy photograph. Unlike some its British competition, the Alfa could legitimately claim it had race-inspired DNA, with the twin-cam four-cylinder a byproduct of Alfa’s experience on the track. According to Hemmings, the Spider’s engine was unique for several reasons, not the least of which was its “….five-main-bearing forged crankshaft and its cast-alloy cylinder head, which contained hemispherical combustion chambers.” Seeing all that technology left to rot is incredibly sad, and we’d love to know the story behind how this once-pretty Alfa got left for dead in the trees.
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Comments
Go to the eBay ad and you will find the a shot of of not so good engine compartment with a twin carb engine that’s probably toast by now. This is one rough car.
This baby should have been named The Helvetia. So many seem to have become swiss cheese. That last engine shot should be labeled historic.
Hippies shouldn’t be allowed to own nice things.
Who in their right mind would have chosen a forest as the location to park even a non-running 62 Giulia Spider in 1989? Let alone one that enjoys the humidity of western NC? That’s criminal.
If I were the seller, I’d pull the ad off Ebay and go spend a few months in TX for fear of a mob of angry Italians showing up on my doorstep.
This is identical to one my father had back in the 70’s. He got in a minor fender bender in around 1980 and parked it in his barn until he sold it in 2014.
OK all the sheet metal that is rusted is available from England and it is true that these are susceptible to rust. I have restored one and drove it for many years. NOT powerful at all but amazing gas milage especially on long trips. What is truly amazing is how comfortable this car is compared to the MGA I had at the same time. Both were 1962 cars and the MG had sliding curtains where the Alfa had roll up windows. In ALL ways the Alfa was the more comfortable car with the exception of the Heater which while not unless was as close as you can get. Think butterfly blowing on a candle. Winter time trips to school were not great fun even after it got heated up.
About that engine there are things the article is missing. Like the magnet in the oil plug to catch metal fragments that might damage the engine, The brass nuts for the exhaust manifold to make certain they would not rust tight, that the exhaust valves are sodium filled to make them last longer. Also good to make certain that anybody doing a valve job know this as it can be explosive.
There are so many thing about that engine that are impressive today and even more so back in the day. This is a perfect car for summer afternoons and evenings. Back roads in the country or even in the city as with the top down you can see everything and with the windows rolled up you there is only just enough wind to make things nice.
Superb design and I wish it had the 2 liter engine for power and a working heater. With the exception of the safety rules this design could go back into production and sell well.
This could and should be saved.
Thumbs Up Bruce.
:-)
Got my 1959 Alfa Spider in Florida back in the 1980s.
Great weekend cruiser!
I just took a look at the EBAY Photos and this is a VELOCHIE and yes I know that is spelled wrong but it has dual Webbers and a different cam, heads and pistons and has a lot more power. It is also worth about 50% more than a standard one. I would get restored it is at least a $30,000 to $50,000 car restored.
Oh of note the holes in the front fender tell you that this was a European car imported after it was sold.
What a shame. That car was a real looker until it was left to deteriorate.
Remove tires, place atop 56 Jaguar on here last week. Push button, both will be as high as a notebook once pressed together. Recycle into a guardrail or stove, fence post……
It’s not a Veloce, in spite of its two Weber carbs. If you look it up on Fusi’s tables, based on the VIN, it’s a standard Alfa that someone added the carbs to.
Thank you. My mistake
engine tranny & dash maybe worth $1k , then junk the rest.
A sad reversal of the normal Before and After photos. Unfortunately this is unlikely to be a Veloce. The Before photos show a single carb, and the owner may have later swapped it for the dual Webers. That’s what I did with my ’65 Normale, thus making it an Abnormale. A real Veloce would have a special sheet-metal air intake behind the left grille.
That said, these are fun to drive and easy to live with. Anyone who restores this will have to keep it for at least 20 years before they can get their money back, but in the meantime they’ll be able to enjoy the car.
“ You’ll be satisfied with the quality…”, according to the seller. NO. WRONG. It’s a parts car at best, due to someone’s negligence.
I think the paint is holding it together. So sad when they sit like that.
Sold for $9,995!! If that’s legit, someone is crazy. The selling price sounds like a price you would see at a used car lot.