1969 Alfa Romeo duetto Spider

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Anyone know anything about these cars? Value? Restoration potential? Speed/Handling/Fun compared to a 69 911T/E?

[Rick Lee]

I think Overpaid Slacker has one. Cool car.

[Tobra]

Have a friend with one of those. Sweet little car, 911 is significantly quicker, or seemed that way to me.

[Robert Adams]

A 911 will run the pants off this car but for the money you might want to consider a '69 or '76 912. Either have a more up side in performance & appreciation than this car ever will.
Take a look at NADA..or Hemmings.
My 2cents!
Rob

[Laneco]

Exquisitely beautiful little cars. The engines make lovely sounds. One of those cars that's on the "Lane Drag-Home" list.

A 911 is a better car in everyway. But we don't always want what's best for us, do we? A little sexy Italian flare is sometimes exactly what the heart wants.

angela

[David McLaughlin]

I've always liked those cars. I blame it on my repeated watching of 'The Graduate'. The sound is very Italian and so it the look. The one I rode in (a later year) was quite soft and seemed a little vague in the tracking department. There's a lot of these doing vintage racing so I assume the handling can be upgraded if a full showroom style restoration isn't planned. No idea on pricing though.

[targa911S]

had one.. They drive like trucks. It's Italian....what are you thinking?

Just hire a flatbed truck to follow you around and you should be alright.

[cashflyer]

Compared to a 911?
It's like driving around in a wet sponge.

Stiffen the suspension, build up the engine, and you will be in for enough that you could have just bought a better car from the start. This is one of those cars you own out of love for the brand and the style. It will never be worth what you invest, and will never market as easily as a Porsche.

If you want a cheap Italian drop top project, PM me. I will hook you up.

[Rich76_911s]

Seems that Porsche drivers get the lowest amount of quality sack time so you might want to start seriously thinking about this car, or ideally a 2002 BMW:

Survey: BMW drivers have more sex & Porsche drivers last place - AutoSpies Auto News

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Thanks everyone. This car is being offered at an estate auction tomorrow in northwestern, MA. so far up in the corner of the state, I wouldn't expect much competition. I was thinking more of a flip since it's offered (at what I thought) so cheaply, but a friend wrote in and knocked some sense into my head, "buy what you know." Thanks Rob! If I could get it for $3K and flip for $10K, or even twice $, that would be great. but I could end up buying something worth $3.5K. that would suck.

But yes, they are beautiful and 20 years ago I had a little 69 MGB that was tons of fun in the summer, so a little yearning and nostalgia for open air motoring in a toy.

the thrill of the chase and finding these cars is addictive as well.

[M.D. Holloway]

Originally Posted by Laneco

Exquisitely beautiful little cars. The engines make lovely sounds. One of those cars that's on the "Lane Drag-Home" list.

A 911 is a better car in everyway. But we don't always want what's best for us, do we? A little sexy Italian flare is sometimes exactly what the heart wants.

angela

Well put Angela. I think that car would look great cleaned up. Who cares if it isn't a speedracer like a 911, slow can attract as much attention maybe more and being topless and a redhead is the cats ass!

[JeremyD]

I had an Alfa spider and got more attention with that car than any other car I have owned. I had people follow me to my house, I had strange women ask me for rides...

Fit and finish sucked money butt - it made great sounds but did not handle well. Flexible flyer - after going over railroad tracks you had to wait 10 seconds for the chassis to quit vibrating...

[RWebb]

you want that car - it is a summer car, and performance & reliability aside, it will do things for you that no 911 can

those things are sensory, psychological, whatever, but still...

[strupgolf]

Buy it for $3 and sell it for $10. ?????? Good luck on that one.

[speeder]

There are 3 main issues with those cars; rust, rust and more rust. Alfas of that vintage had zero rust protection from the factory and were known for rusting on the boat ride over to America. That said, if it's a bone-dry car from Texas or AZ. that someone up in MA. happened to buy on eBay and was in the midst of restoring when he died, it could be valuable. If, and only if, it's a dry/straight car, the rest of value depends on how much it needs in interior and mechanical condition to determine value. Perfect Duettos can fetch ~$20k or so. Most for sale are just decent and check eBay for sold prices and condition.

I love Alfas every bit as much as Porsches and that's saying a lot. The company has a racing heritage that no other auto maker can match and the cars are thoroughbreds. The people saying that they're turds have no idea what they're talking about. Maybe they only drove an old, worn-out example or something. Stock they were sprung soft but the suspension is still brilliant. All of the complaints listed above would go double for an old, worn-out stock 911T. Those can be squishy, under-steering crap-boxes as well.

Also, just because the straight-line performance was nothing blinding is irrelevant. That would make every 356 ever made a POS. They are momentum cars, just like all of the funnest little roadsters that people vintage race. Nothing, and I mean nothing is stronger than an Alfa. Old BMW 2002s will break in half at the track w/o significant upgrades. Only Porsches and Alfas are race-ready right out of the factory. The suspension on both need upgrades to go really fast but they do not break. Talk to a more knowledgeable crowd if you really want to get into Alfas. And I disagree 100% about any 911, (or 912??), being a smart investment for the future. Any and all of these cars will cost you $$ and return fun, that's about it. Old Porsches are way over-priced and over-valued right now.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Thanks Denis. This car is supposed to have had professional rust repair (based only on their visual inspection). The auction organizers don't know much about it, they were hired to sell a huge barn full of AHs, Jaguars, MGBs, BSAs, etc. that were all in some stage of restoration, from barn finds themselves to cars a ways along. They have "a guy" that is a vintage car expert, whatever that means, who says it's a good car that needs minor reassembly. I haven' bugged them too much with email and they aren't taking calls. So I thought it might be something I could put 20-40 hours into and have a good running little car that would hit eBay. That was the hope anyway.

yes, completely agree on rust. I had an 850 spyder that had more rust than car. it was the bees knees though.

[Damian in NJ]

First off, it's not a Duetto. Duetto's were only the 1600cc cars.

I had a Duetto in the eighties, and the car was a total magnet for girls. Noted Alfa dealer Bobcor was then in a Jersey shore town, Belmar. I would drive there on Saturday if I needed a part, then hit the beach early, getting an ocean front spot for visibility. To not damage the lines of the boattail Pininfarina put the trunk lock in the door sill. So when I wanted a soda I'd go open the door, key the lock, and pull my wallet and head to the seaside arcade. Countless times a random girl would ask for a ride later in the day. Figure out the rest.

I don't think there ever has been a better convertible roof on a car either.

All Alfa's of that period lean, but these cars were so incredibly ahead at that time compared to the British cars-twin cam, five speed, etc.

And there are a lot more upgrade pieces available for sixties Alfa's. Here's one.

Classic Alfa Romeo cars

[pwd72s]

Coo-Coo a choo Mrs. Robinson... Yeah, I could envision a fun drive over mountain passes on a nice summer day...

[einreb]

wow...

Alfaholics Production GTA Replicas

[dipso]

Had one of these. 1959 1200 pininfarina


Fun little cars. But it is true what the say.

Fix It Again Tony