33
general), you almost certainly will be better off going there. Asking for mechanics in your area
on the Alfa Romeo digest (
http://www.digest.net/alfa
) will usually net good results.
Joining the Alfa Romeo Owner
“
s Club is also recommended. You will receive a monthly
magazine called the Alfa Owner that will contain all sorts of useful information. You also gain
access to the Alfa tech support network
a group of volunteers who you can call that will be
happy to give advice on how to work on the cars, or what a certain sound or smell might mean.
There are also a large number of publications available only to AROC members, and members of
your local chapter (with a few exceptions, there
“
s at least one in each state) will be able to give
you tips, perhaps loan you specialized tools, and, as mentioned above, give you access to perfect
examples of just about any model Spider you may be looking for.
One final word on shortcuts and
”
enhancements
„
. As discussed in the performance section
above, the factory did most of the performance work already. Be very careful about any advice
you may get that seems to
”
get around
„
the factory. Ask around about these
”
tips
„
, especially
from mechanics very familiar with the car. Many times, a shortcut will only work for a short
amount of time, and then either fail or cause serious damage.
If you
“
re working on your own car, always be sure to put back what you removed. Even if you
had nuts so tight on their studs they had to be ground off with a motor tool, if they had lock
washers be damned sure to put those lock washers back. Nothing is
”
extra
„
on these cars,
everything has a place and a purpose, even if that purpose is not immediately apparent.
If you are coming to these cars after owning and working on American cars for years, be
especially careful. Like fine watches, they are designed to tight tolerances, and because of their
small overall size tend to have parts that, while bulletproof on a Ford, may be quite fragile on an
Alfa. What you can get away with on a Chevy (such as tightening a nut down until it hurts,
prying on a surface with the longest screwdriver you have, or whacking away with a hammer)
will very likely do permanent damage to your Alfa. Be careful.
Insuring your Alfa Spider
Insurance companies like to write policies for brand new cars and trucks that are used primarily
as daily transportation. They will also write policies for new sporty cars, but don
“
t much like to.
Finally, they hate to write policies for new sports cars, because they are usually more expensive
to fix and are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident.
One of the least noted influences on the post-war auto industry is that of automotive insurance
companies. An important limiting factor, at least in the US, on the purchase of very high
performance automobiles and pure sports cars (like the Alfa Spider) is not government
regulation, absolute price, safety or reliability, but rather the cost of insurance. Especially at the
beginning of the 1970s, and then again in the middle of the 1980s, the incredible cost of insuring
high performance automobiles has had a profound braking effect on the sales of those
automobiles. To this day, it is quite possible to own a car (especially if one is male, single, and
