﹒Valuation certificate from Alfa Romeo Owners Club of £13,500
﹒70,000 miles since new
﹒Top specification Green Cloverleaf/Quadrifoglio Verde model
﹒RHD conversion by Bell & Colvill/Ellison’s
The Background
The Alfa Romeo Spider was first introduced in 1966 as a variant of the 105/115 Giulia and coupe, and production ran for 28 years across four distinct generations.
A stylish, lightweight, rear-wheel drive convertible, the Spider gained fame courtesy of its appearance as Dustin Hoffman's car in the 1967 film The Graduate, and in fact Alfa Romeo would later offer a “Graduate” trim level on the car.
This model is a late Series 3, introduced in 1982 and running through to 1990 before it was replaced with the final Series 4. It's highly recognisable even among Spiders, with black rubber bumpers front and rear and, in this Quadrifoglio Verde (QV) trim, a black rubber ducktail spoiler.
As with all Series 3 models, this Spider originally landed in the UK as a left-hand drive car, back in 1989. That resulted in the only major work undertaken in its lifetime as, like so many others, it was converted to right-hand drive by the importer Bell & Colvill (carried out by Ellison's in Hull).
We don't know a great deal about the car's history between that point and the early 00s, when the Spider was picked up by an owner in Wales – although we do know it passed through around ten owners in that 20-year spell.
At some point after an MOT in 2013, the owner decided to put the car in storage, where it remained until 2016. From there it ended up at Mortimers Prestige garage in Billingham, where the current owner bought it in May 2016, and he's been running it ever since.
Having purchased an Alfa 164, the Spider is now reluctantly having to move on and being made available to a new owner to enjoy it just as much.
You’ll find a good paperwork folder with this S3, which covers a good slug of the car's recent history. All of the recent maintenance work is represented with full receipts, and there's a bundle of MOT certificates dating back around 15 years.
The car has a dedicated following, and that's reflected in another item in the paperwork: an official valuation certificate from the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC) 105 Register. This gives the car's value at £13,500 in February 2020, and notes that the car “presents extremely well” and “is regularly serviced and maintained by the enthusiastic owner”.
There's only two seats in the Spider's cabin, but both – in grey leather with red stitching – look in excellent condition, with no rips, tears, or even much sign of wear of any kind. It's tough to believe that this is a car that's seen almost 70,000 miles underneath it.
That's matched by the door cards, which also have a flash of the red carpet you'll find in the rear of the cabin, while the black carpets in the front are also in good condition.
There's a few changes from original specification inside, with the most obvious being the aftermarket JVC head unit. This is paired to the original speakers in the footwell and some more modern JBL items in the rear shelf. The wooden steering wheel – Momo Super Indy – and Nardi gear knob are also non-original items, but certainly suit.
The speedometer is still in the original Italian km and km/h, so although it displays 111,700, that converts to approximately 69,400 miles, as certified by that letter from AROC.
Unusually, the car also has a couple of electrical add-ons. There's a battery cut-off in the passenger footwell, and a slot for an immobiliser dongle in the steering wheel. You'll also spot a small, silver button near to that which actually operates the windscreen washers; this odd feature comes about from the fact that the function on the wiper stalk doesn't work, and replacement stalks are extremely difficult to come by due to scarcity and variation across model years.
All Alfa Romeo Spider S3 models were originally left-hand drive and, like most of the right-hand drive cars in the UK, this was converted by Bell & Colvill.
The Series 3 QV only came in three exterior colours – red, black, and silver – and in this case the first owner clearly didn't follow the crowd when ordering the car. Metallic silver shows off the Pininfarina curves well, though it also makes a feature of that rubber rear duck tail which divided opinion at the time.
For the most part, the paint is in exceptional condition, as you'd probably expect for a car stored under a custom – and red – Alfa Romeo car cover. There's a couple of spots on the nose where we can see some very small bubbles, no larger than 2mm, but otherwise it's hard to find any fault. The wheels have some kerbing and a couple of minor markings, though nothing that's obvious from distance.
The duck tail has an odd blemish on the offside, which looks as if it could be an issue with the moulding – which would mean it was present from new – or some kind of heat damage, but it is highly localised and covers an area of around 4 square centimetres.
Of course the folding roof is one of the most important parts, and this is in very good condition. There's no issues with operating it, and there's no rips or tears anywhere. Even the plastic rear screen, so often creased and yellowed, is clear. There's new rubber seals too, so it should provide plenty of protection from the elements.
In mechanical terms, the Spider is in generally good condition too. It's a well used car – 9,000 miles in four years is not exactly what we'd call a pampered garage queen – and the condition reflects that, with maintenance being the norm rather than repair.
Starting the car from cold does require some time on the choke – again well within normal bounds for a car this age – but once warm it does find a good idle speed without obvious hesitation or hunting, and the two-litre engine makes a very pleasant noise.
There's no obvious concerns elsewhere, and no signs of leaks or drips in the generally clean engine bay; the silver finish on the rocker cover is something the seller has done during his ownership. Although the MOT history does throw up a few red marks over the years - some related to the car’s three-year storage - it's clear that it's just a case of staying on top of maintenance to keep the car running as it ought.
The seller has also advised us that the car had a gearbox overhaul 6 years ago and a new clutch fitted last year.
As summer hovers into view, a young man's fancy might turn to thoughts of a convertible, rear-wheel drive sports car. While many might default to something more modern, and Japanese, there's considerably more romance in the Alfa Romeo and Quadrifoglio badges, and this Spider is the perfect way to spend this summer in a soft-top.
Notice to bidders
Although every care is taken to ensure this listing is as factual and transparent as possible, all details within the listing are subject to the information provided to us by the seller. Car & Classic does not take responsibility for any information missing from the listing. Please ensure you are satisfied with the vehicle description and all information provided before placing a bid.
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1989 Alfa Romeo Spider Quadrifoglio Verde
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