Just how rare are the Late 60's Round Tail Spica injection Alfa Romeo spyders?

One of my friends was just given this by an elderly gentleman and old friend of the family. Orginally he was going to take it out into the field as a, "farm runner" or to restore it (he's an auto body mechanic) because other than wear and tear, the body is the bad/rusty part and give it back to the family friend before he passes away. But in either case, I've always been a fan of Alfas and knew that the round tail Spicas weren't common, but I've never went through much to check on them. Somebody yesterday while I was at a get together stated he was told Round Tails were one of the unicorn Alfas of the USA. This car even has a factory (maybe aftermarket) removable hardtop (same as in link here.... http://ipocars.com/vinfo/alfa_romeo/spider_1600_duetto_round_tail-1966.html ). So, anyways, I'm unsure what we're talking about or what I can tell him in regards to worthwhile endeavors.

I wouldn't go as far as saying they are unicorns, it's more that they are highly desirable.

Of all of the later Spiders Alfa has made (67-94), the early round tails are worth the most, but a pretty wide margin.

The first ones were 1600cc carb'ed engines, if the one you speak of is SPICA- it's a '69 1750- the only year of that configuration.

Badly rusted is pretty relative- for the most part, that car may be worth restoring. There are some good sources of body and floor pan metal. It really depends on how rusty it is.

There's a '67 Duetto for sale on Alfabb, asking $15k for it. Looks good from the outside, needs floors. If that helps the relative value of what you have.

What alfadriver said. They aren't particularly rare, but are the rarest of that model line. I have a friend with a couple that he has had for years. The nicest one is probably worth $30k, his driver maybe $15 to $20k, and that is with no rust to speak of. The coupes are outpacing the spiders in those years.

They might not be rare, but I've only ever seen one in the wild. It was a local car and used to see it regularly.

Was there a picture from the OP?

My first Alfa was a 69 spider, daily driver as a college student. Pretty reliable. Sold it to buy a house. My Alfa now is a 67 Duetto (below), which I consider somewhat more desirable due to being the first year (well, 66) of the design.

Spica FI is good, when good... otherwise can be pricey to make it right. The dual booster brake system is the same. 1750 motor is possibly more desirable than 1600, my car has the 1750 that I built for it. Suspension is somewhat upgraded in 69, but enough stuff exchanges that it's not much of an issue. 69 motor can easily be exchanged with later 2000, because of hydraulic clutch.

As usual, the condition of this particular car has the biggest impact on value. But they are pretty highly desired cars, so I wouldn't easily write it off.

And I just drove a 1971 Spider all weekend and to and from the Amelia Island Concours. There is a reason all these Alfas are getting so popular. What a great driving and looking car.

The later alfas were dirt cheap for years. They've been going up for a few years now.

I've had a 67' Duetto since 1986 and on and off spent a few years doing a complete restoration. I used it as a daily driver for 15 years and it rarely gave me trouble. Last year I gave it a refresh with the intent on selling it, but I listed it too high for a car that was not factory stock, which seems to be what people want. Growing up around racing in the 60's & 70's I decided to build the car as an "enthusiasts" car of the 70's. It has a later model differential, which has limited slip and better brakes than the stock 67 rear end.(which I still have) I also added a hotter cam and lowered the car with stiffer springs, Koni's, sway bars and "Mini-Lite" wheels. After finishing the refresh (New interior bits, new paint rebuilt Webbers) I'm on the fence about selling, or not selling it.

In reply to LMGill:

Your '67 looks great. Your mods seem very sensible to me, although I'm not wild about the yellow wheels.

If there's a way to private message me on this site, I'd be possibly interested if you should ever decide to sell it.

mjsizemore wrote: In reply to LMGill: Your '67 looks great. Your mods seem very sensible to me, although I'm not wild about the yellow wheels. If there's a way to private message me on this site, I'd be possibly interested if you should ever decide to sell it.

I'm not sure the rules here in sending PM's, but I have decided to sell it on ebay. It's been a diffcult decision, but I'm not driving it enough and I need the room in the garage for the race car and I just lost the room at my shop to store it, so the choice has sort of been made for me, since I don't want it to sit outside.

In reply to LMGill:

My favorite Alfa. Don't sell it, but do change the color of those wheels. :-(

In reply to TR8owner:

I remember back in grade 12 in 69/70 there was a really hot blonde chic in my class. Her dad owned a bright red boat tail that she used to drive to school regularly. My ride was a clapped out Mini 850 that I pretended was one of the BMC works rally cars. It was BRG green and I added the racing stripes but it was gutless. She would blast by me with the top down and blow me a kiss leaving the h.s. I should have married that girl.

In reply to LMGill:

Please post a reminder note here when you put it on eBay.