Alfa Spiders Should they be Worth More ?

By Ian Kilburn

In 1965, Alfa Romeo was faced with replacing the 10-year-old Giulietta models. The iconic 1954 Sprint coupe and 1955 Spider were modern, yet timeless, so there was much at stake. Pininfarina foreshadowed the Duetto with a bubble top concept at the 1961 Turin show, but the spider didn’t appear until Geneva in 1966.

At first, nobody thought the original design would endure, and by 1970 Alfa Romeo was trying update it. The result was the coda tronca (literally truncated tail, or Kamm-tail) of 1971, which disastrously compromised the concept, as today’s values confirm.

As the best 1966-69 boat-tail cars climb past R700000-00 their square-tailed successors are lagging behind in the early R300000-00 range for good examples. The advent of U.S. “rubber impact bumpers” and increased ride height in 1974 sealed the deal. The signature Alfa grille was overshadowed, and the “cross and snake” badge stuck on the rubber bumper.

Early carburetted cars were robust and quite durable, but the twin-cam engine was bumped from 1600-cc to 1779-cc in 1969, then to two-litres in 1972. Struggling to meet U.S. emissions, Alfa Romeo adopted the complex Spica mechanical fuel injection, designed for a diesel engine. Deeply divisive among Alfisti, if properly adjusted, Spica injection can be trouble-free but does not suffer fools gladly.

The Spider’s virtues do much to balance out its frustrations. Relatively soft coil springs and anti-roll bars produce neutral handling; worm-and-sector steering is precise, and power-assisted disc brakes are surprisingly good. The best element is the cockpit. Two Veglia instruments face the driver and secondary gauges are set in a central console. The wood steering wheel is stunning, but the gear lever disconcerting, as it projects almost horizontally.

Pre-1975 Kamm-back cars look better with small chrome bumpers, and European headlight cowls create an exotic appearance. The well-fitting top can be raised from inside the car. But sit in a spider before you buy one. The driving position in left hand examples is far more comfortable than the right hand versions.

Rust is all Spiders’ weak point. If the floors rust out, jacking points are compromised (or missing), while fenders rust at the bottom and the spare-tire well seldom collects water for long.

Engaging first gear can be tricky, and second gear synchromesh can be short-lived in the hands of clumsy drivers. Differential noise is common, but less noticeable with the top down. Cromodoro mags are a popular upgrade over original steel wheels in early ‘70s cars, but make sure the lug nuts are long enough for safety.

The Alfa Romeo Spider compares well against British Leyland’s failing efforts in the 1970s.Thanks partly to its five-speed gearbox, it’s much faster than the MGBs, with rubber bumpers has more structural integrity than the Triumph Spitfire, and more room than the appropriately named MG Midget.Finally, the Alfa’s exhaust note is unmatchable.

It soldiered on through the ‘80s, and the S3 got a new interior in 1986. Many Spiders were bought as weekend toys, and good examples can be found garaged.

Pininfarina undertook a major facelift with the long-tail S4 of 1989-93, replacing the black rubber bumpers and spoilers and restoring much of the original Duetto’s elegance. If you want an Alfa spider, the S2 is a sleeper – but probably not for long.

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Could Continuation Classic Herald the End of the Booming Market

Author: Greg MacLeman

 News broke this week that Aston Martin is set to build a limited production run of continuation Lightweight DB4GTs and, rather than get me excited, the announcement left me worried that history may be repeating. 

Of course, building replicas of once great cars is nothing new – kit car manufacturers and shed-bound amateur engineers have been doing it for decades – but when mainstream marques get in on the act, it all starts to make me a bit nervous. 

Aston Martin was one of the first firms to get in on the act back in the late 1980s. The booming market and sky-high values of the rarest classics, such as the DB4GT Zagato, resulted in a dilemma for those wanting to cash in on the unprecedented demand for a finite resource. The solution, it seemed, was simple: build more cars and differentiate them from other replicas by giving them the rubber stamp of approval from the factory. Enter the Sanction II Zagato, and later, Sanction III. 

Around the same time, Alfa Romeo also lent its backing to recreations of its more desirable post-war model, the 33 Stradale, which were expertly built by Giovanni Gioranengo. 

 

Both models immediately preceded the collapse of the market in the early 1990's, when rampant investment over inflated prices to a point that could no longer be supported. 

It all kicked off again in 2014, when Jaguar decided to build six new Lightweight E-types to finish its original 18-car intended production run. Each car cost £1m and quickly sold out, recently prompting the firm to turn its attention to the XKSS, which had its original production run curtailed by the fire at Browns Lane. Lister got in on the act, too, with its more affordable Knobbly recreations, and has recently announced its intention to revive the  1950's Costin. 

The latest firm to enter the fray (once again) is Aston Martin, which this week unveiled plans to build 25 new DB4GTs with a staggering asking price of £1.5m each. And it feels like a bridge too far. 

Jaguar’s Lightweight E-type and XKSS continuations number just 15 cars, each costing £1m. With both models impossibly rare and opportunities to buy an original so few and far between, getting the next best thing for one tenth of the price can just about be rationalized. 

But to pay £1.5m for an imitation DB4GT – one of a bloated 25-car production run – when the genuine article can be bought for around £3m just doesn’t make sense.

You won’t see any of these cars race at Goodwood thanks to a firm stance from Lord March, and they won’t be drivable on the road either – at least not in this country. That leaves the potential market limited to those who take part in the odd track day excursion or – more likely –  those who squirrel the cars away in the hope of turning a quick buck. Just like they did 25 years ago. 

Against a backdrop of faltering auction sales rates and a general cooling of the market, it’s left me wondering if we could be approaching another significant moment in the life cycle of the classic car economy.

Jaguar Simola Hill Climb 2017

By: Ian Kilburn

The Peaceful sounds of singing birds and pinging golf balls were once again interrupted by the roar of engines in Knysna for the 2017 Jaguar Simola Hill Climb. This event should be on every petrol heads agenda to attend at least one. This being the 8th running of the event has definitely grown in status to becoming one of the Premier Motor Sport Events in South in South Africa.

Pit Lane

Pit Lane

The 1, 9 km of road had one thing on the agenda to be number one up the Hill at the end of the weekend. We headed down a week before to attend the Knysna Classic Car Show which is also becoming the Premier Classic Car Show in the country with some series machinery on display. The Sun City Concourse can definitely take a cap out of the show for the pure quality, condition, class and variety of the cars on display.

Pit Lane

Pit Lane

The Hill Climb in May of each year sees teams from all over the country and sometimes from all over the world, come to claim bragging rights for the fastest time up the hill. It's a bit like the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, just scaled down. Around 15000 spectators were on hand to watch a full field of 148 cars and some of the biggest names in motorsport blast their way up the Simola resorts service road.

For the 2017 event the organisers mixed things up by separating the cars into three individual King of the Hill: Single Seaters and Sports Cars, Modified Saloon Cars and Road and Super Cars. Friday was still the original Classic Car Event who after spending the morning qualifying had the top 10 fastest shoot out in the afternoon. Please don’t detract from the value of the machinery racing on the Saturday or Sunday there were some extremely valuable, rare and very expensive machines going hammer and tongs on the Friday a proper sight to watch.  

Mercedes Benz AMG

Mercedes Benz AMG

The pit lane was a hive of activity and reminded one of a mini Monaco F1 pit lane with spectators, marshals, drivers, mechanics and media all mixing together. There was none of the normal shenanigans of you can’t go here there or anywhere without a pit ticket/pass. Everybody mixed and got close up on the action.

Rousch Mustang : Enzo Khun 

Rousch Mustang : Enzo Khun 

While majority of teams would celebrate the days' success, others would suffer from mechanical failure, so the evening’s leisure time would soon be a scramble to fix and prepare the car for the next day. As with all motorsport, if you do not fix it in time for the scrutineers, you miss out big time or worse, go home. If you think for one second that teams are not taking this seriously, then think again. Each team comes with an eighteen wheeler truck full of parts accessories to build an identical car should anything go wrong in a matter of hours. With each truck comes mechanics, tuners and all the other important people needed for a serious race weekend.

The Single seaters and Sports Cars were easily the fasted category with Andre Bezuidhout taking the overall win in his 1989 Dallara F1 Car and setting a new lap record in the process. He was closely followed by Franco Scribante in his Chevron and 3rd was Robert Volk in his Formula Renault. 

Willem Baard secured the Modified Saloon Class in his extremely fast Nissan GTR R35, he was followed by Dez Gudziet in his R32 GTR with 3rd place going to the very quick Subaru Impreza of Anton Cronje.

Nissan 350Z : Geoff Mortimer

Nissan 350Z : Geoff Mortimer

The standard saloon car class was won by debut Hill Climber and personal friend Reghard Roets in his road legal Nissan GTR R35 , he was followed over the line by USguest driver Randy Pobst in a Jaguar F-Type SVR WITH 3RD place going to Jaki Sheckter in yet another Nissan GTR R35.

The weekend was an absolute blast and a massive success for South African Motor Sport, there was in fact 5 cars competing over the weekend in the various classes which I had previously sold not to mention that I had about 15 clients competing in the event, it took me about an hour just to walk down the pit lane every day as there so many friends and people I knew who were either competing on just doing the same as us, being part of Motor Racing History in South Africa.

Modified Saloon Car Champion : Willem Baard Nissan GTR R35

Modified Saloon Car Champion : Willem Baard Nissan GTR R35

Nissan GTR R32 : Dez Gutziet 

Nissan GTR R32 : Dez Gutziet 

Chevron B26 : Franco Scribante

Chevron B26 : Franco Scribante

Start Line

Start Line

Nissan GTR R35 : Jaki Sheckter

Nissan GTR R35 : Jaki Sheckter

Formula One Dalara : Andre Bezuidenhout new lap record and Overall Winner

Formula One Dalara : Andre Bezuidenhout new lap record and Overall Winner

This is the Privateer Porsche 928 S that Raced at Le Mans 24 Hour : by Ian Kilburn

In 1983, this Porsche 928S lined up dead last for the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Running but unclassified, it finished some 238 laps behind the winner. At the race again in 1984, it finished again, in 22nd place. And no, it wasn’t as fast as the factory-supported or privateer Porsche 911s.

Frenchman Raymond Boutinaud was behind the idea, team, and entry that found the 928S classified as “Group B” car… In other words, it wasn’t going to be picking up a win, or even a class win.

So besides its great liveries, what’s so special about this car? For starters, it shows what might have been, had the 911 been replaced by the 928. As one of the few “modern” Porsches to not be extensively raced—or developed by the factory into a race car—it’s also a rare example of a privateer entry that was able to keep up with the world’s best machines by campaigning a largely “stock” car.

Sure, its outright pace couldn’t match the more developed 911s, but few other GTs in the early ’80s could have added a roll cage, stickers, and qualified for Le Mans. Would you have wanted to see more 928s hit the race track?

41 Year Barn Find: 1960 Chevrolet Corvette

By: Ian Kilburn thanks to Ryan for the pictures.

Click to Enlarge

After 41 years in a barn, this ’60 ‘Vette began its like as a Fuel Injected car, that was later converted to carburation. Although the owner planned for a full restoration, this Corvette is clean and straight, with only the bumpers and drivetrain removed and disassembled.

Click to Enlarge

In the image above you can see the “Fuel Injection” badges that once graced this fine machine. The block is not in view, but other valuable components like the 4 speed transmission are shown in the “parts” images. It does not appear that any of the Rochester fuel injection parts remained with the car though time.

Click to Enlarge

The seats and door panels have been reupholstered with velvet. The floor carpet is missing but aside from that the interior appears very complete and original. The steering wheel and dash are good with no cracking. The factory radio is missing, but is included with the car. This Corvette is a convertible and the optional hardtop is included in the sale of the car. The convertible top frame is present, but the cloth top is missing.

Click to Enlarge

The overall paint and body work on this Corvette looks good. The paint is still shiny, with no evidence of damage, or sun fade. Even though the exterior of this Corvette isn’t perfect, it is still very nice if it is truly original paint. One may consider rebuilding the drivetrain, and making this one a driver in its current condition. Replace the wheels and interior for original parts, and you would be left with a nice looking original paint Corvette. Although restoring the Rochester fuel injection could get expensive. What would you do with this Corvette? Full restoration, or maintain the paint and rebuild the drivetrain?

Coaches in Cuba

Cuba is exciting and full of contrasts, beautiful and dreary at the same time, but above all this country is one thing: colourful. Colours determine the cities, the clothes, the landscape – and the streets. And the cars on Cuban roads are legendary. And like in no other country, classic vehicles are a crucial and also a colourful part of the overall picture.

The Chassis Guru Behind Lotus's Best Cars Has Died

During the filming of the classic Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, there was a problem: The stunt drivers couldn't get the Esprit to slide around and do what they wanted during the car chase. Roger Becker, the man who did the development driving and chassis tuning on the Esprit, was on hand during filming. He knew that the car could do what the script called for, but he also knew that the car wasn't being driven properly.
So he did it himself. And that's how Lotus's test and development driver became the Bond's stunt driver.
Sadly, Becker just passed away.

Top five appreciating modern classics to buy now.

With values of the first model M3 – the E30 – now going stratospheric, and those of the E36 following closely behind, it’s perhaps the worst kept secret in the classic car world that the next model to follow suit will be the E46. Sweet handling, impressive performance and a beautifully proportioned coupé body should create the perfect recipe for a sure-fire modern classic, helped by virtue of it being BMW’s last straight-six powered M3. Don’t let those up-to-date looks fool you – the first E46 M3 rolled off the production line nearly 17 years ago.
Now at the bottom of its depreciation curve, there’s been no better time to invest in a well-cared for, low-mileage example. Take care of it and you’ll not lose money. 

Identifying Future Classics

Many of the classic and collectible cars on our wish list today have become totally out of reach for us mere mortals. They weren’t always looked at in this light; in fact, many of the cars that are now gaining traction in the classic and collectible market were once looked at as oddities, the features that once deterred buyers now adding massive value in the resale market.
With all the variation in the collector car market, how can one ensure that you are making a good investment? Are there any tell-tale signs that a car is soon to increase in value?

Fuchs Rims

The first 911 sports model to feature the “S” suffix was distinguished by its exclusive aluminium wheels. The 911 S was, after all, the first model to sport the now legendary Fuchs rims. At the time, Porsche spoke merely of an alloy wheel that was part of the sports car’s standard equipment. The idea behind the aluminium wheel was as simple as its description was plain: the new S model was to have lighter rims than the series 911, which would reduce the unsprang masses. Less weight means a more responsive suspension–a sporty plus for the S model. The difference was supposed to be some 3 kilos less per wheel compared to the steel version–the goal stated in the specifications for the 911 S.

SUPERCARS OF THE 60S

For most car makers in the ’60s, new production supercars were still the direct result of racing regulations that demanded road-legal versions of race cars. Not a bad way to get high-performance cars on the road. Horsepower ratings swelled, top speeds climbed, and the ’60s quickly became the era of what are now the most famous (and now most expensive) exotica of all time.

Ferrari F90 Spy Photograph.

After almost 18 years, Ferrari finally admitted that the F90 existed and was made for the Sultan of Brunei in 1988. A brief passage in the 2005 Ferrari Annual outlined an impressive order of six bespoke super cars which were much more daring than anything Ferrari would have produced themselves. 

The project was managed by Enrico Fumia, the head of the Research and Development department at Pininfarina. Fumia styled the car very similar to a Pininfarina Ethos Concept car made in the same period.