1981 Veloce Advertisement

Lori found a great ad from a 1981 magazine.

"Spider Veloce by Alfa Romeo - Pink and Blue by Merona Sport.   Ahhhh - the late 70's early 80's.  Makes me want to get my Member's Only jacket out of storage!

Mirror Maintenance

After 30 years the mirror has accumulated a bit of grime.  Several choices.  1) New mirror - $79 and its not illuminated like the original.  2) Take it apart and replace the mirror inside.  Only place I could find the replacement mirror was High Wood Alfa in England.  With postage it will cost more than a new mirror, but at least I keep the original mirror holder and light.  3) Take the mirror in and try to get a new one cut.  I would lose the night dimming ability. 

4) Last choice is to take it apart and see if it can be cleaned.  Here's the original dirty mirror.

There is a frame around the mirror with a pane of glass.  Here's the frame removed. 

 Cleaned the interior of the glass and the mirror and popped it all back together.  Not completely like new, but much improved.  Now I have a clearer view of those giant SUVs bearing down on me from behind!

New Parts and Some Bling.

Needed to add the chrome to the nose.  Looking better with the new bling.

I finally found a replacement for my missing fuse box cover.  Courtesy of Bob at Alfa Romeo Parts Vault in Florida.  Perfect fit.

Also courtesy of Alfa Romeo Parts Vault - received a used fuel vapor check valve (they do not make new ones of these).  Installed and that completes the fuel vapor recovery fix.

80/81 Spider Support Group Started

Group started on the Alfa Romeo bulletin board.  Dedicated to the unique issues posed by the 80/81 Alfa Spiders. 

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/groups/80-81-spider-support-group.html

Minor Problem!

Did a troubleshoot - thanks to all the great posts in the Alfa Bulletin Board - http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/spider-1966-up - and decided it was the ignition switch.  Went ahead and ordered one from Centerline.  Took out the old switch and found out that there was a loose wire in the connector.  Fixed that and my Alfa fired right up.  Called Centerline and they cancelled the order.  Back up and running.  In fact - it seems to start easier now.

Just when I thought it was going well....

Friday was a great day for end of December in Kansas City.  65 degrees!  Started the Alfa and decided to cruise a bit.  Made it as far as the local office supply store.  Came back out and the engine cranked and then stopped.  No power.  Checked fuses.  Changed a few just in case as its hard to tell if those old bullet fuses are bad.  Finally had to call a tow truck.  I'm glad I have AAA!  I think a cell phone and a AAA membership are the 2 best tools in an Alfa owner's roadside toolkit. When the tow driver arrived he pulled it onto the truck and then took photos.  He'd never had an Alfa on his truck before!