Alfa Romeo Spider 2000 Veloce
Discussion
My 1977 Spider was red with black seats. When I bought it the wheels were horrible 1980s cross spoke alloys painted red, but I found it some proper ventilated steelies. The car drove well, and I didn't think it nearly as flexy as critics tend to say. Keeping the two Dellortos balanced used to be a bit of a faff. Sadly family politics almost killed the car, as it was made to live outdoors next to a garage full of worthless tat, but I have just checked the DVLA sites and the car is taxed. This cheers me up as I felt glum about letting it get so bad before I sold it as a resto project.
You did well to get an S2 for that money, even needing the sills.
4K for those was cheap too.
Great to see a car bought to use and appreciated for that rather than as an ornament or investment ( usually both).
Surprised Jamie Porter Couldn’t sort the carbs though, they are generally well respected in Alfa circles.
4K for those was cheap too.
Great to see a car bought to use and appreciated for that rather than as an ornament or investment ( usually both).
Surprised Jamie Porter Couldn’t sort the carbs though, they are generally well respected in Alfa circles.
Mr Tidy said:
Those GKNs look fantastic. 
Hang on...the photo's are of the original steel wheels with Michelin XAS tyres.I do very much like them.
The GKNs are at Lepsons...photo is of them offered to the car, before I decided to send them off for refurb. I will put photo's up when they are on the car. They are definitely the "bling" option. 6j, but only 5.5kg in weight. The Pirellis are also only 7.5kg, a light sporty tyre.
It will be interesting to find out if I prefer the handling with 185/70 tyres, I can't imagine I will, the 165/80 Michelin tyres are just a delight, especially now it's a bit warmer and dry. In the winter/wet/damp then there isn't much grip, but I suppose that's normal for any tyres.
I am definitely a convert to "classic tyres". The Michelins run at 22psi front and 26psi rear, as per original handbook. Apparently the sidewall carcass of classic tyres are different to modern designs, hence they run at lower pressures. Also, the profile of the tyre is "rounded" not square. This give a nice progressive loss of grip in cornering, rather than the "grip, grip, oh s
t!" of a modern square profile tyre. Also, they make the steering much lighter at slow maneuvering speeds.
The GKN alloys are on.
Two photos, one with the original steels (5.5j x14) and one with the GKN alloys (6jx14)
I have taken the car for a quick spin, didn't lean on the tyres too much as I just wanted to scrub them in.
Initial thoughts on comparison. The steering seems lighter at low speeds. Probably a combination of new rubber and the Pirellis running 1.7bar front pressure over the 1.5 bar for the XAS.
The Michellin are definitely more compliant and soak up the road roughness (they are actually a delight on that car, it handles beautifully on our crap surfaced local roads). The 185/70 Pirelli are more skittish over rough surfaces, I expect them to have more grip on smoother surfaces, but hopefully, also the satisfying progressive slip of the XAS too.
I like the look of both sets. Now I have the steelies with the 3/4 worn XAS tyres for a couple of planned track days over the spring/summer, and the Pirelli for road use.![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/3gMpQity.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/UwR728GF" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/UwR728GF.jpg)
Two photos, one with the original steels (5.5j x14) and one with the GKN alloys (6jx14)
I have taken the car for a quick spin, didn't lean on the tyres too much as I just wanted to scrub them in.
Initial thoughts on comparison. The steering seems lighter at low speeds. Probably a combination of new rubber and the Pirellis running 1.7bar front pressure over the 1.5 bar for the XAS.
The Michellin are definitely more compliant and soak up the road roughness (they are actually a delight on that car, it handles beautifully on our crap surfaced local roads). The 185/70 Pirelli are more skittish over rough surfaces, I expect them to have more grip on smoother surfaces, but hopefully, also the satisfying progressive slip of the XAS too.
I like the look of both sets. Now I have the steelies with the 3/4 worn XAS tyres for a couple of planned track days over the spring/summer, and the Pirelli for road use.
Edited by courty on Wednesday 7th April 20:05
CN36 Pirelli with the GKN 6j alloys from 1976.
The Pirelli tyre has more grip than the XAS, still very pliable though. The XAS tyres 165 R14 are a delight on normal Kent dodgy surfaces, they soak up everything and the car just handles with delight. The 185/70R14 Pirelli grip more, although skip over mid corner bumps, but overall still lovely, progressive and compliant.
I witnessed a nasty accident on Easter Sunday (I posted on Speed Plod and Law), so it put me off driving the Spider for a bit. Back out today, as I had to help my Dad with his Morris Minor (turned out to be one dodgy sparking plug..how easy was that!?) so I went for a bit of the drive on the way home and was able to lean on the Pirelli tyres a little.
edit: CN36 I run at 1.6bar front (23psi) 1.7bar rear (25psi). The Michelin XAS run 1.5 bar front and 1.7 rear. Much lower pressure than modern tyres.
The Pirelli tyre has more grip than the XAS, still very pliable though. The XAS tyres 165 R14 are a delight on normal Kent dodgy surfaces, they soak up everything and the car just handles with delight. The 185/70R14 Pirelli grip more, although skip over mid corner bumps, but overall still lovely, progressive and compliant.
I witnessed a nasty accident on Easter Sunday (I posted on Speed Plod and Law), so it put me off driving the Spider for a bit. Back out today, as I had to help my Dad with his Morris Minor (turned out to be one dodgy sparking plug..how easy was that!?) so I went for a bit of the drive on the way home and was able to lean on the Pirelli tyres a little.
edit: CN36 I run at 1.6bar front (23psi) 1.7bar rear (25psi). The Michelin XAS run 1.5 bar front and 1.7 rear. Much lower pressure than modern tyres.
Edited by courty on Saturday 17th April 21:07
Interested why you choose to run harder at the rear than the front?
I tend to do the opposite, also I run generally a little higher at 28 to 30.
There is more weight on the front and a slightly higher tyre pressure will lighten the steering, particularly at low speed. Usefull for your arms, but also to reduce the workload on the steering box, which are prone to stress cracking.
I tend to do the opposite, also I run generally a little higher at 28 to 30.
There is more weight on the front and a slightly higher tyre pressure will lighten the steering, particularly at low speed. Usefull for your arms, but also to reduce the workload on the steering box, which are prone to stress cracking.
velocemitch said:
Interested why you choose to run harder at the rear than the front?
I tend to do the opposite, also I run generally a little higher at 28 to 30.
There is more weight on the front and a slightly higher tyre pressure will lighten the steering, particularly at low speed. Usefull for your arms, but also to reduce the workload on the steering box, which are prone to stress cracking.
I just follow the original pressures given in the owners handbook (1977). XAS are 1.5bar front, 1.8bar rear, Pirelli/Continental/Goodyear are given 1.7bar front 1.8 bar rear. Kleber are given 1.7 bar front, 2bar rear.I tend to do the opposite, also I run generally a little higher at 28 to 30.
There is more weight on the front and a slightly higher tyre pressure will lighten the steering, particularly at low speed. Usefull for your arms, but also to reduce the workload on the steering box, which are prone to stress cracking.
I did run the XAS at 1.7bar front, but they work much better at 1.5 bar (less understeer/skippyness at front).
The Pirelli CN36 I have at 1.6 bar front and 1.7 bar rear and that seems to suit them. At 1.7 bar front 1.8 bar rear they were noticeably harsh/skippy over all the bumpiness/scarring on our roads.
The steering is very light with the CN36 tyres. If you fit modern tyres, then yeah, pump them up as the sidewall carcass and tread profile is different to the classic types.
Typical, Sod's Law.
I hit a tree root in a passing place and bent one of the GKN wheels.
Lepsons say they can't touch it.
Anyway, I am still using the wheels. The bent one is on the rear, after getting it balanced. Been fine since 1976, then I get them refurbed, just aking for it really.
I hit a tree root in a passing place and bent one of the GKN wheels.
Lepsons say they can't touch it.
Anyway, I am still using the wheels. The bent one is on the rear, after getting it balanced. Been fine since 1976, then I get them refurbed, just aking for it really.
Last September the Spider had a blast in Europe.
We covered 2500 miles, no motorways and very few trunk roads. 30mpg too, which really surprised me because we drove pretty hard.
Lots of French rural roads (brilliant), plus the Jura, the western alps Galibier, Izoard, Del Agnello, over to Italy, completed an alpine challenge (300+ miles of Alpine driving in one day), back to Grenoble...back the other way via Nufenen, Gottard, Oberalp to San Benardino...then back via the Black Forest and the Vosges and the French rural roads.
Brilliant!
These Alfas, even though over forty years old, love a bit of stick, and the Spider is light with good brakes, nimble enough and powerful enough for overtaking slow traffic. Fantastic!...even though it rained a lot, it was my best holiday ever. OK, my wife stayed at home lol, she would have hated it.
The only problem I had was the 45 year old cooling fan disintegrated on Splugen Pass. Thankfully the radiator survived with mere scarring. First gear hairpins and altitude with no fan..yes, it boiled up at the top, which was a real shame, as I wanted to go on and do Julier, Albula and Fluela that day, but had to turn back.
We covered 2500 miles, no motorways and very few trunk roads. 30mpg too, which really surprised me because we drove pretty hard.
Lots of French rural roads (brilliant), plus the Jura, the western alps Galibier, Izoard, Del Agnello, over to Italy, completed an alpine challenge (300+ miles of Alpine driving in one day), back to Grenoble...back the other way via Nufenen, Gottard, Oberalp to San Benardino...then back via the Black Forest and the Vosges and the French rural roads.
Brilliant!
These Alfas, even though over forty years old, love a bit of stick, and the Spider is light with good brakes, nimble enough and powerful enough for overtaking slow traffic. Fantastic!...even though it rained a lot, it was my best holiday ever. OK, my wife stayed at home lol, she would have hated it.
The only problem I had was the 45 year old cooling fan disintegrated on Splugen Pass. Thankfully the radiator survived with mere scarring. First gear hairpins and altitude with no fan..yes, it boiled up at the top, which was a real shame, as I wanted to go on and do Julier, Albula and Fluela that day, but had to turn back.
Edited by courty on Wednesday 6th April 20:56
This is Nufenen pass 
Glaser Grat
Izoard
Looking back down Izoard, or maybe it was Galibier, one of the two...
|https://thumbsnap.com/3VdKb3Lt[/url]
This was Galibier...an awesome place, especially in the rain....
|https://thumbsnap.com/EbPuTJU9[/url]
Schwarzweld
French rural roads...deserted, except the odd farmer and his dog in a Peugeot...
remains of the fan, basically the cowling came loose and took the fan out....
New fan delivered from German company to an air bnb in Freiburg!
Deserted roads in the Vosges...
[url][url]
Glaser Grat
Izoard
Looking back down Izoard, or maybe it was Galibier, one of the two...
|https://thumbsnap.com/3VdKb3Lt[/url]This was Galibier...an awesome place, especially in the rain....
|https://thumbsnap.com/EbPuTJU9[/url]Schwarzweld
French rural roads...deserted, except the odd farmer and his dog in a Peugeot...
remains of the fan, basically the cowling came loose and took the fan out....
New fan delivered from German company to an air bnb in Freiburg!
Deserted roads in the Vosges...
[url][url]Edited by courty on Wednesday 6th April 20:57
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