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Type Year Color Engine Top speed 0-100km/h Gas/mileage Seats Tires Wheels Luggage |
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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 1978 Alfa red (514) 1600cc, 109 bhp DIN @ 6000 rpm 190 km/h (?) ? 1 litre/10km 2 Pirelli P5000 Drago, 185/65HR14 Cromodora Daytona 14" alloy Fits 1.99 tires or 1 medium suitcase |  |
Shortcut to the Sound section
It's a pretty rare car here in Norway. So far I haven't seen many of these around. What's even more fun about it is that is one of the infamous 1600 models. These look exactly the same as the bigger brother, but has a smaller engine and should be a bit lighter. The 1978 1600-model was produced in less than 600 units! The model number is 115.35 and the rear states "Alfa Romeo 1600". The dashboard is made of steel in the same color as the exterior (red) and of course it has the wooden-rim steering wheel (Nardi?). The seats looks like they're made of black leather. Extmely hot during summers, though.
The engine is pretty cool, even though it's only 1600cc. As far as I can tell, the specifications are pretty much the same as the old Alfa 1600 engines. It's a twin-cam with dual Weber 40 DCOE carburetors. The entire engine is of aluminum and of course I only use Golden Lodge spark plugs. It delivers 109 hp which is a lot according to the size and age. It also sounds pretty good and really kicks when you rev it hard :-).
The
car is totally free of fuzzy gadgets like ABS brakes, servo steering,
electrical mirrors etc. The coupe is extremely cramped. I'm only 175 cm
high, but I'm slightly too big for the seats. The suspension is rock hard
and you can really feel it when driving in rough terrain. So what's the
big deal? Well, the feeling... it's like glued to the road. You can pass
speed bumps at extremely high speeds and almost ignore any corners when
going fast. Try running Ring 3 in Oslo from Smestad to Sinsen at a constant
speed of 100 km/h in a normal car and you know what I mean! It really loves
turns and corners.
So, is it any good? Well, it's a pretty funny car to drive as you understand. It also likes high rpms, and can withstand high loads over long periods of time. When the rear axle started acting funny last year, I thought "what the heck" when driving to the mechanic (400kms away) and gave it all I got. (actually, it was my friend Jörgen who drove, but that's another story) The car did 190 km/h without problems, but since the roof was down the wind nearly blew us out of the car!
I like playing loud music, not just at home, but also in the car. The coupe is not that big, so there are certain limitations to what's possible. With the aid of my trusty friend Jörgen Andersson of "Andersson car audio centre" in Strömstad, Sweden, we've done a lot of modifications, documented in the Spider Audio section. Remember, we do it wrong all the time, you do it right the first time!