3.0 V6 Spyder - talk to me!

[marcos]

Three of these on Pistonheads right now for under £5k.

I made a mistake selling the 911.

The Alfa, although lovely is unusably slow and I don't trust it, the Marcos is unuseably fast, cramped, loud and is beyond awful in the rain. The Esprit is a period car to be used for shows , dsplays and Lotus meets and the upshot is I use the Aston constantly, even driving to work. Too many miles, over 4000 already and I have only had it a few months and have 2 more euro trips planned this year, maybe more. I'm not going in the Land Rover!

I need a cheap (£5k), quick, reliable (so fairly modern) ragtop sports GT and the Alfa hoves into view. 3.0 is a nice torquey capacity, 218bhp is a non scary but reasonable output. Have any of you driven them, I know the GTV is favoured on here, is there a huge differece when you chop the lid off? Looking for a fast cruiser than can handle a bend without being scary like a SAAB ragtop. S2000s, Elises, 350Zs and 911s all still too much money, needs to be a car I can drive then flog without much of a loss when the tax bill comes in spring.

Opionions, or rivals? Maser not an option at the moment, even the £5k 2.8 Spyder I was looking at the other day on eBay

 

[BennyD]

I have never driven one but I would suggest you bin the 2.0 ltr spyder and replace it with the 3.0ltr. Then, after a while, you bin the 3.0ltr V6 and replace it with another Italian spyder with a 4.2ltr V8. Then you can sit back and relax as you have finally made it. Simples!

 

[Andyk]

Lewis, do it...It's a car you have been thinking about for a while......As long as you don't want a proper sports car...which sounds like you don't..then it will be perfect for your needs....There is scuttle shake a plenty but there are plenty of after market bits to improve the car....Q2 is a must......these are aound £650 fitted...

You should get a good one for 5k but finding a good one can be hard as the V6 was rare in Spyder form so this also keeps values higher than the GTV....

Some good tuning bits here...

http://www.autodeltashop.com/

http://www.gazzellaracing.com/

http://shop.alfisti.net/Tuning-Styling/Alfa-GTV-Spider:::1_11.html


Q2 here
http://www.autolusso.co.uk/new/

 

[MAF260]

Lewis, for £5k there are loads of Z3 2.8s out there, but you could also find a 330ci BMW convertible (E46) or even a E36 M3 convertible for that sort of budget. A 944 S2 convertible should also be affordable. For the criteria you have supplied my money would be going into the 330ci

 

[Andyk]

Some nice kit there MAF.....

 

[marcos]

I have never driven one but I would suggest you bin the 2.0 ltr spyder and replace it with the 3.0ltr. Then, after a while, you bin the 3.0ltr V6 and replace it with another Italian spyder with a 4.2ltr V8. Then you can sit back and relax as you have finally made it. Simples!

I see where you're going with that Benny... clever... very clever...

The Veloce is here to stay, we need a bon fide classic and with a 1972 reg it is one!

The V6 would be a short term probably, just for something else nioce to drive around in. Z3 2.8 is always a car I have liked, was actually looking at those when I ended up in the 911 - thanks for that, will have a look.

E36/46 ragtop, although tremendous cars are a bit drug-dealer, and not even a successful drug dealer. If I'm going to portray that image, I at least want to look like I'm at the top of my game I'm guessing for the money it'll be a leggy car that could have VANOS issues if M3. Want to avoid big bills, looking for the holy grail of cheap motoring! Interesting on the 944... not even on the radar.

Cheers for the link Andy, Q2 doesn't seem like a deal breaker at £700. But even without it, just looking for a 'boulevardier' more than anything. The Italians do this well!

 

[Andyk]

I would give the Spyder a go cruise in it then sell it in a year and I don't think it will shed a load of money...

 

[conaero]

Lewis, had 2 coupes (hard tops) and loved them. The 3L V6 is a masterpiece but you have to have the belts done, so if they cannot supply cast iron proof, just get it done again.

with regards to Spyders, I have never driven one but am lead to believe that the weight of the engine, coupled with the floppy chassis is far from ideal. I would drive it first to see how bad it really is.

If you want the best, get the phase 3.2 (GTA) coupe its a stunning, stunning bit of kit and can be had for the £7k mark.

Its 240bhp and weighs 1360kg. so thats 176 bhp per tonne. The 4200 you had is 1700kg with 390bhp so thats 229 bhp per tonne so not miles apart and the GTV has an excellent chassis.

 

[conaero]

Andy, good call on the Q2 diff, its a must on those cars and not that expensive to fit.

 

[marcos]

Lewis, had 2 coupes (hard tops) and loved them. The 3L V6 is a masterpiece but you have to have the belts done, so if they cannot supply cast iron proof, just get it done again.

with regards to Spyders, I have never driven one but am lead to believe that the weight of the engine, coupled with the floppy chassis is far from ideal. I would drive it first to see how bad it really is.

If you want the best, get the phase 3.2 (GTA) coupe its a stunning, stunning bit of kit and can be had for the £7k mark.

All good points Matt, thanks. Most list belts in the ads for obvious reasopns, must be well known! The description of the spyder is what I have heard too but people tend to repeat what they hear in the motoring press from a journo who drove round a track. I don't expect the ragtop to drive like a coupe, but it isn't about to snap in half I'd hope... But it's got to have a little bit of performance. Got to be a ragtop too otherwise I'm happy in the Golf/Landy. Coupes do very little for me unless absurdly fast like the 4200 as I can't see their lovliness from the inside. Roof off, I'm happy sat in a traffic jam!

 

[Andyk]

The one I drove..yes had scuttle shake but did not put me off Lewis...Get out there and have a go.......

The other option is an Autodelta fettled car....These took the Twin Spark and supercharged it to 220bhp (same as V6) plus if you can hunt down a J10 it was a complete model......OK not a V6 but these are very capable cars...Clive on the site below has a green one for sale at the moment and there is a silver one on ebay I think but they have stuck the most terrible spoiler on the back of thing....

http://www.cgtrading.co.uk/

PLus more pics on ebay...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alfa-Rome...5577781?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item5644730bb5

 

[marcos]

Interesting link Andy, thanks. After presence rather than power and the V6 engine is a thing of loveliness, plus I'm used to a big old lump up front!

His V6 isn't too expensive and I wonder if I could get Teledials thrown in, they make the car. West Sussex not far from me, I think he's my port of call next time I'm off work!

 

[GransportFan1]

Lewis, this is a nice Spyder,
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../page/1/radius/1500/postcode/cw25gg?logcode=p

and this one
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../page/1/radius/1500/postcode/cw25gg?logcode=p

and a very low miler
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../page/1/radius/1500/postcode/cw25gg?logcode=p

 

[marcos]

Seen the black with grey on Pistonheads Adam - probably my current favourite though the green car Andy linked to is very nice as well. The black looks right, though some teledials would be required!

The yelow one is a beauty, but not prepared to pay extra for a colour I am indifferent towards. If it was £5k, it could be in the pile!

Interestingly, dealer and private cars are the same price - I suppose there are few enogh around that a punter buys the colour they want rather than needing a dealer. Dealer warranty not worth a **** in my experience anyway, 2 garages still owe me money as they I know I don't have time to take them through the courts for a few 100/1000 here and there. Gits. It'd cost me more to miss work and they know it.

 

[Maser Sod]

Can't go wrong with a GTV V6. I modded mine (surprise surprise), it sounded like a Ferrari in the tunnels.

I may yet buy another one as a runaround.

 

[conaero]

Pat they are good value at present, and like you say very easy to mod. A decent exhaust, Q2 and a remap and WEY HEY!

 

[GransportFan1]

I am not a fan of re mapping an engine, i dont believe/trust rolloing roads, they are so easy to tamper with. But i suppose if you upgrade the exhaust and fit an induction kit, the ECU does need a tinkering with or else with the upgrades, power is restricted and the actual bhp output is slightly less than before.

 

[dem maser]

I never put an exhaust on my GTV as i loved the sound of the engine....
Exgaust would have taken that snorting away....am i wrong??

 

[GransportFan1]

Depends what exhaust you have, you will find an aftermarket item will increase the noise and give a much sharper sound.

 

[Andyk]

I never put an exhaust on my GTV as i loved the sound of the engine....
Exgaust would have taken that snorting away....am i wrong??

.

Hi Dem, not lost the snort on mine and I have a Autodelta exhaust on it....Justy adds to the noise...