750 D – Page 2 – Giuliettas

November 18, 2013

Drum roll please: Giulietta Spider 750D 04151

You know the scene in a spy movie when the guy has a stethoscope on the safe door next to the number dial and the final number clicks into place? The safe opens, everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief, the required thing was inside, and the plot moves on. Something like that happened to me this weekend. Andrew had this Spider on eBay and I went for a casual look – not expecting anything dramatic to happen – like me actually buying, but here I am today getting a Spider towed to the shop of a buddy who does body repair (rust and collision damage) on old cars – especially Giulietta Spiders. The plot has moved on – the cast of characters has increased – I have proven myself acquisitionally undisciplined. Woot – I have a SWB 750 Spider!

How you find them sometimes – totally as parked. No one has monkeyed with it. Needs everything, but doesn’t need it all at once. I can deal with that. Needs a nose job, but it’s going in for that today.

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June 1, 2013

Market 481: Spider 750D 03235 project

Giulietta Spider 750D 1495*03235, 1315*43081. This car has been on eBay a few times recently , trying both the recently defunct ‘start low’ old school auction approach, the ‘this is what I want’ buy-it-now approach, and now the ‘call me if you want it’ BIN approach. Car looks decent enough -needs everything except a lower 4″ metal transplant. Great car for the aspiring 750D owner -I’ve seen, worked on, and written about much worse!

On the bright side, it’s not 1988 and you can actually get parts now. They’re not as good as the ‘left-overs’ of 1988 you might have gotten from Alfa Ricambi, but they are available. Door fits well, wheels need paint -you know the rest. Continue reading “Market 481: Spider 750D 03235 project”

April 25, 2013

Market 458: Spider 750D 02277 in PA

Update 4/25/2013: Strange as it may seem, this car has turned up for sale in Budapest. No price is quoted.

Update 3/2/13: Unsold for $24,500, but 4 offers.

Giulietta Spider 750D 02277, 1315*42184. This car is available on eBay out of Barto, PA from someone who knows the enlightening power of a lot of images -137 total! Needs a lot, but is complete and not too rusty. As the seller suggests, it could be used as is and slowly improved if that’s your thing.

Straight, unmolested and charming. A good cleaning and polishing would make this look really good. I’d be tempted to just remove the bumpers at this point.

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January 16, 2013

Market 362: Spider 750D 02124 project

Update 2/2/13: Another no sale.

Update 1/16/13: Someone has had a little work done. Boy -they shoulda painted the wheels bright red while they were at it. I still think it’s a pretty reasonable start to that early Spider 750 project you’ve been contemplating. See it on eBay now!

Update 12/12/12: A little better than last time. Maybe eBay is not the right outlet for this car?

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December 26, 2012

2012 Spider and Spider Veloce market review

The Spider market in 2012 is slightly up from 2011, with a lot of cars changing hands. There were, as always, a lot of cheap scary projects with decent cars coming in the list around $20,000 and thinning out as they approach the top car this year, with an ask of $125,000 -a very nice Veloce.

Market 391 was very early Spider 750D 00345 in very bad condition selling for $1000.

Market 451 was 10103*170856, a rough shell and some parts selling for $2850.

Market 395 was a Spider roller for a few grand.

Continue reading “2012 Spider and Spider Veloce market review”

October 14, 2012

Market 442: Survivor Spider 750D 06495

Update 12/12/12: 2x no sales with strong bidding. I’d probably have sold it at $30,000, but then again, I’m not trying to make a calculated margin like most dealers are.

Giulietta Spider 750D 1495*06495. This car is on eBay right now from a seller in Santa Barbara who has been listing Alfa’s occasionally (buying low and immediately trying to sell high in the spirit of free market capitalism) over the last few years. The car is solid -and besides that unremarkable and tired. I suspect this is the car that was on Craigslist out of the Napa/Sonoma area wine country last month. Amazing what some elbow grease and the right lighting for pictures will do for you.

We’ve seen this pier a few times. There are no holes for ‘eyebrow’ trims -must’ve been filled the last time it was painted. Hood needs a little fitting on the drivers side corner.

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August 23, 2012

Market 434: Winning-est Giulietta racer Spider 750 03083 ‘Sophia’

Update 8/23/12: Sold for $72,450 including premium.

Update later the same morning:

I got this picture taken at Road Atlanta circa 1983 from Michael McClure, then owner of the brown Giulietta racer and wearing the gold race suit talking to Martin Krilanovich (in green sleeves). The red car is Sophia with Phil Mason in white racing suit leaning over it talking to his crew chief Jerry. Time flies.

Giulietta Spider 750D 1495*03083, 1315*41849. The late Al Leake Jr. raced Sophia to much success on the west coast. I can remember seeing them many times at Sear’s Point and Laguna Seca -always out front or nearly so -even against cars that on paper ought to have gotten around the track faster -even if driven by lesser drivers. I don’t remember where I heard/read it, but I seem to recall that Sophia is one of the winning-est race cars in history. Lineage includes prior ownership by Phil Mason and connection to H. B. Luginbuhl, who some say had a lot to do with development early on. Anyway, Sophia is being auctioned by Bonhams this coming Monterey weekend. Estimate is $65,000 – $85,000. It’s too bad the seller chickened out and omitted the rubber chicken that used to be seen dangling from the trunk -oh well, maybe that rubber chicken is a stuffed trophy over someones mantle now next to a 12 point buck or buffalo head.

Tasteful for a dedicated race car. Development started in the mid-70’s and by the late 80’s Sophia was a potent machine. Fiberglass grill and trim?

Continue reading “Market 434: Winning-est Giulietta racer Spider 750 03083 ‘Sophia’”

June 20, 2012

Market 425: Spider 00739 on eBay

Update 7/1/12: $9500. Not too bad for a fairly straight ’56 with the matching engine. You’ll see more from this car soon.

Giulietta Spider 750D 1495*00739, 1315*40574. This car is on eBay right now out of Denver. It looks fairly complete and in reasonable shape to restore. Will need a lot of work and $ to get it together, but as the seller states, these early cars do bring real money.

Looks like the usual ‘been apart for a while’ Spider project. Door fits well.

Continue reading “Market 425: Spider 00739 on eBay”

June 5, 2012

Market 423: Fresh 1959 Spider 10103

Update 7/1/12: This car has been on eBay a few times. Despite it’s detail problems it looks like a decent car -I’m not sure why it’s not selling. Maybe the addition of the VIN/Engine numbers so people know exactly what they are bidding on and new/better pictures would help overcome the auction fatigue.

Giulietta Spider 10103. This car is on eBay right now out of Pennsylvania. It is described as having a fresh restoration, and there is evidence of that having occurring, but some details leave the prospective buyer wondering how much the restorer knew about these cars. Most are trivial, but restored is restored right? I have a HUGE piece I’ve been working on about restorations… getting about time I published it!

It is what it is, it looks good. The door gaps on this side are excellent. The hood corner on the drivers side sits up a bit. I have to remind myself these are VERY complicated cars to put together if you don’t spend a lot of time doing research, and no one wants to pay you to do research.

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April 23, 2012

Market 409: Spider 750D 03629 -Clean

Update 7/1/12: This car did pretty well, selling for $37,500 -a mere $1000 less than their initial asking.

Update 4/23/12: This car has been listed on eBay. I suppose I should buy it so I have two red Giulietta’s with black paint below the rocker trim. Anyone care to guess what price the auction will end at? Looks like Marina green in San Francisco -but Laurence will know for sure.

Picture above is a little more pro. Looks very nice.

Original post 3/29/12: Giulietta Spider 750D 1495*03629, 1315*43387. This car is offered by CarPlanet out of the San Francisco bay area for $38,500. Car is in well loved and nicely taken care of condition with some low priority little improvements that can be done when the new owner chooses. Overall finish is average, but a complete, dry, runner seems to be worth more than the sum of its parts.

Looks like a nice example. Everything fits well and has an alluring sheen. Black painted rockers can be a clue that rust repairs have been done, so check carefully if that scares you -I’m not saying it has rust, just pointing out what I think when I see black painted rockers.

Continue reading “Market 409: Spider 750D 03629 -Clean”