Page 112 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

Fuel injection was an advanced feature for the early 1970s. Alfa’s Spica system, designed to meet demanding emissions requirements, can be reliable if set up properly and regularly maintained.
The Spider transmission was a fully synchronized five-speed manual, which drives the rear wheels through a friction-based limited slip differential mounted in a solid rear axle; 1970-71 models did not include the limited slip differential, but it was standard from 1972 onwards.
Contemporary road tests estimated the Spider 1750 with a 0-60 acceleration time of about 12.4 seconds and a top speed of 118 mph. Curb weight was 2,260 pounds for the 1750, rising to 2,292 for the 2000 in 1972. The Spider 2000 hit 60 mph in about 10.3 seconds, with the same effective top speed.
Suspension and Brakes
One major selling point of the Alfa Romeo Spider is its suspension design. The front suspension is a dual-wishbone setup around coil springs. In the back, you’ve got a solid rear axle located by two big trailing arms just inboard of the rear wheels and a T-shaped bar that locates the axle laterally and prevents fore-aft rotation. The rear end is suspended on coil springs mounted to the trailing arms. Sway bars are standard in the front and rear.
One oddment about Alfas is that they all use a traditional worm- and-roller steering box with a three-part tie rod assembly and an extra idler arm. This persisted throughout the Spider’s production run, long after other manufacturers had gone to a much simpler and more precise rack-and-pinion design.
Alfa always gifted the Spider with a great set of brakes. Discs were standard on all four corners, along with a dual-circuit master cylinder with vacuum assist. In contemporary fade tests, the brakes were often found to be “unfadeable” in repeated stops from highway speeds.
110Wayne CariniAffordable Classics
Bumpers and Bodywork
Like all automakers of the 1970s, Alfa designers must have resented the increasing crash safety requirements, and they responded with the specified upgrades but without any great effort to make those US DOT bumpers attractive. The sleek chrome bumpers of the early 1970s gave way to massive, protruding rubber blocks. Many prior owners will have done away with these, in favor of older- appearing bumpers.
Starting in 1983, Spider styling was freshened with a new front end appearance and a large rear spoiler. Bosch fuel injection replaced the Spica system.