Alfa Spider vs Jensen Healey

I'm thrilled to bits that my wife wants to buy herself a classic sports car. It means that she won't be bugging me any more to drive the TR8 if she has her own steed.:-)

She's looking seriously and has narrowed it down at two cars that I've always personally found very interesting but have zero experience with - Alfa Romeo Spider and Jensen Healey. Kinda similiar in theory with 2 litre DOHC engines, but its Italy vs UK difference. The Alfa that I'd recommend would be the 1750 boat tail, but I'd assume they're rarer and more expensive than the later versions. I'm leaning towards the Jensen Healey, but it won't be my decision. I understand the Jensen Healey is an underpriced classic, but I don't know anything about Alfa prices. Obviously we've got a lot of research to do in front of us but getting a few opinions here is a place to start. Her budget would be no more than 10 K.

I'm also assuming they're both quirky cars. What about current prices, parts availabilty, club support, reliabilty, things to look for, etc, etc.

Any feedback from those of you familiar with either of these two cars would be appreciated.

There were many more Alfas built than Jensens. A lady friend of mine at work has one that's her DD (and in fact, the only car she owns!). It's an 80s cropped-tail (and EFI equipped) version. It runs great until the temps get below 40deg. She only has problems when someone in Atlanta traffic hits her (she lives in the city, her last problem was a local delivery truck grinding her LF fender because he didn't see her standing at the stoplight). All the mechanical bits seem to be available.

My parents had a Jensen Healey when they were new, they were not real reliable even then. I think most of the problems can be fixed now, but they are still rare so finding windshield glass is probably not easy. The older Alfa spiders are quite expensive (around $30k), and the later ones are usually more like 1/3 to 1/6 that much. If it was me I would look for a 74 or 75 spider, they still have the nice bumpers, but you don't pay an extra $20k for the trunk and tail lights to look a little different.

I guess it's a bit of a choice of having to work on it yourself (Jensen) or finding someone within reasonable distance to work on it (Alfa).

I'd go for one of the Kamm-tail Spiders (either the mid-seventies one or the one of the very last ones that doesn't have the rubber lip rear spoiler.

Both vehicles suffered performance-wise on the boat over from the US but it's probably a littler easier and maybe even a little cheaper to extract the lost performance from the Alfa.

In reply to BoxheadTim:

Tim, now that you're in the US, you're going to discover why so many of us over here bought "grey market" cars during the 1980s.

For the J-H, post over on the GRM board so Jensenman can help you. He's had a bunch of those. What little I know is now decades old information when we had a 'project' one in the shop. Your choices for parts are Delta Motorsports and...nobody. Parts weren't terribly expensive and I was surprised at just how much was available but it's all going to be mail order. You're not going to get much locally to keep it running.

Alfas I have much more experience with having sold parts for them for a half dozen or so years. Body and interior bits are the hardest to get. Most everything is out there but a lot of it is NOS and expensive now. Mechanically, everything is pretty available since the car didn't change much throughout it's run but costs are comparable to British cars but higher than a Fiat 124 (a car I'd seriously consider as an alternative). I think the Alfa is a much more dated car in many ways...it drives like an older car (because, well, it is from the 1960s, and a lot of it is 1950s design) where the J-H is probably going to be more 'modern'. The Alfa is going to be nicer to look at from behind the wheel as well as outside, as the J-H suffers from the 1970s safety aspects of bumpers and interior design. They are rather different cars, and ultimately she should probably drive both before making any kind of decision.

friedgreencorrado wrote: In reply to BoxheadTim: Tim, now that you're *in* the US, you're going to discover why so many of us over here bought "grey market" cars during the 1980s.

Oh, I knew that in the back of my head, but I'm still finding (and surprised) out just how castrated some of my favourite cars appear to be...

I have driven several J-Hs. Neat cars. They remind me of the Morgan a bit as far as logistics...lots of off the shelf parts from common sources. The engine is of Lotus lineage, the same engine thats in the Esprit, the 705 so all the "go-fast" parts are out there.

They are pretty solid machines. Club support is out there. Just not like MG or Triumph clubs.

Leo

I had the opportunity to drive a Jensen Healey at the Carlisle Import and Kit Car nationals this past year for the first time. They are a very neat and very civilized car with nice power and the engine sounds great. There is support for these cars but they are not as easy to deal with as the Alfa but have a terrific club in the Alfa Romeo Owners Club and on the west coast in the Alfa Romeo Assocation.

I have owned all generations of the Alfa Spider except for the series 4 91-91 cars (It is the next car I am buying) and they all offer the Italian sports car experience in a affordable and pretty trouble free package. The engine has enough power and is pretty simple at the end of the day with good support for spares and also have a really good club.

The price for a nice ready to enjoy Jensen Healey is somewhere between $4,500 and $6,000 dollars. They are likely to be priced there for awhile.

The prices for the Alfa Spiders varies on the model. The series one roundtail or Duetto cars start at around $12,000 and reach a max of about $20,000. These are the ones that are already considered a inexpensive a list collector car and they are simply beautiful to look at and fun to drive. I would not be surprised if they start breaking the $30,000 barrier in the future. A driveable car that is a true iconic classic car.

The series 2 cars are the first kamm tail cars with the tail chopped off and were built from 1970-1974. They still have chrome bumpers and are quite honestly better drivers than the Duetto. The series 2 car also got an upgraded interior with a nice twin pod instrument panel and nicer seats that were available in leather. They currently run between $4,000-$6,500 and are moving up as well. A great value and almost as good looking as the Duetto. They do have Spica injection which has been known to have problems though most of those are due to user error. If you set it up once and leave it alone it works fine.

The next are what people call the Series 2A cars and these are the square tail cars with a front Rubber bumper and the same systems as the earlier series 2 cars. they are the most inexpensive of the lot with nice cars selling between $2,500 and $4,000.

There is a special model in the series 2A cars and that is the 1982 Model. This is the last of the cars before it received the rubber rear spoiler and front bumpers. It has the added benefit of having Bosch Fuel injection. This special model sells for between $3,000-$4,000 and is one of my personal favorites, especially in silver.

The next cars are the series 3 cars. These were built between 1983-1985 and are the first with the rubber rear spoilers and front bumpers. They are great drivers and still have the twin pod interior that dates back to the series 2 cars. They are also a good value selling between $3,000-$4,500.

the next are what I call the series 3A cars. They are mechanically identical to the other series 3 cars but have new seats and a new instrument cluster which is in my opinion less attractive than the earlier cars. They have a new steering wheel as well. They currently sell for anywhere from $2,000-$4,000 and are less interesting to me personally than any other spider model.

Finally there are the series 4 cars. These cars received a stunning styling update by Pininfarina, almost as beautiful as the round tail cars, more advanced fuel injection, a further upgraded interior, galvanized body, driver side airbag(I hate the way the steering wheel looks but it is easily replaceable with the non airbag better looking euro wheel) and power steering. They are very beautiful cars and are very easy to live with. A series 4 car would make a perfect first classic Italian roadster. Asking prices for the series 4 cars run the gamut from as little as $4,000 to $15,000. Nice examples are available all day for about $5,000 so don't spend 15k to try to get the best one in the world as it is not worth it.

I hope this helps. I would personally get the Alfa though I do really the the Jensen Healey, I love Italian cars.

I can't add much to the previous post, but with the Alfa consider that there is a tremendous amount of updating/backdating that can be done. Many of the rubber bumper cars sport lightweight Euro fiberglass replicas just as many Spica-equipped cars now have 2 40DCOE Webers per the Duetto. The motor performs pretty well, and as they are sleeved blocks increasing compression/performance isn't as scary as it could be in a 1970's-80's vintage car. The series 3A dash is a low point IMHO, but the cars (unlike the Jensen) are beautifully styled and equipped inside and out. Put the top up and down in an Alfa Spider, then do the same in your choice of British roadsters of the same era. Refined design vs. outsourced afterthought. Don't get me wrong, I like most British sports cars, but if you go back and read the literature of the day they were criticized for being finished/cobbled together out of the parts bin then too. The tops with all the snaps, tabs, straps and seals.... That said, there are neglected, garage queen and "little problem" cars aplenty available, and the condition of a specific car would be very important.