Hi
Wow, a Spyder as a daily driver, a brave man!!!
Really, I'm living in Germany for 3 years. Have a 76 Spider at home as a sunny day weekend car. Now driving a rental '02 Spider. My first car was a '79 X1/9 (actually, one for driving, 2 others for spares
Sorry can't help you out with late 80s spiders, only have experience with older and newer ones!
I can tell you that they all look great, sound great, but don't expect anything with electricity flowing through it to work reliably. But then again, with your Fiat you should be used to this!! (the headlights on my X1/9 would sometimes decide to flap up and down, not even in synch, until I pulled the battery lead. That always impressed my dates...)
I'd recommend a nicely restored older one, even a boat tail duetto. Mnimal electonics, probably quicker than the newer, heavier ones, and IMO even better looking.
a pic of my German Spider
http://makeashorterlink.com/?K153246E5
pic of the rental Opel Speedster my friend and I took to the Nurburgring 3 weeks ago. This car is soooooo much more fun to drive than the Alfa, sadly
http://makeashorterlink.com/?P463126E5
can't find a pic right now of the '76 spider, but its bright red with a big air dam the previous owner put on. Doesn"t actually look bad with the "turbine" wheels and red spoiler on the tail.
cheers
Kurt