79 restoration started

[kbee00]

Jaime, you have been an inspiration since I found your thread. I do hope you can find the time to visit when I am FL.

Anyway, the pain of the actual trip to pick up the car has subsided. Those that are tired, read this thread later. Those that are intrigued, grab a coffee, diet coke, whatever. I will surely have carpel tunnel after this post....

The car was advertised as "california car, one family ownership, stored for 13 yrs, 40K miles, in a barn, clean, dirty, and solid". I hooked up my enclosed trailer to my 260K miles Suburban, made arrangements for an overnight stay with one of my Colleagues in MN and left for the 8hr one way trip. I got about 200 miles into the trip when the truck got loud. Pulled off the freeway into a small town and found my way to a repair shop. Dropped the trailer, the guys put the truck on a lift and the guy said "one of the pipes connected to one of the Cats is cracked. No problem to make the rest of the trip". I continued on and after about another 100 miles the truck got REALLY loud. Pulled off again (now 2hrs behind schedule) and found an Auto parts store. Went under the truck (laying in an icey puddle) and saw that BOTH pipes after the Cat were gone, about 3 inches of exhaust from both Cats are missing. Decided to abandon the trip, found a spot to drop the trailer (the old geezer behind the UHaul rental shop told me " $25 per day for storage, spit the tobacco juice into an old soda can and pointed to a spot to drop the trailer) and I turned around. Filled up AGAIN at the closest gas station ($130 - 42 gallon tank) and went home. Spent $1800 to repair the exhaust, alternator, and flat tire. The next week I drove back to get my trailer, meanwhile the exhaust was getting loud so I pulled off the freeway again and found a Midas - the guy said the seal/gasket between the Cats and rear exhaust was leaking. He put some putty in there and gave me the thumbs up to finish my journey. Smelled bad, but not too loud. Thank God for my Ipod....

I've got another 5 hours to go - really bad road in Central MN - recent snowstorms have left the secondary road nothing but stutter ice. The trailer is swinging to and fro' above 40mph. I finally arrive at the pickup point. It is getting dark. The guy has to snowblow an opening to the barn and his snowblower is barely working. Takes him 2 hours to clear a path. Meanwhile, I am trying to open the locks on my trailer. They are frozen shut. I can only open one of three locks. (fold down rear door and one side door which I have to open in order to put the front straps on.) He finally clears a path to the barn door. The car has 4 flat tires. He told me that all four tires are new and don’t bother to bring an air compressor. Freakin’ great!!! Now we have to drive 45 minutes to the nearest town to buy an air tank and bolt cutters. Another $100. It’s almost 8pm in central MN – dark as can be. We stop to fill the tank with air, get some Mountain Dew and finally get back to the barn. Now I am running 4 hours late. Can’t see anything (it is incredibly dark in central MN at 7pm). We fill the tires (can’t believe they hold air) and push it out of the barn. So how do we get it into my enclosed trailer you ask? We find a piece of wood and lodge it between the bumper (license plate bracket) of his truck and the bumper of the Fiat. He pushes the car into the trailer – about ¾ of the way. But his truck is now on the gate of the trailer – which will never hold the weight of his truck. So we block the back wheels and move the truck and push it by hand into the trailer. Push, move the blocks, push again, move the blocks. You get the idea. FINALLY the car is in the trailer. I tie it down, give him his money, say a prayer, and am on my way. Oh, but the fun is not over yet…..(potty break, for you, not me)

I am driving on a state highway that has not been plowed or salted all winter. If I try to go faster than 40mph, the truck and trailer slide all over the place. Total white knuckle experience for 50 miles (and I have raced Formula Fords for many years and also raced in the Targa Newfoundland) and it was the scariest ride I have ever done. I got to a major hill coming into another small town and the tires of the truck were spinning all the way up a hill AT 25 MPH! Holy SH**!! I finally get to the freeway. Pulled into a big truck stop type place and put 40 gallons of gas into the truck. Grabbed some grub (it is now 10pm – 3 hours from the Twin cities where I am supposed to crash for the night) and jumped into the truck. Turned the key and nothing!!!! Turned the key again, nothing!!!! It cranked just fine just no pop. Sitting at the gas pump at a truck station, late at night, my $400 FIAT in the trailer, delusions of grandeur, high hopes, dreams of the fun summer ahead – and the freakin’ fuel pump decides to die……

Now most people would have either a. gotten drunk and figured it out later b. called their therapist (do you even know a therapist??) or c. buckled down and dealt with it.
I chose “c”. I found a parts house open and got a fuel pump. Offered cash money to the ONLY mechanic left on duty (“I have to go home, I am back here at 6am”) with the promise that I would help. After much haggling and promises, they dragged my dead truck (and now much hated Fiat) around, with an old Skidsteer, to the garage. They pulled out some guys 18 wheeler to make room – he was incredibly pissed, but $40 shut him up – and dragged my forlorn truck into the bay. At least it was heated….
How do you remove 40gallons of fuel from a tank? Crank siphon? Electric pump? How about human lips on a dirty ¾” hose? We chose the hose…..oh, and by the way, one of the gas cans (plastic ones that I had to buy) leaked…..so 5 gallons of gas ran all over the floor. Yes, there were complaints from everyone in the truck stop – especially those in the RESTAURANT eating – oh yeah, BREAKFAST!!!
I helped the only mechanic on duty – we finally emptied $130 of fuel (except the $16.50 that leaked out) and dropped the tank. Thank God I had a set of tools and a floor jack. Seems truck stops don’t have those things…..

3 hours later and the fuel tank was back in/on my truck. I am soaked in fuel (don’t light a cigarette anywhere NEAR me…) Only a few extra parts....Oh, and he gave me $10 credit towards the leaking gas…. BUT, I gave him $50 for staying late and getting me back on the road. Great guy and if you should ever breakdown on I-94 west of the Twin Cities I would highly recommend their microwave ham sandwich, I spent $20 on diet coke and licorice anyway…..
I am still 8 hours from home, I have been up for almost 20hours already, spent TONS of money on gas and repairs for my $400 Fiat….yep, should have put a gun in my mouth at this point…

I decide to not wake up my buddy in the Twin Cities and drive straight home. 2 more stops for gas ($130 each time) and lots of Mountain Dew and arrive home the next day. Wife is at work, kids are at school, and Daddy crashes – for 12 hours.
BUT!!! I have my cherished, and very expensive $400 Fiat in my driveway. The rest of the story is sad. First time to look at the “California” car and my hand goes thru the floor board…..
Life teaches you many things…..
All I hope is that we are all good students.
Peace.
Loren

[digitech]

And I thought I had bad luck!!!

[CajunMike]

Well that was a trip from hell. Sad that it turned out to be for a lemon. Have you been able to assess the rest of the car yet?

[narfire]

I thought I was the only nut-bar to drive hours on end for one of these great little cars. Penticton to Eugene Oregon and back for mine( about 24+ hours),but I did it in the rain and had an uneventful boarder crossing with the car.
Loren, with the help from here and patience, the car I'm sure will all be worth it and you'll have a great story to boot.
Mine when stripped it looked like this

After much frustration with the guys that initially painted the car

Good luck with the car Loren, keep us posted with pics
Chris

[kbee00]

I hope my story helps others that become inflicted with the Fiat disease. It is incurable and strikes every age and race. It does not segregate or care about gender. Once bitten, you are a goner. Just pay heed to my experience and learn. Yes, we must save them - but sometimes a few might perish so others can survive....

Woah!, where did THAT come from.... too much Jessie Jackson on the news or something. I actually wish I had a 64 1/2 Corvette....but the latest Barret auction proved to me that I will never own one.... God save the Fiats!!

I pick up the "new" car on the 18th. I am pretty sure that this PO is for real..... at least I have dozens of pics and he actually drives the car which makes me feel a little bit better.

Pics on the way...

[Klayfish]

Wow, I just read this thread, what an incredible story. Some day you'll look back on it and laugh...just not today. Hope the new car is everything the owner says it is.

You've inspired me to post a "journal" of sorts in this section too. I've been asking lots of questions, since I'm a complete noob to fixing cars, but it'd be cool to make a journal of my progress. I'll post my comparatively very wimpy story soon.

Look forward to seeing your new project car.

[LStevens]

What color red is the car in the photo Chris?

[narfire]

What color red is the car in the photo Chris?

A porche colour.... guards red.

[LStevens]

What color red is the car in the photo Chris?

A porche colour.... guards red.

I like it! Do you recall what year? I'm in the process of picking a color and I decided on red, but having difficulty picking the right shade. I really like the color of our "stop lights" - them babies are BRIGHT RED! I found a red from a 2008 volkswagon/audi or even Viper Red is sharp. The porsche reds I saw were a little too dark, so the year of the porsche guards red would help. The car is in the shop getting blocked right now. I'll post some photos soon.

[dhagood]

guards red has been a porsche color for quite some time. per this page, the paint code is L027.

mine is L655, which to my totally biased viewpoint is an awesome color on a 911

[kbee00]

So I actually was able to get outside and do some work on the "parts" car. I'll call it Spider1. The actually finished car will be picked up on the 18th - Spider2.

I pulled the radiator and other misc stuff - put some ATF in the cylinders and turned the motor over. No issues - which is a good thing. That motor will be rebuilt with FI (maybe Mark's or maybe a Megasquirt) and put into Spider2. Spider2 has a "new" transmission - which is good. Eventually Spider2 will get a 131 tranny and rear end - to handle the extra power the new motor will produce. Purchased one of Guy Crofts tuning books - BTW - he has a few copies on discount as the covers had some printing issues.....Guy and I (that sounds kinda funny...hey, I'm tired, OK?) are talking tomorrow and I hope to find out just what I need to do to build up a nice street motor - something that will be quick as hell, but still run on pump gas, plus a little 103 Sonoco red.....heheh.

Anyway, I couldn't find a socket for the big crankshaft nut -anyone know what size that is???

I have everything off so I can pull the head -then take the motor out. SteveC - from Aussie land - has some nice HC pistons for me. With a little luck, I will have the motor out in the next few weeks - I am traveling for work over the next few weeks so home time will be at a premium.

Here are pics of the car out of the trailer. There is some really nice pinstripping detail work done -hard to see in the pics, but up close looks cool. The body is in perfect shape - no dents and almost no rust. The drivers floor pan is the biggest culprit and I worry about the base frame...so far, I haven't looked at it. Shock towers, etc. are all good. Maybe Spider1 will find a new life afterall.... I will have the motor from Spider2 which runs well now - so maybe two Spiders????? Time will tell...

Anyway, plan for a med dark metallic blue with White top and black, blue/white interior. White wheels....whadda ya think Fiat crowd???

Thanks for the help...

[Klayfish]

Hey, even though I'm a complete novice, I can actually answer a question...at least I think I can.

The crank nut is a 1 1/2" socket. I actually visited a local guy here who has a business restoring Fiats/Lancias and he showed me that on Friday. I tried it out this past weekend, and it worked like a charm.

Color scheme idea sounds cool...would be nice to try to get a computer mock up so you can actually see what it will look like.

[wachuko]

That looks sooooooo much better than my first Fiat

My First Fiat - Parts car

Do not write it off just yet... maybe it can be safe.

[Exit98]

I have raced Formula Fords for many years and also raced in the Targa Newfoundland

KB, you are my hero.

I've been fascinated with Targa Newfoundland since I first saw it on TV. I'd love to hear that story. For now though at least tell me what car you ran it in, and what year. That had to be one great experience.

Running in it or even going to watch it just isn't in the cards for me.

Great story about your trip. It's all a part of the "journey".

[kbee00]

I have raced Formula Fords for many years and also raced in the Targa Newfoundland

KB, you are my hero.

I've been fascinated with Targa Newfoundland since I first saw it on TV. I'd love to hear that story. For now though at least tell me what car you ran it in, and what year. That had to be one great experience.

Running in it or even going to watch it just isn't in the cards for me.

Great story about your trip. It's all a part of the "journey".

Without getting too far off topic -

Believe it or not, back in 2004 or 5 (can't remember) I entered a contest in Grassroots Motorsports - got a call like a year later saying I had won and did I want to go to the Targa Newfoundland. They would pay the entry fee and I would have to cover the rest. Cost me $6000 - they paid $4000 - total of $10000 to run that event. (Sold my Reynard FF) I was almost finished building a '66 MGB for street use - decided to turn it into a mild race car. Lowered, suspension, hot motor (almost 150HP) roll cage, the whole nine yards. I was in a class with hot 911's, etc. My MGB was no match -but oh well. So now I needed a navigator. I advertised for one online, I'd pay all the costs, they would have to cover their food. Got some hits, and eventually found a guy with lots of experience - he happened to live about 2 miles from me!!! Impossible I know. But so true. We loaded up the car and left for Newfoundland. We got to the big bypass bridge on the south side of Chicago and they were turning traffic back the other way. Well our truck and trailer were too big so we waited with the other truckers. Took them 18 hours to clean up the mess. Some trucker had come into the pay booths asleep and slammed into them at 60mph. Amazingly no one was killed but lots of cars got crunched. Anyway, they finally opened a lane and we got going. 18hrs behind already!! So we took turns driving straight thru - and picked up a guy in Moncton, New Brunswick that I met online that lived in Newfoundland and would help crew for me for nothing more than sleeping space on the floor and food. Deal. Got on the ferry in North Sydney about 2 hours ahead of schedule. 16 hours on the ferry (smelled like diesel the entire ride – but at least we got 4 guys to a room with bunks and a shower…) and we landed in Argentia in the Placentia Bay. About 100 guys all met up (those that came on the ferry – not those that had their cars flown in….rich bastards!! Just kidding – I would do the same thing if I had the money…) and we drove to St. Johns. First night we all had our cars in some sort of arena – and the public could pay $3 Cdn (3 loonies) to come and see us. We were putting on the mandatory stickers, etc. and going thru tech and just generally meeting other drivers. I had been told to print up pics of my car – and hundreds of kids asked for them with my autograph. Man, I felt like a rockstar!!! They wanted pics sitting in my car and with me, it was soooo cool! And I had the only MGB there. But there were some guys with a really cool P1800 Volvo, and some other really old cars – they were in the “touring” group. I was in the actual race group. Should’ve done the touring…..
First race day, we all line up and they let one of us go every 60 seconds. I am behind an incredibly built up ’69 911. Some old Germans with a 40’ enclosed transport with spare engines, etc. I was in the wrong group….. Anyway, it was raining – like it did almost every day – and I had the top up which didn’t fit all that well with the roll bar. And my navigator was 6’2” tall….. yeah, we got wet. We’d race for 10 or 20 miles, then pull into the timing station, get our book stamped, and drive 25 or 30 minutes to the next starting station. The morning went OK , but my navigator wasn’t used to the European style of map notes and we hadn’t practiced much so we were winging it. At least we had working headsets so I could hear him – but he kept missing turns, so it didn’t matter much anyways. So day one we stop at a school for lunch. All the kids were there looking at the cars and asking for autographs. Seems they shut down all the local schools and businesses as we race thru the countryside. And the “roads” are really narrow, bumpy as hell (wish I hadn’t lowered the car…) sometimes going thru parking lots…man was it fun!!!
This goes on for 5 full days – 8 hours a day. And each night some arena for our “parc de ferme” where the public watches you fix your car (cussing, throwing tools, not a pretty site…..)
No hotels on much of Newfoundland so we literally stay in people’s houses. They freakin’ give you their BEDS and feed you – they are the nicest people I have ever met.
Well, I didn’t make it 5 full days – only a handful. What happened you ask???? It was not pretty.
The damn 911 was kicking our ass and we were trying to keep up. We were on a very, very winedy road – posted speed limit 40kph (25mph) – raining like hell –what’s new. Navigator calls out and L1 –nice easy left. Turns out it is an L4. I am doing 80mph and there is no way we are going to make the corner. I hit a concrete retaining wall – a corner wall – at about 60mph directly between the passenger headlight and front hood. Pushes the suspension into the passenger foot well. My navigator has two broken legs and a broken ankle. The windshield ends up 50ft in front of the car. My left foot is broken and the steering wheel is broken off – my hands/wrists are sore but OK. Car is literally broken in half. The only straight panel is the trunk lid. The gearbox case is broken etc . 2 yrs of work, $12,000 – junk. My navigator spends the rest of the week in the hospital (those of you that think federal run health care is a good idea – spend a few days in a Canadian hospital. I won’t even go into it here…..)
I fly him home and bring the junk pile back to Wisconsin. Guy at the border wants my list of what I brought across the boarder – what list???? Never filled out a list. I open the trailer and he tells me get the out of there.
Still have the hood with the Targa stickers on it…..and some pics. I plan on going back someday and finishing what I started. Oh, by the way, I missed my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary…. Oh yeah, I STILL hear about this from my wife.
My fingers hurt…..