Quick hello

[jez]

Hi Gents

Just wanted to say a quick hello so my login doesn't expire!. I'll be in the market for a Spider soon so hopefully the forum will be a great place for advice. I have a Lotus Elise right now which I'm selling this weekend as I need a left hand drive car (I've moved from the UK to Poland). I always found the Lotus forum to be a goldmine for for friendly advice from like-minded people around the globe and it looks like I'll find the same here.

My first question is which is the best model to go for? I want something nippy and fun to drive, but as I'm not a mechanic I want something that I won't have to twiddle with every week. Having said that mechanics are very cheap in Poland so I'd be happy buying something that I could upgrade with improved brakes, suspension, carbs etc. I'm not bothered about keeping it perfectly original and one of my first thoughts is that whatever model I buy I'll be taking the bumpers off - in my view they look much better without them.

Thanks in advance from a Brit in Krakow.

[WYSpider]

Welcome. I'm a big fan of the Lotus Exige. Got to love what they did with a Toyota engine

[rlux4]

Do you mean what model Fiat to look for?
Or if you're looking to get into a Spider, they were all the same model, 124 Spider. Even in 1979 when they went to a 2 litre engine and changed the designation to Spider 2000, the VIN still shows 124. So, if you're looking for a Spider, then believe me, the best year issue has been discussed at great length and the general conscensus is 1982 is the best year Fiat Spider. After all, even Fiat finished that year's run and said, "That's it, we can't make them any better" and sold the rights to Pinninfarina. (This has been a running gag for about 3-4 years. )
The fuel injectected cars (1980 Ca. cars and 1981 for all Spiders) are very peppy without modifications, and are very reliable once any FI control issues that may have been botched by a previous owner are sorted out. I've had mine on a couple of 2000 mile trips and the only issue I had was a little gasket on the heater tube at the water pump connection caused over heating. Other than that it is totally dependable. Other FI owners report the same usually.
On the other hand, if you want to modify one, and make a screamer out of it, you'd go with an ealier year. Just avoid 79 and 80 carb'd cars if you're in a state where you can't modify, they were so smogged up they were the doggiest years made.
Ron
Ron

[vandor]

>My first question is which is the best model to go for?

That's really up to personal taste. A lot of people like the clean look of the early Spiders. The European 'BS' 1608cc Spider had twin IDF carbs for 110 Hp, the later 'CS' with an 1800cc engine and single carb was rated at 118 Hp. So both of those have clean, classic lines and good performance. Of the early cars the Abarth is the most desiderable, but it costs 2-3 times as much as a regular Spider!
Others like the more modern look of the Pininfarina cars with the benefit of the smooth running fuel injection. The Volumex was a supercharged version and commands a price premium. The best driving cars are the so called 1985.5, produced after September of 1984. These had larger brakes, a steering rack instead of the old fashioned steering box, and a host of other improvements. Some of these were Volumex aswell, now those are a hoot!
A lot of Spiders were imported from the US to Europe, and these are usually worth a bit less, unless brought up to Euro standards.
Value is mostly dependent on condition, and reliability will have to mostly with how well the car has been maintained.
As with any used car, buy the best one you can afford!
bye,

[vandor]

>The fuel injectected cars (1980 Ca. cars and 1981 for all Spiders)

This is a bit misinforming, as most FI Spiders are 'California' (ie. they perform to California emission standards), regardless of where they were sold.
There were a lot of 1980 fuel injected Spiders sold outside of California.

[rlux4]

Thank you Csaba. That does make it clearer.
I'm curious though, it seems as if there are a lot of carb'd 80 out there, I wonder what the ratio was outside of California:
carb'd/FI. I'm just not curious enough to try to track down the answer.
Ron

[124JOE]

hey vandor,
if there was a abarth kit what would in it?
or what was it comprised of?

[Kingme2]

In Poland you'll be able to buy a brand new engine, and a brand new tranny... at a fraction of what we'll pay in North America...

And Poland has some beautiful women (my sweet fiance is from Poland )

[jez]

The cost of mechanic labor in Poland is very cheap so I'm torn between buying something that needs work like this and spending cash on work and parts to get it exactly how I want

http://allegro.pl/zabytkowy-fiat-124-sp ... 99748.html

OR buying something sorted like this beauty Derek has advertised :

http://fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=14847

I can get a complete refurbished engine for 600$ here and there's a cheap mechanic who specialises in refurbing classics

A couple of others for sale in Poland (1$ = 3.1zl by the way) :

http://otomoto.pl/fiat-124-spider-cs1-C20040177.html

and a sport coupe

http://allegro.pl/fiat-124-sport-coupe- ... 50943.html

[jez]

and this one :

http://szukaj.pl.mobile.eu/pojazdy/deta ... =145562275

[124JOE]

i like the green one from derick