What to do?

[tinman760]

I have a newly aquired 1973 1600 Sport. As far as I can tell, it is unmolested, but almost a parts car, as it has been neglected for some years, and the interior is quite a mess, as well as the wiring. 1598, or whatever, engine, stock carb., dual points, ripped upholstery, cracked dash, complete with gauges hanging out of sockets, etc. I am really not sure which way to go. Restoration, or boy racer mobile. I do like to modify things, and I live inbetween 2 nice tracks. Fontana, and Willow. I am throwing this out there for some inspiration, or ideas, before I spend a bunch of money going the wrong way. The motor runs, but I am not sure how well, yet. I fired it up with the old gas down the carb, and it sounded ok. Need lots of rubber parts to get it running on its own, first. Thanks in advance. Ciao Bob

[azruss]

first thing to do is make a rust assessment. check front shock towers, floorboards, door sill tunnels. cosmetic rust will be bottom of doors, rear fender flairs, front of hood, rear rocker panel. if you have major rust in locations other than these you have a big red flag, not just a normal red flag. If these areas are bad, then you probably dont have a good car to restore and may not be good to race if the structural areas are bad.
After that, check the crossmember for cracks, busted bolts, etc.

[tinman760]

I have looked casually for rust, and there are no glareing rust to speak of. ie typical body rot. I will pull up the carpet some and take a deeper look. Altho, I must say, the longer I have this car in my possession, the more I like it. I kind of fell into it, helping out a friend. I always lusted for a Alfa, I guess this will do.

[TX82FIAT]

Agree completely, check for the rust before doing anything. If structural areas like shock towers are in good shape then it would depend on what you want to do with the car once restored. The interior can get pricy as you add up all the little pieces. for example, if you need a new top, dash, carpets, seat covers, gauges. You may already be at $1,000 just for the interior. If driving is priority then no need to worry about the top, carpet or a new dash. Many options available to improve the look without spending a lot on interior. The joy is driving IMHO. Just love to go out for a spin.

[narfire]

I always lusted for a Alfa, I guess this will do.

You'll find the fiat crowd are nicer

I agree on the rust issues.If the mentioned areas are rust free,I'd be thinking you have a car with potential to bring back to nice shape that will drive well. The budget can be an issue,some have spent $10,000 or more on their car and some, see "work for beer" thred where he has the skill set and tools to do alot himself. There are plenty of resources around that have used parts in great shape from cars that were parted out, and the numerous vendors have new parts for what I think are very reasonable prices compared to new cars.
Pull the interior out and perhaps snoop around for a set of front and rear seats. Carpeting can be bought new or many will use the old stuff for a template and make their own. A given, is replace all the rubber parts,hoses,flex disk, belts, fuel hoses. Clean the fuel tank..... I think you can see there is a bit of work to get the car sorted but if the fridge has a good complement of instalation fluid, and you have the time and passion, these cars become addictive.
Good luck and take pics as you go.
Chris

[spiderrey]

Where are you located? Personally , I would pull out all the carpeting and drop the rockers to check for rust. Once it is determined to be savageable, make it a runner first. Then you will be hookd. Fiats are a lot easier to work on then Alfas, not knocking Alfas. One of my favorite all time cars is an Alfa. Good luck.

[kmac33]

Welcome to the world of Fiat Spider ownership!
As previously stated, if the body is close to rust free, you have a great candidate for whatever level of restoration you decide you want. The best part about these great cars (other than driving them ) is the fact that they are straight forward and easy to work on if you have any mechanical inclination. It sounds like you do. That will obviously save you a good bit of $ with getting your Spider back on the road. Spend a good bit of time looking over the forum and you will get a good sense of just how many options you have.
Some of us went overboard with our "projects" (in my case WAY overboard) and have WAY more invested in our Spiders than they will ever be worth, while others have "ratty' Spiders that get just enough attention to keep running and drivable. Some keep their Spider as stock as possible while others have performed extensive modifications. This community is GREAT about accepting and supporting all of these "types" of owners. Some other marque communities maybe not so much
Just be prepared to get addicted to these great little cars.

[124JOE]

hello and welcome
heres where we get some stock parts
http://www.internationinalautoparts.com
http://www.vickauto.com
and theres more

tech info
http://www.artigue.com
http://www.guycroft.com

[spidernut]

Someone once gave me some good advice on this forum (many, many years ago) that still holds true. It is usually worth restoring if you only have to restore two out of the three following items: interior, running gear, body. If you have to do all three, you'll had to pour too much money into the car.

There are ways to overcome the high cost of each if you do all the work yourself depending on what you want your finished product to look like.

If the body is in not in need of any major work, the minor work is not that hard to do yourself. If you just want a daily driver versus a show car, you could have it painted at a discount autobody shop for a few hundred dollars to about $2,000.

With the interior, there are many people like me who have original parts that were removed from their cars during restoration - interior door panels, carpet sets, consoles, console cover, upper console, gauges, cross members, and many other misc parts. Most people will part with them for a very reasonable price. Seats are the hardest to come by, but many people choose to swap out the seats for more modern ones (available at a wrecking yard for a few hundred $$$)

The running gear is where you can end up in a never-ending money pit. Parts are much harder to find for the older cars. I'd recommend starting your assessment with the engine compartment. If the motor checks out O.K. then turn to the transmission and differential. If all that checks out, look over the suspension, flex disc, drive shaft supports, etc.

Lastly, look over the wiring and see if it has been cut up, spliced or otherwise hacked. If you are familiar with auto wiring and schematics, you can repair the wiring but it is very time consuming. You will not want to pay someone to do it due to the cost! DIY and save big $$$ if you know how to do it right. Do it wrong and your car could catch fire.

We're all here to help with friendly and free advice. If you're a real do-it-yourselfer, the Spiders are actually fun to work on because they are relatively easy to repair and simple. Some of the neatest projects have been those who did resto-mods. It is a good way to avoid paying the high cost for restoration parts and having something unique to you!

[mdrburchette]

Welcome Bob! Everyone has given you sound advice. When you have a chance, post some pics of your new ride.
As far as restoring or parting out a solid car, that really depends on how much you want to spend, how fast you want it and what you want the end result to be. I got my 72 in decent running shape and drove it needing a top, seats, paint, etc. Every year for the next 10 years, I chose one thing to restore until I got it the way I wanted it: a good looking, solid driver. I could have bought a Miata for less money, but the knowledge and the sense of accomplishment I gained was well worth the extra money it took to make my car what it is today.
I am no mechanic by any means, but as others have stated, the Spider is a good car start with. The support here is exceptional, both mechanically and emotionally. You can't find a better group of people than Fiat owners and we come from all walks of life. We have all been there and done that and don't mind sharing our experiences.

[vandor]

Hi,

Only you can decide which way to go, but from the sound of it you want to modify it

My only advice is that if the car as a lot of needs then look around, you may be able to get a better Spider for little money, as with the recession Spider prices have dropped quite a bit. It's always cheaper to buy an already restored example, most of us don't do it because we can only afford to do it little by little, even if it costs more in the end.

[tinman760]

After some more looking around, I have found that the shock towers are clean, fenderwells, and doors are clean, and see no signs of anything, other than surface rust anywhere. The car was bought in the Inland Empire, CA, which is to say, pretty much the desert. Paid $500 bucks for her. And I think I got a fair deal. Had the motor fired up yesterday, just to see if she runs, and she sounds ok. Need to work out some fuel issues, tho. The wiring is kinda messy, as is the interior, so I will be looking for some interior bits. Seats, etc.