Going to look at my first Spider

[OldBlue]

Alright, I found a car (about 2 hours away from where I live) that looks somewhat promising. Gonna go look at it Saturday. It's the first of many I will look at, I am sure. Questions for those oh-so-more Spider-savvy than I; does anyone have a pic (or 3) they could post of what to look for rust-wise on the shock towers? I want to make sure I don't miss what could be a serious issue with whatever car I end up with. I'm not overly worried about the mechanical end of things, but I AM concerned about rust, so I will be giving the pans a good looking over. (Yeah, I know, concerned about rust, so why am I looking at a Spider! ) I know that rust can hide under the tarboard (or whatever it's called) that's attached to the inside of the pans, but after owning a bunch of old air-cooled Bugs, I'm well versed at welding in new pans, if need be!

Anything else that I should be aware of?

[mPedro08]

Lower door sills, the top and rear windows drain into that area. Front wheel arches which link to the sills. Rear shock and panhard bar mounting points. Shock towers...any bubbling or flaking on the outer surface is not good since it starts inside the tower. Ideally you could pull the outer sill off the car and look but often that is impracticle so you just have to look under at the seam welds etc for any signs of a problem. Around the headlights, fender arches, under the front and rear valance...bubbling is bad.

Quite a list and there are other odd points I'm sure I missed but it is possible to find a good one....you should be prepared to walk away from several in order to do so.

[OldBlue]

I am prepared to walk away. This is my first Spider to look at with the intention to buy. My last toy, a first year Miata, had been in an accident, which I didn;t realize until I went to get a 4-wheel alignment on it. Then, surprise!

Thanks for the list. That will help. Anyone else have any input?

[81SPIDERMATT]

DO ALL THE CHECKING FOR RUST BEFORE YOU DRIVE IT.... you get those goggles that obscure things after you drive it

[giuliot60]

There is always this mirafiori link that I used before buying one. http://www.mirafiori.com/faq/content/buyspid.html

Good luck.