Ebay( is this a 70

[BwBrown]

Bob,
Where are you located? I am about to start parting out an 80 that has a good 2L. Just wouldn't want to deal with shipping it!

I'm in Northeast PA. I did find a used engine, a 79 carburated non-turbo 2000cc with a 30 day parts guarantee. It is complete from oil pan to the overhead cam covers, will be test run prior to shipping. I should see it early next week. '

I ran it up on the lift this afternoon and discovered that my "rust free" Spider also needs some floor pan repairs on the passenger. And the wiring looks like it has been worked over by 43 years of DPO's.

Til I rehab the brakes, patch the "rust free floor pan, and remove the crooked bumpers I'll still have a fair driver for less than 3k. But then there is always that list of things that I really don't need, but I WANT.

[BwBrown]

Oh well... (sigh).
My saga continues... Talk about buyer beware - I'm usually smarter than I've shown in this mis-adventure.
After having my "new" spider on the lift for the afternoon, I sent a message to my friendly ebay seller.
It is somewhat brief due to the short limits of ebay messaging, but in a nutshell, I said:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dominic
Boy do I feel stupid! Broke all rules about buying used cars, even the day I picked up your Fiat, weather was so miserable wet, I didn't even look it over.

1)The passenger floor has rust holes, carpet exposed underneath

2)Engine looks to have been out and back in lately? The firewall has been beaten with a hammer recently, bare unrusted metal. Wiring has been disturbed, many not even connected. Starter is loose, not even tightened

3)Engine would only turn 3/4 revolution by hand. Broken valve in cyl #2, shrapnel in #1,3 and 4. Hole in #2 piston, 1/4" hole in cylinder wall in #3, head is destroyed

4)Driver side frame at steering box mount has been cobbled with thick plates bolted to it, attempted fix, reinforcing framework is crushed, pulled away from the firewall and floor. Unrepairable (unitized body) structural problems, can not pass safety inspection

5)ID plate is missing, frame vin is unreadable, not register-able

6)Frame/bumper/hood hinge area badly rusted, loose
Bob
---------------------------------------------------------------

The two biggest hurdles are not even engine related.
1) The serial id plate on the firewall, and the stamped vin on the firewall are missing. I'm not sure I can get it titled here in PA, they require photos and tracings for out of state vehicles. OR the vehicle there "in person" which can't happen very handily short of reloading it on a trailer.

2) The front driver side corner is loose! Grabbing the tire and moving side to side (to check play in ball joints) reveals the entire piece of framework, steering box and front end where they have separated from the body and floor. I'm not sure this one is even repairable.

On the bright side, it does have a gorgeous stayfast black top, installed perfectly, without a single wrinkle.

I have a rotisserie, but I'm not sure it is worth the effort at this point.
I just may scrap the whole thing.
Bob;

[pluktv]

Wow, I feel for you Bob. That really sucks. There is nothing worse than being ripped off and you have only yourself to blame.

When I was looking around for a Fiat I saw one that was similar price wise and condition to the one here, I passed, as I thought it would cost a fair bit to get it up to standard and was too much of an unknown quantity. I ended up paying 5k for a totally road ready car that apart from a few niggles has been a really good purchase.

I suppose if you buy another one you will have a ton of parts that will be useful. Maybe even flog some of the parts off to recoup some of the investment?

Take it easy
Phil

[fiat218]

Oh well... (sigh).
My saga continues... Talk about buyer beware - I'm usually smarter than I've shown in this mis-adventure.
After having my "new" spider on the lift for the afternoon, I sent a message to my friendly ebay seller.
It is somewhat brief due to the short limits of ebay messaging, but in a nutshell, I said:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dominic
Boy do I feel stupid! Broke all rules about buying used cars, even the day I picked up your Fiat, weather was so miserable wet, I didn't even look it over.

1)The passenger floor has rust holes, carpet exposed underneath

2)Engine looks to have been out and back in lately? The firewall has been beaten with a hammer recently, bare unrusted metal. Wiring has been disturbed, many not even connected. Starter is loose, not even tightened

3)Engine would only turn 3/4 revolution by hand. Broken valve in cyl #2, shrapnel in #1,3 and 4. Hole in #2 piston, 1/4" hole in cylinder wall in #3, head is destroyed

4)Driver side frame at steering box mount has been cobbled with thick plates bolted to it, attempted fix, reinforcing framework is crushed, pulled away from the firewall and floor. Unrepairable (unitized body) structural problems, can not pass safety inspection

5)ID plate is missing, frame vin is unreadable, not register-able

6)Frame/bumper/hood hinge area badly rusted, loose
Bob
---------------------------------------------------------------

The two biggest hurdles are not even engine related.
1) The serial id plate on the firewall, and the stamped vin on the firewall are missing. I'm not sure I can get it titled here in PA, they require photos and tracings for out of state vehicles. OR the vehicle there "in person" which can't happen very handily short of reloading it on a trailer.

2) The front driver side corner is loose! Grabbing the tire and moving side to side (to check play in ball joints) reveals the entire piece of framework, steering box and front end where they have separated from the body and floor. I'm not sure this one is even repairable.

On the bright side, it does have a gorgeous stayfast black top, installed perfectly, without a single wrinkle.

I have a rotisserie, but I'm not sure it is worth the effort at this point.
I just may scrap the whole thing.
Bob;

Where did you get the car from? What state

[BwBrown]

To quote a line from "The Big Bang Theory" I can always "sell it on ebay as slightly used."

To answer the above... "Where did you get the car from? What state"

I brought it in from Ohio.

And yes, it is entirely my fault for letting my guard down.
I just spent an hour studying... if I put my mind a fab skills to it, I think I can pull it together to make it safe. At that it would be a "30 footer." I have to decide: do I just go buy another - it's only money!?! Or do I spend 100 hours cutting, welding, fabbing... and even then it'll only ever be what it is.

Is there a body panel vendor who has the reinforcement channels underneath the driver and passenger floors. They are structural, tie up into the firewall, inner fenders and up to the front end.

OR does anyone have a GOOD STRONG body (and I do mean a fiat 124 spider body) for sale?
Bob;

[fiat218]

To quote a line from "The Big Bang Theory" I can always "sell it on ebay as slightly used."

To answer the above... "Where did you get the car from? What state"

I brought it in from Ohio.

And yes, it is entirely my fault for letting my guard down.
I just spent an hour studying... if I put my mind a fab skills to it, I think I can pull it together to make it safe. At that it would be a "30 footer." I have to decide: do I just go buy another - it's only money!?! Or do I spend 100 hours cutting, welding, fabbing... and even then it'll only ever be what it is.

Is there a body panel vendor who has the reinforcement channels underneath the driver and passenger floors. They are structural, tie up into the firewall, inner fenders and up to the front end.

OR does anyone have a GOOD STRONG body (and I do mean a fiat 124 spider body) for sale?
Bob;

Your not that far,can't you go take it back

[BwBrown]

As I said before, I broke every common sense rule in buying it. I take the blame here - y'all just be smarter and more careful!

He dropped the reserve three times, till we ended completing the deal "off the air" after auction close, so there is no ebay backup.

I have emailed him, but (surprise!) have received no response. "'where is, as is" does imply a sort of finality, unless the lack of serial number ID plates would have some legal ramifications.
Bob;

[supplyguy]

Bob - Will this help you? Not too far away and an interesting situation. Best of luck - Chuck.

http://york.craigslist.org/cto/3797835414.html

[leeputmanjr]

Nice find, Supplyguy!

This could be an easy answer to all your troubles!

...some assembly required, of course! I did a '74 project very similar to this in 2010. Lots of work, but rewarding in the end, and I know every darn nut & bolt in the car at this point!

-Lee