1979 spider 2000 restoration

[MrJD]

It has begun.


So, the car has some serious rust issues as it turns out. The bad stuff is in the drivers side rear floor pan... which I will have to replace entirely.

On the body, the worst area was around the rear passenger wheel arch. So, today, I went to work



to see what was wrong. I don't like what I found...





Holy thick filler! it was at least 2-3mm thick.


the whole lip has patches and welding... what a mess




Found this taking off the bright work..


tis a nice hole.

its going to be a long road gents...

Also, I cannot get my passenger side rear turn signal to work. The front works fine, having trouble with the rear. Will work on it more tomorrow.

[vandor]

I hope you have a welder

[MrJD]

I hope you have a welder

lol

in the picture below is carwash fluid and a welder... which one will I be using most in the next few months?



The actual welding is child's play compared to what i have built in the past. The problem comes in when i do not know how things come apart!

Like this rear fender.... if the inner lining came out, it'd be easy to fix... but I don't think it does.... and it (the quarter panel) CERTAINLY doesn't come off!

So welding in new metal? easy. But then how do you clean and rust-preventative the inner surface? You can't. so?

Today the rockers come off and I decide if I am fixing them, or ordering new ones.

[vandor]

FWIW, the small quarter panel, the one behind the wheel at the bottom is supposed to come off with one nut (insider the fenderwell) and 4 screws. However they often get bondo'd on...

[Ptoneill]

The nice thing about these cars is that there are a lot of replacement sheet metal parts availible from various vendors. The shock towers are major rust points as well as under the side kick panels. Your car looks like it is well worth restoring....!!

[MrJD]

The shock towers are perfect. Looks like the only major rust is in the area i posted, a spot here and there at various weak points, drivers side rear floor pan, and rockers. It has relatively new GR2 struts and suspension bushings in it also. That explains why the handling was so nice. While I was driving it home i realized I could take my hands off the wheel, and it drives perfectly straight down the highway, lol.

I have an issue though. I thought it had a bad battery, but i had it tested today, and the battery is perfect.

drove it all the way home, and it would barely turn over the next day... and the lights are SUPER dim. I think i might replace the alternator. From the looks of it its an original to the car. Opinion?

[Ptoneill]

Drive it down to your local car parts store and have your charging system tested, it is usually free. I bet it is fine, you probably have a short somewhere that is draining the battery. There is a lot of information in the electrical section that may help.

[MrJD]

This was my bodyfiller pile from yesterday


this is my rust pile added in for today


more fun (mind you, I started with the bad side)





rear fender well... this is not a good sign.






Always label your parts, and I always take all the screws etc that hold a part on, and I tape them to the part itself. This rocker is actually in nearly perfect shape. VERY little work needed. Shame the interior parts near it aren't better.

[MrJD]

Replaced the spark plugs today. the original plugs were of 3 different brands, one was super weird... like a WAY cooler plug... and the spark gap ranged from 20 to 60!

Oh, and the car tried to leave me stranded today also! Kept bogging down not wanting to run. After the suggestion of another owner, I backed off the idle stop solenoid and it ran great again!

That is the part with the red spade connector here.

[Ptoneill]

Let me know if you need a nice carb/intake for your 79, mine ran good when I took it off. I am swapping to an 1800 head an and carb.......you would have to cover shipping.

[MrJD]

naa, I am going to get a single plane manifold and an earlier better simpler carb.

[Ptoneill]

Smart man!!

Merry Christmas!!

[MrJD]

Thanks to a couple parts from Juvius, I've now got a complete tool set!

Now i want to get my hands on an original factory 1979 manual...

[MrJD]

Some pictures of what I did today.





Was a nice rats nest in here... first one i found in the car.


Cancer in the floors.... I assume the two grey lines are a fuel sender and fuel return. I'm going to have to remove them to weld in new metal. Anyone want to make my life easier and tell me how this is done, lol.




This bit rusted through from the other side... Seems there is no fender liner on the drivers side


There was some rust on the rear end.... Under about a quarter inch of filler i found another repair panel... this one they just stitch welded it together and added bondo! I'd love to kick the bodyman that did this car in the nuts for his crappy work



Under what I can only assume is the factory black rubber insulation, I found LOTS of rust. the insulation had been holding water against the metal for many years it seems.





i chisled back the rubber till i found fresh metal



The original color of the car... very pretty actually. Tempting to take it back, but I still want red!

[Ptoneill]

Wow, sorry to see all that rust, the good thing is that the floor pans are readily availible thru various vendors. I don't see why you would have to remove the fuel lines, a welding blanket or wrap should protect them. I would disconnect them from the tank and carb then blow air thru them until all the fuel and vapors are gone before welding just in case.

Good Luck!