Choosing Spiders...

[AndyS]

not surprised the 69 turned out to have a lot of rust--and i bet there is even way more covered up with filler. it was hard to find a rust free 68 / 69 even here in California back in the 80's. let alone 20 years later.

[fiat218]

when i bought my 69, i check for bondo, i did stick a magnet along all whell flares and found that the magnet stuck to the metal in all area, some area was weak but in a 2" sqare area. so im not sure why or what maybe there, but over all i really dont think there rust anywhere, but time will tell when it gets stripped
so over all with the body etc, i think i have a 99percent rust free

[Redline]

My '71 Coupe seems very clean and solid. Besides the sticking magnet test, which it passed everywhere, there were other good signs, like being able to see every single spot weld on all original seams and nice, crisp, thin edges on any folded metal sections, like the edges of the wheel arches. There are many clues you can spot to decide if it's good or not. I'll be sticking a scope into the sills (rockers) this winter to make some decisions about long-term plans. Hoping to find clean metal, but we'll see.

[spiderrey]

I was very lucky. I found a 100% rust free 70 from the original owner about 13 years ago.

[darksider415]

Well, I found a third, '81 model that was too good to pass up. The '82 I was looking at needed too much in the way of paint, interior and top, while the '69 was too rusty. However, the '81 has decent original brown (bronze?) paint, a good top, decent interior with only one tear in the leather, good wood trim, new tires, a new radiator and the only real drawback is the aftermarket wheels. >.>

However, for $1500, I can live with that. I just can't wait until Saturday, when I can borrow a pickup to bring her home.





My daily is the white Mazda peeking out from behind the Escape... Can't tow her with that, unfortunately.

[phaetn]

Wow! Where do you live?!? Three spiders around you, each for $1500, so you get your pick of the litter? Definitely not a Sophie's Choice!

Sounds like heaven!

Cheers,
phaetn

[darksider415]

There were actually a couple more Spiders I didn't consider... There was a trashed '76 in-town, as well as a rough '74 for around the same price, as well.

As for where I'm finding my luck, it seems that Nashville is a good place to hunt Spiders.

[FiatJB]

I'd buy both for that kind of money

[bradartigue]

If that paint is original - and the way it oxidized it may very well be - get a good buffer and a good three or four stage polish followed by a good wax, and it will come back. The steps actually would be (I use Griot's Garage stuff but there are others):

- Paint prep to remove whatever wax is left
- Polish it 4 times - #1, #2, #3, #4
- Use "Best of Show" Wax

The best of show wax will turn your muscles to jelly - it's hard to remove - but the results...wonderful.

[deftone]

not surprised the 69 turned out to have a lot of rust--and i bet there is even way more covered up with filler. it was hard to find a rust free 68 / 69 even here in California back in the 80's. let alone 20 years later.

My 69 has a rust free body, although the floorpans are shot at the footwells. Not too bad for a $500 car.

Living its whole life in Texas must have helped

[TX82FIAT]

Any update on the car purchased. The debate over the year is not nearly as important as rust free as stated earlier. You can modify anything. Even the 2.0 ltr engine can be modified to perform.

[RRoller123]

Yep, go for rust free if possible. They are out there.