Body off Restoration.....HELP

[polevaulter999]

i need some help. I have a 77 spider, and ive been driving it lately and decided it needed some work. started taking things apart only to discover the guy i got it from had a lot he didnt tell me. fiberglassed gas lines, massive rot under the wheelwells, driver seat was cut out of another car(floorpan still attached)and bolted in. i have finally broken down and decided to cancel the insurance on it for awhile and get her back to 100%, or at least close. Does anyone know where all the bolts that hold the body to the frame are? any tips or help on this would be extremely helpful, this being my first major fiat project. i have a feeling this won't be my last post

[Darsella1]

It's a unibody like most convertibles - so there is no separate frame. It's all one piece. The floor pans and wheel wells are fixable- you can buy new ones through IAP or Vicks and weld them in. Be cure to use a seam sealer and POR over any welds and seams or they will just rust out again. If the shock towers are rotted then you'll have major issues.

- Darsie

[seabeelt]

Depending on your talents, how much money you want to spend; you have a couple of options. 1 Take it to a body shop and have them fix it, 2) Depending on the amount of rot, ditch the car and look for a better (more rust free version) or 3 ( my favorite) buy a decent mig welder, spot weld cutters, cut off wheel (air or electric) and have at it. Personal story, I have had our spider for over twenty years. When the kids came along we put in the garage for storage. The mice built condos and I have cut out and replaced multiple portions of the car. It is currently on a rotissorie so I can do more of the same. I ended up buying a parts car so I could have spare sheet metal for some of the portions that need fixing. What started out a s a summer project has turned into a multi year project (time available to work on the car is limited) and a fram up restoration. Hind sight I would have been better off buying a rust free shell to start with, but the list of things to fix was small when I started. Soooooo, your call. You have plenty of folks here to help you no matter what you choose.