Parts Pricing

[spidernut]

I drove into the dealership to buy my brand new 81 Fiat Spider driving my 73 Pinto. Ha, ha! BMW wouldn't give me the time of day when I drove that Pinto so I ended up buying the Fiat where they treated me like human being.

I owned three Pintos - two 73s and a 75. The 73s were awesome little cars. The 73s with the 1.6 liters were strong enough and the cars light enough that I could spin the tires in first, second and third with A60-13s (super wide tires). They would stop on a dime (with the wide tires) too. The 73s got 36 mpg highway and about 28 in town. I also found them to be amazingly reliable too and easy to work on when I did work on them. I could pull the tranny by myself, change a clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing and have it back in within 3 hours. The 75 was a dog, harder to work on, got worse fuel economy and the big bumpers were ugly.

Ford retrofitted a Kevlar shield between the gas tank and differential which solved the exploding gas tank issue. However, the issue ruined the car's reputation as the best US economy car built at that time.

[bradartigue]

As I've said before though - I don't trust Texas drivers... So the rear one stays

I think when someone rear ends you with their F850 Queen Ranch edition it really has no significance to the number of fractures in your spine whether your 2000lb Fiat had bumpers or not.

In the US of A in 2014 that is correct. The bumpers on our cars make zero difference in an accident. There was a recent post on Facebook that showed a spider rear ended. The tube bumper was in great shape, but everything above it was crushed like a tin can. The bumpers are for decoration only. Maybe in Europe they are still functional.

A smart car would crush a Spider. 1960's safety technology was absurd - and Spiders are 1960's cars. By today's standards a Spider is a very slow car, slow to accelerate, low top end speed. You have to be careful and recognize you're driving a car made when "safety" meant you didn't always die.

[spiderrey]

Not all spiders are equal. Mine is not slow to accelerate, and at 125 mph it was still picking up speed. Granted , these cars stock are no match for todays cars acceleration wise.

[Daniel]

My Fiat bumpers are the same height as my Honda bumpers, my Ford Escort bumpers and my minivan bumpers. The bumpers were designed for 5 mph and slower collisions and not designed to protect you against a collision with the modern high riding, soccer mom-driven SUVs. SUVs and pickups bumpers sit higher than any of my 6 vehicles and the bumpers would be useless in an accident against them. So do I remove them too? Uh, that would be no!

The large bumpers are heavy. They don't compliment the cars like the original smaller bumpers but aren't really as horrible as many make them up to be (see below). They serve a purpose and without them your car will sustain greater damage in an accident under the circumstances for which they were constructed.

I personally like the look with or without the bumpers. Either way these are great looking cars. Compare our bumpers to these:

The Triumph Spitfire bumpers look like a battering ram:


You think the Fiat bumpers were heavy? Check out the infamous Ford Pinto:

That Spitfire is a pretty good looking car till you get to the bumpers and the bumpers aren't the problem it's the
rubber stoppers talk about over kill...

pintos needed lots of armor to protect from exploding gas tanks.

funny!

[bradartigue]

Not all spiders are equal. Mine is not slow to accelerate, and at 125 mph it was still picking up speed. Granted , these cars stock are no match for todays cars acceleration wise.

125MPH in a 124? You are endangering everyone around you!

[SoFlaFiat]

And all this time I thought 124 was the top end....

[toplessexpat]

In free fall maybe...

Speaking of ridiculous speeds in a spider... Does anyone know what happened to that LT1 powered one that went for just over 4k on eBay a couple of months back?

[spiderrey]

125MPH in a 124? You are endangering everyone around you! < Silly boy.
108 is about top in a stock spider.

[viotti600]

I personally like the look with or without the bumpers. Either way these are great looking cars. Compare our bumpers to these:

The Triumph Spitfire bumpers look like a battering ram:

How about comparing apples to apples? Triumph wasn't the only one to adopt the "big rubber bumper blocks" idea. The 1974 CA/MD Fiat 124 Spiders had the same thing (& the 1974 Fiat X1/9, to a lesser degree):

[spiderrey]

Personally, I think both cars look good.

[bradartigue]

125MPH in a 124? You are endangering everyone around you! < Silly boy.
108 is about top in a stock spider.

What does top speed have to do with safety? Yippee, you can do 125 in a car made to go less than 110 by throwing money at the engine. That's impressive. Sounds like a Spider with a roll cage, because, you know, that makes it safe.

[fiat218]

125MPH in a 124? You are endangering everyone around you! < Silly boy.
108 is about top in a stock spider.

What does top speed have to do with safety? Yippee, you can do 125 in a car made to go less than 110 by throwing money at the engine. That's impressive. Sounds like a Spider with a roll cage, because, you know, that makes it safe.

Keep it on the road and you don't need a roll cage

[Texsardo]

Yes, I am a rookie. I bought my 78 Spider a few weeks ago. So far by reading and using suggestions in this forum, I have found parts, etc at very reasonable prices. As fair as Ebay goes, I have found filters, sparkplugs, bulb and such at very reasonable prices. However, anything more than $50 and I tend to follow leads from various entries at this site. . I am 62 and disabled VET. I still find pleasure in making my Spider look better, more original and better running. The tranny has no first gear, OK with me because I don't slip the clutch in second. I paid $2200 for my Spider and looking at prices n internet, I think I got a fair deal. Starts and runs like a top. Very minimal rust, interior very good, just missing radio. People have already complimented me on it and that makes me happy. So I agree, use this forum and the mass of experience as well to pay fair prices on what you need. It has helped me a lot.

[seabeelt]

Going back to the beginning, I have to agree with John. Pricing is all over the place. I have dealt with idiots both as a buyer and a seller. I wont even look at an add eBay or elsewhere with a riduculous price. For used parts I have had folks want something for nothing and waste your time. I wont post parts unless I give and accurate description have done my research as to what other folks are asking/getting? This is a hobby, not a money making business. I use the rule of thumb that its a used part, in good condition is worth somewhere in the 60% to 25% range of a new part depending on condition and raity/availability.. Some times less sometimes more, sometimes really really cheap if I 'm trying to clean out the garage, but you get the point..............

I too had a 72 Pinto that I traded my 68 Spitfire for. The Pinto was a much much better car, but I digress

[toplessexpat]

Keep it on the road and you don't need a roll cage

Keep it on the road and the right way up, and you don't need a roll cage...