My last two Fiats were purchased new in the 1970's. I've never restored a car before. I wasn't initially looking for a Spider - just a small convertible that my wife & I could cruise when the weather was right. American compact convertibles have been swept up in the car craze fueled by boomers like myself. How about $12k for a Comet, Falcon or Dart convertible, Level 3 or 4? You can forget about Chevy II's and Malibu's. Popular-priced British cars never appealed to me, and Alfas are too expensive, particularly parts.
I'm reasonably handy with tools, and I have a pretty complete selection of them, from air tools to a MIG welder. Dedicated garage space was also available. I really didn't look at too many Spiders before my purchase on Christmas Day, 2007. Although I would later discover a large contingent of Fiat owners in the DC area, most of my searching was on eBay, Craigs List, and Hemmings. In retrospect, the old adage, "Buy the best car you can find - let the previous owner sink his thousands into restoration" has proven to be true. On the other hand, I could have paid $8000 for a car and still replaced the alternator, transmission, etc. in the next 12 months.
I wanted a pre-emissions, pre-bumper car, and paid $1100 for a 1973 model on eBay, after failing to win a few others, most notably several West Coast cars that appeared to be pristine for $6-7k. I drove the car around the block before completing the sale. The eBay listing is no longer active, but the car was a typical $1-2k example, with some minor collision damage, which became a lot more than minor, with a dented (leaking) fuel tank, and bumper mounting points that took lots of hours to repair and modify. Same thing with the minor dent in the oil pan, which broke the oil pickup and may require a bottom-end rebuild. The top was shot, but the interior was very good, previously restored, and the body passed the "magnet test" everywhere.
My goal was to make Gina a "driver" this year, with cosmetic and performance improvements in 2009, if the cruising experience met our expectations. To that end, I wanted peace-of-mind electricals and safety items. I was expecting to replace most of the gaskets, hoses, belts, and other rubber items, including tires. Rebuilt alternator, starter, new battery, cables, plug wires, etc. Transmission turned out to be trashed; got a used one locally. Resurfacing of exhaust manifold, couple of Helicoils, other minor machine shop work. Every exterior lamp and lens was replaced.
What I found happening was that I would remove one part or assembly, and rationalize/justify replacing the part underneath. It would have been a lot easier to do the restoration like you see on TV, where they disassemble the entire car and remanufacture it. Based upon this experience, I would say that it would cost $15-20k on top of a rust-free straight car to build a Level 1 pre-1974 car.
Here are the results. Five months mostly full-time (including time on FiatSpider.com!) either repairing or learning about the car. I am fortunate to have local assistance from DC Fiat club members; otherwise the costs would have been substantially higher. For example, I wasn't planning on replacing the transmission, but the same club guy gave me a good used top gratis. So maybe you won't need to replace your tranny, but you might need a $400 top.
- car $1100
salvage parts $440
Fiat vendors (Bayless, Bruce, etc.) $1800
other parts suppliers (Advance, NAPA, etc.) $1700
auto body supplies $950
tools and supplies (Harbor, Sears, etc.) $450
mechanical subs (machine shop, alignment, etc.) $850
auto body subcontracting $950
hardware store (fasteners, supplies, etc.) $250
total $8490
So now I have a refurbished/restored Spider that still needs several thousand dollars worth of work to make it a Level 2 car. Rechroming the bumpers - $2k Rebuilding engine and transmission with "street performance" upgrades - $3k Rebuilding front and rear suspension, including bushings, shocks, hey might as well do calipers and rotors too - $1k. You can see how this adds up. I'm not trying to discourage you, but I never expected to spend $250 at the local hardware store!
The way I'm looking at this experience is to compare the finished product to what I see on the road; what else could I have done with $8500? A 2000-2005 Miata? Certainly a much better choice for a "daily driver", but hardly without maintenance issues at 40-80k miles. Thing is, I don't need a daily driver; the incremental cost of owing Gina is only $26 in tags and $162 in insurance per year. One thing is certain: Spider owners have something Miata/Solstice/Mini owners will never experience; people smile when they see an Italian work of art. Tjaarda's 40-year-old design just keeps looking better and better. Kind of like a Courtney Thorne-Smith on wheels. Contemporary drivers have no idea what it feels like to drive a car whose steering wheel is directly connected to the tires. Whose throttle pedal is directly connected to the accelerator pump. And that $25k Solstice in a few years will be worth less than your Spider.
