What to expect...

[81autospider]

New '82 owner here would like to know about any traits or habits these cars will give....not sure what to expect since I have to go pick it up...bought it from a very close friend whose had it for 9yrs of which most of it was sitting around his property...I think he only drove it about twice a yr. for those 9yrs he had it...I will be driving it home next weekend and hope to make it the first 20 miles or so cuz my AAA will only covers the first 100 miles...he has done all the maintenance and up keep on the car and enjoyed driving it until someone took a knife to his top, then he just parked it and kept it covered very tightly...he drove it last summer but says it's just to hot for him where he lives...the car has no A/C so he only drove it in the evenings when it was cooler...he has replaced all the shocks, the bakes and hardware and the heater core and installed new tires...he is going to have it smogged for me so I can go get 'er...any warnings about any bad habits would be great to know...

Thanks

[So Cal Mark]

there are a couple of concerns with cars that have been used rarely; timing belt and flex coupler. Both of these items are rubber and deteriorate with time. Either of them can cause catastrophic damage if they fail. Even though the PO has been doing maintenance, these are items that may have been overlooked since the car didn't accumulate many miles

[kristoj]

I would also change the fuel filter as it is inexpensive and takes less than an hour to change. Mark is right in his suggestions -- especially as it relates to the timing belt. Fiat recommended changing this belt every 30,000 miles or five yeras (which ever comes first). If you don't know how old the belt is, you really should change it. If it were to break, you would be looking at possible serious engine damage. Aside from those items, the usual plugs, wires, dist. cap and rotor. The wires leading to magnetic pickup inside the distributor can also become brittle and lose their insulation from the heat of the exhaust. I would check that and replace the magnetic pickup if necessary (another relatively inexpensive part).

[Rons81Spider]

Mark, what is a flex coupler? I changed my timing belt last year but I never heard of a flex coupler.
Thanks
Ron

[mbouse]

http://www.international-auto.com/index ... p&pid=2600

I am not advocating this particular vendor, nor stating that this vendor is not a good choice. they just happen to have a good example of a flex disk as a viewable picture.

aircraft mechanics change EVERY rubber part every five years. Though that may be excessive for a car, many of the components in our cars should follow that schedule...the two mentioned are the most critical.

expect the same amount of quirkiness from a 26 year old Spider as any other 26 year old vehicle. depending on your willingness to grab a wrench, most everything should be maintainable in your garage in the evenings during the week.

[rlux4]

Ron, you've probably heard it called by one of it's other names, flex disc, guibo, doughnut, rubber thingy at the back of the transmission.
Ron