Sell, part out, or keep?

[Mrbimmerdude]

I'm at a crossroad with my 72.. It needs more help than I am surely qualified for, HA!
It has the good old fender rust.. It has come to my attention it'll need a good fuel tank cleaning.. And possibly a carb rebuild/tune.. I just dropped some pretty pennies into it and it's still not road worthy...
I haven't even driven it since I got it, haha how sad is that?!! If I were to sell it would it be worth anything or part it out??

And I still haven't figured out how to post pics.. Until then.. I shall figure out how to add links to my photobucket

[Mrbimmerdude]

http://s1237.photobucket.com/user/still_crzy/library/

[narfire]

Wow.....tired looking car if I may say.
What is the budget?
Really two schools of thought: buy a cheap car and spend $5000.00 or more for a car one might sell for $3000.00
Or save the pennies and look for a decent rust free car in the $5000.00 range and drive while you add any personal touches you want or perhaps sort few minor mechanical issues.
Some here have the body work skill set and time to sort the rust issues out and have done an amazing job in doing so.
The mechanicals are straight forward for the most part. A good set of metric tools and your good to go.

In parting out a car, I'm thinking you would want some shelve space for several years as the stuff slowly is sold.
Chris

[Mrbimmerdude]

Wow.....tired looking car if I may say.
What is the budget?
Really two schools of thought: buy a cheap car and spend $5000.00 or more for a car one might sell for $3000.00
Or save the pennies and look for a decent rust free car in the $5000.00 range and drive while you add any personal touches you want or perhaps sort few minor mechanical issues.
Some here have the body work skill set and time to sort the rust issues out and have done an amazing job in doing so.
The mechanicals are straight forward for the most part. A good set of metric tools and your good to go.

In parting out a car, I'm thinking you would want some shelve space for several years as the stuff slowly is sold.
Chris

Tired is definitely the look of her, but I've come from a car that's sat for the past 13yrs to getting it started up and running.. To a point.. I'm looking into the carbs as the problem it just choked out after a few moments on start up, the ignition switch started off with Russian roulette because there had been multiple switches... :/
The other debacle I'm having is the fact it was a friends car before his passing which I inherited.

Chris do you honestly feel it's worth selling for 3k ?

[DieselSpider]

That one needs a lot of welding work done on the body rot along with collision damage which if you have to pay someone to get done is going to be very expensive and potentially cost much more than the car will be worth afterwards.

Just paying someone to fix the body for you may cost $5,000 and then you will need to address the mechanical issues and interior. Parting it out can take years so you would need a storage and staging area to keep the parts in useable condition. Unfortunately as it sits now its just a $500 smashed up and rotted out junk car that will be very costly to fix up if you can't do the work yourself.

What is currently good about the car and what besides the body still needs attention?

[narfire]

Chris do you honestly feel it's worth selling for 3k ?

As it is, nope. Perhaps I did not make my comments clear enough, (A common issue with me ) if you invested around $5000.00 and sold the car then perhaps one might realize $3000.00. This seems to be a common thread with these cars as currently they , for the most part, do not reflect the $$$$ and time put in to get the car to a nice reliable, rust free state.
Saying that I was fortunate once with a 81 I bought for $2000.00, fixed the cracked fire wall, driver door hinge and changed the head gasket and sold for $4500.00 The car was a great driver.
After getting my current car to the state it is in has cost me untold thousands. I'm now in the school of finding a sorted, rust free car in the $5000.00 range and then driving it and or adding to improve handling, performance if desired.
Chris

[Mrbimmerdude]

Currently it needs brakes which I have, carb rebuild, and a fuel tank cleanse. I have new steering components, bushings just did the timing belt, also have new brake and clutch cables, new headlights, and tires. I honestly wasn't going for a restored look but more of a I can't believe it works look, but mostly body work is needed everything else functions.

Although I'm tempted to sell it and having that remose about it.. Granted it is a project car but parts aren't readily available in my neck of the woods. And I don't like having to buy online for everything.

[DanD]

Nobody is going to save that shell. Pass it on to someone who can use it to make another car live. Some can strip a fiat out in less than a weekend, but I am guessing you would need more time. IMO, that is a 4 to 8 hundred dollar car.

If you want to honor your friends memory, take a badge or two off of the car, and mount them on a piece of walnut or something. Or get another car, and put them onto that car. I have a full shop, a welder, and a ton of experience, and I would not even think of saving that car.

You have a good heart. Your friend would understand.

[DieselSpider]

if the uni-body structure is still intact it may be salvageable however it would require a lot of work on your part otherwise the costs would just get out of hand and then there would still be the opportunity there for some sort of structural failure.

If it was driven on salted roads and then left to stew without a proper cleaning which the pictures seem to indicate then it would be a futile effort. You really would need to vet out the condition of the structure underneath before proceeding.

If the engine and drive train are good you may be better off looking for a solid body with a bad engine and transmission to swap your good parts into. Around here you can find good shells that need the mechanicals replaced for less than $2,000.

[Mrbimmerdude]

I'm liking the idea of the badges, I have the one pinnefinaria badge and may go for the grill badge. But the body appears to be in great shape underneath, it just appears as the fenders..
I may see what ideas I can come up with for that badge idea I like it

[DieselSpider]

I'm liking the idea of the badges, I have the one pinnefinaria badge and may go for the grill badge. But the body appears to be in great shape underneath, it just appears as the fenders..
I may see what ideas I can come up with for that badge idea I like it

What condition is the radio console and clock in? A clock radio using the Fiat radio, clock and center console adorned with the badges with a bit of creative woodworking on the lines of the dash inserts may work too.

[Mrbimmerdude]

What condition is the radio console and clock in? A clock radio using the Fiat radio, clock and center console adorned with the badges with a bit of creative woodworking on the lines of the dash inserts may work too.

There isn't any radio.. it looks like it had been removed years ago, the clock and gauges are slightly faded since it wasn't covered till I received it.

[DieselSpider]

What condition is the radio console and clock in? A clock radio using the Fiat radio, clock and center console adorned with the badges with a bit of creative woodworking on the lines of the dash inserts may work too.

There isn't any radio.. it looks like it had been removed years ago, the clock and gauges are slightly faded since it wasn't covered till I received it.

Too bad then the seats are not in good enough condition to mount on swivel bases or office chair pedestals either?

[Mrbimmerdude]

Too bad then the seats are not in good enough condition to mount on swivel bases or office chair pedestals either?

They are actually in decent condition one needs a little spot weld done on a broken bracket but but that's about it, I had plans on swapping them out for newer seats same with the cluster.. Granted none of it would be the original parts.. Which I would have like to keep I case of emergency.

[2ndwind]

OMG, these things are so hard for us car lovers. We love to save the ones we have because we already have it, right! As others have said you have a TON of work and money ahead of you even if you do it all yourself. If you are totally bored with your life and have endless wasted hours per week, then this is something to keep you quite busy.

I am fairly handy, bought a driver quality car with mechanical- but no rust-issues ($3500) and have ended up spending over $6500 more on mine over the first 3 yrs. It is still a driver quality car with many of the mechanicals repaired, upgraded or replaced. Could stand bodywork from original owner's crash repair. Interior is a little tired too.

I also agree with the assessment that a non-running tired car is worth $500 or less for its parts. A running engine in the same car brings it up to a solid $500 maybe a tad more. All that said; evaluate your commitment to owning any FIAT spider. If you love the idea, find one in the best shape you can for the money you are willing to spend and use this one as a parts car.