I've been looking for a spider...

[Frankd1]

Hi,

New to the forum and this is my first post.

I've been actively looking for a spider and here's what I have looked at so far:

1983 Pininfarina - nice clean car, restored in 2008, ran and drove well but out of my price range.

1984 Pininfarina - engine ran well, had transmission issues and when I looked the car over I immediately noticed the rust, holes and all of the cheese...I walked away.

1980 Fiat - it has the original paint, but the shell is solid and original. I did not notice any rust in any of the critical areas. It took a few attempts to get it started (old gas in tank - 2yrs old), it settled into a decent idle but when I drove it, it would stall out everytime I came to a stop.
This car would require a mechanical overhaul, an interior overhaul and eventually a paint job. It had some surface rust but it would be removed during the paint process. There was no rust otherwise that I could see.

Next car I'm looking at is a 74.

As you can see what I have come across so far are fuel injected 80's cars. The 74 will be the first carburetted version.
any thoughts on one vs the other or what to look for on the earlier cars?
I'm guessing most of the stuff would be the same aside from engine and bumpers?

Thanks

[johnsje6]

I'm certainly no expert on Spiders (2 years), but I know a bit about cars in general and just because the '80 stalls and has starting issues with old gas doesn't necessarily mean it needs a complete overhaul. The engines are pretty durable in these cars, so it may depend on what you want to do with the car, a daily driver, sunny day driver, show car, etc. I have a carbureted '79, which runs well but requires some tweaking and upkeep, as it is a 36 year old car. These are fun cars and I enjoy working on mine - as long as it's not TOO much work! Good luck, JJ.

[Frog2Spider]

Let us know your 'price range'?

If you've been looking for a Spider for a while, the first thing you likely noticed is that their prices are 'all over the board'!

It's like the old Fram oil filter commercial that said: You can pay me now, or pay me later"

If you want a un-molested, original car in excellent condition, that needs NO work, you may be looking at prices over $12,000.
This is likely true of a completely restored car, with documentation to back up the claimed restoration.
This would be the type of car recommended for the person wanting to enjoy the driving experience, without the mechanical and cosmetic issues to deal with.

A mechanically sound car with some minor interior and/or exterior cosmetic issues, will fall in the $ 8 -10 K area.

A 'healthy' Spider, with NO rust, that needs some loving care, will run about $ 3 - 4 K.

A rough one, with very minor rust issues, that needs a complete make over can likely be had for about $ 1,000.

A Spider with a lots of rust, isn't worth much more than the value of salvageable parts and scrape metal.

So it depends. Buy one cheap and spend the $$ to fix it up, or buy one that needs nothing but care and regular maintenance.

This is a very general guide line based on experience here on the West Coast. Values are very likely higher or lower in other locations.

Hope this helps a bit.

[bonsaiwino]

For what it's worth -- buying the '83 may very well cost you less in the long run than any of the others that were mentioned. After many years of looking, driving, & purchasing vehicles, I believe in buying the best car you can afford; not doing so often results in spending the same amount 'down the road'. Just one opinion.

[divace73]

For what it's worth -- buying the '83 may very well cost you less in the long run than any of the others that were mentioned. After many years of looking, driving, & purchasing vehicles, I believe in buying the best car you can afford; not doing so often results in spending the same amount 'down the road'. Just one opinion.

+1, ask them what is the lowest price they will accept and think about it, if it is a truly restored car it may be well worth it (what are they asking for it?). Otherwise over time you be could easily be spending much more than that...

[bradartigue]

The 74 is the last year of the original styling. So it is, in my opinion, worth your time to look. 74 had the 1800 engine but the thin bumpers of the original three series of cars. It benefits from really the best of both, the larger 1800, no overwhelming EGR stuff, the 34DMS carburetor - a big daddy compared to the 32ADFA for 75-78.

[spiderdan]

Hi Frankd1, welcome.
There is a 69 in your area (Hamilton) for $5,500.
Don't know the car, was just searching autotrader.
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Fiat/Spider/ ... rup=3_15_5

It would/should be a the smaller motor 1438 (if it's original) but if it is, and running right, they're lots of fun to drive. (I know)
I don't believe the 69k kms noted, but hey you never know.
Good luck with your hunt.
Whatever year you get, you're gonna love it.

[Frankd1]

Thanks for the replies!

I have noticed that prices are all over the map. Ideally my max would be in the 6k to 8k range which would hopefully be a great car. If I could get something lower that requires some work, I would be ok with that. I am mechanically inclined and do most of my own auto work. Everything short of tearing into an engine or transmission - I haven't had the need to do that up to this point.

I am looking for a nice weather car that I can enjoy with my family or date nights with my wife, some local cruise nights (so a presentable car) and maybe some short trips. definitely not planning on driving it through the winter!

The 83 was nice and clean, it was a resto from 2008 I believe (documented) but the 17k price tag scared me away.

I will be looking at a 74 on the weekend.

The 80 FI that I looked at has me interested....Is it possible based on the following info to give me a price range for what I should be paying for this?

Bear with me:

Original paint, with some touch ups at the rear end (not very good touch ups), a few small dings in the rear quarter panel but other wise straight panels. pax door slight misalignment
Some surface rust spots at various points on the car (seams, corners, front edge of hood, paint chips etc) but this would come out with pre paint prep work. stainless bumper tubes have surface rust spots, stainless windshield trim as well. The car would need a paint job to come back to life.

I noticed NO rust on the shell in the critical areas;
-inside trunk along the side where inner wheel arch is welded, no rust or holes
-no rust or holes inside rear wheel wells or arches
-front wheel arches were clean. the wheel well inserts were installed so I didn't see the shock towers but im guessing they are clean
-no rust on the sills or rockers
-no holes in floor pans that I could see from the carpet that I could pull back
-pulled rear seat and it looked clean
-seat rails looked good
-inside firewall area looked good
-engine bay looked good, front fenders are original
-I was able to look down into door panels by pulling back window felt, no rust

So the shell seems to have no major rust or holes

The interior would need to be redone with the following:
-new carpets, door rubber, window felts/rubber trim, seat covers, soft top (maybe), there is no soft top boot cover. The dash cover seemed good, the center console probably just a cleaning. needs a radio and fan switch wired up.
-driver side door handle (inside of car) jammed
-arm rests need to be freshened up and possible new door panels

engine and drivetrain:
-gas is two years old, not sure when the oil was changed last.
-it started after a bit of coaxing but settled into an idle. went for a drive around the parking lot and engine kept quitting when coming to a stop
-clutch pedal felt stiff and steering wandered a bit, not too bad though.

I'm guessing a good tune up and replacing the steering linkages would sort that out.

owner said he replaced timing belt, water pump, rad, coolant sensor, shocks, exhaust, rebuilt the calipers. All of this 4 years ago.
He also rebuilt tranny with all synchros and two shift forks and a couple of seals.
It was obvious the car has not been driven much but rather sitting with battery out

needs a new tranny mount, I could feel the shake or wobble between shifts. However, it felt pretty good going into the gears.

Sorry for the long winded post but as you can see, this car would require some tlc with paint, interior, mechanicals and engine tuning.

I would be inclined to take care of the mechanicals and engine tune up first, pull the interior and get it up to snuff then look at paint.

The big thing for me is that the shell/body seemed clean as far as rust and holes.

So, the question of price...I believe he is asking 6k or 6.5k which is too much in my opinion but where do I start?

Thanks!

[aj81spider]

Canadian prices seem to be higher, and regional differences crop up in the US.

I sold a running driving '81 in somewhat better shape than that for $3000 in Massachusetts after having had it on the market for almost 2 years (posting prices of about $4500 on Craigslist - and eventually giving in to someone who offered $3K for about 18 months).

Sometimes I wish I still had that car...like when my current one is down for most of the summer!

[Frankd1]

You are right about the Canadian prices, I am not opposed to looking at the U.S market either....the Canadian dollar is crap right now vs the US dollar though. My wife is from MI so we are back and forth all the time being close to the border..

I was thinking that 3k might be appropriate for this 1980? Its a project car that has from what I could tell, a great shell to begin with....I'm pretty sure its a southern car.

[rjkoop]

I did a trip down to NYC (where my sister lived) and saw about 6 spiders during the trip there and back. Some junk... some good... some overpriced... some good deals. I got the '81 good deal one near NYC for $2500 US. Trailed it back to border, stored it there for 2 days (to get the paperwork to clear) and then brought it home. It ran but required about $2000 CDN worth of work for a running restore (no paint work though - paint was OK). Paid $123.00 in taxes to get it over border. The guys at the border didn't believe I only paid $2500 (searched for the craigslist AD to confirm).

The 2 I saw in my area (Ottawa) were about the same quality but ran upwards of $5000 CDN. So I think the US is a good place to check due to the lack of options in Canada. I looked at the trip as a bit of an adventure and had fun doing it. Although trailering it back during a freezing rain storm (other cars flipped over in ditches, etc...) wasn't fun! But was an adventure for sure.

[Frog2Spider]

Yo Frankd1 ...

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/5228105366.html

I'll negotiate with you.

Dave

[Frankd1]

Thanks I'll take a look

[JEEPER]

What is your budget?

[Frankd1]

Well, it depends...I would say the upper end is 10g for the right car, but for that money it should be a really nice car I would think...

I'm narrowing things down a bit with the cars I've looked at and the cars I have yet to look at..

Quick question regarding engine differences..

I've looked at a 1980 fuel injected (project car), I also looked at a 74 with a single carb (not too crazy about this car - saw some things I didn't care for), and a 1984 that I walked away from.

next week I'm looking at a 1980 with dual carbs (2.0l) and also a 1978 with dual carbs (1.8l)

How were the 78's with dual carbs and the 1.8l vs the 1980 with dual carbs and 2.0l or the 1980 with the fuel injected 2.0l

Reason I ask is that the 78 looks like a really nice car....my understanding is that the carbureted engines have more options for mods etc.
Do the dual carb engines perform any better than the single carb? 1.8l vs 2.0l?

Thanks