New project - 1976 Spider

[TXWarthog]

Just picked up a '76 Fiat Spider last weekend. I'm not sure if I want to tackle the frame/body part first, or get it running and then tackle the other part later. I'm mechanically inclined, with almost two decades experience on motorcycles (lots of restorations), cars, trucks, and aircraft (specifically the A-10). I've found rust on the rear valence (panel below the tail lights), both inner rocker panels, lots of bondo hiding rust in both rear outer wheel wells/fenders and the passenger door skin (near lower rear corner). So far, frame, floor pans, shock mounts and other areas appear to have easily treatable surface corrosion. I have very little experience welding, so I'm practicing with a flux core wire welder(cheap Harbor Freight I picked up used) on scrap pieces of sheet metal. I see a PO has used 2x4, liquid nails, and wood screws to "shore up" the right inner rocker panel by gluing and nailing a 2x4 behind the panel. That does not give me warm fuzzy feelings!

The bumpers and the bumper shocks are crap, but those will go bye-bye soon enough. Either going for no-bumper, or split rear with the arbarth pads up front. Either way is much cheaper than trying to replace the stock bumpers.

Car was originally white, may bring it back to factory white or white with metal flake and/or pearl. I think a tan interior/top would be nice over the black. Also thinking about 15" wheels as 13" tires seem to be hard to find.

Wiring is going to be a serious issue as the PO did lots of fiddling. I see a lot of wire nuts used for 120v systems. I'm tempted to rip it all out and start fresh with a custom kit from Painless. But my better judgement might prevail and get me to fix each part as I find it.

Exhaust looks new, but is not correct as it's hanging super low and appears to be partially suspended by the e-brake cable. It doesn't follow the correct lines established by the floor. I'm thinking this is a CA car as it has a cat and an air pump.

Here are a few pics:

[Fiatlanta]

Gonna keep an eye on this thread.

[johndemar]

My initial thought would be to look at what's behind the 2 x 4 and go from there. Make sure it's structurally sound before putting any money into it. Although there are members on here that have done amazing metal work to save cars from the scrap heap.
Good luck!

[bluespider262]

Yeah John is right on point. I would worry about the body first. You can always find another engine or Trans but if the body is shot at least you won't sink a bunch of money into the rest.

Looks like it took a hit front pass so check that area carefully.

[TXWarthog]

The front fenders are off a bit. The front bumper is loose at both ends of the bumper shocks (hardware loosened), which throws off the look a bit. I'm not sure if the front fenders are off a bit, but I do know the hinges mounts on the hood side were re welded and doesn't look very good. I'm probably going to completely redo the hood hinges as they're not stock, and it looks pretty bad. I think that's causing the hood to fender lines to be off.

Having seen replacement frame pieces for sale (can't remember if it was AR, Vicks, or Midwest), I am hopeful any corrosion or damage is repairable.

Fortunately, I paid less than $100 to get this car. With that said, if the body/frame is beyond repair, I haven't lost much as I can scrap it for parts and recoup my losses (and then some). It would be sad to do so, as I've seen the work on this page and know that major restorations are possible.

[baltobernie]

I'd say scrap it and get your $100 back. The thousands of dollars you're going to spend to make it only a driver would be better spent on a better car in the first place.

[DRUMMOND]

All the bodywork on the car can be repaired. just depends how deep you want to go.
You don't have to spend thousands if you can do it yourself.
the original wiring loom is pretty robust once all the grounds and connectors are cleaned up and repaired
You say you are experienced restorer get to it and save another spider!

[TXWarthog]

After seeing your work, and others, on this forum that a resto is obtainable. Coupled with the fact that I've seen nearly all the body/frame parts online for sale, I know a restoration is possible. This wasn't my wife's idea of my "5 year plan", but I plan to spend a few years, one piece at a time to stay within budget while making repairs. My wife has graciously offered to park her vehicle in the driveway to give me more room in the garage.

Very slow and steady.

[DRUMMOND]

Hi TXWarthog

I have lots of photos and 3 years into my spider. Any help or advice you need let me know I will try and help.
My car is down to the shell everything has been renovated and boxed up ready to install when paint is complete 2500 photos

Drummond

[TXWarthog]

I've seen a few and that's awesome. While I'm sure the electrical and mechanical will have it's own challenges, I know it's something I can tackle. I'm very novice when it comes to welding, but I've had plenty of experience in corrosion control. I think this project will allow me to cut me teeth in the welding world (while practicing on the side and hopefully finding some courses to hone the skill). First thing first, I just started my last class for my Master's degree. When I'm done in September, I'll be looking for community courses in welding, metal fab, or auto body.

[DieselSpider]

An old friend was reduced to tears after she spent mega buc's getting her vintage Toyota Corolla gone over with a total drive line rebuild and paint job only to find that the uni-body underneath was in such bad shape that the car stood a chance of folding in half if driven on a rough road. She found this out at the next safety inspection which the car failed. There was a reason why they called those early Corolla's "Toyota Corroda's". Her repair which she thought was going to keep her going for another 150,000 miles didn't get her past the next oil change. The salt damage was so bad that there was no way she could afford to have it repaired so she sold it all for scrap and did not come anywhere close to recouping her losses.

Vet out the rust repairs first and if you find you are not up to it you will only be out those costs.

As for welding many find that they can do an acceptable job with even the $79/$89 (on sale) wire feed welder from Harbor Freight. Check out the YouTube videos on welding sheet metal and you will find some competent welders out there that get stellar results from these units simply by upgrading the ground clamp and using a decent brand of wire. Biggest problem novice welders have with sheet metal is lack of preparation along with trying to draw a bead instead of stitching in the repair with numerous tack welds (single dots allowed to cool completely before placing another next to it) until the entire joint is welded in solid.

[baltobernie]

You don't have to spend thousands if you can do it yourself.

I've seen your postings on your own project, and your progress over the years has been beautiful. But I don't see how you can make such a statement if you've been faithfully recording your expenditures to this point, and realistically budgeting for the final build-out.



This is for materials only, and it wasn't the only expenditure in this category. It's for mid-grade PPG single-stage, and the prices are eight years old; they're probably 50% higher today. Paint and finishing can easily be thousands of dollars excluding labor, and this part of the project is not the most costly. I did every bit of work I could on my car, and like you, I have the benefit of having Erskine nearby for salvage parts. I also learned to weld on this car with a Harbor Freight MIG, but I know my total build cost in excess of $15k, plus the price of the car.

Vintage car restoration is not cheap, and many folks (not necessarily Tex) see TV shows about the hobby that are totally fictitious. Overhaulin', for example spends $125,000 to $150,000 on each car.

Tex, this is not to discourage you from restoring a Fiat Spider, but I urge you to begin with a rough budget, knowing full well you will exceed it in both time and money. Just adding up probable parts from a catalog should give you quite a jolt. Beginning with a junk car puts you at a terrible starting point.

[TXWarthog]

I have a cheap Harbor Freight flux core wire fed welder that I picked up used. I've been through it and it works fine. I have new tips for it, when needed, and I replaced the cheap ground clamp with something a little more robust.

Having taken courses on Airframe and Powerplant certification, coupled with copious amounts of studying reading material and videos, I understand welding and I have a decent idea of what to look for in a good weld.... I just can't do a good/great weld yet (still practicing on scrap pieces of sheet metal).

I feel confident to know what needs replacement and despite a little trepidation, I'm willing to tackle going down to the body/frame to ensure the car can last another 40 years.

I've gotten products from Eastwood before, and they're good products at (I think) reasonable prices. This time around, I may have a custom color mixed at a local paint shop.

I know it's going to take a lot of time and money (taking the time, partly because of the money). This is why I call it my new "Five Year Plan".

My children are excited to help. They're limited in what they can do as the oldest is only 8. Nonetheless, they want to be a part of the restoration and I want them to help.

Thanks to everyone for all the pointers, tips, and opinions. I'm looking forward make some progress with this car. I'm currently formulating a plan as to how to attack the frame/body in a methodical step-by-step process that allows me to have the car in (or easily returnable to) a rolling status by next spring so that I can move the car as I am expecting a local move.

[DieselSpider]

I usually purchase my paint for less than $100 from the local vendors. I can if I wanted to dump a ton of cash go with a PPG Mid Grade World Class Paint however I would have to be pretty much insane as the mid grade is about $100 a pint for the base coat instead of $50 to $100 a gallon. How Aprilia can sell a bike painted with that stuff for $2,999 is beyond me unless the prices on PPG products are just grossly inflated here in the USA compared to what they get them for in Italy.

Thankfully the 124 Spider is a relatively small car and does not require that much paint especially with it being a convertible with no top to paint.

[TXWarthog]

A few weeks ago I took the front bumper off. Looks great and got rid of an ugly 40 pounds (estimated)! Being that I am planning a move in the spring, I want to keep the car in a rolling status. Therefore, I'm not going to (permanently) remove the wheels or whatnot. Fortunately, that still leaves a lot of other areas I can work. I already know I'll be replacing the inner, middle, and outer rocker panels on both sides in the future. I also know I have some cancer on the right door skin. I also know I have to figure out something for the hood hinge pins as they not welded on properly, and the metal surrounding it is starting to tear apart. I'll have to get a new hinge for the hood, and repair/beef up the surrounding metal. I will also need to properly repair the outer wheel wells (flairs) and the rear panel under the tail lights. Any other corrosion will be dealt with as I find it. I'll be going over this vehicle a section at a time until I'm able to get it permently moved into the shop that WILL be at my next house (My wife knows that's a requirement for us for our next house).

Tonight I pulled the rear "seat" and was surprised to see no corrosion. There was a spot that I thought was corrosion, but turns out it appears to be just a v-shaped cut in the metal. I'll go underneath later on and verify there is no other corrosion in that area. If not, I'll pound it back into position, stop-drill the ends to prevent possible cracking, and weld it back up. Here it is.


I also removed the passenger seat, the nasty carpet on that side, and the insulation. After most of it is up, I found there is this nasty black (rubber like) material that is about 1/8" to 1/4" thick. I've managed to scrap up about half of it behind the cross member.

Does anyone know a good way to get this crap up? As soon as I find my heat gun, I'll add some heat to it in hopes of making it easier to scrap up.


While digging around, I did find some corrosion around the rear of the right passenger seat rail. The rails appear to be in good shape, so does the cross member. Although, the cross member isn't secured very well. The outboard side is welded with just a few spot welds. After repairing the floor pan, I will be welding that cross member on better so that there is little to no chance of it breaking free. The original color (white) can also be seen in this photo. I'm strongly considering going with some sort of a white color when I'm done.