What to look for

[Christoph]

I'm not a current Fiat Spider owner yet. I've got one I'm interested in. It's a 1978 Spider 5 spd with, according to the owner, 88k miles on it. Is there anything I should look out for on these? I'm new to Fiats and don't really know much about them, but I've been trying to read as much as I can.

[narfire]

Rust was an issue with these cars in the past. I'd suggest pulling back the carpet in the front and have a look-see,one can replace the floors from a parts car or bought new from a vendor. The front shock towers are another structural part where rust can show,need to take the wheels off,again they can be replaced. Have a look under the car,floor jack, and look at the exhaust,trailing arms(should be straight). Hows the top? If the rear window is shot,weather gets in and can rust out the rear floor area,under the rear seat,the long trailing arms are connected there and would be an issue if not repaired.
Ease of starting.. any mechanical history? When was the timming belt last changed? There is a rubber flex disc on the driveline just behind the transmission that will crack and weather with time,this is a must to change out as if it grenades then big noise and damage occurs.
I could go on but I hope some others will chime in.
They are great cars and parts are available here and at the several vendors located in the States. They are easy to work on and with a few tools and a manual or two you can get these cars sorted out reasonably easy... just ask Katsi in Texas.
Good luck
Chris

[Christoph]

Thanks for that info. What about the motor/tranny? How reliable are they?

[mdrburchette]

The motor and tranny are built well and, if properly maintained, are very reliable. They are also pretty inexpensive to maintain.

[ga.spyder]

There are several owners who post here,that are located in your area.Maybe you could get one of them to look at the car with you?Always nice to have a experienced set of eyes around.Good luck.
Craig

[adrians]

Christoph,

Here you go !

Welcome to the forum, Spiderman & I put this togeather to help buyers.

http://home.people.net.au/~sandrin/Buyi ... piders.pdf

[katsi]

HMMMMMM! Nice read and a lot of good advice. Mine failed just about every point mentioned though!

[Christoph]

Thanks for the tips guys! I haven't seen it in person yet as it's about 2 hours away from me, but from the pics he sent me, it has rust on the rear fenders and around the front turn signals.