My purchase

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pooldoctorstl

My purchase

Post by pooldoctorstl »

OK, so here it is. Borrowed a friends rollback at rescued it from a mouse invasion in the woods. 1982, 52,000 original miles, very little rust and good interior. I knew mice were living in it and fortunately they didnt do any major damage. They ate up the drivers headrest, may have eaten the console-not sure what happened to it, but the worst thing that made me sick when I saw it is that he had all of the parts stored boxes in his barn and they ate a 3" hole in the convertible top boot that otherwise is perfect and looks like it has never been on the care. Other than that, the interior looks like new. Have not tried to start it yet, I pulled the sending unit and inside of the gas tank is rusted and I need to clean it out and put fresh fuel in, then new battery and give it a go.

First on the list is also to go through the brake system. The master cylinder is dry and the pedal goes to the floor. Time to order a new master cyl and caliper rebuild kits. Also need some advice on heater hoses. The short hose from the firewall to the water pump is split right where it goes past the exhause manifold. This is obviously caused by heat and looks like it has to be a common problem. Any suggestions on a heat shield or some other way to prevent this from happening?

(my first pic post, so I hope they show up)

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fiasco
Posts: 885
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2008 2:10 am
Your car is a: 1969 Fiat Spider
Location: Ontario, CA

Re: My purchase

Post by fiasco »

Looks like a winner! Congrats on the purchase and the adventures ahead.

-- se
Steve Eubanks
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1969 Fiat 124 Spider AS | 2108 Fiat 124 Spider Classica | http://calstylestudio.com
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maytag
Posts: 1789
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:22 pm
Your car is a: 1976 124 spider
Location: Rocky Mountains....UTAH! (Not Colorado)

Re: My purchase

Post by maytag »

very cool!

welcome to our world! :lol:
I'm no Boy-Racer..... but if I can't take every on-ramp at TWICE the posted limit.... I'm a total failure!
So Cal Mark

Re: My purchase

Post by So Cal Mark »

consider changing all of the brake hoses along with the mc and calipers. Also look closely at ALL of the fuel hoses both in the rear and up on the engine. Small leaks at the injectors can lead to a big fire when the fuel drips onto the starter motor
mdrburchette
Posts: 5754
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:49 am
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 Sport
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Re: My purchase

Post by mdrburchette »

Looks like a keeper! What year is your car? I believe the later models did have some sort of heatshield at the exhaust manifold. Maybe someone will post a pic of theirs.
1972 124 Spider (Don)
1971 124 Spider (Juan)
1986 Bertone X19 (Blue)
1978 124 Spider Lemons racer
1974 X19 SCCA racer (Paul)
2012 500 Prima Edizione #19 (Mini Rossa)
Ever changing count of parts cars....It's a disease!
rlux4
Patron 2022
Patron 2022
Posts: 4211
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:32 pm
Your car is a: 1982 2000 Spider
Location: Granite Falls, Wa

Re: My purchase

Post by rlux4 »

Here's the heat shield.
Image
Ron
Ron Luxmore
rlux2n2@gmail.com
'82 2000 Spider: after 26 years between Spiders.
pooldoctorstl

Re: My purchase

Post by pooldoctorstl »

Thanks for the feedback. Spent today going through it and putting together a game plan. You are right Mark, all of the brake hoses and fuel lines need to be replaced. And Ron, thanks for the pic of the heat shield. Mine has it like in your picture, but the hose split right next to it so I thought there might be something else. I drained the brown gas from the tank today and pulled it to clean it with phosphoric acid, but it is still pretty bad so tomorrow it is going to the radiator shop. Any suggestions on other ways to clean it? I hate to have to buy a new tank.

A good thing is that after I pulled the tank, I put a new battery in it and good news, it CRANKS! Sounds like good compression so it should run OK.

Thanks again for the advice. And by the way it is a 1982.
Fiat88

Re: My purchase

Post by Fiat88 »

Those mice had good taste! :wink:

Looks like a good project.
rlux4
Patron 2022
Patron 2022
Posts: 4211
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:32 pm
Your car is a: 1982 2000 Spider
Location: Granite Falls, Wa

Re: My purchase

Post by rlux4 »

There is a long running kidding contest that has been going on about which is the best year Spider ever made. My contention is that it must be the 82. It is the year that Fiat S.p.A. decided that they had made it as good as it was going to get and turned over the model to Pinifarina.
As such, welcome to the "82 Spider Owners Club".
Ron
Ron Luxmore
rlux2n2@gmail.com
'82 2000 Spider: after 26 years between Spiders.
jimincalif
Posts: 410
Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:43 am
Your car is a: 1980 FI Spider
Location: Lake Forest, CA

Re: My purchase

Post by jimincalif »

My tank was full of rust, a couple of folks on the mira forums recommended the Gas Tank Renu process. I looked into DIY, but with the baffles in the tank I did not see any good way to ensure the tank was fully cleaned. No use in getting just some of the rust, so I went ahead with Renu, it was $300. They drill holes in the tank and sandblast it, then seal it, and refinish the outside as well. Here is a link:

http://www.gastankrenu.com/

So far so good. I pulled the sender unit after a month just to take a look, all was well inside. I went to a local franchisee here in SoCal, happy with the work, but they told me on the phone it would take 10 days, when I brought in the tank they said 1-1/2 to 2 weeks and it took a month before I got it back.
1980 FI Spider
2ndwind
Posts: 548
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:17 pm
Your car is a: 1982 Spider
Location: Cincinnati OH

Re: My purchase

Post by 2ndwind »

Clearly a nice find. Got the year right!
Steve
1982 Red Spider 2000
1919 Old Town Sailing Canoe
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stefhahn
Posts: 269
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:57 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Spider 2000
Location: Stuttgart / Germany

Re: My purchase

Post by stefhahn »

Great car! - same interior color than mine - I did not know that this was an original color, so thanks for your help :-)
pooldoctorstl

Re: My purchase

Post by pooldoctorstl »

stefhahn - I am sure this is the original interior because the convertible top boot is also red and looks to be original, as are all of the carpets. I don't think it was put in many cars though because it doesn't look like you can buy red replacement items anywhere. I have only seen beige and black. I have a picture of another one I found on the web that may be yours, it looks exactly like mine, but restored. Also, you posted at 2:01AM??? :?
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stefhahn
Posts: 269
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:57 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Spider 2000
Location: Stuttgart / Germany

Re: My purchase

Post by stefhahn »

pooldoctorstl wrote:stefhahn - ... Also, you posted at 2:01AM??? :?
well, I sit on the other side of this little pond called atlantic ocean ;-)
mbouse

Re: My purchase

Post by mbouse »

nice save!!
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