Fix It Again Tony-1976 Fiat 124 Spider

[travish86]

Here is my official restoration thread instead of continuously posting in the New Members board.

These are my first picks of the car that were taken after I got it home from Texas.

























Now please be as critical and as picky as possible as I am new to these cars I have never seen one in good shape to even know if it is salvagable or needs replaced so help please.

[travish86]

Here a some pictures after a bath and a base coat of Carnuba Wax

[kmead]

Amazing what a wash and wax will do for car. Looks like a nice solid somewhat unloved car. Little evident rust, an unfortunate choice of mirrors and kick butt rear rims, what a lot of poke those have! A new Michigan Short Shifter looks like it would be right at home in there.

The engine bay looks quite good, someone spent a lot of time changing it over to fuel injection and did a good job. It is missing the preheated section on top of the intake plenum, see if someone on the forum has one they would part with along with some pics of the proper plumbing set up for it.

I presume the heat in the car doesn't work as it looks like the hose is disconnected (the hose next to the coolant reservoir). It would be best if it was reattached but may mean a new heater core is needed or the heater control valve froze up and the previous owner was tired of being roasted in the car and disconnected it entirely. The valve isn't too expensive.

Overall it's a great start. I would start with basic maintenance, replace all fluids, belts, go through the brakes, replace the brake hoses, replace rubber Guibo in the driveshaft and so on. The reality is that good preventative maintenance is the key to avoiding the car being a Fix It Again Toni nightmare.

[travish86]

Hey thanks Kmead, definitely the wash an wax helps and it does need alot of work. Thanks for the heads up on the maintenance issues. I have changed the oil and had a roundabout change of radiator fluid via hole in the radiator. I am working on doing a brake purge and pump all new fluid, new pads and maybe work over the front end. Didn't really think about replacing all of the lines but it would be an excellent idea. I also want to change the fluid in the tranny make sure its the D-21 foaming fluid like it is supposed to be. The rust is an issue I'm somewhat worried about when I start tearing into it this winter I dont want to start sanding and find a hole the size of a football. The PO said it was well taken care of and it was restored once before but as far as I can tell his idea of a restore is putting seats and belts from and 81 along with the efi and ECU into it. I am getting rid of it as soon as possible. I also found out today that the engine is actually the 1608 and not the 1800 like I was told and I dont know enough to argue the fact. I spoke with Tom at Aspen Import today to ask about a starting issue with the car and he informed me of that. I am really kind of upset with the whole ordeal but I have a car that will soon be a wonderful car. I dont care how many fibs I recieved it will all be addressed when I tear the car apart and rebuild it from the bottom up.

[travish86]

Some more specific problem pics please continue to shead your knowledge.

[travish86]

[kmead]

Yes you do still have a smaller, earlier motor. Which is not completely a bad thing. The 2.0 isn't the best of the twin cam motors (in my opinion), I have always preferred the 1608 myself with the early cams. The number on the distributor filler isn't a harbinger of the actual engine in the car (which is likely a 1756), look for the numbers stamped into the block on a flat surface next to the oil filter to know exactly which motor you have in the car. I am betting its an 1800 still.

The interference of the idle bypass valve with the oil fill is fixed by getting a later set of cam covers. When doing it get the one for the right as well to get rid of the EGR fitting on it.

You do have some rust, it will definitely be some work to fix, but none of what you show is terminal. The right front fender is likely to be the most challenging but it can be patched. The majority of the work is pretty small. Getting a replacement rear seat or making a platform, fillers and carpet would solve that problem. Other interior bits can be had from others who are parting cars.

I don't think I have ever seen door panels with the Fiat logo which is cool, but maybe I am just unusually unobservant.

Keep at it.

[majicwrench]

I agree those FIAT door panels are neat, and I have not seen em either. But I don't get to see a lot of Fiats.
Car looks like a project. That can be good, gives you something to do to stay out of trouble. Or it can be bad, if you like getting into trouble
I debated how to deal with my 72, and decided to just make it a rolling restoration. Which means it rolls a lot and restores a little. Little by little it gets nicer, and I get to drive it too. First things I did with mine was just make it functional, everything works, it runs well, it is a joy to drive. I pick up odd parts here and there, and little by little fix dents and rust. I really hate doing anything major that takes it off the road even for a few days.
That dent in the LR is very fixable from my back-yard bodywork point of view, although you will have to pull the fill tube ( a hassle) to get in there and work on it.
That broken lense bezel, everybody has one of those they would give you cheap.
Back seat, who need a back seat??
Keith

[travish86]

Sorry for the lack of correspondence I am currently attending WLC(Warrior Leader Course) with the Army so I will continue to be out for a while.

[So Cal Mark]

pity you don't have a 2.0, they make great street motors. They create tons more torque than a 1608 and really get the car off the line. Overall, it looks like it has a few of the typical PO creative fixes, but nothing that can't be rectified.
While you're changing fluids, DON'T use foaming fluid in the trans. Foam is air bubbles and will quickly lead to failure.

[TulsaSpider]

Get it running and stopping correctly and you'll love it! it may take a few years but you can get everything fixed. That's what I have done! Wow those door panels are neat! I have never seen pics of them before! So Fiat guru's give up more info about them!