What model should I buy? Need Help

[TX82FIAT]

You purchase decision may depend on how dirty you want to get your hands and how much you want to spend. Many on the site have found it less expensive given the overall cost of these cars to buy a fairly good example given the large market of these cars available. Spend $1,500.00 plus $1,500.00 in parts or spend $2,500 and $500 in parts. Spending the extra $1,000.00 on the front end always seems to be a better decision to get a better Spider to start. I paid $5,000.00 for my 82 providing a great starting point for my project.

Ok.... 82' is the best year if you want to buy a FI Spider

[RRoller123]

And just make sure you get one with very limited rust. They are out there, but it may take some looking.

[georgeramos]

I'm not certain what the cutoff is but if I were you I would consider an early 71-3 with the 1608 engine. This is a wonderful motor, a beautiful small bumper car and smog exemption can go a long way in CA. Best of all worlds. I am currently in las Vegas visiting my grandparents and there is an early car on CL that is a one owner vehicle! They're asking something 6500 which I think is a bit high but IF it is 100 percent rust free and well maintained since new it is certainly worth looking into. I've actually been considering checking it out just for kicks. the ad says best offer so if it can be had for5000 and is (again) rust free that might be a good deal. It's a 70 so most likely a 1438

Best of luck in your search, you may be frustrated at times, broke others, but not disappointed with your Spider!

[divace73]

Best of luck in your search, you may be frustrated at times, broke others, but not disappointed with your Spider!

That is a great quote....my wife just doesn't understand the relationship I have with my spider..

[oscardante]

Man you guys have been to extreme help. In a previous post I have explained the car and its problems the owner wants $2500 for it - I have offered him $2000 if it passes smog. Is this low of me? I can do $2500 but I know that I have to spend at least 600 in engine work...


Also no one answered the issue with the wire that is connected to the middle of at the front of engine, my friend told me its connected to the thermostat. When I open the hood and the close it again, the connector moves (because connector is broken) and the engine stops and wont fire. The owner has strapped it down with tape. Is this a easy fix? Can I just change the wire?


- Oscar

[rlux4]

Yes. Most of our regular vendors sell a replacement connector, our moderator, Mark, sells a replacement that doesn't use the spring clip to hold it on. I'm betting the connector in question has broken at the end so that the spring clip doesn't have the ears to snap onto.
Ron

[oscardante]

So here I go again. Looking at a 1980 this time... Car looks very well taken care of and in good condition. Is there something about the 80 model I should be aware of? Oh, and its converted to a automatic transmission.

[georgeramos]

Personally i wouldnt buy an auto trans Spider. Part of the joy of driving any old sports car is the shifting sound, feel and response. This is certainly a part of what makes Fiats so great.

The best one to buy is the well sorted, rust free $5000 car that the PO dropped $10,000 on...sorry to say that but they are out there.

[BEEK]

the best thing is the trend that is happening. fiat spiders are finally starting to push upward in value on a regular basis. even from a fairly rough runner, to the nicest driver, ive seen prices go up. i feel alot of this is the people who now are purchasing these cars. these people have the money to buy a nicer example and arent always looking for the cheapest way out.

i know, even with my abilities and my current projects i will have way more in my latest than its worth. but i dont care. im building it for myself. and yes if a rust free small bumper chassis became available at a real cheap price in my area i would buy it. but for now i will progress with the repairs of what i have. besides i get into that kind of work, its just hard to find the time

[bradartigue]

Personally i wouldnt buy an auto trans Spider. Part of the joy of driving any old sports car is the shifting sound, feel and response. This is certainly a part of what makes Fiats so great.

The best one to buy is the well sorted, rust free $5000 car that the PO dropped $10,000 on...sorry to say that but they are out there.

Couldn't agree more. The automatic transmission is a dud to begin with and fouls up the look of the center console.

I think you'll find happiness in any of the years, but I have to say the most expensive cars to source parts for are going to be the pininfarinas. They used parts that were uncommon to the other 20 or so years of production, mainly in the interior, and if you're like me the stuff you have to look at every day can drive you nuts if broken or worn thin.

I also agree with the point on the 79/80 carbureted cars (though a carbureted 80 was never sold in CA they made their way there). None of the smog equipment is available any longer and getting it to pass may be too difficult to endure.

And they all rust. Neither FIAT nor Pininfarina did much in the way of rust prevention, and they barely painted these cars in the later years. I actually find the very early cars the least prone to rust, but that's likely because I've seen far fewer of them alive than the 80's cars.

[RRoller123]

Agreed. I found one of those rust free 5k cars that had a pile of dough put into them and then still sold for 5K. They are out there.

Pete

[toyfiats]

I would agree with those that recommend against an automatic transmission because it goes against the sporting nature of the car, but having test driven a low mileage Pininfarina many years ago I wouldn't call them duds. It was actually pretty smooth, but again, it was low miles so not worn out.

If you can't drive a stick, don't want to learn, and really want a Spider, then an automatic isn't the end of the world. It will feel like that when you eventually try to sell it, since almost no one wants them.

Additionally, this just may have been a typo on your part, but you mentioned it was "converted to a automatic transmission". Fiat made them with automatic transmissions, so if someone has converted a factory 5sp to A/T I would almost certainly rule it out, as you never know how well the job was done.

If you're looking at the red one in Petaluma on craigslist, it doesn't look too bad (main minus is non-factory wheels), but I doubt the interior is "in perfect condition". It has the leather package, although the leather strip on the bottom of the dash is shrinking and trying to escape, and the toupe on the dash leaves one to wonder what it looks like underneath.

[spidernut]

I own a 79 with an automatic and a 79 with a stick. I've test driven Spiders of various years. Here are advantages and disadvantages of a 79 versus other year Spiders

- 79-80 carb'd motor is harder to smog - no doubt about it. Lots of vacuum lines, but they are color coded and can be traced pretty easily. 90% of the the time a failed smog test seems to be due to a leaking vacuum line. The ADHA is very restrictive which is a key reason that you lose so much horsepower and California won't let you swap carbs due to emissions. This state sucks for classic cars.

- Horsepower - 79 has the lowest due to the carb, intake and exhaust. However, I have found no driveability problems with the 79s. It has plenty of power for normal driving and an occasional spirited drive down a winding road. You can easily push the stock suspension to its limits on a winding road with a stock 79...you just won't win any drag races or autocross races. Sure my 80 and 81 EFI models were quicker, but I never found it to be a problem in normal driving. The older cars revved faster, but again not a problem in normal daily driving. The stock EFI wins on horsepower...period.

- Automatic versus manual transmission - This is 100% personal preference....don't let anyone sway you. I really, really, really did not want an automatic in my first 79 that I drive on a daily basis. However, it is really civilized to drive especially in town traffic. I learned to love it. Now that I have a spare manual transmission and driveline, I've considered swapping it out but I really like the automatic for normal driving. It is 100% preference and should be determined by how and where you plan on driving the car. I find the automatic boring on winding roads when you want to pretend your Mario Andretti...they're way to slow to respond to be fun. The stick is a blast. I'd still take the auto over the stick for in-town driving.

- Transmission reliability - With the automatic you'll have no clutch cables pulling through the firewall, no bad clutch forks, no chattering clutch disks, no slipping clutch, no gears or syncros going out and can drive in town while holding hands with your sweetie. Try that with a manual transmission! Conversely, the manual is an absolute blast to drive and you have much more responsive acceleration. You can't abuse the manual without repercussions - you will wear your syncros and gears. They are not durable. The automatic is a brick and extremely reliable.

- Emissions testing - Pure and simple, the fuel injected cars smog WAY more easily. There is no comparison. However, don't shy away from a 79 if you get it at the right price. It can be a pain to smog every two years if you don't maintain it....well, even if you do maintain it is a pain. But per my Fiat smog mechanic, he said a properly tuned and maintained 79 is no harder to smog than a 76....there's just more keep in working order. Since we must keep all emissions equipment intact on 1976 and newer cars, they're all a pain to smog and parts are next to impossible to find for the emissions system. Price a freakin' air pump on any of them. INSANE!!! EFIs are easy to smog when working correctly, but you add in the cost of repairing or replacing the air flow meter, injectors, sensors, higher pressure fuel hoses, electric fuel pump, wiring harnesses, etc., they can get pricey. Still, I like the EFI'd cars the best.

- Fuel economy - EFI wins by a mile. The automatic transmission will cut about 4-5 mpg off of your fuel mileage.

- Price - Most people have no idea what these cars are worth. I've seen them from free to $16,000. Condition is everything.

[2ndwind]

I concur with John's post completely. Other than the smog stuff, which I know nothing about here in OH. I had two '82 FI spiders. Both red with tan interiors. One with 5spd, the other an automatic. After I got the automatic working properly with a new modulator valve, filter & gasket and proper amount of fluid (all for less than $50), it worked great. You could punch and run with it.

That being said, I had to choose between them. I don't do much city driving and have always enjoyed a manual in any vehicle so I kept the 5 spd. On occasion, when I am in city traffic or a highway traffic jam, I sure do miss that automatic.

I'm pretty sure the automatics were only in the 2L cars, though I would be leery of a non-fuel injected car having enough go-juice to be enjoyable.

[divace73]

Are you allowed to replace the carby with the FI kit in the 79??? This should solve loads of issues and pass all the necessary tests? I have noticed that 2nd hand FI kits are relatively cheap to buy in the US...