I don't know how accurate the serial number list on Mirafiori.com is, but if it is accurate, this is the 122nd Spider built for the US market. That's pretty darned early for a Fiat Spider. I have no reason to doubt the Mirafiori list and like the fact that this may be among the cars in the very first shipment of Spiders to the US. The Mirafiori list says the US spec Spiders start at AS0005619 and this car is AS0005741.

After going through the car from end to end, I've decided to try to save it. The difference though is that instead of a complete restoration, I'm going to do a 'good enough' restoration. By that, I mean I'll replace the sills and do all of the other sheet metal work just the same as if it were a full resto, but I won't repair or replace anything that's not structurally significant. While doing an inspection, I found impact damage to both the front and rear with some buckling in the trunk area. There are a lot of little brackets that could use straightening out to make it like new and I just don't think this car is good enough to warrant that right now.

I'll rebuild the sills, floor pans and other structural areas. Instead of replacing the interior, going this route makes the current interior 'good enough'. I'll do a rebuild on the engine and clean it up underneath, with a fresh suspension, but no rotisserie this time around. As I finish areas, I'll shoot a coat of epoxy primer and then do a complete respray when done. That should give this little car another 15 years of life and by that time, it might be worth doing a complete ground up restoration. As it is now, I'd be sinking more into it than I could ever hope to recover from it if needed.

So, the inspection is winding down and projects are forming up. I think I'm ready to start spending a bit of money to bring her back to life. Now, off to work...