Hi all, I am new to both auto work and Fiats, but when my neighbor offered up a spider for sale, I couldn't resist. I hesitate to call this project a restoration, as my original intention was just to get it running again, but as I started to clean it up, I am finding many mini-projects (rust in battery box, floorboard rust, etc.) that are making it seem more restoration-ish...

Regardless, in the spirit of my original intent, I have some questions I hope the esteemed members of this forum can help with. I know that first order of business is to replace the timing belt and giubo, and replace all rubber under the hood. There appears to be oil leaking from just about every drive train gasket, so I am thinking of trying to take care of some of that as well, and there is a non-functional AC system taking up space in the engine bay. So here goes:

1. Is there a rule of thumb as far as how many feet of which diameters of hosing is needed to "replace the rubber under the hood" - ex. 5 feet of 5mm, 5 feet of 7mm, etc. I plan to order from Bayless, etc., but wanted to zero in on quantities.

2. Is there a general order of operations to get me running again? Here is what I was thinking:
- Remove the radiator
- Remove the timing belt cover and old belts
- Remove the AC system (see below)
- Remove and rebuild carburetor
- Replace cam cover gaskets, head gasket
- Do any tune-up work I can (adjust valve spacing, etc.)
- Put engine & carb back together
- Replace timing belt, bearing, water pump
- Replace radiator and hoses
- Replace fluid - coolant, engine oil, transmission fluid
- See if she'll start
- Optional step - seek professional help

Did I miss anything? Does that make sense? Overkill?

3. Should I remove the AC? When I got the car, the interior parts (vents, dash under-mounts) were already in the trunk. Looking at the engine bay, it seems like a lot of real estate is taken up by the compressor, etc. I would love to have AC, but first priority is getting it running, and it seems like it would be nice to have the extra space to work with. If I ever want to re-install it, is it better to keep it in place?

Here are a bunch of pictures: https://1drv.ms/a/s!As0M4aC9epz5n9tu6NbvDAMVuvm8FA

Thanks in advance for advice and opinions!

Welcome to the community , I checked out your photos, first thing I would do is remove as much of the sound detening material from the passenger and driver foot areas to asses the extent of the rust on the floor pans. It could just be surface rust, or it could more major. Next would be to check your front shock towers for rust. Try to get the car started before you start replacing parts. Check for spark, fuel, and compression. Take lots of pictures.

Hi Odoyle, thanks for the advice. I am hoping the floor pans look worse than they are. I pulled out most of the gunk that was sound deadening material, and am drying out the floors. I tried the screwdriver test and it seems there is a good bit of metal left, and I have some NOR 15 on the way to address some battery box rust, so will use it here as well. We've been having a lot of rain here in SoCal lately, so I am hoping that the moisture in the floor pans was just a recent thing...

Shock towers appear to be structurally sound (at least they don't seem to be as rusted as some photos I've seen here). Here are some pics of front driver & passenger (they all look kind of like this):

http://1drv.ms/i/s!As0M4aC9epz5n9xPKBHtgczo2sDZ-w

http://1drv.ms/i/s!As0M4aC9epz5n9xNKZhZ0akOioMkhg

Regarding starting up, the car has been sitting for ~5 years, and the radiator is dry as a bone. I thought as long as I was going to replace the hoses, coolant, etc. that I would just dig in and take care of the other things as well. I'll take another look and see what is feasible.

Odoyle wrote:Try to get the car started before you start replacing parts.

+1

Tap water in the radiator, check engine oil level, air in the tires, borrow a battery. Gasoline or ether into the carb. Confirm the absence of fatal rust, and drive the car (even if only the length of your driveway) before buying any parts.

Thanks for the tips. Filled the radiator, got some sea mist, jumped the battery and cranked her up. Can't drive (my driveway is very short, and I don't have current registration due to non-op status after failed smog for PO), but did get her running. After some rough running, settled in at 900 rpm idle. Found the source of the fuel leak in one of the hoses leading into the carb. So still curious...any advice on the best plan of attack to go after all the rubber, and to get to the fuel line seems like I need to get past the AC compressor...

Oh yeah, and my 14 year old son was pretty stoked. "Papa, can you put it in your will that I get this when you pass?" LOL, we're going to have fun getting this thing in shape

Texafornian wrote:Hi Odoyle, thanks for the advice. I am hoping the floor pans look worse than they are. I pulled out most of the gunk that was sound deadening material, and am drying out the floors. I tried the screwdriver test and it seems there is a good bit of metal left, and I have some NOR 15 on the way to address some battery box rust, so will use it here as well. We've been having a lot of rain here in SoCal lately, so I am hoping that the moisture in the floor pans was just a recent thing...

Shock towers appear to be structurally sound (at least they don't seem to be as rusted as some photos I've seen here). Here are some pics of front driver & passenger (they all look kind of like this):

http://1drv.ms/i/s!As0M4aC9epz5n9xPKBHtgczo2sDZ-w

http://1drv.ms/i/s!As0M4aC9epz5n9xNKZhZ0akOioMkhg

Regarding starting up, the car has been sitting for ~5 years, and the radiator is dry as a bone. I thought as long as I was going to replace the hoses, coolant, etc. that I would just dig in and take care of the other things as well. I'll take another look and see what is feasible.

Nice to see another unit being saved. Got a similar project myself, maybe a little more resto on my end. Looking at your pictures, I do believe that you will need at least one new shock tower. The first picture looks to have rust coming through on the side. They actually rust from the inside out. Not the end of the world though. As the other responses say, see how solid an engine you have and make an assessment from there. Looking forward to more posts.

maybe add front engine seals to your list ..... Matt