Rebuild Project

[kkemerait]

Hello all,

Ill advised or not, I've decided to strip down my 1978 Fiat Spider to the bare body and rebuild her from the ground up. I am not a mechanic and barely know where the gas goes in, but I figure this is an excellent opportunity for an old man, former software developer to learn a new skill, so ready or not here goes.

I would welcome any advice as I move along in this project, I'm sure I'll have many questions and need plenty of guidance. I'll be taking photos of the entire process and if there are any parts or sections that someone would like additional photos of please just ask I'll be happy to oblige.

Here are some photos pre-project of the car. (apparently you need to right-click and open in new tab)

https://goo.gl/photos/PQc41GnBFgyHbEgJ8

[DRUMMOND]

Hi Kemerait

You will have a lot of fun and some frustration. Find some new skills and lots of pride when it turns out right! Good Luck.
I am about 6 months away from finishing my resto from the bare chassis up if you get stuck or have any questions lots of people here will help.

[ronarthur]

Take lots and lots of pictures! Tag/bag every thing that you can! It is amazing the memory loss in just a month's time.

[aj81spider]

+1 on the pictures. However many you take you should take more. I must have taken 500 pictures disassembling my car and when I was reassembling it there were many many many times when I wished I had another picture from a different angle or of a piece I didn't capture in one of the pictures I took.

Also get a spiral bound notebook and take notes on everything you do. Take them in order as you do them. Like the pictures take more notes than you think you will need! When reassembling I found it was useful to know what order I disassembled things (from the notes) so I would reassemble in the inverse order. Where I didn't do that I ended up putting together things then taking them apart because they had to go together in a certain order that I got wrong!

I was like you and knew nothing about cars and got through it. As a reference point it took me two and a half years to tear the car down, rebuild the parts and reassemble it.

I bought another Spider to drive while I did it.

[kkemerait]

Yesterday I finished the trunk, taillights and rear bumper (except for the trunk lock), here are the photos
https://goo.gl/photos/xmxFbgV1e2UQreej8

There are some parts that I know I will be replacing with something different, as I get to them I will list them here. If someone is interested in buying them let me know.

NOTE: No one wants to take old gasoline, so disposing of it can be troublesome.

[stuartrubin]

When you "bag and tag" parts, I've learned that sharpie marker is easily removed from ziploc bags with a little oil or gasoline, which was NOT what I intended...

[kkemerait]

Question - Found a good sized hole in driver's side floor. Is this repairable or a showstopper?

https://goo.gl/photos/fHz6zRJQH2VQ3Auo9

[baltobernie]

That would be the definition of "good size hole". As you probably know, unibody cars derive their strength from body panels, not a separate frame. So particularly where you have a seam, or a change of direction, that area must be repaired to restore the structural integrity of the car. Small-size holes in the middle of the floor can be repaired with fiberglass and POR-15 http://dcfiats.org/tech/POR-15-2.pdf but you're going to need welded metal in your situation. The good news is that this is not an appearance issue, so it doesn't have to be pretty, just strong.

While you're examining this area, inspect the box that runs fore/aft behind the rocker panel, at the junction of the floor and sill. Poke there with an ice pick to confirm integrity. When this box rusts, the car can literally bend in half when jacked up!

Presumably, you've also read the many posts here on shock tower, rear suspension mount, and crossmember rust inspection. Good Luck!

[kkemerait]

Thanks for the reply on the "good sized hole" , as long as it isn't beyond repair I'll keep moving forward. I have this source for body panels, so hopefully I'll be able to deal with this when the time comes.
http://alfaparts.net/fiatspider.html

[kkemerait]

A quick question - I am considering removing (permanently) any heat or air ventilation to the inside of the car in the rebuild. Other than the need to occasionally wear a sweater and gloves will there be any negative implications to the engine or cooling system if I do so.

[DieselSpider]

A quick question - I am considering removing (permanently) any heat or air ventilation to the inside of the car in the rebuild. Other than the need to occasionally wear a sweater and gloves will there be any negative implications to the engine or cooling system if I do so.

Foggy windows comes to mind. Since my heater core was bypassed when the previous owner before last put the diesel in I first picked up an electric fan driven window defroster that plugs into the lighter socket and then still needed to fix the blower motor to get enough air moving to keep the windshield clear inside on humid days. If caught in the rain where you have to drive with the top up lack of a working defroster blower can make life very difficult where I live.

[kkemerait]

A quick question - I am considering removing (permanently) any heat or air ventilation to the inside of the car in the rebuild. Other than the need to occasionally wear a sweater and gloves will there be any negative implications to the engine or cooling system if I do so.

Foggy windows comes to mind. Since my heater core was bypassed when the previous owner before last put the diesel in I first picked up an electric fan driven window defroster that plugs into the lighter socket and then still needed to fix the blower motor to get enough air moving to keep the windshield clear inside on humid days. If caught in the rain where you have to drive with the top up lack of a working defroster blower can make life very difficult where I live.

Yep, however I think this is going to be a fair weather car only but still good advice. Thanks!

[DieselSpider]

If you pull out the heater/defroster box it up so if you ever sell the car you won't take as big a hit for it being removed.

[kkemerait]

I have a source for body parts fabrication but was wondering if any drawings/specifications exist from original manufacturing process for the 1978 124 Spider or if anyone has a contact for acquiring those specs.

Thanks

[kkemerait]

I saw a photo from someone refinishing a car body .. and the car was suspended mid air so it could be rotated .. sort of like a spit for a large pig roast .... turn the crank...turn the car. It the device was also on wheels for easy relocation. Can someone tell me where something like this might be available for my spider. It would make working on it much easier.

Never mind found my own answer - How do you delete a post??