Looking for my first Spider

[maseratiman]

Hello everyone,

I've been looking at classified ads, e-bay and the like looking at beautiful pictures of Spiders and need some advice. Is there anything I should look for as problem issues (besides rust bucket) with these 30yo+ cars? Obviously all autos this old will have issues but I would like to avoid really time expensive fixes.

I'm primarily looking for a car (2,000- 3,500) with minimal issues. I'm looking to buy and drive, fixing the odd thing here and there. As a kid I owned Mustangs and fiddled with the exhaust, engine, wiring, windows ect. so small inividual issues like brake replacement, leaking head cover gaskets ect. should be OK.

Also, did any Spiders come with real seats in the back? Are those listed with seat belts in the back and aftermarket modification? Should seating back there be avoided or is it OK for small children?

Any suggestions? Is this price range reasonable?

-Marc

[kmead]

There are two approaches (or six, it all depends):

If you are not handy:
Buy the best car you can find. Spend the extra to get a really pristine example because mechanic labor at 60-100 an hour will quickly eat up the difference between a nice car and a perfect car

If you are handy:
Decide how serious you are about working on a car, if you are really serious buy something in a box that needs to be put back together. If you are not that serious buy the best body you can find paying particular attention to the rear fenders, floors and the area around the front a arm mounts to either side of the engine. Be willing to work on electrical and mechanical issues. Make sure everything is there.

If you are not even that serious about it, go back to being not handy

Seriously though. This is a hard question as we all look at things differently. I look at a car and don't worry about mechanical issues as I can fix them. If I look at a car and it has lots of rust I shy away because its hard for me to fix it and I will have to rely on the ability and craft of others which I tend not to trust.

I always recommend buying the best car you can unless you really want to make it yours by customizing it, which several of our brethren here have done. If you need to redo an interior, as long as the basic parts are there and the car works properly its a pretty easy project as you can buy new seat covers, dash cover and console. Redoing bodywork is expensive due to labor costs and paint has gotten seriously expensive over the years.

However I tend to be leary of cars that have been repainted but don't have project books to show before, during and after. Big holes can be filled with bondo and then painted to look nice leading to either discarding the car later or spending a great deal of money to fix. The old adage: all that glistens may not be gold. I would rather have a somewhat faded solid car that I will have to repaint someday than one that is bright and shiny but may be crap underneath.

I hope that helps, good luck and post all the questions you want, we are all willing to help.

[maseratiman]

Karl,

Thanks for the advice. I'm contemplating purchasing a cheaper (2,500 USD) 1980 requiring some minor work and a more expensive (4000 USD) which requires a new canvas and perhaps a paint job in 2-3 years. The concern I have about the more expensive 1980 Fiat is that the engine has been modified to include two Webber carborators, the removal of the cat in the exhaust and the car looks to be lifted a bit. It looks great but are these modifications OK? Will these mods effect the rear diff or damage something?

Thanks for your reply,

Marc

[kmead]

It will depend on how you want to use the car.

In general these cars are pretty stout. The late rear axle is pretty strong and is not known for failures the same for the transmission. The engines are also pretty resistant to stupidity.

Twin carbs were (40 IDFs) a standard equipment item on these from Fiat in Europe, we weren't so lucky here in the states. Its pretty hard to get these engines to produce enough power to damage the rest of the system so I wouldn't worry too much about it. The rear end being high suggests it has KYB gas shocks and possibly the wrong springs, it may have also had some lightening, does it have an OEM rear bumper?

Where do you live? Do they smog test where you live? If they do, the twin carbs will never be able to pass.

If it has IDFs, once they are set up they tend to be pretty easy to live with. Depending on which ones it has the car will be pretty quick, if they are 44s the car could be over carbureted depending on the other mods to the engine (cams, higher compression pistons etc).

If you enjoy puttering around and like the feel of a period car the twin carb car could be fun. For most people used to quick starts, painless warmup and good general drivability, fuel injected cars tend to preferred as once they are set up they are pretty painless and very reliable.

The tops are pretty easy to replace, have at least one friend on hand and a nice warm, sunny day to replace it. Figure two and a half hours for the job.

[maseratiman]

Looks like they are Duel Weber IDF 40's...I live in Massachusetts; based on the DOT, emission testing is from 1997 and up... It's looking quite good!

-Marc

[kmac33]

Marc,
Welcome to the forum! It looks like Karl has covered all of the important bits of information. From your intro,it sounds like you will be fine doing most if not all of the required mechanical work to keep your Spider (once you decide on one) running. Get a couple of good manuals, consult the forum and these cars are pretty darn easy to fix and maintain. Good luck with the upcoming purchase and welcome to the fold

[2ndwind]

Marc,
Take your time, Take your time, take your time! I was hot to buy a spider 2-1/2 yrs ago. I wanted a decent driver and bought a running 1982 with a solid body, acceptable top, and decent interior for $3500. I have spent another $3000 on it doing most of the forum-recommended work myself. That included , new upper and lower suspension control arms-both sides, steering center link and tie rod ends, new drive shaft flex disc, center support bearing (shot) and universals. In addition I have had to replace the starter, Air Flow Meter ($500), coolant tee temp sensor, auxiliary air valve, recored the radiator, air intake hose, cold start valve, fuel pump and filter, new timing belt and water pump (done by mechanic) several electrical issues, brake issues and a few other things. Now I need a new head gasket.

Why am I telling you this? Since then, I have seen several spiders on this forum, and on local craigslist ads that have already had most or all of this work done and then some for $4000-7000. Last October I bought a solid spider with bad top, nearly running engine (needed an AFM-$70 used), and bad seats for $1000. Basically, it needed all the things I did to my first spider plus a top and interior for $2500 less purchase price.

I love my spider but I have been spoiled by Classic Vws, Corvairs, old Toyotas and Hondas. All reliable cars. Each had their issues but they didn't require attention to every system! If you want a low-fuss driver, buy one with a lot of updates (not mods) done to it in the past few years.

Steve

[maseratiman]

Thanks for the advice. I've since seen more available and am trying to do my homework on these cars before making a purchase. 1,000 sounds like a great find! Think I'll be doing a lot more searching.

-Marc