My name is Patrick, and this is my car. A 79 Spider.
I found it on a small town craigslist about 100 miles from my home city of Portland.
The car is an absolute blast, but it will need some work. Maybe you guys can point me in the right direction.
It has a new 32/36 Weber carb, which is badly out of tune, I can't drive with the top down without getting high from the fumes. I think the choke is engaging slightly when at WOT. When I took the air cleaner off, I found a bolt just hanging out in the throttle body, impeding airflow.
About 8 hours after I bought it, the clutch cable failed loudly and spectacularly at a stop light, I fabricated a new end for it to tool around until a new one arrives.
The transmission whines loudly in 3rd and 5th, but stays in gear in all gears. Might be time for some sawdust in the oil.
The car pulls to the left, I ascribe that to a rusty, old caliper on that wheel. Caliper rebuild on the horizon.
The drivers side door was hyper-extended at one point, putting a dent 3/4' deep down the fender directly in front of the door, the dent runs the height of the fender - I'm looking forward to tips on how to fix that area, as it looks like the fenders are all welded on.
There is oil pooling in each of the spark plug galleys, but the engine isn't losing oil at any appreciable rate. I've driven it 300 miles since I bought it, and I haven't noticed any drop in oil level
Most of this post I've spent complaining about things that aren't right. Let me tell you about the things that are.
The paint is shiney and nice.
The car accelerates wonderfully, and stays running at stop lights.
All the electronics work.
The interior is pretty nice.
The top is in like new condition.
I bought it for $1000
I imagine you'll be seeing lots of me from here on out. I'm no stranger to wrenching on cars. And this isn't my first rattletrap roadster (I had a midget prior to this) My hope is to get the car into solid running and cosmetic condition, as this will be my daily driver.
Cheers!
-Patrick
