Molto Piccolo Ferrari- Resto project

[steve8462]

i am about to start a Frankenstein type restoration using two vehicles to make one good one. just so you know Molto Piccolo Ferrari loosely translates to " rather tiny Ferrari"
here is my first spider. i have a bumper crop of rust and rot on this bad boy.


and here is a practically rust free body i bought from a great guy in Monroe, GA for $400.00


i will try to add lots of pictures along the way and would appreciate all your input, criticism, wise crack and Kudo's along the way

[Fiat88]

Nice car lift!

Good luck with the resto.

[steve8462]

i will be cleaning up and painting a 1981 body. then once it is prepped, i will start transferring over all the parts from my 1979. so i will end up with a 1981 carburetored model. if anybody has gone backwards like this, please let me know if i will be looking forward to trouble or unforeseen changes. thank you

[4uall]

Already bookmarked

[steve8462]

well i got the car Saturday. started to strip it down. it is rock solid everywhere except the drivers side front floor pan has a few rot holes. no biggie!
i put it in the garage next to my original spider so they can start to bond. LOL

[NJFIAT1981]

Hi Steve,
Just send the list Can't wait to see the progress. What's first?

[vandor]

>so i will end up with a 1981 carburetored model. if anybody has gone backwards like this

It's been done many times, just don't use the FI fuel pump

BTW, it should be "Piccola Ferrari" (ie. Una Ferrari molto piccola), a car is always feminine!

[ga.spyder]

You go Steve! I will try to over to Ringgold to look in on your project.That is a cool project.Like was said before ,there are many 2 liters that have been converted to single and dual carbs.

[steve8462]

i would really like to eventually slip dual carbs on it but i will wait to tackle that at a later date.
question, what is the best way to prep for paint? sanding, stripping, or blasting? if sanding, what grit should i start with? the paint looks close to the original. "layer wise"

is the wiring harness hard to remove to sand and paint the interior dash area? or am i better off tucking it in a bag and stuffing it way under the dash area while painting?

GA Spider. feel free to swing by when you have time. i will PM you my address and phone number if you like

[steve8462]

has anybody had any success refurbishing this type of steering wheel? if so, is it fairly easy? any suggestions? mine looks like it has rust stains on the metal

[aj81spider]

If the vinyl is good then it's easy. I did mine by sanding smooth - then silver paint and a clear coat. It came out looking good. If the vinyl rim is trashed there's probably a way to restore, but I don't know it.

[ga.spyder]

Steve,pm me your info.I would love to see your project.

[steve8462]

started stripping back everything but the body last night. went rather smoothly.

[steve8462]

does anybody know if there is a difference between the 1979 and the 1981 rear end? IE-Ratio?

[Exit98]

No difference, 3.90.

Only the slush box has a different ratio.