newbie in Raleigh, North Carolina

[Chazwars]

Hey All,

I just inherited my parent's '72. Dad had it shipped over from Italy in '73 and stopped paying attention to it after his younger brother beat it to heck in the early 80s. A couple a years ago, a buddy of his restored the engine and it runs like a champ (for now). The entire underbody was covered in that black rubber truck liner protector so underbody rust is pretty minimal (upon further review). I've already had the replacement floor pans welded in tight and learned that POR-15 is honestly the best invention ever for such a rust-vulnerable car. The welder didn't want to touch the rocker sills since he said it was unibody and didn't feel like he had the skill to stabilize and replace the outer sills. So, I'm grinding away the accumulated rust and plan to pop rivet some structural metal until I can get them welded in. Below are a few pics of where I am at in the rocker process. Any tips, advice, help, or STOP!!! are always appreciated. I'll likely be on here obsessively researching, as I plan to make contact with every inch of this vehicle to have it stout and ready for another 85k. Until then, my name is Charlie and I'm about ready to become a hermit in the garage.

http://s1332.photobucket.com/user/chazwars/library/

[RRoller123]

Welcome aboard! You will find plenty of knowledgeable and friendly people here.

Here is a thread on how to post pictures directly to the forum:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21014

And here is another picture-posting thread:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... 12&t=23084


Pete

[Chazwars]

Great! Thanks for the tip, Pete!

And, for practice:

[4uall]

Hello & welcome to the greatest place on earth


POR15 is the GREATEST!

http://wwwe.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopi ... lit=+POR15

[ga.spyder]

Welcome to the forum.There is a very active car club with some very knowledgable Fiat people in Winston-Salem.I will get you some contact info if you are interested.
Craig

[Chazwars]

Thanks, Craig, any connections with others would be great. And you are right, this site is exploding with information! I hit a snag, do a search, and someone has posted solutions. Amazing!

[ga.spyder]

Charlie,I will guarantee you that anything you may run into,someone here has previously dealt with! This forum is an unbelievable resource.

[mdrburchette]

Welcome aboard, Charlie! It looks like you have your work cut out for you. If you need a rotisserie to make your underbody work easier, I have one specially made for a 72 here in Winston Salem you can borrow but your car will have to be stripped to the bare shell. I also have plenty of parts lying around. Good luck with your car.