Almost a Spider Owner Again ...

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PeterSteele

Almost a Spider Owner Again ...

Post by PeterSteele »

Back in 2000 or 2001 when I was in the Navy I had a 1979 Spider 2000. This thing had been kicking around from one sailor to another for its whole life, which meant that it was always near the ocean ... and that meant rust. I finally gave up on it when I went to clean up some badly done Bondo from a prior owner, and discovered that most of the car was simply a thin layer of rust with a sandwich of body filler on both sides. (No - really, in every place I tested, there was bondo-powdered rust-bondo. Some places it wasn't even powder, just a stain in the bondo!)

Anyway, I really liked the way that car drove, and I've always wanted another one ... and I was thrilled to find a 1978 recently for the low low price of FREE!

It's a California car, owned by a friend of mine. He owns a garage, and got it for a lark about 10-15 years back. Rebuilt the powertrain, got it running very nicely, but before he could get a new top on it and take care of the cosmetics, he lucked into a Barracuda with a 440 6-pack. Needless to say, the Spider suddenly became a lot less interesting. It's been parked for years now, and it's full of dust, but the motor turns freely, and from what I can tell it's entirely complete except for the heated air hose leading from the exhaust manifold to the filter box. (I think, anyway - if y'all see something obvious that I'm missing in the pictures below, please let me know!)

She should be arriving within the next couple weeks, and I'll probably have to spend at least a couple weeks more with a power washer and a shop vac to get rid of all the dust and dirt, and then a few more weeks with rubbing compound, before I ever even get to the point of trying to crank her over.

I'm 38 now, so hopefully I'll have her ready to go in time for my midlife crisis!


Here's the pictures as she sits today:

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aj81spider
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Posts: 1526
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:04 am
Your car is a: 1974 Fiat 124 Spider
Location: Chelmsford, MA

Re: Almost a Spider Owner Again ...

Post by aj81spider »

Welcome aboard. Great story - the car looks like it is pretty sound under all the dirt.

I only take issue with your mid-life crisis. I had my Fiat mid-life crisis at 50! 38 is still young!
A.J.

1974 Fiat 124 Spider
2006 Corvette
1981 Spider 2000 (sold 2013 - never should have sold that car)
PeterSteele

Re: Almost a Spider Owner Again ...

Post by PeterSteele »

aj81spider wrote:Welcome aboard. Great story - the car looks like it is pretty sound under all the dirt.

I only take issue with your mid-life crisis. I had my Fiat mid-life crisis at 50! 38 is still young!

Yeah, but since my 14-year-old son will be "helping" me, it's going to probably take another 12 years to actually get anything done. :p
vandor
Posts: 3996
Joined: Sat May 23, 2009 1:23 pm
Your car is a: 1971 124 Spider
Location: Texas, USA

Re: Almost a Spider Owner Again ...

Post by vandor »

Looks like a great car to resurrect! And it has 1979 wheels :-)
Csaba
'71 124 Spider, much modified
'17 124 Abarth, silver
http://italiancarclub.com/csaba/
Co-owner of the best dang Fiat parts place in town
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RRoller123
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Posts: 8179
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 2:04 pm
Your car is a: 1980 FI SPIDER 2000
Location: SAGAMORE BEACH, MA USA

Re: Almost a Spider Owner Again ...

Post by RRoller123 »

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

Here is a link to a map of Spider owner’s locations. Many forum members have listed their locations.

https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=191825

Pete
'80 FI Spider 2000
'74 and '79 X1/9 (past)
'75 BMW R75/6
2011 Chevy Malibu (daily driver)
2010 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Ext Cab 4WD/STD BED
2002 Edgewater 175CC 80HP 4-Stroke Yamaha
2003 Jaguar XK8
2003 Jaguar XKR
2021 Jayco 22RB
2019 Bianchi Torino Bicycle
PeterSteele

Re: Almost a Spider Owner Again ...

Post by PeterSteele »

vandor wrote:Looks like a great car to resurrect! And it has 1979 wheels :-)


I'm sure I'll be bothering you for information, and I'm also sure that I'll be giving you lots of money in the coming months and years. I've been spending a fair amount of time looking at your site to figure out what I'm going to need to buy.
vandor
Posts: 3996
Joined: Sat May 23, 2009 1:23 pm
Your car is a: 1971 124 Spider
Location: Texas, USA

Re: Almost a Spider Owner Again ...

Post by vandor »

A timing belt should be first, if it's that old it's better to be safe than sorry.
Csaba
'71 124 Spider, much modified
'17 124 Abarth, silver
http://italiancarclub.com/csaba/
Co-owner of the best dang Fiat parts place in town
PeterSteele

Re: Almost a Spider Owner Again ...

Post by PeterSteele »

vandor wrote:A timing belt should be first, if it's that old it's better to be safe than sorry.


Hm. 86 for the kit's not too bad. After I get it home I'll check and make sure I know what engine and such I have - I haven't actually physically seen the car yet, other than the above pictures - and then I'll get some stuff coming.

I'm also fairly certain that the accelerator pump diaphragm is going to be a potato chip by this time, so I suspect a carb rebuild kit will be in my future as well.
AriK
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Posts: 1148
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2011 7:58 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider
Location: Montreal Canada

Re: Almost a Spider Owner Again ...

Post by AriK »

Wow! What a resurrection! She has been sitting a looooong time!
I would priortize changing anything rubber such as tires, flex disk, any hose that carries vacuum, coolant, fuel, fuel vapor etc. For example, back then the fuel hoses were not ethanol resistant.
You can aim to fuel your car with ethanol-free gas as much as possible but as time goes on you will find it tougher to find. Ethanol may be okay for today's cars but the fuel systems in our Spiders were not meant for it.
Btw, premium fuel does not garantie ethanol-free. Look for the sticker at the pumps.
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phaetn
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Posts: 575
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2014 7:42 pm
Your car is a: 1974 Fiat Spider 1800
Location: Ottawa, ON Canada

Re: Almost a Spider Owner Again ...

Post by phaetn »

Congrats. The best possible price! :)

I'm really looking forward to the before and after pics on this car. :)

Cheers,
phaetn
1974 CS1
32/36 DFEV; CompuTronix ign.
9.8:1 c/r; 40/80 intake cam w/ Isky springs
Vicks' SS header & adj. cam pulleys
A/R's progressive coils, Koni Yellow dampers
205/50-15s on CD-66 style rims
Momo wheel, Corbeau seats w/ 5 pt belt
pics and HD vids
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