I'm writing from a small town on the Lake of Lucerne, but will be back in the states by October. I have already begun the search for an 80-85 unless someone can convince me to expand the search. Despite being Swiss, I have very little desire to keep the car stock (i.e. follow the rules
) Have yet to try the search feature, but would love to know roughly how many topics we already have for:1 - Removing the stock rear suspension, including the diff, for a double a-arm independent rear. I have seen the Abarth rear.
2 - Where to look for rust and what LONG term solutions we have to keep it at bay.
About me. I was a hare scrambles racer until I married and had a child, at which point I put a roll cage around myself and started racing SCCA and NASA around 2000. As a result, I started a race shop, which the recession helped kill in 2008. At least I had a few years to build my passion and now I know my way around flow benches, block boring and honing as well as CNC head machines. Look forward to getting to know you folks.
The deal killers are rust at the shock towers. Check the rear fender flairs, lower corners of the doors and front fenders. The floorboards around the edges, especially the passenger side. Rocker panels all around. front sway bar mounting points. If you find rust in all these spots, look for another car. Shop for a west coast car, especially southern california. Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Eastern Oregon and Washington are good areas to look as well.