New Member from Australia

[kris]

Hi, Im Kris from Australia.

Im very interested in buying a Fiat Spider for my next car, and thought that I might join to hopefully get a bit more knowledge about them.

Just wondeing if anyone could please give me a few pointers about anything to look for in these cars when buying?
Thanks for your help!
Kris

[So Cal Mark]

welcome! Wow, there sure is lots of Fiat activity down under. I'd look for rust in structural areas and cracks in the crossmember and unibody area. Anything else is pretty easily dealt with

[rlux4]

g'day Kris. How's things in your hemisphere? Good luck in your endeavor, Spider wise. Mark is right, if you can find one that has "sound bones" half the fun is working on fixing up these jewels. The other half is driving them. The last half is all the great people you will associate with. Wait.... that's too many halfs, but I don't know which half to eliminate.
So, get a Spider and half fun.

[Curly]

G'day Kris, which part of this 'Great South Land' do you call home? There may be a couple of Spiders down here in the south-east that would be of interest to you, but it depends on your budget and whether you're after one that requires some work or not. Mechanical components are relatively cheap and easily sourced from the 124 coupes (which were imported to Oz and still crop up regularly on ebay), so your main priority should be to find a spider with a sound body and good interior trim. There are plenty of spider parts available O/S but shipping costs can be expensive.

[kris]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses! They look like such fun cars to have. Its good to know that parts arent too hard to find in Oz, that was one of my main concerns.

Im from the Gold Coast, Queensland, where anything a bit different is difficult to get. Most of these sorts of cars seem to be from the southern states, so im thinking I may have to travel a bit to find one. I have seen a few nice Spider's advertised, but unfortunately I have to wait until my car sells to get one. Im looking for something that runs well with perhaps a bit of work required, but im not after a full restoration job.

[mbouse]

hi kris. Welcome to the site

[perthling]

Welcome! There are lots of Spiders on ebay.au at the moment, and in the tradingpost, carsales, carsguide etc websites. My advice would be to work out what variant of Spider you would prefer, then focus on that style. For example, do you prefer small bumpers over the later chrome tubes? Rather a 2L engine, a 1.4, or something in between? Prefer originality over modified, or vice versa?

If you're not fussy, then I'd suggest buying one that has been in regular use (rather than a weekend car) if you're intending to keep using it regularly. But, as noted above, parts are plentiful and cheap (even from O/S - what with the current Au/US exchange rate).

Check for rust, in the floorpan, bottoms of doors, rear edge of front guards, and rear wheel arch. Decent interior trim is a bonus; paint etc can be fixed by most people but some trim items can be a little pricey to replace (although probably not when compared to a Falcon or Commodore).

Also, be patient, and the right car will come along - don't jump in too soon.

[Baz]

Hi Kris, I live in Albury NSW and am a new member to this site, however, I have not been able to find a way to post a gidday !! I now can say Hi. I have a 1977 Spider with an 82 motor. Car is about 90%, just paint to do. If you wish, I will give you a contact point if I am able thru this site. Maybe I can help you with some stuff.
Baz

[adrians]

Hi Kris,

Welcome to the site.

I'm located in Sydney as well in the Sutherland area and have just purchased a 1981 Spider (2l). I've done a fair amount of research on the cars currently available so PM to discuss anything you find ?

Regards