Floor Panel Rust =(

[tetrah]

It appears that the biggest of the problems with my '78 Fiat Spider is floor panel rust. My father and I took the car to his mechanic friend's shop and they raised it up (originally they were going to do work on the exhaust). When they began looking around, they realized that the floor paneling was really rusted and acted as though the area in which the rear axle is connected on the passenger's side was so weak that the rear end might fall off. It is, of course, quite rusted in many other areas, but the rear end seems to be the main problem.

International Auto sells floor pans for $200-something each, and I'm not sure how much it would cost in labor to have someone take the old ones out and weld new ones in. I currently have less than $1000 in the car, and I would hate to have to invest more in floor pans than what the car is even worth. Is there a cheaper alternative? I don't want the car to look impeccable, I just want it to be safe to drive.

[So Cal Mark]

I've seen many cars that had the floors repaired with pop rivets and sheet metal and/or fiberglass. But, if the unibody is weak where the suspension pieces mount then some substantial repairs need to be done.
Trying to determine whether to make the investment is much harder. Repairs always cost more than you can recoup, and that's true of everything, houses included. If you estimate what it'll make the car useable, decide if the use you'll get out of it is worth the investment.

[tetrah]

As always, thank you for your input. I will have my more mechanically-inclined friends inspect the car and see what the best course of action is.

[pope]

Check this site out and see if it helps. =)
http://www.alfaparts.net/fiatspider.html

[baltobernie]

If its rusted in the back, its rusted in the front, too. Do a search on "crossmember", an area of considerable concern to Spider owners.