A new toy and project bigger than me

[spider76newbie]

Hi all,
I bought a 1976 Sport Spider 124 last summer from the owner of a body shop in PA. It was to be his complete restoration project and he had removed most of the interior and all the trim on the body. The car did not run, but he told me it ran 2 years earlier when he purchased it. I put the seats back in and with a little tinkering, got her started. I'm now a little nervous. I really wanted this car, but I have never restored a car or worked on a Fiat before. I have done many fairly basic repairs and maintenance projects. I have browsed some of the topics on this site looking for advice and decided to join. I was going to add a picture, but I'm not really sure how, I'll have to browse the FAQ.

[So Cal Mark]

welcome! You'll find plenty of people willing to help guide you through your project.
To post a pic, you'll first need a photo sharing service like photobucket. Then click on the image url and paste in your post after using the Img button above

[rlux4]

Welcome to the forum. You're at the point every single one of us was at some time. Not to worry though, you will be amazed at the willingness of fellow members to help us newbies. You run into something that has you stumped, once you've posted your problem you will almost be able to sit there and wait for an answer, the forum is that active and helpful.
Here's an example: I posted the fact that I'm swapping out my tranny for the first time. I got a call from a fellow member on the phone to see how it was going, and if there was anything he could tell me to help the process! I won't say who it was in case he would be embarassed by the praise, but I can say that his initials are Alvon Elrod. (oops.)

[mdrburchette]

So much for not trying to embarrass Alvon, although, I must say it is hard to do. I try several times a week!

You have come to the right place, and just as rlux4 says, most of us were in your shoes at one time or other. There are no stupid questions (except mine) and everyone is eager to help. Shoot, if I can work on a Fiat, anyone can!

[spider76newbie]

I appreciate you all saying hello. I uploaded the only picture I managed to save from the eBay listing and a few of an interior design on a listing I saw on Ebay to Picasa, so we'll see if I can successfully add it on here. If that goes well I'll go out to the car and take some more.





Sadly my interior looks nothing like this, maybe in 5 years.

[spider76newbie]

Ok, so I can write my own HTML but apparently I am incapable of using a built in image link function on a bulletin board.



Woohoo!!! I can see it in the preview. I'm guessing that means the rest of you will be able to too. Time to run out to the garage and try to take some decent pics of what I've got. I'll post some comments in other areas soon.

[So Cal Mark]

the image doesn't come up. You'll need to use a sharing service like photobucket or shutterfly, then insert the image url between img brackets from the button above this text box

[Danno]

I can see it just fine, lol.

[spider76newbie]

I'm hoping that I finally got it right and it's not just me who can see the pictures I posted.

So here are a few pictures of "Belle" as she has been tentatively named. She's currently partially surrounded with stuff in the garage, but she hasn't moved in a few months and we are preparing to move to a new house where the garage is big enough that she can have her own bay. yippee!




As I'm sure most of you will immediately notice, that is not a Fiat bumper. When I bought her, she came without the headlight rings and front bumper. Most other parts appear to be there, though many in various levels of disrepair.

I swiped that bumper off a mid 80's BMW, a 3-series I think, but I don't remember. I wandered around the junk yard for an hour until i discovered this one and decided it would look decent and help me make the car street legal for now. It's mostly just sitting on there now, I drilled out a couple of mounting holes on the bumper to make it fit. If I decide to keep it long term I will have to make some shims and fit the other two bolts in.



I'm a little concerned about a hole in the floor pan behind the driver's seat. I haven't noticed any really scary rust anywhere else. Any suggestions on exactly where might be important to check? I have a business acquaintance who is a professional welder, and he assured me that he could repair that floor pan in my garage for me for about $100. My only concern with it is the small holes nearby along the track the seat mounts in.





It took a little trial and error to get the blinkers on the bumper wired in, also some creative wiring and side marker building. I'm guessing that the side markers and bumper lights were all wired together and went with the bumper, since I don't have them, but there is a nice neat plug to connect things to.


There is a fair amount of rust, and both rear quarters have a decent amount of body putty, but I think it's salvageable.

[mbouse]

I notice that bumper substitution. i also see you have air horns.

Since the Spider is a uni-body construction it does not have a frame. Since it relies on the floor among other parts for structural strength....I would get this underbody looked at by a qualified body man to determine the extend of damages, and give you suggestions as to if it is worth the cost to repair.

Other areas to be concerned about are the shock towers, all four corners.and the area behind the pedals..below the firewall.

Hopefully, what you have is just some damage due to a previous owner letting water puddle in the cockpit from a long opened window.

does anyone know if the '74 used the same air breather as the '76?? if you are in need, i have a stock, complete 1974 air breather. you seem to be missing part of yours. if interested, drop me a line at:
mbouse at chartermi dot net (no spaces)

[spider76newbie]

I have the top to it, there are just a few things out of they way since it doesnt start perfectly every time, it's easier with a little top access to fiddle.

[So Cal Mark]

before you run it very long I'd remove the air pump belt. Since you have an interference motor, a frozen air pump will stop the exhaust cam from turning and you'll bend the valves. The cam driven air pump was a really bad idea and Fiat abandoned it after 2 yrs. Also, plan on replacing the timing belt too unless you know for sure it's fairly new

[spider76newbie]

I was wondering if anyone could suggest a quality repair/rebuild manual for my 76 spider. Either a paper or digital one.

Also, randomly, can anyone tell me what these hangers were for on the bottom of my car? There are 3 or 4 of them that run down the bottom of the passenger side of the car.

[So Cal Mark]

it looks like the brackets that held the heat shield above the exhaust

[spider76newbie]

i dont know where the exhaust used to be or should be, but right now it runs down the middle of the car pretty close th the tranny and driveshaft.