New Member in MN

[jerry]

Hi from Minnesota, I just got my 68 Spider running after sitting in my garage for about 30 years. Now i will be looking for parts over the winter and will get to work on her in the Spring.

[mbouse]

Sixty Eight? as in 1968 ?? wow! could i see some pictures?

welcome

[mdrburchette]

Pictures would be great. Tell us a little more about you and your car. Was something wrong with it to have it sit for 30 years?

[rlux4]

Howdy, and welcome to the forum. 30 years sitting in the garage! Time does slip away, don't it? Congratulations on the decision to get her outdoors again.
Ron

[jerry]

That's right it is a 1968 124 Spider serial no 6567. I don't have any pictures to post but I can tell you it's dark green with black interior. It's not much to look at now. It needs rocker panels and a front fender and possibly the hood. I got my first Fiat, a 1969 124 coupe, from a neighbor who was changing spark plugs and a small screw fell into the combustion chamber resulting in quite a racket when he started it up. He had seen me working on my cars and figured I must know something about fixing cars and asked if I wanted to buy it. I bought it for a couple hundred dollars. I pulled the head and found no damage other than some nicks on top of the piston so I put it together and drove it several years until it rusted away to the point it wasn't safe to drive. I kept the engine and tranny and a few other parts. I purchased the 1968 Spider just before the coupe went to the scrapyard. The Spider was driveable with the main problem being the tranny would jump out of 2nd gear when I let up on the gas and 4th gear didn't engage at all. My plan was to swap out the engine and tranny. That plan has been on hold since about 1975. In between time I started buying and fixing Fiats for fun and profit? I repaired and sold 5 or 6 128; one 128 coupe; 2 X19's and the last one was a nice 1979 Spider with automatic and air that I sold to a gal going off to college. I have 4 daughters that I kept in used cars while they went through high school and college. I am now retired and finally have time to work on the Spider. My goal is to replace the rocker panels, the front driver side fender and some interior parts as well as switch the tranny and do the mechcanical work to make it a fun summer car.

[ga.spyder]

Wecome to the forum.From what I know of Minn.,you will have plenty of winter to get 'er done. Good luck.
Craig

[WarbirdAL]

Hi Jerry, what part of Minn you in? My sister lives near St Paul, not that it matters much I just wanted to say hi and awesome a 68! lol

[mdrburchette]

Sounds like you're well qualified to get your 68 on the road! I picked up a great parts car from Minneapolis several years ago. It seems they rust from the ground up in your area. I lost the rear window in Indiana but I got plenty of good parts off this car:

[ga.spyder]

Which one is the parts car ??

[pope]

Craig, thats silly...everyone can see its the one with the crooked rear bumper.

[mdrburchette]

You boys are brutal!

[jerry]

I live in Burnsville, a suburb 18 miles south of Minneapolis. Years ago I purchased a 72 parts car. I kept the doors and a few other misc parts and sold the rest. Now I regret not keeping the flat hood and the hard top it came with. The hood on my 1968 unfortunately got bashed in by my daughters parking in the garage by ear. If I can't find a replacement I may have to get it fixed. I want to keep the car stock if I can.

[mdrburchette]

Too bad you're so far away. I have a couple flat hoods there in restorable shape but you'd risk damage with shipping, not to mention the cost.

[mbouse]

plenty of fond memories from Burnsville. my father used to live there for a time. we were visiting once when his Thunderbird was stolen from a valet parking lot. we found it the next day, before the police. thief was only out for a joy ride.

har har..

[katsi]

I've been to Brunsville a few times. My mom is from Waterville just a bit south of there. As a kid, I used to fish for bullheads during the summer on lake Sakata. Their was lake Tetonka and lake Sakata I think. My grandparrents lived right accross the street from a little dock on the lake. One time during the winter there, a local kid darred me to jump on the funny looking ice. Being a kid from San Diego, I didn't think twice and jumped on it as hard as I could. MAN, was that water cold.

Oh yeah, on one visit; my older brother and I had a blast jacking a Thunderbird and taking it out for a joy ride.