New member in Charlotte, NC

[77SportSpider]

Hey everyone! I'm a new member from Charlotte. Car is a tan (not sure of the real paint color title?) 1977 124 Spider. Family has owned the car since 79, brother got it for his first car, and has now sold it to me. My name is James, I'm 23, and I like long walks on the... Haha, just playin. Anyway, I've already learned a lot from this forum, and am guessing that I'll be back pretty often. I think I saw a member from Raleigh; is there anyone else near Charlotte? I know I've seen a couple other Spiders around town. Anyway, glad to be here and look forward to meeting some of you.

Cheers,
James

[BEEK]

welcome to the forum. my parents live in charlotte, nice area. i have seen a few members from charlotte

[saablab]

Hi James- Glad to see another Charlotte Fiat owner. I have a 77 124 that is green (ish) (In terrible need of a paint job.) I have owned my Fiat for about 10 years, but have only had it in NC for about three. I am front VT and drove it down here a few years ago; what an adventure that was! My Fiat is definitely a work in progress...but one that I wouldn't trade...Anyhow, just curious, do you take your car to a shop or do all the work yourself?

Again, welcome to the forum.

-Olivia

[ga.spyder]

Hey both of you Charlotte boys,the Fiat Nat'l convention(FFO) is next week in Asheville.You should try to make a day trip over to say hey.All info on flu.org Welcome to the forum.

[77SportSpider]

Hi James- Glad to see another Charlotte Fiat owner. I have a 77 124 that is green (ish) (In terrible need of a paint job.) I have owned my Fiat for about 10 years, but have only had it in NC for about three. I am front VT and drove it down here a few years ago; what an adventure that was! My Fiat is definitely a work in progress...but one that I wouldn't trade...Anyhow, just curious, do you take your car to a shop or do all the work yourself?

Again, welcome to the forum.

-Olivia

Olivia, likewise, good to see another Charlotte member. Mine is also a bit of a work in progress, particularly from a looks point of view (needs a good interior restoration, new trim inside and out, and a respray wouldn't hurt). Thankfully, it's short on rust though! In answer to your question, so far I've done and plan to continue to do my own work. Overall, these are pretty simple cars to work on, and with family also living in Charlotte; I have access to a pretty wide assortment of tools and work space. I do have a bad bearing somewhere in the rear end though I think, and depending on where it is, it may be beyond my abilities. Still need to look into it. Do you do your own work? Also, in case I need it, do you know of any good Fiat mechanics around town?

Hey both of you Charlotte boys,the Fiat Nat'l convention(FFO) is next week in Asheville.You should try to make a day trip over to say hey.All info on flu.org Welcome to the forum.

Already planning to attend, although sadly without the car due to a possible bearing issue somewhere in the rear end.

[NCArachnid]

Just saw this post. Welcome aboard. I am fairly new as well. I do all my own work (which is why my car is not finished yet), but am also looking for a shop in the area to use for big things (transmission). I'm about half way finished with the body work on my spider. Does anyone know of a good paint shop in the Charlotte area?

I wish I could make it to the freak out.

[saablab]

Just saw this post. Welcome aboard. I am fairly new as well. I do all my own work (which is why my car is not finished yet), but am also looking for a shop in the area to use for big things (transmission). I'm about half way finished with the body work on my spider. Does anyone know of a good paint shop in the Charlotte area?

I wish I could make it to the freak out.

When you say good paint shop, how good are you looking for? Complete disassemble and restore? Or just shop that can give your car a good paint job. I have had several quotes on getting mine done and the price ranges from $1600 to $4500. Let me know if you want some names and I'll send you an email.

[NCArachnid]

Saablab,

I'm just looking for a shop that can give a good paint job. I have disassembled the whole thing, stripped it down to bare metal and am straightening and etch-priming. I would like a pro to seal it, prime, block it out, and then paint it. The car was very straight and had no rust, so I was hoping to save money by doing a lot of the grunt work myself. PM some names if you get a chance.