I am 26 years old and recently moved to Orange County California from the frozen Midwest. I sold off my 13 year old covertible before I moved and now my wife and I only have one car. I realize now that I really need a convertible and have settled on a Fiat Spyder. I'm not mechanically savvy and have never done any work on my own car, I am looking to buy a mid 70s Spyder and hand it over to a shop for a couple of months to completely restore.
Any suggestions on specifc models would be greatly appreciated, also any referrals to repair shops would also be a great help.
Does anyone have a ballpark of how much a full restoration would run? I never go into anything without referring to experts and knowing risk/cost first.
welcome both to the forum and to SoCal!
If you're not familiar with Calif emission requirements, everything from 1976 on has to be smog checked on transfer and every two years for registration. So, if I were you I'd look for a 1975 or older Spider. The late 70s cars are getting more difficult to get past the test and of course can't be modified for more performance. Unfortunately, the 77-79 models are the most common years to find for sale.
As far as restoration costs, it will really vary depending on the condition of the car and your desires. If you want to do a ground up restoration and make the car like new, expect to spend $10k or more, but you certainly could develop a dependable car for much less
Now that you are in California, you'll want a 1975 or older spider so that you wont ever need to smog it. Any car 1976 or newer has to be smogged every two years here in Ca. You'll want to check Craigslist.org to find spiders near you.
Are you wanting to restore it to an every day driver or into a show car? If you just want the car worked over to the point where everything is functioning as it should, you should talk to SoCal Mark(forum member) who owns a shop in Upland, Ca. that specializes in fiats.
Wow, thanks for the quick response. Pre 1975 model it is!
I would be looking to use this car as an everyday driver, as I only live 1 mile away from my office use would still be minimal. I'd like to fix it up to as close to mint condition as possible, with a budget of 10000-15000 total in mind.
The other option from a pre-76 would be a FI car, 80 or newer if you want a reliable, stock everyday driver. The FI cars still smog pretty easily and can be found at reasonable prices, and for some reason generally haven't been modified as much as early cars
If you go with a fuel injected car, try to get am '81-82 turbo model(there is one on ebay right now). They had the most power of all the spiders sold in the U.S. but finding turbo parts when they break is somewhat difficult. here is the link to the one on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1982-Fia ... dZViewItem
