1969 from the salvation army

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HuntingtonSpider
Posts: 53
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 1:32 pm
Your car is a: 1969 Fiat 124 Sport Spider
Location: Huntington Beach, Ca

1969 from the salvation army

Post by HuntingtonSpider »

I just purchased my first spider after almost a year of searching for my first project car. I have been checking out some 77's and 78's that were in my price range, and offered a lot of tinkering and restoring to do, but i came across a deal that looked too good to be true on craigslist the other day, a beautiful looking red 69 being sold at the salvation army in San Bernadino for 3000$ that only read " runs excellent, new clutch". After calling and finding out they were closed on the weekend and opened monday at 7:30 am, I decided on a whim to wake up at 5 in the morning and drive from Huntington Beach almost 2 hours with my very unhappy and tired (but VERY understanding) girlfriend to check it out.
We immediately fell in love, I was very surprised at how good the overall condition was. 99.9% rust free.They had no information on the car other than the person that donated said the milage was original at 66,000 and it was stored in the garage the last 5 years, last registered in 05. It seems to me it was restored most likely about 15 years ago when the last titled owner got it in 95. Long story short we made a deal for 2800, after spending 2 hours at the Dmv and paying off 753$ in fees and taxes, I headed back to pick up the keys.
I headed off to make the 2 hour drive home and 5 minutes later the speedometer broke making me seriously doubt the stated milage. After stopping for gas I discovered surprise #2 when about half the gas I pumped in came leaking out at my feet. Off to a good start. I was pleasantly surprised by how well she drove and the fact that it made the whole drive no problem. After the 10 hour ordeal, I was finally home, and the proud owner of my first Fiat.

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The camera died before I could get engine shots, but I'll post some soon, most likely in the restoration section.

I cant find too much info on 69's online so any info you guys could give about the car would be appreciated, the serial # is 0011127, which i guess would be around the 600th or so for the year from what i found online.
Last edited by HuntingtonSpider on Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:18 pm, edited 2 times in total.
1964 Ford Fairlane
1977 Fiat 1800 Spider
1969 Fiat 1400 Spider
azygoustoyou

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by azygoustoyou »

Looks nice. You'll have some fun in that. :mrgreen:
beachboy

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by beachboy »

I think you did exceptionally well in your purchase. Watch those tires though, it looks like dry rot has hit them and it is a serious issue.
mdrburchette
Posts: 5754
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:49 am
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 Sport
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by mdrburchette »

Wow, great find! I love the early model cars best. :mrgreen:
1972 124 Spider (Don)
1971 124 Spider (Juan)
1986 Bertone X19 (Blue)
1978 124 Spider Lemons racer
1974 X19 SCCA racer (Paul)
2012 500 Prima Edizione #19 (Mini Rossa)
Ever changing count of parts cars....It's a disease!
ventura ace

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by ventura ace »

Congratulations! Hope to see you at some Fiat gatherings in SoCal before long. Wishing you the best as you take care of the little quirks here and there. Looks like you have a solid base to work with!

Alvon
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kmead
Posts: 1069
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:24 pm
Your car is a: 1969 850 SC 1970 124 SC 85 X19
Location: Grand Rapids, MI

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by kmead »

Indeed a big congrats on a great purchase. A car like that is frankly amazing. Twenty years ago in LA it wasn't too hard to find similar cars but now of days finding one is hard to believe. Nice that the front under tray is there in the trunk. Make sure you install it as it can help with cooling.

Lucky man. Looking forward to seeing its complete resurrection. Good luck with your efforts.
Karl

1969 Fiat 850 Sports Coupe
1970 Fiat 124 Sports Coupe
1985 Bertone X1/9
User avatar
SLOSpider
Posts: 1140
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2010 2:10 am
Your car is a: 1973 124 Spider 2.0FI
Location: Lompoc, Ca USA

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by SLOSpider »

Saw that on CL I would have bought that myself if I didnt already have my 75. Good score!
1975 124 Spider
1976 Mazda Cosmo http://www.mazdacosmo.com
1989 Chevy k5 Blazer
1967 GT Mustang Fastback
majicwrench

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by majicwrench »

Very cool indeed. Very nice car, like was said, not a lot of the early cars around in that kind of shape.
Fiat88

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by Fiat88 »

Great pickup!
FMO

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by FMO »

Gratz with a very nice car :-) Love these early Spiders. Good luck and have a lot of fun

regards
FMO
2ndwind
Posts: 548
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:17 pm
Your car is a: 1982 Spider
Location: Cincinnati OH

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by 2ndwind »

Oh yes, very nice buy. Now down to the tire store.
Steve
1982 Red Spider 2000
1919 Old Town Sailing Canoe
Exit98

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by Exit98 »

Super, super car.

In case you don't know it, the wheels and the hubcaps too are very rare and desirable, and are worth a pretty penny.

So if you decide to go to bigger more modern wheels don't give those away.

All Spiders are fun, but the early ones are very special.

Good Luck.
salspaugh1

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by salspaugh1 »

Wow!!!!! Looks like you got a great buy. Appears the body is in great shape, and you got lucky with the wheels, very rare. I'm sure you will have a great time restoring and driving this car. I still like the hood style of the older Spiders. It's a shame they couldn't fit the new engines under that style hood. Good luck.



Steve Alspaugh
1981 Spider
2008 Honda Accord
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NCArachnid
Posts: 124
Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:13 pm
Your car is a: 1972 124 Spider Sport
Location: Charlotte

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by NCArachnid »

Great car! Love those So Cal early spiders (mine is a similar story). My first hours with mine were remarkably similar. I towed it from Thousand Oaks to Loma Linda and the speedo broke (the speedo gummed up from sitting and broke the transmission speedo gear). Next, I added gas and got a wet shoe (rotted out hose between filler and tank). It later became a reliable daily driver for 3 years before gaining "toy" status.

Love those wheels too.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Jon

1972 1600 spider (undergoing moderate freshening....yeah who are we kidding. Restoration in progress)
1983 Pininfarina 2000 FI (willing organ donor)
1968 Chevy C-10 SWB (faithful shop truck)
Nancy1340

Re: 1969 from the salvation army

Post by Nancy1340 »

Congratulations on a great find! Hope you have many years of driving pleasure with your new baby.
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