As a bit of a counterpoint I say you should go for it! Not that I disagree with others evaluation of the cost/benefit. But you've got and want the skills required. And think of what this will say on your resume when accompanied by before and after pix!
-don
Italian motorcycles. An Italian car. An Italian wife. What more could a man desire?
I did the floors on mine. I didn't have to replace all of them though. Just cut out the bad and welded in new metal. Good luck with the resto. Please take before and after pic's and keep us updated. When you run into a snag. We'll be here to help
This car is quite a bit rougher than mine was when I started but I have pride that I did all my own work other than the paint. It's good to see a Spider saved from the bone yard. Good Luck
Thanks guys. Yeah, they showed me a picture of what it looked like when it was parked. (I can't post it because I don't have a scanner). There were no dents, there was no rust, the top and all the glass was intact, and the front fender wasn't smashed in like that. Someone backed a trailer into the front corner. Than it was vandalized. A cinderblock through the windows, and a knife through the top (we found both in the back seat). Add that to 12 years of sitting in the elements in Kansas, and the poor car deserves to be saved. It's had a rough life.
There is no better education than hands on experience. You don't need to get the worst car in the world but when you get a car that needs all bushings, bearings, moldings and a bunch of TLC. Its really great for the experience. Because of me, My 18 yr old has an overflow of experience in Alfa Romeos, Fiats, Eclipse GS-T spyders, injection, transmissions, transaxles, a 64 Marauder, diesels and he also knows first hand about quality work and mostly quality parts. His buddies come around and literally can't tell the difference between a 13mm and a 1/2 wrench. My next project for my kid is putting my EVOIII engine in the GS-T. That will happen this month (september) The "ultimate project" in the future for him will be installing our Alfa Romeo transaxle/Dion suspension in the rear of our Fiat Spider along with a severely warmed over Alfa V6 with the full brembo Alfa braking system and for those that know... RS Racing Suspension. I believe this is the dream of any motorheaded college kid. We have seven of these unique cars. Just can't get enough. So keep up the good work kid.
Well, today I officially picked up the Fiat, and got quite a nice surprise. I found out that the white one is a parts car... to this. http://www.flickr.com/photos/39552908@N ... 877006429/ And yes I get the orange one for no extra charge. Again, no keys, but it does start now that it has plug wires. It is a 1978 124 Spider. What do you guys think of that one? It does need minor quarter repair around the wheel arch.
Now it looks like you have something to work with. Every time you post it gets better, so keep going and by next week you will have a mint original 124 Abarth for free!
Just put on the fiat abarth fender flares, that will cover all the rust and make your car look way nicer.
You need to buy a power washer and blow that car clean, inside and out.
Have fun with it
Welcome to the forum! It sure looks like you've bitten off quite a chunk with your project car, but anything can be restored given time and money. If the guys haven't talked you out of it yet, check out the posts here. You'll find a bunch of help and information. Someone here has already been there and done that. If you can't find it already written, then we are all a great resource. If you need parts, there are many of us that have parted out cars and kept the parts just for people like you, so don't hesitate to ask....and good luck with it. We look forward to seeing it all unfold.
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!
