We love our Fiats. I have a little difficulty justifying many of the negative comments from the auto rating articles. I expected problem with the 500PE and 500L as they were new product lines. The 500L had a cracked thermostat housing when purchased. Since that repair no problems for the next 17,000 miles. The 500PE has had a series of little stuff but all in all 50,000 miles of fun driving. My 1981 Spider has one one breakdown in 40,000 miles of driving since purchased in 2003. Here is a photo of the cat checking them out.

That is the mirror image of my driveway! Can't just have one. Cars are like collecting baseball cards...you have to complete the set!
I have a question about the floor pans to anyone who has replaced them. My car is a 1978, I have no desire or intention of running a catalytic converter. Can a pre-cat (or flat floor) floor panel be used on a vehicle that is no longer running one as a replacement? I am just concerned that exhaust routing may be subtly different between the non-cat and vehicles with the converters. Also the floors without the catalytic "hump" are cheaper!

The plan for this weekend will hopefully consist of the begining of engine bay component removal. I am going to start by taking the brake booster assembly out for refurbishing, radiator draining and removal. I plan on buying an aluminum radiator in place of the stock unit when it is time to put everything back together. Looking forward to removing the engine and trans assemblies in the next few weekends, so I can start a complete teardown and rebuild. The entire engine bay is going to be as bare as the interior cavity soon!

Replying to your question concerning passenger side floor pan. I have a 1977 that had the cat hump, and replaced with a flat floor pan. I haven't installed exhaust yet, but don't think there will be any issues since the hump is only difference. As far as POR type coatings, I applied it inside and out. Actually used a similar product called KBS Coatings, which is available locally for me. Good luck.

Thank you for the advice on the floor! I have decided I will just purchase the panel with the hump just to avoid any problems. I don't mind taking a risk however I don't want to have to modify an exhaust route if I don't have to. I did not get any work done on the car this past week, tis the season after all! I also had some work in the barnyard to take care of....damn goats broke their stall door and one of my wifes chicken coops needed some work. After Christmas though the Spider will start to be completely dismantled. Until then Merry Christmas everyone!

Well after a little longer break from the car than I expected, I was finally able to get a few more items removed and catalogued. I am harking back to my Alfa Romeo restoration days and using chinese food containers to hold all the various nuts, bolts, and other hardware. The chinese food boxes can be bought in sleeves of about 100 at any restraunt supply store. They are cheap, can be written on for labeling, and the foldable top close tightly to keep anything inside from falling out. They also sport a nice little wire handle to carry them about! Other advantages to these containers is that they are square and you can fit them inside a cardboard box nice and snug for added rigidity to prevent toppling over. I remeber my stall at the Alfa Romeo shop I worked at had many of these neatly packed chinese food containers stacked on my workbench ready for the next restoration tomcome into the shop. I am sure we all have our own storage recommendations, but I thought Inwould share my own preference.
Anyhow onward and upward on more parts removal. The brake booster is ready to come out, and the preperation for engine removal is underway. To boot Inhave aquired the best helper in the land in the form of my 5 year old. He is certain that the spider is his, so if that is to become a reality Intold him he has to help get "his" car back on the road.
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That is a very clever idea about using the food containers!

Well, fitting for a very cold and rainy day here in Maine, I decided it made sense to pull off the winshield cowel to check out the body panels underneath and the wiper motor. Happily the panels are in top notch shape. Expectedly dirty, but solid. Time to clean it up and prep it for when the time comes to paint.



I can't say the wiper motor wiring was in as good shape though. Looks like a previous owner made some "unofficial" wiring mods! Oh well I expected to find these sorts of wiring "fixes" amd will repair accordingly!

Wow, it has been a few weeks since I have touched the car. Between my parents moving and my recent surgery the Spider has been sitting with only my thoughts of getting back at disassembly. Another week or so of recuperation for me and then the rest of my disassembly can start up again. Having to stop hammering away on a project car for a break, be it a physical or even a mental one should never be frowned upon. Especially by yourself.
Too many people go into car restoration with an unrealistic timeline and the idea that the sooner I get it over with I will be driving off into the sunset. The enjoyment is destroyed by this sort of thought process. Admittedly I was once a victim of this. I was restoring my loved 1974 Alfa Romeo GTV, and all I could think of was how fast could I get it all back together so I could drive it again.
Well the fact is, I never drove that car again. In my haste to put it all together again, I left out the most important component of classic car restoration....enjoyment. In my youthful exuberance (I was 19 at the time) I did not appreciate the craftsmanship not only the men who built that beautiful little coup undertook, I did not take the time to appreciate my own craftsmanship that which I was rebuilding. I got fed up with the time it was taking away from other youthful endeavours (notably the girlfriend at the time), so I sold the car. A regrettable decision, but a lesson all the same. I never made the mistake again, and now I am trying to teach this lesson to my son. Patience is key.
I have learned that to restore these types of cars, is truly an endurance test. The years I spent learning on restorations at the Alfa shop I worked at taught me this in spades. The temptation to cut corners, rush through the monotonous bits (re-wiring comes to mind), and the inability to admit to oneself that certain tasks must require outside help, is a great and real danger. Remember never cut a corner, or rush yourself through the tiring jobs. For if you do, the corner you cut to save a few moments in time may be hidden from an admirers view, but YOU will always know the secret lies there. Be able to admit when you need help. I don't do bodywork. Never have been able to weld very well. So after the Spider is stripped, it goes to a pro to make the panel repairs needed.
In the end enjoy the time it will take digging through your cars personal history. The good, the bad, and the ugly of it. It will get done...someday. You will drive it into the sunset...someday. For now love your project car for what it is, and dream of what it will become. Too many project cars are started with pie in the sky intentions and then simply abandoned because the people undertaking the work never calculated the true time it takes. Never let the enjoyment fade or it most likely will end up the way of many.

Well said! Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I wish mine had that little rust. Good luck.

Finally getting back to the tear down of the Spider after an unexpectedly lengthy recovery from a "routine" surgery. Anyhow, time for wires, wires, and more wires! As expected there are some electrical editions some previous owner added for Lord only knows what. There is also several areas in which cutting and splicing was considered an ideal repair.
This was pretty expected though. One of my Alfa's had a previous owner who thought an extra homemade electrical panel compete with switches and buttons was a good idea. Many hours of tracing those wires has prepared me for some funky findings in the wiring department on these cars.
So for the next few teardown sessions with this Spider I will be removing and labeling, and photographing wiring, connectors, and routing. Ultimately getting ready for proper repairs! Fun times!