Newbie '74 124 Spider

[LStevens]

Howdy all - I inherited a '74 124 Spider (49K orig miles) from my dad. He got it off a friend in the late 90's after maintaining it for her for several years. When he passed in Y2K he left us with a ''49 Chrylsler, '52 GMC pickup, '66 Chrysler Town & Country Wagon, '73 Dodge Swinger and a '74 Fiat. I gave the Chrysler and GMC to my cousin (he collects cars), the '73 Swinger to someone my brother knew (engine was torn apart), the '66 wagon still sits at my mom's house and the '74 Fiat was left stored in my aunts garage up til now. To be honest I was never was really interested in the Fiat because I was more into japanese imports. Well long story short, I LOVE THIS CAR! It's fun to drive, handles really well and I get compliments all the time. My only pet peeve is all 4 fenders sit at different heights. LF - 25 5/8, RF - 26 5/8. LR - 25 1/4, RR - 23 1/2. I can tell the car has been in several accidents from the lousy body work so I'm really hoping it's not due to frame damage. Guess I'll have to take it to a body shop and have them put it up on a frame rack to see what could be the cause of it. It really bugs the heck out of me. The drivers side of the car looks great, but the passenger side looks a bit lop-sided. Anyone got any ideas? BTW - how do I post photos?

[perthling]

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... +how#p4190

[TulsaSpider]

Welcome! Hope you get that sorted out! Have you changed out the timing belt yet? That would be the first thing to be concerned with.

[baltobernie]

... so I'm really hoping it's not due to frame damage. Guess I'll have to take it to a body shop and have them put it up on a frame rack to see what could be the cause of it.

Good idea. These are unibody cars, and any competent body shop can check for structural problems. While their underneath, have 'em check for front shock tower and cross member rust. These are often fatal. Search this forum for description and photos.

Any vintage car that's been sitting for 10+ years is going to have reinstatement issues; virtually every rubber part will require replacement. Several threads on this subject, too.

None of this is meant to discourage you from getting this classic roadster back on the road, but our enthusiasm needs a jolt of reality before undertaking a restoration.