1977 Fiat 124 Spider

Manual

142CS10118180

Many more photos and video of the car can be found here, http://www.flickr.com/photos/52562052@N07/I’m selling my 1977 FIAT Spider. I’ve owned the car nearly four years now and enjoyed every minute of it. I’m selling it for the simple reason that my daily driver is wearing thin and in need of replacement. I can say that I believe I have done right by the car, meaning it is a better vehicle now than when I bought it, and I will do my best through the lengthy text below and pictures to give you a full picture of the condition of the car. I wrote this ad assuming the potential buyer has some, but not complete knowledge, of FIAT Spiders.I bought the car in 2008 with 6,148mi on the odometer, meaning it really has 106,148mi. The previous owner could not prove that the odometer had rolled over, but it is a safe assumption. I had owned a Spider years before this one, that I sold while in school, and given that prior experience I had a good idea of what to look for when buying this car. I hunted for over a year before settling on this example. Manufactured in 1976 and titled as a 1977 it appealed to me for several reasons. The two most important were a clean title and no rust. The car is in good running condition and inspected in MA, during the summers I regularly commute 50mi to work in it on the highway drive all over Boston, and up to Salem on weekends. In the fall it is great to gather your favorite co-pilot and go leaf watching and apple picking via the back roads in central MA. Cooling System:The cooling systems on these cars are not bad; simply make sure they are well bled and that the thermostat, radiator fan switch and radiator fan work like they should. Many owners wire a switch to their dash that lets them force the radiator fan, and although there is a switch on the dash of this car it is not wired. That being said with the repairs listed below I have had no problem with overheating in this car.• Radiator has been re-cored (3/2011)• Water pump replaced (3/2010)• External thermostat and hoses replaced (3/2010)• Radiator fan switch replaced (3/2010)• I added a T fitting to the heater core hose that runs over the valve covers (technically the highest point of the cooling system). This makes bleeding the system much easier. • Work I had planned: NoneBody:The body on this car is in good condition. It has scratches, dints, and dings but no major issues or damaged panels to note.• Windshield replaced (9/2009)• A previous owner had it painted from its factory Ivory color to resale red at some point. The paint job was not great, but a good dose of rubbing compound and wax did wonders on the hood. • The engine bay, trunk, and door frames where not painted with the rest of the car, although it seems that they might have been removed and poorly re-hung at some point.• I removed the antenna as well as the door bumpers, but while removing them some of the paint came off as can be seen in the photos and holes were left behind to be patched when painted.• One of the main reasons I bought this car was the rust free condition of the body, to maintain this the car was parked every year the first time salt hit the streets and was stored off street covered and protected the best I could. Over the past four years one small rust spot developed under the right rear taillight. I removed the light and cleaned the area with a wire wheel, then covered the bare metal with primer.• The PO had a modern car stereo installed. As can be seen from the photos the installer though it best to punch a massive hole through the body to run wiring to the battery.• The bumpers come off easy enough and there is a good chance I’ll be taking off the side view mirrors and replacing them with something better looking. Stock this car probably only came with a single chrome mirror.• Note the doors don’t lock, but the trunk does. Also note I only have one set of keys for this car. Blanks can be ordered from any of the major vendors for not too much money.• Work I had planned: Get a better looking side view mirror. Paint it when time and money exist, repairing antenna and trunk hole. Electrical:No issues to report here, I’ve had to do little to no work on the system and don’t have any gremlins. • Work I had planned: The “brown wire fix”. This adds a relay to the headlights and vastly improves their brightness. I’ve had no problems with them and don’t drive in the dark much, so I have not made this upgrade yet.Suspension:I rebuilt the entire front suspension on this car with new parts. I had a local shop that specializes in classic cars inspect the car and perform an alignment after the rebuilt. While the car was in the shop I also had them perform a quick check of the frame/body for damage or weak areas. Everything was in good shape.• Front a-arms (upper & lower), bushings, and ball joints replaced • Tie-rods, steering idler, and center link replaced (2/2010)• Front and rear shocks replaced (2/2010)• Tires replaced (04/2009)• The car came with wheels I didn’t like, but not wanting to spend money on wheels at the time I just decided to live with them. Recently I have discovered they are inappropriate for the car. Meaning not hub centric and meant to fit a 4X100 as well as 4X98 bolt pattern. This combined with a lack of hub-centric rings and mismatched wheel bolts led me to go out and get a spare set of wheels. As of now they are not yet installed on the car though. This would be the first change I would make to the car as a new owner. More details on the spare set of wheels below.• Work I had planned: Clean up the spare set of wheels that comes with the car, put the current tires on them and enjoy.Brakes:The brakes certainly stop the car well, and when properly bled are strong enough to lock up all four wheels. Currently though I feel like they need to be bled again and will be working on doing this.• Front flexible brake lines replaced with braided stainless steel pieces. (5/2010)• The rear flexible brake lines were replaced with new rubber lines. (04/2009)• The front calipers were replaced with remanufactured units and the front rotors were replaced. (08/2010)• The flexible brake lines from the reservoir to the master cylinder have been replaced • Work I had planned: Bleed the brakes for spring and perform safety check. Longer term, replace the hard line between the master cylinder to the rear brakes, the fittings are in poor shape and are hard to get a wrench on. I believe that the rear passenger side caliper is dragging after sitting this winter. I also scraping noise on hard right turns, I think it is the disk. Without the proper wheels the fasteners to hold them in place are removed (I have new ones waiting to be installed with the new wheels).Engine:The engine is the 1.8L with a single Weber 32 ADHD carb. I’ve never had the compression checked as it runs well and my plan was to always build up the spare engine and install that. More notes on the spare engine below.• Timing belt replaced four years ago miles ago along with idler pulley (07/2008)• Plugs, wires, coil, points, and condensers replaced. I also removed the dual point system (in place for emissions reasons) and left in only one set of points. (03/2009)• I removed the heat shield from the exhaust manifold and replaced the exhaust gasket as well as the manifold studs. (03/2010)• The fuel pump was replaced. (07/2010)• The car came with California emissions setup, but most of this was removed. All parts were kept including the catalytic converter, air pump, and emissions manifold.• The exhaust hangar that supports the downpipe was broken in two, this part was replaced.• Work I had planned: Replace the timing belt this summer.Transmission/Drivetrain: The transmission in these cars is a 5 speed manual with cable clutch and is fully synchronized. When I bought the car it was low on transmission fluid and a bit noisy, but once refilled with the proper fluid for the type of soft metal synchros it has everything has worked very well. The clutch seems to be in great condition.• Guibo replaced (2009)• I have a transmission gasket and seal set that is uninstalled.• Work I had planned: NoneInterior:The interior is well worn. The dash is cracked, the wood may have been replaced, the center console is cracked, and the seats are cracked as well.• I removed the lap belts that came with the car and installed new shoulder belts, this meant removing the rear “seat” but I still have it.• The heat works well, the car has no A/C• Work I had planned: Restore the interior when time and money exist.Convertible Top:The top in the car is relatively new, in excellent condition, and canvas. • I replaced the convertible top latches, both the parts on the top as well as on the windshield. I kept the originals as these parts are not easy or cheap to come by.• Work I had planned: NoneSpare parts/tools: (Note that although the parts are available with the car, if the buyer isn't interested in the spare parts he/she isn't obligated to take them)Over the years I have collected a nice stockpile of spare parts and tools for this car. I’ll detail them here.• I have a spare 1.8L engine and transmission that came out of my first FIAT Spider. Of course it was running when removed, but that was over a decade ago. The engine was partially disassembled (read all the big parts pulled off) so that I could carry it down my stairs and store it in the basement.• I have a spare 2.0L engine and transmission. This engine is fuel injected and came from a 1984 FIAT 131. I had intended to build this engine and transmission up to a fast road spec and install it in the car. Note the transmission is important in this sort of swap because the stock Spider transmission is kind of a weak link in the drive train. This engine also has all of its emission components. It too is partially disassembled so that it could be carried around. • I have the original spare tire/wheel as well as a jack and tools that may or may not be OE.• I have four steel wheels that fit the car. They came from the same 131 mentioned above and if I were the new owner I’d have them cleaned up, install the good tires from the car on them, and use them now.• The timing belt cover on the car is the ugly yellow plastic type; I have a nicer aluminum version as well.• I cannot be sure if it is OE, but I also have a chin spoiler/rock guard. I have heard rumors that they all came with these but most were removed and tossed aside. I’ve also heard they are important to air flow in the engine bay and cooling.• I have two metal ramps that come with the car as well as an engine stand (currently holding the 2L engine)• I’d also be glad to part with the specialty tool to change out the valve shims.• The car will also come with a repair manual.• I have an uninstalled set of door gaskets for both driver and passenger side.• The car also comes with a heavy canvas car cover that has a few holes but is otherwise in good shape.• I’ve maintained an extensive list of my receipts, repairs made, and other documentation that will also come with the car.