The '76 Fiat Spider, a fun car for these Black Hills Roads.

Project car
This 1976 Fiat Spider that has only 74,000 actual miles. Now restored.

When acquired, the car had several mechanical problems including a clunky drivetrain, stiff steering, and worn brake pads, But mostly it was in good mechanical shape. A trip to the shop resulted in new brake pads all around, two new calipers on the front brakes, a new set of ball joints, new hand brak ecables, a new timing belt and a general tune-up with new fluids: brake, antifreeze, oil, etc.

Overall the body was in excellent shape. We put it up on the rack and couldn't find any significant rust inside or out. The car had been undercoated when new and apparently never used on salty roads. The largest rust spots found were no larger than the eraser on a pencil.

The paint is in generally good shape, but there is one area on the trunk were the paint had cracked. The paint was also slightly oxidized to a less reddish red. There was only one minor ding on a wheel well.

There was no body damage to the car other than a tiny ding near the left rear wheel well. What looks like a crumple in the above picture is actually a reflection of the car behind it.

The interior and the canvas top needs work. We are planning to install a new top and we are to reupholster the interior with new seat covers, carpet and some replace some plastic. Finally we will be replacing a cheap after-market radio somebody installed back in the 90s.

In the shop having brakes, steering and tune-up

Update Jan. 24, 2007
We are now about six months into the project. Accomplishments so far:
New paint job complete. Decided to go with a base coat in the original red with two clear top coats. Stripped old paint to bare metal and found absolutely no rust or bondo. In fact the vehicle had never been repainted except for the trunk lid where the crackling was.

Pictured after painting, with bumpers still off.

I nstalled new top, carpets and had seats re-done. Also re-did the inside door panels. Removed the 80's K-mart cassette radio and replaced with an original AM/FM Blaupunkt with two knobs and five buttons. Lovely retro look and great sound. Nicely simple to operate too with just two FM stations and three AM stations on the pretuned buttons.
Installed 4 Exip 15" alloy wheels with 195/60R15 Toyo Proxes T1R tires.

Interior with new seats, carpeting, original style radio, new top

Update October 31, 2008

We've been rolling around the Black Hills of South Dakota for two summers with this car and it's never let us down or failed to excite. The fiat sticks to our curvy mountain roads like glue.

We have now put it away for the 2008/2009 winter and no new work is scheduled. Over the winter of 2007-2008 we upgraded  to a Weber 34 ADF Performance carb with a K&N Air Cleaner. The radiator sprang a small leak in September 2007 so we had that rebuilt at a local radiator shop.  We also removed the '76-style air pump that was no longer functional  -- the belt had long been disconected. We also replaced the alternator and regulator as the old were starting to get flaky. The total cost of repairs for the last two years about $600 for parts and labor.  And about the same for the upgrades.

Overall impressions.

I recently had a chance to drive a late model Audi TT roadster and a couple of other late-model European sports cars.  They were all very nice cars, but for sheer fun, none of them beat this 32-year old fiat.  Newer cars have a lot more power, but they are also full of extra weight which, by comparison, makes them seem ponderous.  In terms of road handling and quick responsiveness the Fiat wins.  In terms of creature comfort, acceleration, top speed,  features & gizmos, the new cars win.  If you had a scale of say a go-kart on one end (1) and the Mercedes Benz M-class SUV on the other (10), the Fiat would rank about 3 and the sports cars I drove would rate a 7.

There's one area where the Spider wins hands down. Two summers of fun for about $1,200 in repairs and upgrades.  Your brand new sports car will depreciate 10 times that amount as soon as you drive it off the dealer's lot.