Two years ago, in July, I bought a blue 1978 Fiat 124 Spider 1800 convertible for $300.  It was cheap and looked very pretty from the outside.  Unfortunately, it was, to put it mildly, a mess.  There were plants growing in it.  The floor was a hole.  Animals had lived in it.  The top and interior were rotted away.  But, I didn’t care.  I have had a crush on the Fiat Spider since I was a kid and I had never owned a classic convertible of any kind or in any condition so bringing home an old dead one was still inspiring.  Plus, I wanted to learn how to restore cars.  The best way to learn is to do, and here was my entry into auto restoration school.

From that first Spider I learned how to strip a car and I learned the complete anatomy of a Fiat Spider.  I sourced the engine, transmission, a lot of the sheet metal, doors, you name it, and most of that car is in my barn now, but once I had taken everything of value from the car, I scrapped the remaining chassis.  It was no longer cute at that point.  Sad…

Spider number two was a brown 1980 Spider 2000 and was even cheaper ($200) than the first Spider.  It was also in better condition.  Missing some sheet metal (rear fender panels) and not currently running, but definitely workable.   Solid underneath.  No plants.  Unfortunately, Spider number two had an automatic transmission paired to a lower performance rear differential.  However, a resto plan for Spider number two started to take shape and it involved transplanting the transmission, drivetrain, and rear axle sourced from the 1978 Spider.  I even considered ignoring the drivetrain swap, just focusing on the body, and doing an electric vehicle conversion.  

While still mulling over options I kept tinkering with both cars, practicing my sheet metal work, reading books, building my confidence, and I also kept a Craigslist search alert up for anything related to Fiat Spiders.  I snagged some red interior pieces, a few extra transmissions, and other random Spider parts but a couple weeks ago one of the things I had really been hoping for showed up, namely, a hardtop.  Spider hardtops are rare as hen’s teeth and I was super stoked to find one, but amazingly, this one just so happened to have a whole Spider attached to it and that is how I found the Spider I didn’t know I had been looking for all this time.

Spider number three, a flame-red 1980 Spider 2000, cost me more than the other two put together ($1700) but it’s a legitimate barn find and a much better restoration candidate than either of the first two.  Here’s a little biography.

I bought this Spider from a 76-year-old gentleman who bought the car secondhand back when it was relatively new in the mid-1980s.  After painting it red (it was originally green) and putting a couple thousand miles on it, the transmission conked out on him and he put it in storage intending to fix it.  He got as far as removing and disassembling the old transmission but then he must have gotten distracted for the next 29 years because that was 1989, judging by the title and plates and it still doesn’t have a transmission in it.  Everything else, however, is in great condition.  A few spots of rust here and there, but generally speaking, it’s in fine shape.  None the worse for being in a 29 year induced coma.  

The restoration has already begun.  First things first, get a title for a car that was last licensed and plated in the 80’s.  Done.  Secondly, sort out a complete transmission with no obvious problems.  Done.  I have no idea if the transmission I am going to install will actually work well, because I’ve never tested it in a car, but if it doesn’t, I have others to choose from.  Next up, install the transmission and mov on to getting the engine ready for a test fire.  If this engine really hasn’t run in 29 years that might take a bit of doing.  Probably more than just throwing gas in it and turning the key.  Once I have a running engine and adequate transmission I will have a running resto, which is exciting as hell.  I plan to do body work over the course of the winter and (hopefully) by spring to have it ready for a paint job.  It’s going to go black, with a red interior.  It’s also going to get the earlier style chrome bumpers.  

What about Spider #2, the brown one?  Well, thanks to Spider #1 I have enough parts and replacement sheet metal lying around to restore that one as well, and now it’s obvious: electric conversion!  Brown Spider is going electric.  Oh yeah.  

I’ll see you on the roads next year in one of my Spiders…  I have no intention of buying more.  🙂