1976 Fiat 124 Spider Convertible

 

Here is my bottom line offer!  I have over $16K invested and hundreds of hours in labor (over 80 man hours alone in just block sanding).   Steal this car for $10. 00.   Come see this car and you will love it. come drive this car and you will buy it!

Based on the prior auctions. I want to answer the following questions:

How is the car stored?-When the car is not being driven it is garage kept and always stored with the top up and latched.   In the 22 years I've owned the car it has never been driven intentionally in the rain.

Is the car California smog legal?-The car is CA smog legal until July 2014.   When we performed the engine rebuild we were very careful that the modifications would not cause future smog issues.   Would have preferred to install mild cams but my mechanic knew they would cause the car to run too rich to pass.

Do you have the front bumper?-I do have the front bumper and all of the mounting hardware.   All of the rubber parts are in great shape but the tubes could be re-chromed.   My personal preference was without the bumper which is the only reason I didn't re-install.

Is this a distressed sale?- Absolutely not a distressed sale.   I have a new project and I'm out of garage space so something must go.

This is a garage kept. 100% rust free. Southern California car. Anyone with intimate knowledge of Fiat 124's will recognize this car as possibly one of the best restorations anywhere.   This car was restored to be a driver but looks like a show car.   If you love 124's you need to see this car. everything about it was done correctly (or better)!  If you would like to talk about this car please call me on my cell phone at 760-803-1038.

Check this link for detailed current photos. restoration photos and driving video.   (Click HD Video option – pause video at any point):

http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=e8dhQ6K_fto&feature=em-upload_owner

This car was built in Italy Oct of 1975 and first licensed in San Diego CA in 1976. I've owned the car for 22 years (I live 30 miles inland. far away from the salt air) and enjoyed it as a daily driver until 1996 when the engine suddenly stopped.   The odometer reading at that time showed 40. 60 miles and currently is 73. 28 miles.   All VIN numbers on this car match.

1996-

At this point I began a 1-year ground-up restoration. starting with removal of the engine and transmission which was delivered to Apex Italian Garage (30 years' experience with Italian cars).   The owner of Apex. Richard. supervised all the machine work that was performed at the speed shop and rebuilt the engine and cylinder head.   Having owned Fiats myself since 1982 paired with Richard's vast experience we were both aware of and fixed all of the traditional Fiat problems* (marked with a * below)!

Transmission work included:  Replaced first and second gear synchronizer*. fixed shifter handle (so it will not vibrate loose*) heavy duty clutch and pressure plate and new throw out bearing. lightened flywheel.

Complete engine rebuild. including:  Magnuflux block. bore . 10 over cylinders. polish crank and cams.   New . 10 over 10. 5: to 1 Bayless domed top pistons (the pistons will not damage the valves in the event of a timing belt break)*. High output oil pump* and new baffled oil pan*. Heavy duty timing belt.

Cylinder Head work included:  Magnuflux head. mill the head . 10. machine open the oil passage for better oil flow*.   Installed all new valves. guides. seals and bearings.

To eliminate the Italian engine demons we updated the following items*.

(Still have all of the original 1976 parts)

Removed dual point distributor and replaced with OEM 1979 electronic ignition with vacuum timing advance.

Replaced progressive linkage carb with OEM 1979 vacuum secondary carb and better flowing dual plane intake manifold (no fuel fowled spark plugs). Currently the car is jetted “lean” for CA smog. and I have the larger Bayless fuel and air jets.   With the carb re-jetted this car pulls hard and is very fast.

Installed high output electric fuel pump with hidden anti-theft kill switch.

Since my aftermarket header was no longer CA Smog legal. we replaced it with a Lancia Scorpion 4 into 2 equal length exhaust manifold. (I have the Bayless header. but honestly the Lancia manifold flows just as well. and does NOT leak!)

Re-cored the radiator and polished the brass top cap. Direct wired the Fiat electric fan to the battery with on/off switch*.

When the engine was out of the car. I welded the engine cradle beam to the frame of the car*.   The frame member was bolted to the frame in the factory. and tends to get loose over time.   Welding in place makes the front end very strong and eliminates squeaks and rattles in the front end.

While the engine work was being performed I proceeded to disassemble every body panel on the car. When I purchased the car it had an aging Macco paint job over the factory paint.   I removed the doors. hood. deck lid. cowl panel. rocker panels and rear panels behind the tires - anything that could be unbolted was.   The only minor surface rust was on the rocker panels and the rear panels behind the tires.   All four panels were replaced with new panels.   I hand striped all of the paint and factory body work from the entire car and all of the parts inside and out.   The underside of the car was left factory stock. because all of the factory undercoat was intact and no rust or damage was found. The original owner had the car rust proofed by Zebart.  

While the engine was out. I detailed and painted the engine compartment black.   The engine bay was rewired and all of the electronic relays were wired under the dash board*.

The car was than trailered to Kustom Kreations for 5 months of body and paint work.   Each removed and striped panel was primed with rust inhibiting primer inside and out.   The back sides and insides of each panel were painted off of the car and reassembled to paint the entire car.   When reassembled. the car was painted with one gallon of House of Color custom red paint and over 1. 5 gallons of clear coat.   This paint looks wet and is so shiny you can read the newspaper in it.

Additional work at time of paint:  3X chrome dip the windshield frame and door handles.   Replaced or polished all stainless steel bright work.   Striped and painted convertible top frame (black) and installed Caribou Motors German cloth soft top (black).

Custom body work includes: Removal of Fiat emblem from hood. replaced rear emblem with enameled Fiat emblem.  New Pininfarina emblems with rubber gaskets. Frenched in power radio antenna (back passenger side fender) and molded in Bayless front spoiler.  The trunk lock and license plate lights were removed and filled. The windshield wiper stubs are painted to match the car. and the fuel door is filled and detailed.  I have baby turbo mirrors and mounting plates that are painted red to match the car. (I always liked the look of the black mirrors better). Complete photo documentation of the restoration is available.

1999-

The front suspension was ready for an overhaul again.   Replaced ball joints. control arms and control link. added low pressure KYB shocks at all four corners.

I sourced a company from Australia that made Polyurethane upper and lower control arm bushings*.   Because of these bushings the front end is very tight and you will never have to deal with the cheep rubber replacements. Installed polyurethane sway bar bushings.  At the same time I also changed the original catalyst converter and replaced it with a dual stage unit. new resonator and muffler all 2” with 2” pipe.

2012-

The car rides on new 205/60/13 Sumitomo summer rubber tires. mounted to vintage Western Racing BBS style wheels.   These wheels are factory drilled at 4 x 98mm. not 4 x 100 and rounded out.   The wheels could be sand blasted and painted to make them look new.   Also new is the 760 cranking amp deep cycle marine battery and fresh tune up.

The interior was the first thing to be updated back in 1991. so it is the most in need of updating now (the front and passenger seats are showing their age).   The original car had black interior. I changed that to tan marine vinyl with tan marine cloth inserts matching the factory seat stitching pattern.

New items on the interior:

New one piece dash cover. top and front. New center console with unbroken vent control pot metal trim.   New radio cover (uncut).   OEM driver and passenger plastic foot well kick plates (no speaker holes cut).   Backseat kick plates (no speaker holes cut).   New interior wood (red oak). working clock and all gauges work and are unfaded.   The original “wood look” steering wheel - not cracked or faded with a new horn button.   All plastic trim is in perfect condition.

Extra Parts:  In the process of restoring this car I parted out three complete cars. so I have lots of extra parts. Some of the items include extra hood. cylinder head. cams and housing. header. oil pan. alternator. smog pump. rotors (3). calipers (2). master cylinder. brake booster. starters (3). fuel tank sending unit. gauges clusters and lots of plastic and stainless steel parts. one entire box of carb parts. and a complete wiring harness for a 75/76 and a box of relays and electrical parts. I have 1979 power windows and factory switches and the wiring harness (not yet installed).   The extra parts alone are worth a few thousand dollars.

Deposit of US $1. 00. 00 within 48 hours of auction close. Full payment required within 7 days of auction close.

"Sold in as-is condition"

Also published at eBay.com

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