My First Restoration

[ZakC]

Hey you guys. I've been looking around on the site for the past couple of weeks and I've noticed how great and helpful all of you are. I just bought a 1974 Sport Spider this week in need of a full restoration, body, engine, interior and probably electrical. I think the direction I'll be going with the car is sort of a driveable track day car, so I want to put some nice wide tires on it, beef up the suspension/engine and most likely install a roll cage. So where do I begin guys? I'm only 17 years old and I've never even come close to restoring a car. Should I begin with rebuilding the engine?

[So Cal Mark]

it really depends on whether you are doing a complete restoration all at once or more of a rolling restoration where upgrades are made while keeping the car usable. And is the budget unlimited and what is the timeline for completion?

[azygoustoyou]

I'd say try to keep it a running restoration. I've had mine it seems forever and it still isn't on the road.
This way you get to have fun with it and have a better chance of finishing it.

[Foster48x]

Mines a daily driver so keeping it running is a necessity... even if it does look like a parts car right now. But if you have the time and money doing all of the work up front is the way to go. Especially the paint and body work.

Rick

[ZakC]

Well the car doesn't even run as of yet and I already have a daily driver. I'm willing to spend a lot of money on it, but it would have to be spread out over the course of probably 3-5 years.

And Rick you said yours is a daily driver? How do you like that? I think I would like to use mine as a DD once it's in decent shape.

Also, I was thinking of possibly *don't hate me* doing an engine swap. Probably a bigger four cylinder or a nice straight six. Any comments on swaps?

[Foster48x]

Well the car doesn't even run as of yet and I already have a daily driver. I'm willing to spend a lot of money on it, but it would have to be spread out over the course of probably 3-5 years.

And Rick you said yours is a daily driver? How do you like that? I think I would like to use mine as a DD once it's in decent shape.

Also, I was thinking of possibly *don't hate me* doing an engine swap. Probably a bigger four cylinder or a nice straight six. Any comments on swaps?

I love driving mine daily. It seems to attract allot of attention even with the bodywork and paint not being done. I guess I've spent so many years riding motorcycles (some of which were daily drivers also) that driving a convertible is the next best thing when I'm not in the mood to pull out the bike. Like you I do have other vehicles in the stable but none are as fun as the Fiat or the bike.

Since you seem to have the itch to drive it I would focus on getting it mechanically sound and safe for the road, then drive it as much as you can before it gets laid up in the garage for months. You can always work on the aesthetics and performance upgrades as time allows. Good luck on the resto.

Rick

[Danno]

There are some pretty crazy engine swaps out there, but IMO a little spider with a strong 2.0L engine is plenty to carry you around. Don't get all caught up in total HP numbers when it comes to spiders. the light 2L in a light Spider will haul you faster than you think. besides, sitting that low to the ground in such a small car makes everything feel faster. SO, if a swap is what you must do, then find a cheapo donor 2L spider and pull it's engine and put it on a stand and slowly build it up, but get yours working well first and drive it around a little.

[ZakC]

Yeah I really do have an itch to drive this bad boy so I think I'll go your route Rick.

If I were to do a swap I'd only go for something that's max 200hp. I don't really want to have to replace the rear tires every week. The engine that's in it now need a complete rebuild so I might just look around for a 2L. If I were to go with a separate companies engine, like a BMW straight six or a Toyota four cylinder, would it a lot more difficult to rig up?

I DID toy with the idea of a 350 momentarily while planning the project