124 Spider Barn Find..

OK Fiat guys, listen up. I ran across a later model (big bumper: 75 or later) Ferrari Red Spider in a delapitated garage today while re-keying a foreclosure property for my Realtor brother. I run across derilict cars all the time in this line of work; they have to be hauled off to clear the property and I normally just crush them for scrap, but there is no way I am going to let this one go to the yard. I had a '74 this same color back in the day, but totaled it out while learning about apex entry speed (still carry the scars). That is the reason I am wanting to save this car; I don't personally want to turn it into a project, as I know that these cars were finicky when they were new, and don't age that well, but I also know that certain of my GRM bretheren would be willing to give it a good home.

I ran across one of these several years ago and found it a good home on a Fiat forum that no longer exists, so I'm asking if there are any of you who would want this thing, and what a fair price might be for it. I don't want to be greedy, but something equal to current scrap prices would be nice, although sufficiently engaging pleas for less will be entertained. I think I could have it hauled to a convenient pickup place for very little; I just don't want to lose money on it.

I realize this post is almost useless without pix, but I didn't have my camera with me when I found it, so I will go back tommorrow and get/post pix. It appears to be a "classic" barn find. Post or PM me for more details.. let the good fight begin!

I wish I could give it a home.. but I already have a barn find spider.. one is enough.

Try listing it on www.fiatcenter.com They took over where fiatspider.com left off

Try at Mirafiori. http://forum.mirafiori.com/mirafiorum/

Thanks guys! fiatspider.com is where I gave the other one away. My screen name was "MashedMySpider" Edit: i had to re-register, but I think I have located the couple I gave the other one to! I just have to wait for the admins to determine that I'm not spam..

mirafiori or www.flu.org are the best, IMO. May help to know where you are located too.

He's in middle GA- near Macon.

I DEMAND PICTURES

im mentally drooling over this, but the reality is that if i bring a car home I will be shot.

Cool, huh?

It almosty looks like you could start it and drive it out of there!

I like it. PM sent although I'm really trying to talk myself out of it.

large bumper.. small bump hood and early style door handles and side markers.. 75 through 78. 1800

If you were any closer I'd be all over it... or if it'd been a '73 I woulda been in my truck already!

Thanks for saving this!

74 is the one to have... small chrome bumpers and the larger 1800 engine

whats the swap potential on one of these.. sick fantasy of 302 rattling around in my head

I'm sure that could be done, but the Fiat twin-cam is a real gem. I'd rather whack on a Lancia head and add boost.

see, my uncle wants to build one with something like 450+hp... i dont know if we will ever do it.. but i was wondering if it was possible.

check out the forums at www.turbo124.com then for your 450+ hp cars..

Apexcarver wrote: whats the swap potential on one of these.. sick fantasy of 302 rattling around in my head

Not a lot of room in the engine compartment. Even a Spriget has more room. Width isn't the problem. It's length and the forward setting of the firewall. I've thought about it before on the few 124 Spiders I've owned, but even with the small Ford or Buick 215, it's really, really tight.

It CAN be done with a bunch of reworking of the firewall and footwell areas, and I think the weight is still carried forward.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkL1gdhYJBc

pictures of ford 5.0 in a 124

mad_machine wrote: 74 is the one to have... small chrome bumpers and the larger 1800 engine

Crap you're right... that's the one I meant, the 179Xcc "1800" instead of the 1802cc "1800"

Yeah, that one!

Once again I must mention that a 13B would nestle ever so nicely in the engine compartment of a 124 Spider. Make it a 13BT for even more terror on acceleration.

Not too nasty for a car that's been sitting so long; the tag on it was a 1993, so I assume it's been here for about 15 years. I agree that '74 was the year to have, and that a rotary engine would be GRM awesome!

Cotton wrote: I like it. PM sent although I'm really trying to talk myself out of it.

Since the site change, I have yet to figure out where PMs are, or how to retrieve them. Can somebody help me out with this?

You can PM anyone from their profile. The message goes straight to the email address on record.

Thanks, Tim.. I see it now.

that car looks like it had an airpump. That puts it as a california car. If you look at the cam pulleys, the exhaust pulley is doubled. That was how fiat ran the airpump. Of course when it siezed it would stop the exhaust cam in it's tracks and the pistons would come up to meet the valves.

hopefully the equally nasty cat that should be under the passenger seat is also gone.

Something else to note, I am going to say the head was off of that engine at one time.. or the distributer was. The "fingers" on the cap should be facing towards the driver's side headlight. If they face directly over the top of the engine, they tend to hit the centre rib of the hood and either break or knock the timing out of whack.

The car either has or had airconditioning too. You can see the relays by the coolant resevour and up by the front of the engine compartment. The hardlines sneak in under the cowl to get inside the car itself

over all I am going to say it is a 76 or a 77. The 78s had a one piece brake resevour and the earlier and later cars had the relays under the dash, not in the engine compartment