8/26/2003: Oops!
Argh. While going through the compiled photocopies that I got from John, I found an illustration of how to install the hardtop. I recognized the clips that are used to hold it on as something i’d come across while sorting parts, and I think I tossed them, not knowing what they were.
<kirk> Khaaaaaaann! </kirk>
Now I have to go dig through a few trashbags of car parts to find them!
Oh well.
Update: I lucked out- as it turns out, the brackets were in my “not 1500” box of parts, not the trash. I’ve looked again at the pictures, and I am sure that is what these are. I’m glad I realized it in time- these are probably impossible to find. I’m actually not that interested in putting the hard top on the car, but it’s a nice accessory to have, or to trade for something else I need down the road..8/26/2003: Parts stored
I finished sorting all the parts and boxing them up:
That plus 5 large heavy bags at the curb. The garbage men will love me.
8/23/2003: More parts, Filler Removal
Today I went to the barn and took out another truckload of parts. This is pretty much the last of the stuff i’m going to take out- the remaining things I plan to leave there for now- i’ll just keep a rough inventory of them.
Back at my place, I sorted through the parts some more. Everything is roughly categorized now.
I also took the drill to the car and stripped off some of the body filler (bondo). As suspected, it was too thick, and there was some rust under it. I think I can do a better job of smoothing out the metal in these areas, either by working the metal or by replacing it with clips from the parts car.
I also took a putty knife and scraped off some of the loose undercoating to get a feel for what kind of shape the underside of the floor was in. In the areas where it was loose and flaked off easily, the metal seems pretty solid- it’s even shiny in some areas.
This is encouraging. I’ll have to get more serious about removing the undercoating to know for sure though. I’ll probably try heat first, then chemicals if that doesn’t work.
8/22/2003: Sorting Parts
Yesterday I picked up another truck-load of parts, and this evening I sorted through them and weeded out some of the junk. Things are starting to generally emerge into piles, and the non-1500 stuff is getting tossed.
There’s about one more truckload of miscellaneous parts that I plan to bring over here. I’ll leave the glass and other large items at the barn for now.
I’ll try to take at least an informal inventory though.
8/18/2003: Exposing more..
Today I removed the rubber mat that covers the cross-member support that runs under the seats. This is tricky because it’s both screwed and glued on. I managed to get it off without adding too many new tears.
The metal underneath is (fortunately) in decent condition, with some rust where it meets the floor.
I also decided to (gulp) poke at the rockers and see how bad things were.
Here’s the pile of rust I poked out of the passenger’s side:
Oh dear.
Well, it turns out that there is still an inner rocker panel on the passenger’s side, but it’s not in particularly great shape.
On the driver’s side, though, there’s a portion of it in the front that is totally gone.
Without cutting off the outer rocker panels (or at least opening the holes more), I can’t be sure how bad things really are back there. I plan on getting advice from an expert before I dig any deeper.
On that note I decided to shift my attention to sorting through the last batch of parts I brought over from the barn.
I found a few used parts, some of which had been repainted. I also found a number of small NOS parts, still in their FIAT bags.
There’s an interesting story behind a lot of these parts. They came with the rusty parts car I mentioned before. Its owner (an old friend of my father’s, from what I can recall) had been restoring it. He’d purchased many parts and refinished much of the car’s mechanicals. Unfortunately, he went and had kids, and suddenly there was no time for the FIAT. It sat for years, eventually rusting so badly that it was essentially broken in half. When my father and I went to pick up some parts, the owner’s wife insisted that if we wanted the parts, we also had to remove the rusted shell from the patio behind the house. No problem! So now I have a large cache of parts (including some rare ones, like a factory hard-top), and two halves of a car in a barn. I’ll snap some pictures of it next time i’m there. It’s pretty amusing.
8/17/2003: Removing the carpet and seats
I began by vacuuming out the trunk and removing the rubber mat and spare tire covers. I was happy to see that the trunk floor looks perfect, other than some rust down in the pockets behind the rear wheels (this was visible from the outside, so no surprise there).
Then I removed the two sill plates and the front pockets, both of which were on top of the delightful red house carpet someone had installed in the 70s.
I got them out without breaking any of the rusty screws, which is a good omen. I’m using PB’Laster for the first time, and it seems to be really good for getting into rusty fasteners and loosening them up. I’ve seen it recommended several times in various forums, and so far, i’m impressed. It’s available at wal-mart, and it has an incredibly cheesy looking can, but hey, if it works..
With these trim pieces out of the way, the carpet came out pretty easily. Since I wouldn’t be saving it, i just cut it in half to make it easier to get out.
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The floor underneath is somewhat rusty, but really seems reasonably solid, on the whole. Hard to say until I clean it up though.
After that I removed both seats. This was surprisingly easy- just two screws hold each seat in, and then the hook into notches on the front.
Underneath the driver’s seat, I found a lost screwdriver that I recognized from my childhood :) I removed the rubber mats that were under the seats and took a look at the floors. Unfortunately, these look a little worse than the front sections. The driver’s side has been repainted with something green, and is less rusty on the surface. Both sides are essentially solid, though they will probably need some patching at least. It depends on what disolves when I try to remove the undercoating and clean them up though.
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8/16/2003: Initial Photographs
I’m not especially concerned with the mechanics of the car at this point. I take for granted that everything will need to be inspected and repaired. This will be a heck of a learning experience for me, but I feel confident that I can handle it, or at least that I know where to go to ask when I get stuck :)
The interior is also not terribly scary to me. Yes, the existing interior is a total mess, but I do have other spare parts, and there’s not a whole lot to it, even if it all has to be reconstructed by an upholsterer.
The part i’m most concerned about is the bodywork. As you can see, this car’s body has a number of problems:
- old collision damage, poorly repaired The front and back
of the car both were smacked at some point, leaving dents in the
corners and nose. These will need to be more properly straightened
and replaced, as necessary. Some of these panels could come from the
spare body, depending on condition. (unfortunately, that body had a
lot of rust, and actually broke nearly in half on its own)
- Dented door This can be repaired, or I have spare doors.
- Trunklid The hinges are either misadjusted or bent on the trunklid, causing it to catch on the body of the car when it’s being opened. This may have bent things a bit further. This area will need to be looked at to figure out what is bent and make sure it’s straightened.
- Rusty Rocker Panels This is what has me really worried.
This is a uni-body car, which means there is no frame. The
crossmembers, rocker panels, and floor are structural. The
rocker panels (both outer and middle) need to be replaced, and the
floor’s condition is unknown. I’ve seen one of these cars completely
broken in half, and i’m concerned that this car could see a similar
fate if this rust isn’t repaired properly.
- The things I can’t see It certainly looks like this car has never been repainted, but it is possible that there are even more blemishes lurking underneath this paint!
The first order of business is to evaluate the car’s structural integrity. I know it’s compromised, but is it fixable?
The first thing I will do is pull out the carpeting and seats, so I can see what the inside of the floorpan looks like. The underside looks pretty good, since it’s still covered in undercoating. I don’t know what the metal is like underneath that though at this point.