General thnking about buying one? a 124 spyder?

[LROffroad]

hello, I am considering buying a 124 spider? anything I should be aware of? the car runs, and the brakes are weak. How hard is it to find parts for these? and how troublesome can the brakes be. I drive a range rover and am familiar with repairing it myself. are Fiat's easy to work on? basicly I am trying to have an idea for what I am getting into here, any help or comments would be great

 

[yul]

124 are great. finding one should not be to hard. You can try either Evil bay or I prefer craigslist. Try to find one from a southern dry state like Arizona or New Mexico. There are always a few for sale on the Arizona craigslist. These cars are somewhat rust free as all Fiat's had a rust thru issue. Parts are easy to find and the cars are very easy to work on. PM me and I can give you a ton of info. I have owned several 124 over the past 25 years and currently own 2.

yul

 

[countach]

My 1982 FIAT Spider needs front and rear brake lines changed. Are they hard to replace? Can I use brake lines from any auto parts store?

 

[minimike1]

you need to get brake lines with metric fittings, and if they are not the right length, you'll probably need a flare tool. If you don't know what I'm talking about, best left to the pros. Especially brakes, since stopping and not killing yourself or someone else is of great importance.

 

[GeorgeT]

Spiders are easy to work on (compared to other cars). Parts are readily available and are not too pricey. The brakes are very easy to work on - if you can turn a wrench, you can replace the pads, rotors and flex lines in a couple of hours (it's reconnecting the parking brake cable to the rears that's the bitch).

GT

 

[mbouse]

everything in this discussion is relative to your experience level, the tools you have available, and your desire to learn new and exciting things.

most parts are readily available... but that depends on where you live. UK, good luck getting parts on your side of the pond (look to Germany). Canada, good luck getting affordable parts. USA... perfect location for easy to find, reasonably priced parts. Look at ROCK AUTO for rubber brake hose, and do not forget that there are five, not four hoses.

hand brake cable? yeah, the first one is a real PITA, but after that, they are fairly easy to replace.

frozen caliper pistons are prolly #2 on the brake failure list, followed by calipers that no longer float on their brackets. changing pads is time consuming but easy.

hard lines for brakes can be obtained at any hardware store, just be sure to ask for the right thread for european cars.

i would be more concerned about the presence of rust on a potential car. what do the shock towers look like? how about the underside of the rocker panels, and the floorboards (especially the front). severe rust is a deal breaker, mechanical issues just change the offering price.

literally all mechanical wear items are available in the USA for these cars. we enjoy a great deal of competitors for our restoration dollar.