A Cautionary Tale: If It's Too Good To Be True

"CAR_IS_MI" (car-is-mi) 03/28/2016 at 08:00 • Filed to: None

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We’ve all heard it before, but do we listen? No. Because what fun would that be?

A little over a year ago I made in impulse buy on a 1979 Fiat 124 spider. It ran good, needed some cosmetics, and had issues with several electrical components, described to me by the PO as “corrosion in the fuse box from water getting inside due to my now ex-wife forcing me to keep it outside”.

A preliminary inspection revealed no rust, and a quick test drive showed all major components to be in working order, and $2,500 later, she was in my driveway (and later my garage).

Man I thought I had a steal.

I began working through the electrical issues, starting with the fuse box, which had corroded, and showed signs of stagnant water (and before you ask, no, there were and still are no signs of flood). While working through the electrical I decided it was a good idea to lift the car and give the whole thing a good once over. This revealed bad bushings, bent brake lines, and generally poor workmanship.

Now I don’t mind having to fix the suspension on a 30 year old car as this is a fairly important component and I enjoy knowing that its not going to fall apart at the next turn. I also decided to upgrade some parts while I was at it.

The A-arms came off, were blasted and re-coated, new wheel bearings, stainless brake lines, new ball joints, polly bushings all around, new sway bar, upgraded springs from Germany (on an Italian car in America, I know...), adjustable struts, slotted rotors, and some EBC greens, as well as a few other miscellaneous parts.

$2,200 later and all I had to do was finish the electrical concerns, and then later the cosmetics, and I would be good to go...

So again to the task of the electrical. With the fuse box replaced, I was excited to see I had working headlights, but still, no working turn signals, tail lamps, or HVAC.

Fast forward through lots of wire chasing and pinning outs, and it turns out PO decided to, not splice, but cut and re-use the power source for both the tail lights and the turn signals to power the fuel pump he also shittily installed.

With mostly functional safety lights it was time to move onto the HVAC system. A few screw later and the blower motor was free. Hmm? Thats intersting, this isn’t working becasue its not plugged in... And it’s not plugged in becasue it was made for a Mercury, not a Fiat, so the connector does not match.

After much deliberation and discovering the fact that the PO basically rebuilt the whole HVAC system with leftover parts from various cars and lots of plumbers putty, I decided to remove the HVAC system completely, as this car was (or is) slated to remain in my garage with the top down as I don’t fit with the top up (yes I will drive it, just on nice days with top down, so HVAC won’t be useful anyways).

In removal of the HVAC system I came across several concerning items. First, the AC compressor was not hooked up to anything. All the parts were there, but there was no belt, and the signal wire was not only not plugged into anything, but wrapped around the drive gear. Finally, the AC condenser was held in place by double sided tape...

With the AC unit removed, I now had easier access to the heater core hoses. Oh, wait, whats this? They aren’t actually connected to the heater core? So why is coolant not spewing out madly every time the car is on? Oh, becasue the other end of the hose is disconnected and capped off with random bolts held in place by hose clamps.

Oh and whats this that I can see clearly now?

A random hole punched in the firewall for the purpose of..? Were the two open grommets not more than 6 inches away not good enough to use? Seriously, there was a wire in that punched hole, I found one end melted on the exhaust pipe with no reference to where it may have been “supposed” to go, and the other end was tucked under the carpet, leading literally no where. Just a foot long piece of wire with one cut end under the carpet and the other end slowly burning on the exhaust pipe.

I found a slew of other things whilst fiddling. Lots of loose wires to nowhere. missing bolts. Incorrect size bolts. Things that should be tight and were not. Things that should not be tight but were. Things that can melt zip tied to things that get hot.

Yeah, it’s not pretty. But this one was my favorite.

When I bought this, I asked about any issues he had. I was told, among other seemingly small things, “sometimes it seems to mis-fire, and I cant seem to figure out why”. As you can see in this picture, the coil is bolted in on one side. It can move fairly freely. What you cant see is that the terminal on the other side is in such a position that should you hit a bump in the right manner, the coil will move, and likely ground out.

My tale of caution to you is this. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

While we have all been told that time and time again, my $2,500 Fiat quickly turned into a $5,000 Fiat, which is now likely to result in me saying screw it, I trust nothing of the PO, and pulling the motor and doing a full rebuild and rewire to the tune of another $5,000 +.

(P.S. If the pictures are showing up upside down, just know, Kinja took a brief trip to Australia)

Conan > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 08:09

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Damn. The “fun ride” shouldn’t have awfulness involved. Good luck resolving it.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 08:17

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Yeah, sadly these things happen to folks...at least the 124 isn’t all that terribly hard to work on compared to other cars...

Honeybunchesofgoats > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 08:18

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:(

If you never resolve the problems, at least you'll have a gorgeous lawn decoration.

pip bip - choose Corrour > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 08:28

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how can you be sure that the PO did all that , some of it could’ve been like that from the factory

8)

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 08:43

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On the bright side, once you’ve fixed everything you’ll have a very nice rust free 124. I doubt you’ll loose to much money on the repairs so it’s not all bad news.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > pip bip - choose Corrour 03/28/2016 at 08:43

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I was just assuming that it all was.

Equana > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 09:20

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People crap all over British cars electrics (Lucas - Prince of Darkeness I beseech you...) but forget the Italian electrics were pretty bad as well. Even before the PO messed with them.

But it is green, Kermit the Frog green, from the Factory.

That alone would have chased me away...

Old Italian sports car. May God have mercy on your soul!

Connqr > Conan 03/28/2016 at 09:58

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Is a Ferrari 360 not a “fun ride”?

Conan > Connqr 03/28/2016 at 10:43

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I assume he picked up the 124 to have something he didn’t worry about quite so much. I’ve never owned one but I assume one would take all Ferraris seriously.

CAR_IS_MI > Equana 03/28/2016 at 11:02

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No, the PO also painted it that color. I plan to return it to its original color.

or possibly something else.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > pip bip - choose Corrour 03/28/2016 at 11:24

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beat me to it

Zeek Is A Geek > pip bip - choose Corrour 03/28/2016 at 11:29

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Having slogged through mgb ownership for years i recognize a lot of that. The lack of an integrated wiring harness, pot metal brackets holding everything in place—sort of—and fundamentally complex and unreliable solutions (I am looking at you Mr Stromberg) make the awfulness *built in*.

As charming as old cars are, unreliableness is built in from the ground up. This poor thing was just pushed that much further down the rabbit hole.

JR1 > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 11:52

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You could say screw it, or you could save the life of an otherwise abused car. And being rewarded with a car that can move and drive all thanks to you and be saved for the next generation

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 11:54

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I did some smiling and chuckling while I read your account. As handy as you obviously are, should you have noticed some of that crappy (re)build quality on pre-buy inspection? (I think the random hole in the fire wall is a bullet hole, BTW...)

But hey: kudos to you for your great attitude and obvious skills. A functional aftermarket HVAC might be fun to hook up.

And as for the engine? I’d just make sure it has good oil and coolant and drive it.

#enjoythecar

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 11:55

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I love the tire profile and the steel wheels and covers. I hope you will keep them. And with all the fun you’re having with the mechanicals, why spend money on paint?

You’ll have the best-maintained 124 out there, and that could be a source of pride.

Flyboy is FAA certified insane > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 12:23

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Man did I learn this one with my e30.

Never trust a PO. Ever. The whole ignition system was removed and wired into a series of switches to “make it like a race car"

Pickup_man > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 13:00

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I just bought a 924 that’s turning out to be somewhat similar. I looked it over decently well and knew there were going to be a couple things that needed attention based on some obvious “high schooler” mods, such as 6x9 holes cut into the door cards for some bitchin alpine speakers that were all wired up with plain red 12 gauge wire. The farther I dig into it though the more little things come up. Like the rusty battery tray that was fiberglassed over and painted instead of being replaced. That made itself known after a big snow storm left my passenger foot well soaking wet, which led me to a rusty floor pan that went undetected during initial inspection. Still, it was only $1300, and it runs good, and its nothing I can’t handle, just a ton of annoying little crap that keeps popping up.

Last thing, my favorite wtf is this? find so far has been what looked like some sort of buzzer, with a large capacitor caulked to it spliced into the taillight wiring with the thinnest wire you’ve ever seen, and a wire that ran towards the fuel sender, but wasn’t connected to anything.

CAR_IS_MI > Flyboy is FAA certified insane 03/28/2016 at 13:44

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I’ve made this mistake with at least 3 cars...

I don’t learn.

I guess the allure of a cheap [insert whatever I am lusting over here] is too much for me to logically evaluate and say no to.

CAR_IS_MI > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/28/2016 at 13:49

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I actually bought some relatively expensive wheels from Italy and had them sent over. It will fit well when done. I was going for a “cheap” build on this that I could flip for some profit, but I have too much morality to let this thing go knowing all that’s wrong. So I’m going to sell my Miata (have you seen what low mileage Miatas are selling for ?!?!) which was my occasional / auto X car and just sink the money into the Fiat and make that my occasional / auto-x car.

CAR_IS_MI > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/28/2016 at 13:54

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A lot of the things I found were hidden by other items. I couldn’t see that “bullet hole” becasue the coolant reservoir, heater hoses, exhaust manifold, and AC hoses were all in the way. once those were removed it was obvious.

Since I will likely keep this for some time now, I will feel better just doing it all at once and being done with it. The engine still has the cardboard like head gasket that they used back then, so since im this far into it I would rather pull the motor, clean everything up, check the rings, probably put high compression pistons in anyways, MLS head gasket, upgrade the top end, cam it so I can break the 80 hp mark... and then finish it off with Webber 40 IDF’s and an equal length exhaust header.

CAR_IS_MI > JR1 03/28/2016 at 13:58

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I have only ever “killed” 2 cars (thats only 11% of the cars I’ve owned).

My 3000GT VR4 which I parted out and when I couldn’t move the shell after 2 months I sent it to the crusher. I killed a 1 of 23 produced in sandstone grey with the pop-up roof 92 VR-4, and I hate myself for it.

I also sent my Saab 9-3 to a crusher after I lent it to a friend and it came back with bent rods. I donated it charity, which means they basically crush it for the scrap metal money.

STARBOLIN > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 14:06

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$5k for a running, rust free 124? You’re doing fine. Good 124s are getting hard to find. I haven’t seen one for sale in my area that wasn’t a stripped total write-off rust bucket and even then the sellers want a grand for it. Just keep oil in it and drive it till it breaks. If you get a year out off the engine as-is you’ll be ahead of a new-car mortgage.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 15:17

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I haven’t seen what a Miata sells for. Much or little?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 15:18

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Should sound lovely with that carburetor/exhaust combination. Ambitious...

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 15:23

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I meant keep these wheels. The wheels on the photo in your garage I would wanna replace as well. And why paint over this color? (An older guy at church yesterday said, “If I had another brain, it would be lonely.”)

Equana > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 15:45

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Waaay better color! What was the previous owner thinking?

Red us always good for sports carss

evil2win > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 16:14

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I’ve owned a few of these in the last decade.

Here is the 81 just before I sold it. I put on a new top, did the body work (Rust repair) and threw a coat of paint on it. It was a good ten yard paint job. Below that is the same car getting a “new” rear end installed, and below that is the 73 that I currently own.

Damn I sold my 1981 spider 2000 a few years back for $2000, and I’d welded up all the rust holes, replaced ball joints, rebuilt the head, replaced the rear end, and many other things before selling. about the only thing coming up that I could see would have been it was going to need a new clutch in another 10 to 20,000 miles. I’d bought it for $600 because the driver’s side front shock tower had broken loose. I welded that up and drove it for over 6 years while addressing other issues.

I only sold it after buying a better looking 73 spider for $2000. That one is now in my garage with the engine a transmission out. I plane to rebuild the top end, fab a better linkage for the aftermarket dual Weber set-up I got for it, and replace all the seals and gaskets to see if I can get it to stop leaking oil everywhere it goes. They are great little cars, fund to drive, and not too hard to work on, until you have to replace a starter.

JR1 > CAR_IS_MI 03/28/2016 at 20:53

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The VR-4 is a true loose. The Saab I'm neutral about

Connqr > Conan 03/28/2016 at 21:57

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True enough

CAR_IS_MI > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/29/2016 at 01:18

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lol. These are the wheels I picked up.

CAR_IS_MI > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/29/2016 at 01:19

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a 10k mi 1999 just sold for $14,000.

Mine has just under 50k for an 02.

CAR_IS_MI > STARBOLIN 03/29/2016 at 01:20

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A plus of living in the desert. Rust prone cars dont rust...

pip bip - choose Corrour > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 03/29/2016 at 02:51

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8)

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > CAR_IS_MI 03/29/2016 at 11:03

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Very nice rims, though I'd stick with the ones I was stuck on if that's what the car already had. Have you thought about what you'll ask for your Miata? If I were going to buy a roadster, I'd be most interested in the BRZ. Even with the problems you've found, I'm a little envious of your project. I can barely afford to maintain my fleet of daily drivers.

Spridget > CAR_IS_MI 10/27/2016 at 22:13

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That’s factory quality dude. You probably lost value by removing the originality.