Rusted Out 1970 850 Spider Fix-Up

Ok, it is really hot today. But, before I melted, I got the patches welded in, and the first layer of bondo on. Alas, much to my surprise, the robust Fiat metal warped a bit on the door. More work down the road. Almost looks better in this picture if you squint so much your eyes closed.

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So yesterday was family reunion day, so no work was done. I did get in some time this afternoon though before the rain hit.

I am now working on what I consider the most prominent hole on the car. Can you spot it?
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As you can tell, this area has other rust on it besides the giant hole, but since it is not structural, and not obvious, I will sand it down and leave it alone. This car is not being restored. I just want to get it looking decent and take it for a drive. That alone is a major goal for this pile of junk. One thing is for sure...if you think your 850 is rust free..think again!

Here is the hole marked out for cutting. Turns out there is a big dent in the area I am cutting out...bonus!
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And here it is ready for me to cut a new piece and weld it in. This one I have to be very careful with. Even though it will not normally be, it will be visible from two sides. Let's see how pretty I can make it!
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Also continued the bondoing, grinding and sanding on the prior repairs. Pretty rote stuff...sand the bondo down, grind down the high spots, fill low spots and put on filler. Rinse and repeat.
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Finally, two of the wheels are going in for tire dismounting tomorrow. I am going to see if I can make them work. I think these are x 1/9 wheels? Anyone got some spares?

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Also, new hood should be here tomorrow. Progress on many fronts!
 
The wheels are the same as early X but are also late 85O Spider, as in 1973.

As the Pointless man said in the Pointless Forest, You are a dogged trooper.
 
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Well, sanding bondo is not much fun to look at, so here is the patch on the top panel.
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Turned out pretty good. The edges where there is some gapping are covered by the frame on the other side, so they are hidden. Skim layer of filler ought to do it!

Tomorrow...more filler and sanding!
 
Bondo bondo sand and bondo. Also took the bracing off the drivers side and the car did not collapse. Also did not collapse when I tried to get the steering column off. My wife found this amusing.

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Tomorrow...more pain!
 
Bit of a mega-post today, but I like to show progress. Here is the top cover more or less finished. It will need additional sanding and smoothing before paint, but you get the idea. You can see where it turned out there was a ginormous dent on the passengers side I had to work. That was an unexpected surprise, but this car is so rough, you cannot tell until you start sanding..
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This is a big old dent in the drivers rear quarter I need to fix along with some rust. Amazingly, this quarter is not totally eaten up. I need to get at everything anyway, so time to take the rear wheels off!
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View of passenger side rear. Some repair work needed towards the back, but not too bad. I must be getting jaded.
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And drivers side. Really not too horrible. I have seen worse. On the other side.
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I jacked it up, and the drivers axle boot started leaking. That did not take long!
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Back to this again.
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Here is the engine. It turns over, but all else is unknown. Oil is very clean, which is weird.
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It likes sitting level! And, the car did not fold in half when I jacked up the back. Don't think I was not worried about it! Also, on any other car, a picture like this would be "oh dear...disaster!". But on this car it represents significant progress!
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Finally, one more before and after pic. I am pretty pleased.
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More to come here at Fi-Rot!
 
Daniel Gibson said:
Bit of a mega-post today, but I like to show progress. Here is the top cover more or less finished. It will need additional sanding and smoothing before paint, but you get the idea. You can see where it turned out there was a ginormous dent on the passengers side I had to work. That was an unexpected surprise, but this car is so rough, you cannot tell until you start sanding..
View attachment 23171

This is a big old dent in the drivers rear quarter I need to fix along with some rust. Amazingly, this quarter is not totally eaten up. I need to get at everything anyway, so time to take the rear wheels off!
View attachment 23172

View of passenger side rear. Some repair work needed towards the back, but not too bad. I must be getting jaded.
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And drivers side. Really not too horrible. I have seen worse. On the other side.
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I jacked it up, and the drivers axle boot started leaking. That did not take long!
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Back to this again.
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Here is the engine. It turns over, but all else is unknown. Oil is very clean, which is weird.
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It likes sitting level! And, the car did not fold
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Finally, one more before and after pic. I am pretty pleased.
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More to come here at Fi-Rot!
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Amazing progress.
As for the clean oil, after an engine sits for a long time without running or moving everything suspended in the oil slowly settles out to the bottom of the pan leaving the oil looking like it was just changed.
On the other hand, maybe the previous owner was more of a mechanic than he was a bodyman and the oil WAS changed just before the car was parked.
 
gene cooley said:
Amazing progress.
As for the clean oil, after an engine sits for a long time without running or moving everything suspended in the oil slowly settles out to the bottom of the pan leaving the oil looking like it was just changed.
On the other hand, maybe the previous owner was more of a mechanic than he was a bodyman and the oil WAS changed just before the car was parked.
Click to expand...
Gene, this engine appears to have been sitting for a LONG time, so I am guessing you are right!
 
What I did with a engine that sat in the desert for years is pour Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders through the plug holes and in the filler. I let that sit a few days then changed the oil with the cheapest oil I could find. I got it started and when it got hot I changed the oil again. I was able to run that engine for a year or so before someone wanted me to build a hot 903 out of it.
 
NM850 said:
What I did with a engine that sat in the desert for years is pour Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders through the plug holes and in the filler. I let that sit a few days then changed the oil with the cheapest oil I could find. I got it started and when it got hot I changed the oil again. I was able to run that engine for a year or so before someone wanted me to build a hot 903 out of it.
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NM850: I haven't tried starting mine, yet. I did like you had and put Marvel oil in the cylinders through the plugs. I didn't put any down the fill hole, though, so I'll put that in there and let it sit a while before I try on mine. Thanks for the tip!
 
I
khnitz said:
NM850: I haven't tried starting mine, yet. I did like you had and put Marvel oil in the cylinders through the plugs. I didn't put any down the fill hole, though, so I'll put that in there and let it sit a while before I try on mine. Thanks for the tip!
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I figured it would help to lube the valve train too.
 
Hi Dan, what prep did you do to the wheels before painting them? I haven't tried sandblasting, yet, but I see a blasting cabinet in my future...just because :)
 
The umbrella is up, and the bumpers are off. Drivers side...no prob. Passenger side...both of the frame bolts snapped off. Should be easy to get to once the engine is out. Still doing bodywork though, and I think that rear panel has had it. I do not believe I can form those curves. Time to start looking!
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Oh, and does anyone have concise, easy-to-follow steps in English on removing the engine?
 
Engine removal. Obviously remove all the normal things, fuel, electric and water.
Put a jack under the engine, remove rear panel. Unbolt engine from transmission and slide out. No need to remove exhaust or water pump.

I have several rear panels. Shipping plus small packing fee. Pictures on demand.
Greyhound ships reasonably but you have to pick it up from the station. For reference I had an Alfa hood shipped from Seattle to Albuquerque for $70.
 
gene cooley said:
Amazing progress.
As for the clean oil, after an engine sits for a long time without running or moving everything suspended in the oil slowly settles out to the bottom of the pan leaving the oil looking like it was just changed.
On the other hand, maybe the previous owner was more of a mechanic than he was a bodyman and the oil WAS changed just before the car was parked.
Click to expand...
I installed a magnetic sump plug that catches a fair bit of crap. Sump plug from a Ducati has the same thread.
 
ramona300: can you share a part number or link for the magnetic sump plug you used? Or did all Ducatis use the same size? Thanks!
 
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