Wrt the rust, it's always worse than it looks. Wrt the wiring, how long was the battery connected backwards? I'd expect a couple of major wires to/from the battery alternator to show signs of heat, but not every wire under the hood. Have you tried things with the battery connected properly? What happens?
As far as the wiring goes, worst case you'll need to replace the wiring harness, the alternator, the starter, and all of the gauges. That's actually not that much, and chances are most of those items are fine. There's not a lot to these early cars, I made my own wiring harness and fuse box for my '72. I'd try to get it to the point where you can connect a battery (the right way) and see what happens. Then you can decide if it's a fair price or not. Overall it sounds ok, especially given that you know the owner, mechanic, and history. Good luck! bs -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bruce Young Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 8:30 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [alfa] Should I buy this spider? In a nutshell.. 1978 w60K Good body overall, some quarter-panel rust, some, actually quite a bit under the spare tire but the floors are good and have been taken care of... actually not that much overall... just mainly cosmetic. Newly restored (75% +) interior, new top, all mechanicals tip top for it's age, new spica, crack in dash, all manuals, fairly complete (last 5 years) maintenance history with a local respected Alfa guy, most everything mechanical has been taken care of buy a guy that knows alfas.... ( and I also know the people that own the car.... hmmnnn....) Great origianal wheels, new tires - the car is brown..... oh well,.... but it looks to be a good 'project driver' but.... The HUGE downside is that the owner connected the battery backwards and fried the wiring under the hood. No obvious damage beyond the firewall but.... it melted most of the insulation around all the other wires under the hood. We're going to check for shorts inside the cockpit, but can I repair this? And will it be a nightmare that I will never awaken from? Asking $1500 but I can probably get it for 12. I don't mind spending a year working on and learning the thing, but I'd like to eventually drive it to... it's actually a nice car overall for a '78 and I'd love to have it.... but....... Any thoughts appreciated, as I'm new here. Thanks, Bruce -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected] -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
