Tony Perez wrote: > By the way, anyone have any thoughts on converting a > 1979 Fiat Spider? I know of one pretty cheap - good > body, bad engine.
Hi Tony, First timers convert pickups a lot. they can handle the weight and they're big enough to fit stuff in. Several companies have good conversion kits. If trucks aren't your bag, look through http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/ (plan to spend some time - there are over 400 cars there). If you see a lot of a particular kind of conversion, it's probably fairly easy. And you'll have a list of people to contact with questions. As for the '79 Spider, this is how many people choose. They run into a deal that gets them rolling. The Fiat could work, but many will caution you about getting a car that's not in really good shape. You'll spend lots of time converting (probably way more than you expect). You don't want to spend lots of time restoring as well. And because of the effort you invest, you'll want the finished product to be something you're proud of. Parts for the Fiat should be available, but you'll have to look a bit to find them. Some are amazingly cheap. (I remember brake rotors for $20?). I'd suggest you look hard for rust. If it's clean, go ahead - then have it rustproofed after conversion. You might also try to find a Porsche 914. Electro Automotive http://www.electroauto.com/ has a kit for it. It's one of the nicest conversions you can build, with good performance _and_ range. When you consider the effort involved in rolling your own conversion, a clean 914 and a VoltsPorsche kit might be the better deal. Good luck! Chris
