Sucker for a Spider!

[Jack]

 ;)Hey All
I've always wanted a sports car and I've always noticed old Spiders.
I'm self employed and sometimes flat out sometimes slack.
I got the chance to get into a Spider and seen too many goods things go by
unexperienced so I thought "what the hell!"
The new paint on this car looks fantastic, not perfect but extreemly red.
I paid too much, I spend a lot of time tinkering and fixing up things left undone for too long,
I spend a lot of time trawling ebay for bits, but boy do I love driving this little car!
I live near the beach at the moment and have to expend a lot of energy on storage/protection
so if anybody has any good tips on rust prevention lets have them please.
If your in the Dandenongs or near the Black Spur on a weekend and see a Spider in the new red doing 55km
and there is a big smile behind the wheel, thats me!
Cheers
Jackho

[alfagtv58]

Hi Jackho,

I live in Dandenongs so I will keep my eyes peeled for you!!

Are you a member?  You should join in on the early morning runs, you would probably get to see some roads you wouldn't ordinarily travel and it would be great to see a spider out on those runs

[Jack]

Hey Phil
Long time getting back to you but here I am.
I'm going to try and get on the Sept 17 early morning run.
How many cars do they get on these meets?
Cheers
Jack

[Fast Eddie]

Jack,
we tend to get a solid bunch of regulars to these great runs anywhere from 5 to 20 depending on weather, commitments etc.

Damien always finds fun roads so a great opportunity to meet some members, go for an early mornign blast then settle in for a late breakfast.

The more the merrier so hope you can make it.  all you need to do is rock up by the starting time to receive your instructions.  All you need then is a melways and hopefully a navigator to ride shotgun.  If not, we tend to go in some form of convoy anyway.

will see you there - rain, hail or shine
Edward
Vice President

[Jack]

Sorry mate
But the rain and the hail are a no go for my spider.
Ive got a cloth top that shall we say "Breathes" in the wet.
Whats more I just dont like getting him wet because I imadgine I can hear the sills
crumbling on the inside!
Here's to a clear morning.
Cheers

[Beatle]

Jack,

I swear by fishoil for rustproofing, but it can get messy.  Careful planning makes the job easier though.  I guess one of the new lanoline based products would suffice, but fishoil is still the best penetrating rustproofing agent I've found, and it also slows existing rust better than most things.

Knowing the innards of your vehicle is the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of fighting off corrosion.  You can fill the car with fishoil but it's not going to do any good if you apply it to the wrong areas.

The sills and the sections behind the front wheels are the most critical areas.  Strip as much soft furnishing as you can, then CLEAN out the cavities before squirting in your preferred gunk.  make certain that most of it runs out, and keep all the drains free.  Drill extra drain holes if the factory ones aren't in the lowest extremities and keep them clean and free.

Don't be frightened of clean water.  On it's own it doesn't really cause a corrosion issue.  A build up of crud which holds water is the real issue.

[Jack]

Hey Paul
Yes I'm into the fish oil, so much so that my daughter loves the car but sometimes complains about the "fishy" smell.
Still, that blows away pretty quick.
The front of the sills is a problem and I can see remains of rusted holes inside when looking in from the front wheel arches.
As for getting in and getting rid of gunk, well flushing them with water would be my only option I guess.
Would that be advisable?
At least I've got acess due to the existing holes!!Ha Ha (sob sob). How else would I get in there?
This car (and maybe me also) has had a number done on it with filler, under body tar and a modern Alfa red.
The duco although far from perfect does look pretty good and I'm aware of rust being cut out from the floor in a couple of sections.
I've also found 50 cent sized holes below the inboard rear seat mounts. I ground them off roughly, put anti rust on the surface and taped them up. Am going to get them cut clean and new metal welded in soon.
The jack mounts are really shit also, to the point where I cracked the duco just abouve the rear mount trying to use the standard jack. Got a little modern screwup jack now I keep in the boot.
Anyway, trying to keep it looking as flash as possible and always fun to drive.
Cheers
Jack

[Beatle]

Hmmm, if you are game, you can cut an access hole in the inner sill.  The first cut, as they say, is the hardest, but done properly it gives you access you simply don't have.  Check the pics of how I did my past Duetto by going to:  http://au.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/beatle_bayly/my_photos

You need to know the inner construction of the sill before cutting large holes as there is some internal bracing.  I may still have the measurements somewhere but I basically worked it out by drilling a series of small holes and probing with bent wire to determine the location of internal lumps and bumps.

Failing that, clean out the drains at the lower edge of the sills and then give it a powerful squirt with water.  Keep flushing at different points to dislogde any crud.  Leave it to drain then spray LOTS of WD spray in there.  You will need to buy a gallon or so and use something like a garden sprayer.  A pressure pack won't cut it and you'll neeed to apply it on the upper inner surfaces as well.

Try to do this in the heat of summer and try alternating parking the car at angles so as to drain any excess.  Also, if you can gain access, sticking a warm air source into the sills will assist purging the moisture.  Even just a blow gun on low flow will greatly assist the drying.

After a few days of this, and an extended time to dry completely, go ahead with the fishoil/lanoline (using your new garden sprayer).