[spiderserie4]

Hi Guys,
am thinking of a resto project 1750 roundtail (1968) which has the original hardtop, but no softtop and no softtop frame fitted. Do these interchange with later spider frames (which I have seen s/h on ebay sometimes) or would I be looking for the whole softtop and frame specific to the roundtail?

 

[Stan Murray]

You have to stick with round tail .. the frame and top are different and later than round tails will not work..

 

[spiderserie4]

thought as much, but wasn't sure, so thanks!............so I suppose these are as rare as hens teeth (as we say over here!)..........the frame itself I guess must be a darn hard part to find!?

 

[Bill S]

........the frame itself I guess must be a darn hard part to find!?

And a real pain to ship. One will turn up eventually but I'd say a project car without one is a borderline parts car, even more so than missing bumpers. Is your potential project missing other parts? Fairly solid?

 

[Stan Murray]

Lots of folks build race cars out of boatails... Check on the bb.. a fellow named Nader who is building a race car and will not be using a top.. but requires a big roll bar. Keep watching Ebay. one will show up.. It is amazing how things eventually show.
Post here under parts needed.. Keep posting becaue lots of folk don't check for weeks and then jump back on.
PM me and I will give you a phone number of a friend who has lots of parts but has so many projects going that he just lets them pile up. He very possibly has what you need.
We just gotta get him to hunt for it.

 

[ossodiseppia]

If you get a top frame that still has the top on it, carefully inspect the front bow of the frame. You will need to remove the leading edge of the canvas for a proper inspection. They have sheet metal and are prone to rust. Also, make sure every part is on the frame as parts are non-existant.

I'll look and see what I have in the way of pictures for you to refer to when shopping.

 

[spiderserie4]

thanks all. I will look at the car on the weekend. It's actually on ebay, and I wouldn't even contemplate it apart from the fact it is 5 miles up the road from me, so I can make up my own mind.
It looks sad and neglected, I know, but the owner says it has only 3 owners and hasn't been welded (nothing worse than to work on a car that has been bodged by PO's). Has stood in storage since 1981!
Some strange parts in the trunk that I think don't belong.
Have a look, any welcome info gladly received and if some say don't touch it, also gladly received
eBay: Neue und gebrauchte Elektronikartikel, Autos, Kleidung, Sammlerst?cke, Sportartikel und mehr ? alles zu g?nstigen Preisen

 

[ossodiseppia]

Go have a look at it. Take a digital camera and take lots of photos. Make sure to carefully inspect the under carriage, wheel arches and rocker panels for rust. Open the trunk and carefully inspect for any rear end damage. Look in front of the radiator for any collision damage and look at the radiator support for rust. You've got plenty of time to decide what to do. From the pictures, it looks like a very, very expensive restoration, AKA a parts car.

 

[ossodiseppia]

BTW, that is not an original hard top.

 

[Stan Murray]

Looks like an adventure! Interesting the changes between the 67 and 68.. Wonder if it is a 1750 engine.. or been uped to a 2000.. Steering wheels is 1750 and also ashtray. Single brake booster was added to later 1600s. 2 boosters added on 69s . The parts in the trunk are a set of Webers and a euro air intake.. A bell housing which might mean a transmission year swap from 1600 to 1750-2000...2000s had hanging pedals and would require a bell housing change to make the swap to floor pedals. Probably lots of rust on this car but a great price so far. Anytime you see black on the bottom rockers etc.. it is usually hiding rust.. Looks like a complete tear down and restore to make it a good runable car. Check the floor pans and rockers. It looks very original.. Would be a very fun and rewarding project. Lots to do .. Slow steady rehab, but the results would be worth it, IF you like to do these things. Paying to have it done would be Very expensive.
I would love it! Fun to bring these little cars back to life and admired by those who love them.

 

[spiderserie4]

all extreemly good points, a lot of useful info, which I will take with me when viewing!
Thanx!

 

[Stan Murray]

That looks more like a GTV6 bell housing that would go to the transaxle .. Not for the boatail..

 

[flivesay]

Under hood configuration looks like my 68--1750 has 1 booster. If the wheel is a hellebore then its right for a 1750. Extra pull switch to the left of the steering wheel. Side marker lights missing from rear of front wheel arch--but something is stuck in front of the arch. Mirrors are strange

 

[Stan Murray]

Sometimes the Junior has only 2 lights.. but also has smaller engine and 2 spoke steeringwheel. So your 68 has the same ashtray as the 69? Juniors also have rocker seams according to the gathered info on the bb. So what is the xtra pull switch for?

Thanks!
Stan

 

[ossodiseppia]

This looks to be a 1750 to me. If you look in the bottom right corner of the engine compartment picture, you can see a bit of the brake/clutch fluid reservoir and mount. The radiator is a 1750 as evidenced by the fifth mount on the fan shroud. That's an extremely rare original shroud that most owners covet. You can see the voltage regulator which indicates an alternator. The last thing that I see is the radiator cowl just in front of the upper radiator support.

On the interior picture, I see the Helibore steering wheel. But, that alone is not enough as that is easily change. The glove box door is that of a 1750. The Juniors have the same lid as on a 1600 Duetto and lack the plastic insert with the two circular depressions. As others have mentioned, the ashtray is that of a 1750. The Juniors have a small ashtray like the 1600 Duetto. Lastly, the seats are from a 1750. 1300 Juniors did not have the same mechanism for adjusting the rake of the seat back.

 

[Stan Murray]

Thanks! I did notice the door latches on the black painted jams are the later type and the fuse box has moved from the fender wall to under the dash.. Very cool to see all the changes .. including the shift lever that doesn't have the lockout that the 1600s have. I enjoy your keen eye on this.
Looks like a fun project. I know you'd do it right!

 

[spiderserie4]

In the end the car went for 6220 $ - I thought that was a lot considering it had been standing for 30 years and needed a ground up resto........and then might be worth at the end..... what?.... 30/35k US$ on a good day?
............anycase too much for me...........back to the trusty S4!

The soft top frame alone (and the back piece) which the car didn't have, would be 1500$ here in europe (there is a fairly good used one on ebay for that price) so spares alone would cost a bomb before you started doing the body properly.