So anyway, I just couldn't find the right one for me. Then, three weeks ago I was doing my daily ebay check and this pretty yellow Los Angeles 124 popped up. It had a $5,800 "buy it now", and there were three or four bids already in for about $2,500. A few hours later I had a 45 minute chat with the owner, and the next day we made a deal. (He had it on Craigslist too.)
I can't believe I bought a spider 3000+ miles away, sight on seen. But I just threw the rule book out the window and did it.
Today, 13 days later the car was delivered to my door. I already had all the paperwork done, title transferred, car registered and insured and had historic plates. So I skipped lunch, drove to the gas station and filled the empty tank then drove back to the office in my new Fiat.
It starts, runs and stops. It's a little rough around the edges but I can't find any rust. It seems pretty cool. Here's some pictures. The car's filthy from it's cross country trip on an open car carrier, but even so, it still looks a little better than it acutally is. I figure the paint's about 10 or 12 years old. Take a look at the interior. Yes, it is Green. I'll bet it was a very expensive job, even the consoles are covered in the green. But its a little tatty now too.
So anyway, I'm pretty pleased so far. All the New Jersey guys have made me feel very welcome, particularly NJFIAT 1981 (George) and LANCIAHF (Ralph) who have provided endless support and advice. They are coming to see the car on Sunday, I hope they like it too.
Good luck1