bulick@bambi.UUCP (Stephen L. Bulick) (05/30/85)
I am looking for a someone in northern NJ (I live in Madison) who does welding. Here is my problem: I have a 1982 Fiat Spider (yeah, I know) with a muffler that has separated from the pipe leading into it at a welded joint. This happened about 5000 miles ago and the garage said the only solution was to replace the piece, since "nobody welds these things anymore". At the time I lacked the time and inclination to pursue the matter very far. The cost was close to $120 with the part and labor. Now, this thing is practically new - hardly any rust on it and its still solid except for the break. It looks to me to be an easy welding job. What I would like to do is remove the appropriate parts of the exhaust system, which appears to be merely a matter of several bolts and hangers, and take it to someone who will weld it back together. I will then reinstall it myself. (I have replaced exhaust systems in other cars myself, including the heater boxes on a VW bug). The real question, of course, is why it breaks in the first place. I know that I have backed out of driveways and parking lots that were steep enough to cause the tail pipe to scrape the street. And, of course, it is a Fiat, tho manufactured by Pininfarina. But the exhaust system does not seem to hang abnormally low, and all the braces and hangers seem solid. Am I doomed to fixing this every few thousand miles? Incidentally, aside from being run into a few times, I have had very little trouble with this car: its great fun to drive and the top works very easily. Steve Bulick !bellcore!bambi!bulick Bell Communications Research 435 South Street, MRE 2A-274 Morristown, NJ 07960 (201) 829-4587