Hello from Vancouver Island

[launieg]

Hello all. I have recently acquired an '81 spider, and just today I got it running. It had been sitting for 6 years, and the ignition was shot. It sounds good now, and I look forward to a rolling restoration. The car was bought new by PO in California, and it looks sad now but sound. Tomorrow I'll check all the levels and brakes and take it for a brief drive. Yayy!
If anyone is from or near Victoria, BC, Canada, let me know. I'd like to meet other owners, and I look forward to reading this forum regularly.

[So Cal Mark]

welcome! what a great place to live.

[rlux4]

Hello, and welcome launieg. Congrats on your new hobby. You've come the right place. If you have any questions you'll get answers here. Sometimes even the right answer!
You're a couple hundred miles from the FEN event in Issaquah coming up 4/29. Look for it in "Fiat Spider Events". They sound like a wild bunch, they meet where it's XXX!
Let's see some pictures of your car.
Good luck
Ron

[launieg]

Thanks for the welcome guys. I had previously been working on a TR7 and will miss that forum (great one) but I am liking what I see here! Only problem so far is that I find very poor supply of fiat parts in Canada, certainly in the west. Will be ordering from the US regularly I guess - good to see range of suppliers there.

I will get some pics posted soon. Been somewhat busy last week or so. The car needs a replacement fuel pump and a couple of odd things. After new distributor pickup and module, I had it briefly running though, and it sounded great. I'm ready to clean it up now, after sitting for 6 years - feeling reassured that I do not have a pig in a poke!

Photos coming soon!

[mbouse]

rolling restores are the best kind. you get to enjoy it now AND later.

congrats, and welcome.

[launieg]

Okay, finally satisfied it will run okay, and time to clean it up a bit. But first the "before" shots. The only rust of concern is two spots near the bottom of the driver's door, and where the insignia was on the trunk. The paint down to the pinstriping is shot, while the rest is good. The PO (from new) paid $900 years ago for some kind of plastic coating intended to protect the paint. They did down to the pinstriping , obviously, and it caused some paint bubbling and surface rust speckle, and now that plastic can be peeled off!



The interior is filthy, and today I took it all out and scrubbed it down with kitchen cleaner and a stiff brush and hosed it off. At least the grime is gone. But not in this before shot. By the way, I found that the bottom of the passenger seat was rusting badly, but the floorpan is fine. I'm guessing it somehow got wet inside the seat cushion. Likewise, the back seat wire frame is rusty, but not badly.



Can see here where the insignia rusted off.



And the damp of sitting for 6 years had put a bit of rust into spots throughout the engine bay, nothing serious at all.



The driver's door has a wobbly top hinge. I'm guessing it is broken off the sheet metal. Will have to get that fixed quick. I got duplicate keys yesterday (whew), and today I did the full POR15 treatment in the fuel tank. Lot of work, doing the tank dance. Replacement fuel pump will go on in a day or two.

I should add that I paid $500, so I am happy. A great project, soon to be rolling (restoration).
Thanks to all for the welcome. I am very impressed by this forum (i.e. the people on it). I look forward to picking up many ideas from it.

[rlux4]

Wow! That's great Launie. I've seen cars only good for parts go for $500. I hope the broken hinge doesn't turn out to be too major a problem. It sounds like you get to enjoy driving her while you go through the resto. Gook luck.
Ron

[Jazgeek]

Howdy fellow Canadian.

I too have an 81 FI. Yes I do agree with you that there are very few sources for Canadian based Fiat parts. It seems as though there were not many sold in Canada therefore the demand for parts wasn't great. About the only place I could find for Fiat parts were Andy's Spiders in Toronto http://www.andyspiders.com/ and Pinarello Motori http://www.pinarellomotori.com/ also in Toronto. Neither have a catalog or online ordering system but Andy's has about 30 or 40 spiders in various shape in his yard at any given time and his shelves are stocked with used parts coming out his ears. Pinarello is my mechanic and he specializes in fiats, alfa's and ferrari's so he's got a loft full of stuff. Email works welll with Andy's but you need to phone Pino at Pinarello's (he's not too internet savvy)

I've had good luck so far with Ebay and Vick's auto hasn't let me down either. Careful of the duty though, if the country of origin wasn't US then you could be paying upwards of 30% duty depending on the part.

Good luck with your project and make sure you get good rust proofing out there on the island!

[mbouse]

i'm thinking a rolling restoration is gonna be your big project for the rest of the year. Happily, with only $500 initial investment, you can easily build yourself up to a prime automobile.

if by chance that hinge is broken, and it is just the hinge, i have a spare. More 'n likely it will be a sheet metal issue (ouch).

[launieg]

Thanks for the support and advice. I'm glad to now have the two Toronto parts sources - certainly wasn't aware of them. Believe it or not, there does not seem to be any in Vancouver! However, I regularly spot at least two spiders here in Victoria (20 minutes away) and when I have a chance to ask those owners, I'll find out where they get parts.

The door is a bit of a concern, but will have to wait a week or so before I investigate. Perhaps it is just the hinge itself (with great hope). I'll let you know.

There is a 78 spider "project" nearby, and I suspect he'd take $1000. How much on a '78 is different from an '81 (apart from fuel injection). Could be a good parts car, including a driver's door, plus it comes with a factory option hardtop.

Great forum!

[pope]

Maybe your should repaint it the way it looks now. Light silver flake above the pinstripe and a darker blue gray on the bottom, I kinda like that effect as in pic #1, but only in new paint.

[So Cal Mark]

don't paint it without fixing the door first! I have yet to see a bad hinge; it's always been a cracked door. The 78 may have the earlier doors on it, which would mean different outside handles.
As for parts sources, isn't Joe Clemente's brother in the Vancouver area? Do a members' search for Joe and shoot him an email

[rlux4]

Isn't the '78 an 1800 engine? I'm thinking '79 was the first year for the 2000. If so there's one difference.
Ron

[launieg]

Yes Ron, you are pointing out what should have been obvious to me. I guess it is the idea of picking up a hardtop at a reasonable price that has me considering what is actually not a great parts car for me. I'll pass this one by. I guess I'm getting carried away because of the continuing lousy weather.

And Mark, I've sent a message through to Joe Clemente, thanks. You got me looking through the members list, and now I don't feel quite so isolated!

As for paint, I think I do not like this light metallic blue original color. Maybe I'll change my mind though. I also do not like the way the tan interior is perfect for showing dirt and scuff marks. Sorting out a good color combination will be an interesting puzzle. I want classy but showy too. Lots of time to decide.

[rlux4]

Don't get me started on the weather launie. One of my favorite winter passtimes is razzing the members who live in colder areas (which is just about everywhere when you live in So Cal).
Ron