New Member from Kentucky

[Clint]

My name is Clint and I live in far west Kentucky. At this time I do not have a Fiat but am waiting for a fellow club member to decide if he is going to sell his 1980 Spider 2000. I thought I would join and learn a little about Fiats before I jump in over my head. I had an Alfa Spider some years ago and it sat much more than it ran. Alfa valves are very expensive to have adjusted and it takes special shims to complete the job. I am hoping to learn that Fiats are easier to maintain.

Clint in Kentucky

[baltobernie]

The Fiat and Alfa motors are very similar, and both use shims for valve adjustment. The good news is that you should only need to have this done every few years in typical Spider driving.

You'll also find that Fiat parts are much less expensive than equivalent Alfa ones. Several vendors, some of which you may have used in the past, carry items for both brands.

[Clint]

The Fiat and Alfa motors are very similar, and both use shims for valve adjustment.

I really didn't want to know that.

[ga.spyder]

Hey Clint,welcome to the site.I am far from being a master mechanic,but I did the valves in my car.I did have help from another owner(also not as mechanic).I dont know why this would be an expensive repair.Shims are $3 and shop time couldnt be more than 2 hours.Like Bernie said,this isnt something that has to be done very often.Anyway,I hope you get the car and find it needs nothing!
Craig

[rlux4]

Hi Clint, welcome to the forum. By all means, don't be put off by the way our valves are adjusted. I did mine (actually Ventura Ace did mine while I watched and learned) and it's not rocket science.
Here's a pic of me watching and learning while Ace works on my car:

See? It's not hard at all!
Ron

[Gunsmith]

Hey Ron that looks like Ventura Ace is ready to become a Gunsmith

Hey man you have to get a Fiat in Western Kentucky the roads are begging for it. Just search for a mechanic that "Ain't scared of foreign jobies" and you should be fine.