1980 Spider 2000

[CarlosJavier]

Hey guys and gals. I've roamed your forums for several weeks now and decided to join.

I recently got my hands on a 1980 Spider. My aunt bought it new in Puerto Rico as a 1981 model. When she moved to GA in 1995 she brought the car to the US mainland but decided to give it to my uncle in FL. My uncle drove it until 2003 when the starter gave out, and the car then just sat in his garage until several weeks ago when he called me up and offered it to me as a gift. I have fond childhood memories of the car and decided to trailer it home.

I put in a new battery, starter, spark plugs, fuel pump, fuel filter, and replaced some rotted fuel hoses to see if it would run. I emptied out the gas tank, gave it a so-so cleaning, and put some new fuel in and the car started up and went through all gears, albeit on jackstands and with an engine miss. I put some load on it for a by applying the brakes and the thermostatic fan even came on. I traced the engine miss to two injectors - one was barely spraying and another was stuck open. After seeing that the car still has life in it I ordered a new set of injectors and have been thoroughly cleaning out the gas tank, fuel lines, and fuel rail in preparation for their upcoming installation.

Hopefully I can contribute a bit to this forum. I'll post up some pics soon...

[CarlosJavier]

[Zippy]

Carlos,

Welcome to the forum.

It's always nice to have a car that you know the history of. Having one in the family for it's entire life is really special. It sounds like you're handy with the tools so this should be a piece of cake for you. Looks like a nice car.

Al

[NJFIAT1981]

Hi Carlos,
Welcome to the Forum. What a great story. The best of luck to you with your new Spider. You will find lot's of friendly folks here that are more than willing to answer questions and pass along information. Regards, George

[rlux4]

Hi Carlos, welcome to the forum. Good for you getting one of these great cars back on the road.
Looks like you have a very nice one, congratulations.
Ron

[CarlosJavier]

Thanks for the welcome guys!

[azygoustoyou]

Hi Carlos,
Welcome to the Forum. Sounds like your going to have that thing purring. What do you plan on doing with it next? It looks like a nice car.

[velozi]

So where is the car now?

Puerto Rico, Georgia or Florida?

[CarlosJavier]

The car is currently in FL.

The game plan is to make it good enough to be a quasi-daily driver...

[TulsaSpider]

Good looking car! Replace all the rubber parts under the hood. Timing belt is most important! Change ASAP! Welcome and best of luck!

[BEEK]

in near the orlando area, if i can be of any assistance the me know

[CarlosJavier]

Thanks Beek!

[DUCeditor]

She's a beauty Carlos, and has always been in warm climes, away from salty roads. That is key because if the structure is sound everything else is replaceable or fixable.

Best wishes for your project. Please let us know how you progress and never hesitate to ask for help and suggestions if you have any questions.

-don

[salspaugh1]

Congratulations on becoming a new owner of a Spider. Looks like it has a good body and a very popular brown color. I watched E-bay, and the color seems to sell quicker. Sounds like you are taking care of the normal items that occur when a car sits for a long period of time. You are lucky it was in a warm, salt free climate, that will save you a lot of problems. I'm sure you will enjoy it has a frequent driver. Good luck.


Steve Alspaugh
1981 Spider 2000