spiders don't like the cold

[puddin]

january in MD below freezing most of the day
my fiat runs rough and won't get out of it's own way

the trans is hard to shift
the fluid is too stiff

the top leaks air
it's cold in here

the heat don't work for sh*t
I'm getting pisst

when will summer come
so i can have some fun

[ITA124]

G'Day puddin,

Don't despair. Here in Australia summer is inversely proportional

The engine overheats, even travelling at 100kph (60mph)

If I had air con, it would probably overstress the engine and overheat anyway

With the top, up the cabin temp is about 50 deg C (122 F)

With the top down, you get sun burnt in about 5 min

If you sit on the seat belt buckle, it'll burn a perfect imprint on you lower back

The starter won't work above 35 deg C (95 F)

The carby vapour locks

This is all trumped though by Girls in bikinis Love it

[puddin]

they don't look like can push your spider very far

[CajunMike]

Yeah mine never liked the cold. When the temp was less than about 50f mine took forever to get to a steady idle. I can't imagine how it would have run in sub freezing temps.

One time in my younger days I had invited a girl over to my house and she got lost and called me from a pay phone. Normally I would have jumped into my car and gone to pick her up but it was cold out and I hadn't driven the spider all day. I told her that my car would take forever to warm up and that she was on her own. She did make it to my house but wasn't impressed. Needless to say she didn't make a second date.

[ga.spyder]

My 82 f.i. Spider doesnt mind the cold weather.It starts right up and idles nice,even below freezing.The top does leak a lot though and thats uncomfortable. I went to a lighter oil in the tranny,and it isnt as stiff as it used to be,but I never leave the garage until car is up to 170 deg,or so.

[So Cal Mark]

if your car is carbed, I'd make sure the choke works properly and the state of tune is correct. If your ignition system and carb aren't perfect, the car won't run perfectly. As far as leaky top and substandard heater, those are the joys of a 30 yr old convertible!

[124ADDHE]

Its warm enough now (-1c) however we have had a few cold patches this winter and due to my wife having the Rover and working the evenings, I am forced to do a 25km trip 3 nights a week to teach Taekwondo in town which has ment 3 trips in -20C temps! My biggest problem is de-icing the windshield (Sorry fiat, Jaggy and Rover get garage), the engine loves the solex addhe carbs (great fuel enrichment for cold starting with the fuel pot system) and heats up nicely in the first 3km's; reverse does have a tendancy to grind no matter how long you hold in the clutch though, even with the 20-50 oil in the tranny, so i just try to align the car so that it can pull out forwards.

it is a bit cool in the car though, have to wear a jacket.

The fresh snow is sure a lot of fun with rwd and that lovely exhaust note...

[mdrburchette]

My Fiats don't mind the cold. They're all tucked in neatly in their little garage.

[puddin]

gonna put some 50w eng oil in the trans -- that will take care of the hard shifting

guess ill just have to wait till spring to really enjoy it..

[ga.spyder]

Having paid for an expensive tranny rebuild,I had been hesitant to put anything other than the 90w non-GL1,that the factory rec.However,Aceventura made a post a while back,showing his tranny after years of running Valvoline VR1 50w Racing Oil.The thing looked like brand new!!I changed over to it,and the tranny has never felt better.Much easier shifting when cold.

[sptcoupe]

When we lived in northern WIsconsin in the late 70's we had the coupe and a 131 (carbed). If you read the manuals from back then, which included a supplement for cars sold in the northern tier states, you will see that they called for straight 10W, or 10W-20 motor oil when temps were consistently below 10 degrees Farenheit (which was always the case in January/February). I never had a starting problem due to the engine not wanting to turn over, even with temps in the -20-30 degree Fareheit range - as long as I ran that 10W oil. They also called for 50W oil in the tranny. I recall that the first winter I didn't believe them about the tranny, until one -26 degree morning I went out to start the car, pushed the clutch in, and couldn't get it off the floor until I crawled under the car and heated the tranny with a propane torch with the flame applied directly to the tranny! I was a believer after that, and never had another problem after I changed the tranny oil out.

My biggest starting problem was with the carb(s). When you set the choke (closed the choke plate at the top of the carb) and started the car, the moisture in the gas would rise as a fine mist just above the carb bores, and instantly freeze -making it impossible to move the choke plate with the choke cable! Hate to think about how many times I had to get out in minus 20 degree weather to remove the air cleaner box top and manually move the choke plate, as it took forever for the carb top (with super cold air pouring over it) to warm up enough to use the cable.