San Antonio Spider!

[SanAnEliseMan]

Just bought my first 1980 Fiat Spider after years of wanting one! Really looking forward to restoring it and at the same time retrofitting it. Here is a link to my ebay victory of the Fiat. . . eBay Fiat

I love the fact that it is a 1980 with the FI engine and some nice amenities, but during the restoration process I will replace the 1980 looking parts. . . bumper, mirrors, steering wheel, lights, windshield wipers, etc. . . with parts to make the Fiat resember more of a 1960s Spider. Really looking forward to this project and cant wait to delve further into this site for lots of help! Thanks in advance!!!

[So Cal Mark]

welcome to the site, that will be a cool project

[rlux4]

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on the car. I also got my red one from Ebay. I love my car, hope yours is a good one too.
Ron

[SanAnEliseMan]

Thanks for the warm welcome! Really looking forward to getting the car in a couple weeks! Excited about the project and the fun and frustrations along the way!!! Any South TX Fiat owners on here???

[baltobernie]

Great looking car. Looks like you "bought right", and have a good platform to work from. Why not get your experience off on the right note by dollying the car home, rather than trying to drive it.

[mbouse]

wow, that one picture of you after your test drive sure makes you look YEARS younger. Congratulations on just that!!

looks like a very nice car. I expect to see wear like that on the top. fortunately the top is an easy D.I.Y. replacement project that does not entail a fortune to install.

the center console shows some unusual wear which can be easily fixed with either a cap or a new aftermarket console.

welcome to the site, and please keep us posted on your progress

[kristoj]

Nice! The car looks very clean and, most importantly, rust free. A/C is a nice touch too, especially in your warm climate (those of us lucky ones up North don't need A/C, just a really strong heater)! It looks like the items that need to be repaired are fairly simple. Hopefully, it runs as good as it looks. Welcome and good luck with the project. I think you bought it right.

[SanAnEliseMan]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. . . definitely feel like I got my $$$ worth so far. I did decide to ship it and it will be shipped via enclosed truck shipment on Monday. I will post pictures with updates as I go through the restoration and retrofitting process.

[SanAnEliseMan]

Below is a link to my progress over the first couple of weeks. . . next weekend I tackle the timing belt and water pump (should be interesting) and I am still debating about the removal of the rear bumper (which doesnt bother me nearly as much as the front. I am also looking for some older chrome looking rearview mirrors to put on, but until then I think it looks better sans the 1980 faded plastic mirrors (just need to plug the holes for now).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27476025@N02/

[baltobernie]

Looks good!

Repro vintage mirrors are available from the usual vendors.

[rlux4]

You could have problems ahead of you. Looks like your wife is ready to drive the car. You may not get much drive time if she does. I have the perfect wife. She will go with me, but isn't interested in driving the Spider herself.
How's the car doing mechanically?
Ron

[SanAnEliseMan]

You could have problems ahead of you. Looks like your wife is ready to drive the car. You may not get much drive time if she does. I have the perfect wife. She will go with me, but isn't interested in driving the Spider herself.
How's the car doing mechanically?
Ron

Ron-
I would rather have the wife that wants to drive than the wife that doesnt understand/suppot our need to tinker on these gorgeous machines . The wife and I love to go on drives through Texas Hill County and I even asked her to marry me at a rest stop on RM-32 "Devil's Backbone" that overlooks the hill country (sounds more romantic than it is since it is a very special spot to us). We also love to put together group drives. Looking forward to a month or two from now when the Fiat is totally ready to take a drive through the hill country and I can put together one of my famous winery drives. As far as driving. . . she will probably drive it eventually, but unless I offer she probably wont ask. However, no one will be driving it much until I get a chance to change out the timing belt next weekend. Car is running well and besides a battery that was DOA it has been completely flawless (the battery was from 1998 so it was time to change anyway ). I will probably change the mirrors and emblems and then turn my attention to the interior. . . specifically the dash, center console, and carpets (seats are in good shape).

-James

[SanAnEliseMan]

My dad visited this weekend for father's day and we spent the weekend replacing the oil, filter, coolant, water pump, and timing belt. The timing belt took a lot longer than I expected, but have it timed closer to 10 BTDC now and it runs much smoother. The best part about the project was finding other things that need to be replaced soon. . . spark plugs asap and looks like the radiator and fan are original so I will replace them sometime in the near future as well. Will probably clean the engine a little bit before I take pictures and have pictures up later this week. Tried cleaning out the resevoir tank as well (lots of sludge build up) but even with salt and cleaners it still looks very murky. Plan on painting the timing cover red as well to match the color of the car. I love this little car!

I have decided that I want to have the car in pretty good restoration/retrofitting order by October of 09 so lots of work to be done, but man it is fun!

[rlux4]

SanAn, concerning the resevoir tank, did you see this thread?
http://www.fiatspider.com:16080/f08/vie ... =15&t=3085
Mine came out very well using clean sand. Reading the thread, you'll find some people do it with dry sand, and I did start that way, but ended up adding water. It worked really well for me.
Ron

[SanAnEliseMan]

UPDATE: Removed carpeting and center console. . . laying carpet down on the back of the new carpet. This weekend I will cut out and install the new carpet. Pictures so far are here http://www.flickr.com/photos/27476025@N ... 506646785/