I've had the gray '83 Pinanfarina Spider sitting on blocks in the garage for 6 years or so. I work on it in bursts. I've posted about it off and on in specific threads but might as well center the restoration in the thread.

I had been dreading working on the bent seats. The have been sitting outside under a tarp but did get some water in the foam. Last year I brought them inside and pulled the upholstry off one to get a good look. And they sat.... A month or so ago I got around to bending the seat frame back to straight. That was easy - too easy, no wonder they bend. Once aligned I welded a set of 2 braces on the back of the frame which appeared to make them much more rigid. I got the idea from some other website where this guy did the same. Sorry I've lost the link. Anyway back together and in the car and looking much better.

So many things have been done on the car. The engine and transmission are out. Brake lines and master have been replace. New calipers and rotors. The drill out mod done to the banjo bolts (gotta get bigger brakes sooner or later). The interior has been gutted, painter with black POR and a few holes mended with welded steel plated and epoxy fairing. POR again. A layer of sound proofing and some generic carpet stock cut to fit. IAP red springs and KYB shocks (koni some day).



Mice had made nests in the car while it sat in a barn (it is a barn find more or less). With the biggest nest on the battery platform inthe right rear quarter panel. Lots of rust, rusted clear through in places. A big restoration project. I'm thinking to repair in place rather than get a new quarter panel.

Right now I'm looking to replace the dash. The dash from the car has 2 big cracks on on each side of the radio console cutout - plus some warping from getting too wet. I'll start another thread asking Vicks Dash? Or someone else?

Hi evm1024

I am going through the same type of restoration! Good luck and have patience

Started a dry build of the engine.

I just dug around the board and found a few of my other posts on the '83 from ages gone by.... Nothing for the '75 I had.

Here are some links to the Mouse Pee problem http://fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic.php ... 03#p185103

and the Signature on the bulkhead http://fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic.php ... 74#p185274

Image links updated!

Good luck with finding a dash and center console items. Those are 83-85 only parts. AR has the dash, but not the center console. Last time I checked Spiderpoint had it all, but it's expensive. If you are not concerned about it being OEM for an 83 you could always install the 82 dash and center console.

Yes, Hard to source the Dash. Vicks does offer one. I wondered if anyone is using one in a different thread.

Dash Black, Pininfarina Spider 83-85 - (SKU 50-9338)

How did you end up with a carburetor on your '83 engine?

Europa wrote:How did you end up with a carburetor on your '83 engine?

The Twin 40 IDF was an upgrade to my 1800 '75 that was crashed and eventually died...

I've been building this 2 liter motor for a while. And planned to convert from FI to the IDF from the beginning.

- 8mm dome pistons
- Big valves (and better springs)
- mildly ported
- milled head that has 50 cc chambers (sad in some ways)
- 40/80, 80/40 cams
- twin 40 IDF with 32mm chokes
- Adjustable cam gears
- Aluminum crank pully and aux shaft pully
- Aux shaft with removed lobe
- lightened flywheel (by PBS) with dowels
- "stock" 421 exhaust header (plan to run 2" or 2.25" to tailpipe)

With 8mm dome pistons and a decked head with 50 cc chambers the CR is a worry. Here are my calculations:

50.0 cc Combustion chamber volume
001. cc Valve cutout
0.73 cc ring land
2.69 cc deck clearence
7.38 cc 0.050" gasket
-12.4 cc 8mm dome pistons

which gives 49.4 cc with a total swept volume of 503.51 cc (84.4 dia pistons) we get a CR of 11.2:1
(503.51 / 49.4 +1 = 11.19)

A "bit too high"

By switching over to a 2mm head gasket we change the total volume to 53.64 cc and get a final CR of 10.4:1
(503.51 / 53.64 +1 = 10.386)

This assumes little or no compression of the head gasket. SO the final CR will be greater.

If we will off 1mm from the top of the domes we would reduce the dome volume by 1 cc and get a 10.2:1 CR

If we mill off 2mm from the top of the domes we would reduce the dome volume by 2.22 cc and get a 10.0:1 CR

Another option is to switch to 4mm dome pistons.

evm1024 wrote:Yes, Hard to source the Dash. Vicks does offer one. I wondered if anyone is using one in a different thread.

Dash Black, Pininfarina Spider 83-85 - (SKU 50-9338)

And the dash is easier to find than the center consoles.

When i check for my 83 it was like $2500. I decide to cover all the console. It cost me $1200 to change my interior from tan to black including a boot.

The car has been on stands for the last 6 years. My goal is to get it road worthy by next fall. Here it is with wheels on it for the first time in the last 6 years. The turbo wheels have some really bad looking tires on them that I did not want to inflate. So it has the Iron Cross with 13" Sumitomo HTR200 in 205/60R13

A quick question - This car is the Canadian version. Speedo in Km, Canadian emissions stickers. Are there any differences of note between the US and Canadian versions?

It appears to be 3/83 manufacture date. It has the hood and trunk emblems that say Fiat. When did Pininfarina switch over to to the F or sailboat emblems. I will need to replace them as the the originals are very faded.

I picked up a dash cap and had good results with the install. The tub of glue was half cured so I ended up using 3M 4200 that I had around. I'll be using these Kahaya dash wood pieces after I do a bit more work on them. This will include 7 or 8 coats of Schooner varnish.




Kahaya is also known as African Mahogany.

We used kahaya frequently in the cabinet business, a really nice wood, great to work with and lovely consistent grain. Nice choice!