Bella Lives!
Originally uploaded by The Put-Man.
"Bella", my '74 Fiat Spider, is once again mobile!
Yes, under her own power!
New & Improved - now with brakes!
She has the Banshee-wail of a failing water-pump bearing...you can hear me coming from half a mile away...and after an hour or so of driving, one ends up feeling a bit grimy and smelling of motor oil...but that's all part of the classic sports car driving experience, right?
She looks GREAT from 30 feet. "Nice" from 10. But closer?
Sit in her...and you worry she'll collapse into a pile of rust at any moment, which is always a fun thought at 75mph, while leaning through a turn...
Dang if I could figure out how to un-bolt the brake flex hoses. Left the old ones on for now, but suspect these are the culprits of some minor fluid loss, and slight spongy feel to the brakes.
Saturday at Auto Zone, while buying a new battery, the clerk had no idea what a "Fiat" was, and seemed genuinely shocked when it came up in his system.
Ah, these young punks.
Still have a brake light problem - the actuator switch feels HOT, and the lights are always on. Is there an adjustment, or a trick? Or just replace it? Not an expensive part, but a real booger to get to.
Looking to replace the water pump, brake light switch, timing belt, v-belt, and front shocks this weekend. Also got the new IAP air cleaner assembly. Need to figure out the brake flex-line hoses. Need to figure out a warm idle adjustment....
Need more time driving it!
Wheeee!
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