Wednesday, July 25, 2012
EDC
Thursday, July 19, 2012
The next modification
Currently, my Spider has the style of sidemarkers shown on the red car. In order to make it look like the green car, I’ll have to remove the old lights, blank out the rectangular hole, smooth it out (bondo), prime & paint it, then drill holes for the new lights.
This will be done, along with all the other body work, when I take the car in for a full paint job.
I’ve been searching for a ‘decent’ set of these early-style side markers for … years …
This week I got lucky, and when a set popped up on one of the Fiat message boards, I jumped quickly; they should arrive next week.
Look Closer
"1971 Fiat spyder, has been in storage for 30 years, all original paint, interior, new roof, 6 speed transmission conversion, new exhaust, fresh engine rebuild, new brakes and lines, gas line, filters. Selling it for my grandfather which is the second owner. Cool little car, can drive it the way it is, or paint it and have interior cleaned up and have a extremly nice little car. Have new tail lights and rear bumpers, dont have time to put them on, they are in the truck 4000 OBO possible delivery can be arranged at buyers expense"
At first, this Fiat doesn't seem too bad, does it? All original paint, been in storage for 30 years...sounds like a dream!
Cool color, too.
...but what does "6 speed transmission conversion mean"? I have never, ever heard of another type of transmission fitting a Fiat Spider, other than odd conversions from 131's or even a Lada - but all those are 5 speed, and 'in the family', so to speak. a 6 speed conversion is either a god-awful hack job, or an outright lie.
Now, let's address the 'original paint' claim. Look at the engine bay picture. Above the passenger side shock mount. The paint doesn't match, and it looks to have overspray on the wires. Trying to hide rust coming through from the shock tower on the underside, I'll bet!
While we're in the engine bay...no heat shield for the battery compartment, and no charcoal canister. The engine seems to have a great deal of 1800-style smog equipment. Incomplete air cleaner tube to the exhaust side (didn't '71 only have a single tube snorkel?), there is no evidence of the engine bay lights, and the oil dipstick is available up by the top of the timing belt cover? Wrong, wrong, wrong, and WRONG!
Looks to me like the 'fresh engine rebuild' they claim in the ad is nothing more than an 1800 swapped for the original, and very desirable 1608 engine. Without receipts, we don't know if the engine was truly rebuilt, or did they just paint it & replace gaskets?
Looking at the dash picture, the fasten seatbelts light is incorrect for a '71. This is a later style, in '71 that should be a round yellow warning light when the key is left in the ignition.
Looking at the exterior pictures, all taken from a distance far away enough that you can't spot any dings or rust bubbles, a few things jump out at me. First - why are the rocker panels underneath the doors painted rustoleum rattle-can black? To me, this screams out the need to check for rust. Other notes, the correct front license plate holder is long gone, the hubcaps are not anything Fiat, and the passenger side tail light seems to be crunched. They claim that new ones are included with the sale, but as the '71/'72 style tail lights are more rare than hen's teeth, I'll guess they were never installed as they are the incorrect style tail lights.
Supposedly there is a new top, exhaust, brakes, and fuel lines. We don't know how extensive or nice any of these things are. For instance, is the new top vinyl or canvass? Professionally installed? Did the brake job include new calipers & rotors, or just pads? New flexible brake lines? New MC? Was the exhaust just a new rear section, or was it replaced all the way back from the downpipe? New fuel lines? Which ones? Just the rubber ones in the engine bay? What about the steel ones that sat for 30 years? What about the numerous original rubber hoses in the trunk that everyone forgets?
Oh, so many things to wonder about!
Now - perhaps this is a fairly solid car that someone has done a decent mechanical refresh in order to return it to service. I can respect that. However, the ad states that it's all original, and was stored for 30 years - and what we can see from these pictures paints a very different picture. It's too bad, it could be a really neat car, but $4,000 just seems WAY too much for a car with this many questions around it.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
At The Vet
I'd boarded him while I went down to Charlotte for my Grandfather's 90th birthday. Clyde got the treat of a half-day at Puppy Camp while in the boarder's care, and he tussled with another dog. This resulted in a deep scratch on his cheek, which got infected badly enough that we had to have it looked at by The Vet. A week's worth of antibiotics fixed him up - thank goodness!
I'm just glad the little Blockhead was ok...
Monday, July 16, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
First run in awhile
Saturday, July 07, 2012
An old favorite
This might be the second, or third time I've taken it to the shoe shop to be patched up. I've added holes, had it stitched up, and most recently I had the buckle re-attached. I like that he used big brass rivets, rather than stitching it again. The last time the buckle had been stitched, the holes acted as a perforation guide for the whole thing to tear.
This belt bears all the wear marks from several years of weight loss success, and failure. I don't remember who made it, or when I got it, but it has been changed & repaired just like me.
Classic brown & brass, made from dual layers of leather glued, and later stitched together. The contrast stitching & slightly haphazard holes give it great character, and I like that it's stiff enough to maintain it's shape & hold up to being shoved through banded belt loops.
I'm hoping this latest fix keeps it in service a few more years, or at least long enough to see me back into the 'skinny holes'...
Thursday, July 05, 2012
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