what my friends are up to
02-10-2005, 10:10 AM
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what my friends are up to
By now I would think everyone knows that I am into italian cars.. well, a friend of mine, Bill, is even more into them. He has an E production Class Spider race car and now he set up a gallery of his Fiat Abarth 124 Stradale Replica.
In case you are unfamilier with the Stradale, and most people are, it is an also ran in the annuls of world rallying.. this is not to say it was a bad car. It was actually a VERY good rally car, it just played second fiddle to the almighty Stratos.. a car that no rally car at the time could compete with.
The few times the Stratos broke or crashed, the Stradle was there to take the win for Fiat.. and now, thirty years later.. My friend builds this replica of what is called the Ultimate Fiat spider.
The website is a little cranky for some reason, so several tries might be in order.
http://www.macautosport.com/gallery/Abarth...tradale-Replica
In case you are unfamilier with the Stradale, and most people are, it is an also ran in the annuls of world rallying.. this is not to say it was a bad car. It was actually a VERY good rally car, it just played second fiddle to the almighty Stratos.. a car that no rally car at the time could compete with.
The few times the Stratos broke or crashed, the Stradle was there to take the win for Fiat.. and now, thirty years later.. My friend builds this replica of what is called the Ultimate Fiat spider.
The website is a little cranky for some reason, so several tries might be in order.
http://www.macautosport.com/gallery/Abarth...tradale-Replica
02-10-2005, 11:20 AM
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Hello Mad..I was able to access the site with no problems. There is a guy in town selling his Fiat..if I remember correctly, it was relatively cheap..has red paint and chrome lugage rack in the back. Are these cars very desireable as I was thinking of purchasing it but I know very little about them...thanks
02-10-2005, 11:53 AM
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the unfortunate things about these cars... they rust. ALL italian cars made of steel (Specials were made of aluminum) from the late sixties through the late seventies and even into the 80s RUST.. they can also be maintance hogs.. the biggest problems being the wiring. In an effort to keep costs and weight down, fiat used aluminum connectors on the copper wires.. lots of corrosion.
You have to figure the NEWEST fiat spider you can buy right now in the US is twenty years old (the Pininfarina Azzura) and most are closer to 30.. so there is a lot that can go wrong with them in that time. The two biggest problems (besides rust and wiring) are ball joints and the transmissions.
Original Ball joints are long wearing and very good.. the last ten years or so have been iffy with replacements. I went through three lowers in a year as they just fall apart even with frequent greasing.. supposedly they have gotten better recently as they have weeded out who made the bad ones..
And if you think Syncros are short lived in the Tib.. you have not see the fiat spider. While one of the First five speeds you can buy in the us (back in 1968) and it has a VERY good mechanical feel with short throws.. the Brass syncros are weak and it uses a spring loaded mechanism to keep the car in gear (intead of the usual method of using a spring to get it out) and when the wear, it becomes impossible to keep the car in the gears affected.
If you are truely interested though.. and are near Fort Worth.. check out Vick Autosports... http://www.vickauto.com/cgi-bin/store/inde...tml?id=T4EgvfDg
You have to figure the NEWEST fiat spider you can buy right now in the US is twenty years old (the Pininfarina Azzura) and most are closer to 30.. so there is a lot that can go wrong with them in that time. The two biggest problems (besides rust and wiring) are ball joints and the transmissions.
Original Ball joints are long wearing and very good.. the last ten years or so have been iffy with replacements. I went through three lowers in a year as they just fall apart even with frequent greasing.. supposedly they have gotten better recently as they have weeded out who made the bad ones..
And if you think Syncros are short lived in the Tib.. you have not see the fiat spider. While one of the First five speeds you can buy in the us (back in 1968) and it has a VERY good mechanical feel with short throws.. the Brass syncros are weak and it uses a spring loaded mechanism to keep the car in gear (intead of the usual method of using a spring to get it out) and when the wear, it becomes impossible to keep the car in the gears affected.
If you are truely interested though.. and are near Fort Worth.. check out Vick Autosports... http://www.vickauto.com/cgi-bin/store/inde...tml?id=T4EgvfDg
02-10-2005, 02:24 PM
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places to look for rust...
Rear wheel arches... they rust bad here.. get your fingers up and inside the arch where the inner fender meets the outer.
You did not mention what year... but if it is a pre79 you can get at the inner wheel well to look at the panal behind the tread of the tire.. follow that down to where the floor of the car meets the wheel well.. BAD water trap that leads to rust..
The sills, like on our tibs, are removable.. there can be a lot of rust hiding beneath them. Do not assume that because the doors open and close easily that there is no structural problems.. I have seen spiders with NO sills that still had the door open and close easily, most of the strength is in the tranny tunnel.
Inside the car, check out where the floor meets the sills and where the seatbelts anchor.. also, if you can lift up the padded parcel shelf behind the seats (4 seater in italy for taxes) check where the pockets for the convertable top are.. early cars have tubes that run down from the drop down side winds.. later cars have a one piece pocket that drains the water away.
Away from rust.. check the engine compartment.. do not be afraid of a little oil.. most fiat engines leak some.. usually around the exhaust and the distributer. Ask the owner when the last time the timing belt was changed.. this is a biggie.. they are only good for 20 to 25 thousand miles.. some people will tell you that they can go longer, but do not believe them. If you do buy it and the owner does not know, change the timing belt as soon as you can.. while you are at it, replace the tensioner too.. you should do that every otber belt change, but most people don't.
If you crawl under the car, look at the oilpan.. any dents in the bottom mean a new oil pump is needed.. the sump sits LOW on the car and the pickup for the pump is right there in the embossed looking circle.. any dents will break it off.. but as long as you keep the oil up, it is driveable.
In reality, they are a very simple car.. let me know what year it is and I can give you more specifics about what to do about it and what to look out for. But I can tell you this, the engines are robust and can easily exceed their red line (provided it is not a carbed 2.0, they are pigs when it comes to revving) with little effort or even damage.. italian engines LOVE to rev. They have a sweet transmission if you are sympathetic towards it. The convertable top is one of the easiest manual tops to use.. even compared to todays cars.. with little side windows that pop up with the top to avoid being clausterphobic inside. The handbrake SUCKS.. end of sentence, but the regular brakes are more than up to the task... 4 wheel discs since 1967.
For more info and to let you know that there are more people like me.. check out WWW.Fiatspider.com You can find me there too under this name.
Rear wheel arches... they rust bad here.. get your fingers up and inside the arch where the inner fender meets the outer.
You did not mention what year... but if it is a pre79 you can get at the inner wheel well to look at the panal behind the tread of the tire.. follow that down to where the floor of the car meets the wheel well.. BAD water trap that leads to rust..
The sills, like on our tibs, are removable.. there can be a lot of rust hiding beneath them. Do not assume that because the doors open and close easily that there is no structural problems.. I have seen spiders with NO sills that still had the door open and close easily, most of the strength is in the tranny tunnel.
Inside the car, check out where the floor meets the sills and where the seatbelts anchor.. also, if you can lift up the padded parcel shelf behind the seats (4 seater in italy for taxes) check where the pockets for the convertable top are.. early cars have tubes that run down from the drop down side winds.. later cars have a one piece pocket that drains the water away.
Away from rust.. check the engine compartment.. do not be afraid of a little oil.. most fiat engines leak some.. usually around the exhaust and the distributer. Ask the owner when the last time the timing belt was changed.. this is a biggie.. they are only good for 20 to 25 thousand miles.. some people will tell you that they can go longer, but do not believe them. If you do buy it and the owner does not know, change the timing belt as soon as you can.. while you are at it, replace the tensioner too.. you should do that every otber belt change, but most people don't.
If you crawl under the car, look at the oilpan.. any dents in the bottom mean a new oil pump is needed.. the sump sits LOW on the car and the pickup for the pump is right there in the embossed looking circle.. any dents will break it off.. but as long as you keep the oil up, it is driveable.
In reality, they are a very simple car.. let me know what year it is and I can give you more specifics about what to do about it and what to look out for. But I can tell you this, the engines are robust and can easily exceed their red line (provided it is not a carbed 2.0, they are pigs when it comes to revving) with little effort or even damage.. italian engines LOVE to rev. They have a sweet transmission if you are sympathetic towards it. The convertable top is one of the easiest manual tops to use.. even compared to todays cars.. with little side windows that pop up with the top to avoid being clausterphobic inside. The handbrake SUCKS.. end of sentence, but the regular brakes are more than up to the task... 4 wheel discs since 1967.
For more info and to let you know that there are more people like me.. check out WWW.Fiatspider.com You can find me there too under this name.
02-10-2005, 03:50 PM
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Thanks Tim.. you would love my project.. nothing to take pictures of yet though.. the engine in the 74 and later spider is the 132 series fiat engine... most every four cylinder made by fiat since and is above a 1.5ltre has been based on this engine.. what this means, the head from the Lancia Delta Intergrale bolts onto my engine.. I can use that 16valve head (standard spider is a DOHC 8 valve engine) and all the turbo parts... all I need to do is cut the throttle body off of one end of the intake and have it relocated to the other side (or it will be in the passenger compartment with me) and I can run massive boost 18 pounds or more with only a set of forged pistons and an o-ringed block.
02-10-2005, 04:35 PM
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Vehicle: 2001/Hyundai/Tiburon
QUOTE (Mad-Machine)
places to look for rust...
Rear wheel arches... they rust bad here.. get your fingers up and inside the arch where the inner fender meets the outer.
You did not mention what year... but if it is a pre79 you can get at the inner wheel well to look at the panal behind the tread of the tire.. follow that down to where the floor of the car meets the wheel well.. BAD water trap that leads to rust..
The sills, like on our tibs, are removable.. there can be a lot of rust hiding beneath them. Do not assume that because the doors open and close easily that there is no structural problems.. I have seen spiders with NO sills that still had the door open and close easily, most of the strength is in the tranny tunnel.
Inside the car, check out where the floor meets the sills and where the seatbelts anchor.. also, if you can lift up the padded parcel shelf behind the seats (4 seater in italy for taxes) check where the pockets for the convertable top are.. early cars have tubes that run down from the drop down side winds.. later cars have a one piece pocket that drains the water away.
Away from rust.. check the engine compartment.. do not be afraid of a little oil.. most fiat engines leak some.. usually around the exhaust and the distributer. Ask the owner when the last time the timing belt was changed.. this is a biggie.. they are only good for 20 to 25 thousand miles.. some people will tell you that they can go longer, but do not believe them. If you do buy it and the owner does not know, change the timing belt as soon as you can.. while you are at it, replace the tensioner too.. you should do that every otber belt change, but most people don't.
If you crawl under the car, look at the oilpan.. any dents in the bottom mean a new oil pump is needed.. the sump sits LOW on the car and the pickup for the pump is right there in the embossed looking circle.. any dents will break it off.. but as long as you keep the oil up, it is driveable.
In reality, they are a very simple car.. let me know what year it is and I can give you more specifics about what to do about it and what to look out for. But I can tell you this, the engines are robust and can easily exceed their red line (provided it is not a carbed 2.0, they are pigs when it comes to revving) with little effort or even damage.. italian engines LOVE to rev. They have a sweet transmission if you are sympathetic towards it. The convertable top is one of the easiest manual tops to use.. even compared to todays cars.. with little side windows that pop up with the top to avoid being clausterphobic inside. The handbrake SUCKS.. end of sentence, but the regular brakes are more than up to the task... 4 wheel discs since 1967.
For more info and to let you know that there are more people like me.. check out WWW.Fiatspider.com You can find me there too under this name.
Rear wheel arches... they rust bad here.. get your fingers up and inside the arch where the inner fender meets the outer.
You did not mention what year... but if it is a pre79 you can get at the inner wheel well to look at the panal behind the tread of the tire.. follow that down to where the floor of the car meets the wheel well.. BAD water trap that leads to rust..
The sills, like on our tibs, are removable.. there can be a lot of rust hiding beneath them. Do not assume that because the doors open and close easily that there is no structural problems.. I have seen spiders with NO sills that still had the door open and close easily, most of the strength is in the tranny tunnel.
Inside the car, check out where the floor meets the sills and where the seatbelts anchor.. also, if you can lift up the padded parcel shelf behind the seats (4 seater in italy for taxes) check where the pockets for the convertable top are.. early cars have tubes that run down from the drop down side winds.. later cars have a one piece pocket that drains the water away.
Away from rust.. check the engine compartment.. do not be afraid of a little oil.. most fiat engines leak some.. usually around the exhaust and the distributer. Ask the owner when the last time the timing belt was changed.. this is a biggie.. they are only good for 20 to 25 thousand miles.. some people will tell you that they can go longer, but do not believe them. If you do buy it and the owner does not know, change the timing belt as soon as you can.. while you are at it, replace the tensioner too.. you should do that every otber belt change, but most people don't.
If you crawl under the car, look at the oilpan.. any dents in the bottom mean a new oil pump is needed.. the sump sits LOW on the car and the pickup for the pump is right there in the embossed looking circle.. any dents will break it off.. but as long as you keep the oil up, it is driveable.
In reality, they are a very simple car.. let me know what year it is and I can give you more specifics about what to do about it and what to look out for. But I can tell you this, the engines are robust and can easily exceed their red line (provided it is not a carbed 2.0, they are pigs when it comes to revving) with little effort or even damage.. italian engines LOVE to rev. They have a sweet transmission if you are sympathetic towards it. The convertable top is one of the easiest manual tops to use.. even compared to todays cars.. with little side windows that pop up with the top to avoid being clausterphobic inside. The handbrake SUCKS.. end of sentence, but the regular brakes are more than up to the task... 4 wheel discs since 1967.
For more info and to let you know that there are more people like me.. check out WWW.Fiatspider.com You can find me there too under this name.
damn, you know your fiats. my uncle had some kind of rear engine fiat. almost killed him when he got into a crash. crumbled right up.
02-10-2005, 04:39 PM
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well.. three types were imported.. the 500, with it's half liter two cylinder air cooled engine, The 600 which was a four and water cooled.. and the 850.. the 850 came in sedan, coupe, and spider.. the coupe and the roadster were pretty.. the sedan was a rounded little thing that had a familyr resemblence to the 500 and 600.
And I am not surprised he almost got killed.. those cars were designed and built before mandatory crumple zones and the like were needed... just raw steel between you and traffic.. and not a lot of it.. The heaviest 850 car only weighed in at 1600 pounds...
And I am not surprised he almost got killed.. those cars were designed and built before mandatory crumple zones and the like were needed... just raw steel between you and traffic.. and not a lot of it.. The heaviest 850 car only weighed in at 1600 pounds...