Identify my new ride EDIT: A 1966, 1500 Fiat Spider

[the mole]

my apologies, i dint put the two posts in my head together. Oveworked and overstressed i guess. Your right maybe spending some more time here will do me good its a fabulous red beetle, I see a pattern here red and convertible. Is that so Byas?

[71Convertible]

Well, let's just say I do have a liking for topless beauties...

Now to the question of -- is this car well maintained, that's all relative. If we were to compare it to the challenges that ryan and raghavendra have conquered, absolutely.

But there's actually a lot to be done. Currently none of the electricals work. Imagine driving a LHD car with no brake lights, no turn signals, occasional horn and today i found that the battery positive cable was hangin over the drive shaft and axle and had worn thin in one spot and was shorting to the body. The Cheviot alloys on this car were installed with spacers to get the right offset -- these wheels seem strange to me since the the have no taper for the nuts -- and seem to keep coming loose. After driving back from work, I was shocked to discover that the nuts on the rear right were not even finger tight.

Good news is almost all the hard to find bits are still in the car. This is a great start. Sorting out the electricals will take a bit of time (specially for me as I try to match the original color coding and wire gauges as well) but its not hard.

Getting alloys of the right look and period may be a bit more difficult.

The paint is new and good, though this car has gone though 4 color change from the original white or offwhite (silver, green & red). Overspray everywhere. To do it right, I should have it stripped to bare metal and go from there. But, for now I'm going to leave as is.

B

[karlosdeville]

Long time no see Byas. Any progress on the Fiat?

[boeuff]

Originally Posted by ram

Karl : If you're alluding to the way the grille extends under part or all of the headlamp,
at least three other cars come to mind, besides the Fiat 1100 Rinnovato.
The 1971 Autobianchi A112
The Austin 1800 and the Peugeot 104.

Ram

We had a 69 Austin Cambridge with very similar styling. Picture of an LHD model from Wikipedia below.

[ronk]

isn't those garage pics in Palm meadows?? was the car parked there only? ****, i was there 1st week of april!!!! if only i came across this thread earlier!!!!

[Steeroid]

71C - great car there. This one featured in a Tintin comic once - cant remember the title (growing old!) and had an Italian at the wheel ( Not the one with the Alfa Romeo driving Italian maniac).

Did ajmat say there were more to come?

[Jaggu]

Nice collection you are building up there, all the very best at restoring her.

[71Convertible]

Since my PM residence has only one covered garage and I've been traveling on biz lately, I've had to put the car in storage for a bit -- specially with rains coming -- need to keep the convertibles covered.

Since my last post: I found the original lenses for the front turn signals were the same as the only Fiat 1100s (the 50's ones). I picked up a local one that seemed well made by a company called ST (Sweet Tree?? something like that).

I've been tracking down some of the other original parts and have found a source. Some of the engine hoses (the breather hoses specially) need to be replaced.

In the next month, I need to focus on installing a new top, headliner, etc on the VW, so will not play with the Spider till after that.

B

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Did ajmat say there were more to come?

There's a mustang mach 1

[JayD]

Originally Posted by ajmat

There's a mustang mach 1

I thought that has already come??

[Cyrus43]

That ST company is "Sweet Trade" i think. Most of the Trrim Parts in the market are from that company.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by 71Convertible

Since my last post: I found the original lenses for the front turn signals were the same as the only Fiat 1100s (the 50's ones). I picked up a local one that seemed well made by a company called ST (Sweet Tree?? something like that).

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

You could source something very similar. The parking lights from a 58 to 64 Fiat 1100 should be a perfect fit, with white glass to boot. There may be a small variation in design of the lens. The locally available good quality units are sold by Sweet Trade.

Cheers
Karl

Here you go. They are indeed Sweet Trade.

[71Convertible]

Karlos,
Thanks! Did the 1100 Fiats have a single filament bulb inside or was it double filament? Was the bulb used clear or amber?
The spider has a double filament bulb -- parking and turn. It was difficult to find amber version of the bulb locally, so I picked up a pair from the US.
B

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by 71Convertible

Karlos,
Thanks! Did the 1100 Fiats have a single filament bulb inside or was it double filament? Was the bulb used clear or amber?
The spider has a double filament bulb -- parking and turn. It was difficult to find amber version of the bulb locally, so I picked up a pair from the US.
B

The 1100s used a double filament clear bulb.

[svsantosh]

71Conv - OT - Are you in Palm Meadows? Seen that car around that area - faintly.