'76 Spider in Wyoming
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jon8christine
- Patron 2018
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2011 10:05 pm
- Your car is a: 1976 Fiat 124 Spider
- Location: Wyoming
'76 Spider in Wyoming
I've been lurking on here deciding whether or not to get the ol Fiat in better condition or sell it. After removing the bumpers (thanks to whoever's awesome spider on the home page) and seeing her true beauty I decided I would keep my spider that has been driven probably 20 times in the last 5 years instead of selling it. It's always run ok, but is hard to start and has electrical problems (whose doesn't) like the turn signals and gauges...and it definately needs some sanding and paint. Do you have to pull the original steering wheel to completely remove the gauge/dash cluster? I assume you need a puller for that as I can't get it off. Thanks in advance for everyone's contributions as I search and glean info from the forum.
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narfire
- Posts: 3959
- Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:14 am
- Your car is a: 1980 124 spider
- Location: Naramata B.C.
Re: '76 Spider in Wyoming
Well good morning. Welcome,glad you joined up. You're looking at anothers spider is how I got my inspiration as well. It works and with a bit of time and of course the help found here,you'll have your car sorted before you know it.
Most of the electrical problems usually are the grounds. For starters I'd suggest pulling all the fuses and giving the contacts in the fuse box a good scrape/sand to get any crud off there, might help with some of the circuits.
The access to the dash can be helped by taking the plastic shroud off and then backing the two 13mm bolts holding the steering assembly up.
The great thing about painting these cars is that they don't need much paint,not a whole lot of metal compared to say the old Lincons of the past.
Chris
Most of the electrical problems usually are the grounds. For starters I'd suggest pulling all the fuses and giving the contacts in the fuse box a good scrape/sand to get any crud off there, might help with some of the circuits.
The access to the dash can be helped by taking the plastic shroud off and then backing the two 13mm bolts holding the steering assembly up.
The great thing about painting these cars is that they don't need much paint,not a whole lot of metal compared to say the old Lincons of the past.
Chris
80 FI spider
72 work in progress
2017 Golf R ( APR Stg. 1)
2018 F350 crew long box
72 work in progress
2017 Golf R ( APR Stg. 1)
2018 F350 crew long box
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azruss
- Posts: 3659
- Joined: Sun May 30, 2010 12:24 pm
- Your car is a: 80 Fiat 2000 FI
Re: '76 Spider in Wyoming
instrument cluster can be pulled without pulling the steering wheel. as recommended, clean up the fuse connections. also would be worthwhile to clean up all ground connections starting with the battery ground cable.
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jon8christine
- Patron 2018
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2011 10:05 pm
- Your car is a: 1976 Fiat 124 Spider
- Location: Wyoming
Re: '76 Spider in Wyoming
Great, thanks for the advice. The battery is clean; I just cleaned up one of the rear lights including the bulb sockets and grounds (dremel wire wheel only lasted one 
) and gooped everything up with dielectric grease to try to prevent my having to do it every year. Resistance dropped from 100's of ohms to just a few 
) and gooped everything up with dielectric grease to try to prevent my having to do it every year. Resistance dropped from 100's of ohms to just a few