1980 Fiat Spider in NY

[scruffy19]

Hey there, everyone. I guess I'm just introducing myself. I've owned a Fiat Spider for a while now and so far I've just done mechanical repairs on it learning straight from a repair manual. But now I've gotten to the phase where it is time to start working on the interior and the body. So I joined this forum for advice and help as I turn my Fiat into a sexy little driving machine.

[baltobernie]

Hello and Welcome. I salute you in repairing from only a manual. Most aftermarket manuals leave a lot out, contain repair info generalized to many makes and models, and always have a few errors. The factory manual is much better, but assumes you have Fiat knowledge and special tools.

Are you in the city, upstate ...

[MIGHTY 8]

Hello fellow NY!

I second the welcome to what you will find here to be an invaluable website! I have owned my car (also an '80) for over 20 years, and it is located in LIC/Queens. Just became a member of FLU/Long Island chapter and also recommend getting to know the guys/gals over at NJFiats.org.

Feel free to contact me anytime either here or at gavillan@hotmail.com. Always looking for fellow Fiatster's input/advice/company etc...

cheers!

[opus10583]

Hi Scruffy,

Where in NY are you? I'm downstate, just north of the City.

Mine's a '78 and I've lots of little thing to do, pre-cat distributor, replacing rusty screws everywhere, getting some a modern stereo and some sort of carpeting into it. As an apartment dweller the big things I have to farm out: 4-2-1 exhaust system is gthe next and last big thing this year (maybe a 32/36 DFEV). Interior and 15" wheels will the Spring '12 refurbishment. ...Unless I get a set of 14" Turbo wheels cheap.

I've been doing a lot of research on carbs and exhausts, let me know if you need anything that way. And I can also commend NJFIATS, George has been a great help to me.

Ciao,
Mark