Hello from a wet English summer !!!!

NickBS1 · Post by **NickBS1** » Sun Jun 17, 2012 8:28 pm

Morning

I was bored in the evenings, 50, single and my two sons were traveling the world post university ... so i researched for a cool 1970's car to play with and accidentally found my Spider in a barn in Derbyshire. It had sat there since being imported from California in 1995 ... apparently no one wants them now????

It's a red (brown, orange and grey actually) 1972 BS1 1600 in very tatty condition but totally sound .... no rot or serious rust, i've not started the engine but she turns over and appears well looked after.

She's currently living in my heated, well lit, shelved and tooled up playground (garage) ... i love getting home and playing. I'm stripping her down methodically for a total rebuild ... and the best bit, as i remove a bit that looks broken, i spend time on Ebay World locating original parts. Every week something arrives in the post, wicked fun.

I also found a 1975 CS1 rolling shell full of bits on Ebay UK .... no engine or gearbox but loads of bits in box's ... what a buy that turned out to be ... i paid £620 for the car but have got over £2500 worth of bits out of the box's alone.

I really can't belive how good this car is ... 5 gears, great engine, disk brakes, gorgeous looks, very well put together and so so easy to work on (i'm a Building Surveyor, not a mechanic).

Being a Fiat and 1972 model there are various bits that don't look like people, books, articles say it should ... so i'm aiming to keep her original ish ? The bonnet (hood) has small humps, which i think look great, and badge (same on both 72 & 75 cars) and small black squares grill (i like the honeycomb grill but without badge).
It's got small chrome bumpers (fenders) but on the extended mounts (which i'll remove so the bumpers sit tight to the body).

It has the 5 dial dash (no clock) which i prefer, but the Tacho only goes up to 8000 rpm and i read that it should be 9000 as it's a 1600??? Not really bothered as it looks great. Black surrounds not chrome.

Seats are tan to match door panels, which are plain, no arm rests or fancy bits ... black dash top and centre console ... red carpet ... i've bought new tan carpets and canvas top but everything else is original.

Anyway i'm talking too much and perhaps sound a bit sad ... loads of questions to ask later! (oh i've taken loads of photos - so i know where everything fits !!!)

Cheers ... Nick

divace73 · Post by **divace73** » Sun Jun 17, 2012 9:28 pm

the 9000 tach came out on the BC(B series coupe) and BS(B Series Spider) twin IDF carb 1608 motors (not all BC/BS models cam out with the 1608/twin IDF setup), more than likely as yours is from the US it most probably not a 1608 twin carb model. They also had the honeycomb grill with the badge and no badge on the bonnet, I think they also had the very first of the small humps. FIat did mix and match as the models changed over..

Well done the the find/discovery, my wife doesn't understande what these cars can do to keep a man sane.......

NickBS1 · Post by **NickBS1** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 2:58 am

Thanks for the reply

My new girlfriend doesn't understand and i think i jealous of the car but fortunately is involved in the Olympics, so i get plenty of free time !! (i have said we can have a romantic trip to the Italian lakes in her)

The car is an American spec (hence no rust) and i would prefer the European twin carb but i think i'll get it on the road as is (single weber) and then enjoy the increased performance of the twin.

I like and have small bumps and bonnet badge but will switch the grill to chrome mesh as that looks great.

Right, i need to work out photos on here and start asking a few questions... (oh and go to work first)

Cheers

Nick

courtenay · Post by **courtenay** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 10:48 am

Interesting - the '72 had a flat hood, and the small bump hood was a '73. So either your car is actually a '73 or a PO replaced the flat hood with a small bump one.

NickBS1 · Post by **NickBS1** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 5:07 pm

I agree, the bonnet is perhaps wrong ( does it really matter?) ... there is no evidence of a change, the bolts had original looking paint on, it's faded as the rest of the car, which has 1972 stamped all over it (seat foam, VIN plates etc) ...

I also have a 1972 sales brochure showing small bumps, badge on honeycombe grill only, small round side indicators and one wing mirror ... i have two part side indicators, one door mounted side mirror and badge on bonnet ...

I wonder if there are records of exactly how the car was built at Fiat?

Anyway i love it and isn't Fiat's irregular ways part of it's charm?

Nick

courtenay · Post by **courtenay** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 6:11 pm

Nope - it doesn't matter at all. And the more I learn about these cars, the more I learn that Fiat did a lot of interesting things at the factory.

divace73 · Post by **divace73** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:48 pm

courtenay wrote: And the more I learn about these cars, the more I learn that Fiat did a lot of interesting things at the factory.

Ain't that the truth, "what we don't have any brown with red wire left, okay use the green and yellow, no one will know......" Until one looks at the wiring diagram....

NickBS1 · Post by **NickBS1** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 4:27 pm

The funny thing in all this is that i've never driven one, never even sat in one (both mine didn't have the seats bolted in) and since buying them i've stripped them down ... can you imagine how excited i'll be when i can actually drive one!!!

In fact i've never actually seen one on the road apart from when i was 11 years old !!!

Anyway ... question (i should post it elsewhere on the forum) ... whats with this carbon fuel vapour filter thing? Do i need it? The pipes have all perished, it's rusty, looks a mess and i can't find one on Ebay?

Thanks for your messages.

Nick

divace73 · Post by **divace73** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:43 pm

if you are talking the fuel carbon canister, I put a new on back in mine, seems to eliminate the fuel smells coming into the cabin, I don't think that are that necessay but 'to me' worth keeping it and connectling it, its easy to do and far easier that some of the other pollution gear that was on some cars...mine is a FI 1980 so I don't know how different it is, with the fuel injection, all the pollution (apart form the canister) was removed from the factory, really simple to work on.

NickBS1 · Post by **NickBS1** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 3:36 am

Good enough for me ... i`ll get shopping on EBay USA for a new one and tell my friends you said so.

Nick

andyp250f · Post by **andyp250f** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 6:30 pm

Nick, another Brit!! Like you, fully enjoying the english summer. I would guess your spider will at least be free of road tax?
Anyway, welcome, (seems strange a complete newbie like me saying that), and like you spend most evenings trawling ebay looking for those elusive parts. Good hunting.

RRoller123 · Post by **RRoller123** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 6:36 pm

Welcome aboard from this side of the pond!

leeputmanjr · Post by **leeputmanjr** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 12:10 pm

With the small, round side markers, you might have a Euro-spec car. In the US, the last one to have those was a '69. Do you have them up front AND in the back, or just up front?

With a small bump hood, with a badge on it, and a 'large rectangle' grid grill, you might have a late '72 that would have perhaps had some '73 influences (although I thought '73 had the 'small rectangle' grill with the badge on the grill). If the bumpers stand out from the body, that only makes it more likely...although the early style bumpers with the stand-off was 'really' a '74 thing.

Over the years, with various owners...there could have been any number of modifications and/or repairs, so it can be tough to tell!

I've modified my '74 Spider to have the close fitting bumpers, a waffle style grill with the badge on it, and a small bump hood with the badge indent deleted. Some day, that will drive someone nuts trying to figure it out - I just like the way it looks

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