New Member Rockville MD

[snakeknuckles]

Well the first major hurdle was bringing my 1982 turbo project to the front of the project list. I decided to fabricate a rotiserrie to do the body work. I wonder how much weight I can support between the bumper mounts? 2nd major hurdle was figuring out how to post pics. Next is to tap into anyone and everyone who cares to give opinions. I have owned this car since 1984. I drove it regularly up until about 10 years ago when I decided to disassemble it for some reason. It had a few issues (as I recall)- oil leaks, overheating, weird tire wear, erratic brakes,sloppy transmission. Motor is at machineshop for total rebuild/newturbo. The only rust on the body is at the rear fender corners. A few little dimples to be fixed. I am going to do bodywork and repaint. Will need to replace pinstripes. Should I use two stage (clear coat) paint or stay original? I would like to redo the interior in leather? What is the best insulation? I would also like to upgrade all four brakes- I always had trouble with the parking brake? Is there a better radiator than stock available? I had the car aligned a couple times and was told that one of the rear wheels was leading the other which was causing weird tire wear. Nothing looks bent. Any clues to what's going on there?

[4uall]

hello & welcome to the best place on earth

as far as insulation I am a big fan of ez-cool see here http://forum.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtop ... it=ez+cool

as far as brakes go
http://wwwe.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopi ... it=+brakes

awesome brake video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXcClOfFmlg


there are some great vendors here that have everything you will need for all your projects.

keep us posted

[baltobernie]

Hello and Welcome! You are smack dab in the middle of the largest collection of Fiat Spiders outside of SoCal. DC Fiats has over 200 members; we had about 50 folks at our annual Pizza lunch last Saturday in Lorton. http://www.dcfiats.org/
Your rotisserie mounts are fine, paint type is a personal choice, a PO may have bent the rear control arms with a jack, the stock cooling system in good condition works beyond 130 HP, there are aftermarket brakes available, but stock ones in good nick with premium pads work pretty well, and I've never heard of anybody with parking brake problems. There are three vintage-Fiat-specific shops in the Balto/Wash area, and lots of us have plenty of experience with these cars, including a guy on W. Montgomery Ave., Rockville with a pristine Turbo (which was featured on "Motorweek").

looks like you came to the right place

[supplyguy]

Welcome from Ashburn, VA from a newbie to Fiats and the DC Fiat club myself. Would not have bought my car and jumped into this hobby without this forum and the DC Fiat group. Look forward to meeting you at the next event!

[RRoller123]

Welcome aboard! Mark Allison has the radiator upgrade you are looking for. He is "So Cal Mark" here on the forum.

[giuliot60]

Welcome. Another rotisserie guy. You should check out brady's restoration. http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... &sk=t&sd=a

You're in the right place, virtually in this website and physically with the DC crowd. My wife's from that area of MD. Grew up in Wheaton. I need to hook up with you guys when I'm visiting the area. 200 Spiders. Wow!

My car was a turbo, but was converted to a stock FI. If you need a seasoned Turbo Spider guy in your area, look up Richard Ridge. He hangs out mostly on the mirafiori.com site. He's helped me figure out a lot of stuff on my car already.

[snakeknuckles]

This is gonna be fun. What an awesome site. I didn't know there so many fiats in the area! I will definitely get in with DCfiats! Bodywise this thing looks near perfect. The original owner had this thing undercoated and from what I can see so far, it did a good job. I have a steam cleaner/pressure washer which I will hit it with next week. The only areas that look to have any rust are where the rear fender meets the rear rocker panel. That and a couple small creases in the passenger door and a few door dings to repair and then it should be ready for a wet sand and paint. I started pawing through all the parts that have been on shelves for the last 10 years. I will replace all the suspension ball joints, and rubbers-IAP? Shocks are low milage konis and springs are new. Should I add after-market sway bars? I guess I will just rebuild calipers and get new rotors w/ ceramic pads. Enjoy the weekend!

[baltobernie]

Over 200 members, virtually all within driving distance, but probably only half currently have cars. Several other models besides Spiders, including some new 500's, so maybe 50-75 licensed and driven Spiders. Like most clubs, automotive-related or not, a small percentage of members show up routinely. Including those appearing spontaneously, 15-30 cars usually participate in events, which is a sizable but manageable number. If you look at the website, you can realize that it takes a lot of work to run a club. I think the key is to encourage new owners to participate and volunteer, because there are always folks moving or losing interest.

Sounds like you have the beginnings of a great road car. Yes, it is Richard Ridge who lives near you. We have several members with considerable caches of NLA parts for your car. Sign up and show up; your project will go a lot quicker.