Ilaria - 1981 Spider 2000

[darksider415]

Well, it's as good of a time as any to start documenting the process behind my spider's revival.

We'll start with how she looked, when I got her home. (My DD is the Mazda beside her.)



And, with a little sunlight.









NOS ignition switch from AutoRicambi





The pile of ignition stuff on my desk at work:



And, the pile of stuff that's in my living room floor, waiting for warmer weather to install:



Past what I have pictured, I've got a reman set of injectors coming in from RockAuto and a new fuel pump relay coming in from AutoRicambi. The goal is to have her running by the end of the day, Saturday, come hell or high water.

[vandor]

The Spider looks nice, and I like the Mazda too! I've been thinking of getting a '3' as a daily driver...

[darksider415]

The Spider looks nice, and I like the Mazda too! I've been thinking of getting a '3' as a daily driver...

I really like mine, for completely different reasons than I like the Spider. That being said, the manual gearbox is the only way to have one.

[darksider415]

Less than 10PSI at the rail...

No wonder she wasn't firing off; she wasn't getting any fuel. From what I can gather, someone put a pump on for a carbureted car, because it looks and feels completely inadequate for the fuel system. It's okay, though. I have a new Bosch pump and filter en-route, and it'll be here on Friday, just in time for Saturday's warm weather. Tomorrow's plan is to pull the rail and clean up the stock injectors, as well as swap on the new ones. (May as well, since they're here.) The plan for Saturday is to replace all the rubber fuel lines, the pump and the filter, drop in the rail with new injectors and drive off into the sunset, tears in my eyes, looking for another place to put the garbage.

Also, the new fuel pump relay from Csaba just got here, so that's going in at the same time. I'm convinced he thinks I'm nuts with the way I'm attacking my poor, defenseless Spider, already. At least, I know he did when I ordered the NIB, NOS ignition switch.

[vandor]

LOL

Be sure to use FI-rated high pressure fuel hose.
I've seen people trying to run a carbureted car on a FI fuel pump, but I have never seen the reverse

[darksider415]

LOL

Be sure to use FI-rated high pressure fuel hose.
I've seen people trying to run a carbureted car on a FI fuel pump, but I have never seen the reverse

Well, the reverse happened... (The PO's doing, not mine.)



The derp is strong in this one. Fortunately, there's a new Bosch pump due to arrive on my doorstep in 12 hours, and I may throw it on before I leave for work tomorrow evening.

[4uall]

[81SPIDERMATT]

ilaria is such a cool name ...

[darksider415]

ilaria is such a cool name ...

I actually named her after Ilaria Graziano, who did the vocals for part of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex soundtrack. (This continues a naming trend for my European cars.. My Volvos were Agnetha, after Agnetha Faltskog from ABBA, Nina, after Nina Persson of The Cardigans, and Ingrid, after Ingrid Bergman.)

Some of her solo work from after that:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/9jjna9NKoSE?rel=0


Anyway, back to the project updates... Who in the heck uses 5/16" fuel line for the supply!!! Especially four feet of the cheap stuff that pinches shut when the pump puts a load on it!!!

So, I'm picking up some good Gates hose from O'Reilly's in the morning, and I'll get it installed on Thursday morning, along with the ATO fuse block and the new fuel pump mounts... (I hate it when POs disassemble the car and lose half the parts.)

After that, I'm expecting to get a good drive in. That's the plan, anyway.

[darksider415]

Well, I've changed the radiator hoses, headlights, put the lights on a relay array and driven 400 miles over the weekend.

She runs well, though without turn signals. That's next on my list, after I do the vacuum hoses from Csaba.

Me, with the Spider.


The Spider, on the Natchez Trace Parkway:

[darksider415]

Turn signals: Sort-of done. Somewhere in her past, someone clipped the signal wire from the (dead) hazard switch and ran it directly to power. Anyway, the connection had come loose, so I replaced the electrical tape with a butt-splice connector between the power lead and signal lead, and then put a female spade connector on the other end, and hooked it to the unused #12 fuse slot with an 8A fuse to protect it.

No 4-way flashers, but I'm worrying about that, later.

[darksider415]

I HATE BRAKE CALIPERS!!!!!

With that in mind, I set to rebuilding the rear calipers over the weekend (Thanks again, Csaba and Ramzi), and managed to get the left rear done... The right rear was rusted to the point where the piston wouldn't move, even with liberal "encouragement, and the bleeder was rusted solid. So, in the style of Brave Sir Robin, I capped off the line going to the right rear, bled the other three and set to ordering replacement calipers for all four. If I'm replacing one, I'm replacing all four so I don't have to think about it for a while.

Then, I went on a test drive to see SWMBO down in Florence, AL and got within three blocks of her apartment when the shifter came out completely. So, a 3rd gear drive to her apartment, an impromptu overnight stay, and a temporary repair the next morning.

So, off to see a friend of mine, just back across the state line in Savannah, TN, who just happens to be an Alfisti, in addition to having a '82 Spider. A few minutes, some thread sealant and a Nylock, and she's back on the road.

No pictures from this weekend's roaming, although I did put a good 550 miles on her, over the weekend. Good car, she is.

Now, to pick up another liter of RBF600, before the new calipers come in.

Weekend checklist: Brakes, round 2, transmission fluid, diff fluid, timing belt, water pump, thermostat.

[darksider415]

Okay, updates... Did the rears, again, with rebuilt calipers, only to find the rebuilt left rear had a bleeder valve that wouldn't seal... So, back to the one I rebuilt.

Then, drove it to my mom's birthday celebration, car did okay... Right until about 3/4 of a mile from my mother's place, when the left rear wheel passed me, on the highway. There went the left rear rotor... Anyway, took the week off work (yay, vacation time), ordered the necessary parts (four lug bolts, 12x1.25 tap) and put the car back together.

Then, I built a mount for my Nexus 7, so I can have some indication of my speed and/or navigation. It's not finished yet, but it's getting close. Just have to put a finish on it, and add a little more support for the right side of the tablet.

The Nexus 7 mount:

[Ptoneill]

I like the tablet!! I want to do something similar but I also want it to provide the music in the car. I don't know if the output can be directed to an amplifier to provide usable volume in traffic....will have check with crutchfield!

[darksider415]

I like the tablet!! I want to do something similar but I also want it to provide the music in the car. I don't know if the output can be directed to an amplifier to provide usable volume in traffic....will have check with crutchfield!

I'm still thinking hard about the audio portion. I have a lot of wiring to clean up, before I can even consider tackling the radio, much less full integration into the car, and I'm also thinking about how I'm going to preserve the warning lights and switches in an aesthetically-pleasing manner. Ideally, I could have a hidden amplifier and fill the radio opening with a wood panel holding the aforementioned wiper switch, dash dimmer and warning lights.