Ilaria - 1981 Spider 2000

[darksider415]

Well, I'm /finally/ back in shape, after the wheel debacle last month... It didn't help matters at all, that the hub bore was way too big on the 3-spoke hideous things that were on the old girl.

So, I picked these up in my handy-dandy Mazda, drove down to my mother's place where I'm keeping the Fiat, and threw the old girl up on jackstands so I could do something about it.



But first, a little clearancing.



On the maiden voyage, with the new wheels.. Centercaps are yet to come.



And, on the way back from Huntsville, yesterday... The weather was just so nice, I had to take the long way home.

[81SPIDERMATT]

that looks so much better than those 3 spoke things

[darksider415]

that looks so much better than those 3 spoke things

I agree. The 3-spoke things came with the car, and I've put them on Craigslist so they can go to someone else's car.

[donm]

The recording studio in the background got my attention. I just saw the documentry "Muscle Shoals" on Netflix last night. Great movie if you haven't seen it yet.

[darksider415]

The recording studio in the background got my attention. I just saw the documentry "Muscle Shoals" on Netflix last night. Great movie if you haven't seen it yet.

I actually grew up about 40 miles north of Muscle Shoals, and I received my B.S. from the University of North Alabama, just across the river in Florence.

As for the movie, I went to see it with a friend in Nashville, and I kept going, "I KNOW THAT ROAD!!" or "I USED TO DRIVE THROUGH THERE, ALL THE TIME!!!" throughout most of the film. She thought I was nuts.

[darksider415]

She broke again... Something in the driveshaft failed, and I haven't gotten under the car yet to determine if the guibo went first, taking out the center u-joint and the center support bearing mount, as well as the shifter housing, or if the center u-joint failed, ripping apart the guibo and shattering the shifter housing. Either way, the driveshaft is in two pieces, the car is in a fellow Fiat-owning friend's back yard, within a few feet of several Alfas and I'm on the hunt for a driveshaft and a 131 Mirafiori to raid a transmission from. (If you know of any 131s parked in an unattended location near Nashville, let me know so I can relieve it of its transmission. )

You know what they say, if you have to fix it, upgrade! It's not like this wasn't unplanned for, since my next step, after unleashing the giant box of suspension parts from IAP on the poor car was the transmission, so... I'm just combining the steps, plus the top installation all at once.

Speaking of which, RockAuto has great prices on tops... $305 shipped for a new Robbins canvas top that IAP wants $650 for, last I checked...

Past this, I'm redoing the exhaust, probably with side-exit and I need to get a set of Mark's headers, as soon as I get the driveline stuff taken care of. She WILL live again, because she's wormed her way too deep into my heart for me to give in, now.

Damage pics coming, as soon as I can bring myself to look at her again. I need a couple of days break, I think, before I go back over there. Otherwise, I'll find myself shouting those all-too-familiar words, "I could have had a Miata and be driving, right now!"

[4uall]

HOPING THIS WILL CHEER YOU UP

YOU WILL NEVER BE AS HAPPY OR SEXY AS THIS GUY IN A MIATA, STICK WITH YOUR FIAT

[AriK]

Did you say MIATA?

[darksider415]

HOPING THIS WILL CHEER YOU UP

YOU WILL NEVER BE AS HAPPY OR SEXY AS THIS GUY IN A MIATA, STICK WITH YOUR FIAT

Ha... Now that's funny.

I found a couple of 131 gearboxes within about a 3 hour drive, so I'm going to pick /both/ of them up next week. One for me, and one for my friend Bob, who has a Spider with a dead transmission, which is currently parked in the shop that my wounded Spider is parked in front of.

The plan is, anyway, to pick up both transmissions with mounts, then have a two-Fiat transmission swap weekend. I think after we get my car together, the second one will go a lot faster.

[darksider415]

I knew there was a reason I didn't get a 500, even though I still lust after the Abarth...



This would've been a lot harder to get into the Abarth than the Mazda3.

And, in case it's too hard to tell what this is...



This weekend is going to involve some loving "massaging" of the transmission tunnel with a hammer.

[darksider415]

The problem with Fiat transmissions: They multiply...



In this case, I bought a second 131 gearbox for a friend's '82 Spider, to go with the one for my '81.

I've also found one of the two automatic driveshafts I'm in search of, and I'm running a little past Cleveland, OH to pick it up, next Thursday.

[darksider415]

I'm split on what I want to do with my Spider, for the rear end. I'm getting an automatic rear end and driveshaft on Thursday, that Steve pointed me toward. I know I'm using the driveshaft for my 131 gearbox swap, but I'm thinking about going ahead and dropping the automatic rear end in, as well.

It'll drop the revs a good bit, since my car is showing (not sure if it's accurate) 3400 rpm in 5th gear at 55. Then again, it also shows an idle of 1400, and it doesn't sound like it's idled up that high.

The fuel mileage would be nice, and it would be really nice to have a little bit longer legs, for those big trips. However, it also looks like I'd be spending all my time in 2nd, when I go canyon-carving in East Tennessee.

Any thoughts, from anyone who has put a 3.54 rear end behind a 2000?

[vandor]

Should be ok with a FI 2000, but you will have noticeably less acceleration.

[darksider415]

Should be ok with a FI 2000, but you will have noticeably less acceleration.

I've been thinking about that... If I had deeper pockets, I'd be trying to shove a 16V turbo from a Lancia Delta in, but... Since that isn't the case, I'm split.

[darksider415]

Well, it's amazing how many Fiat parts fit in a Mazda 3...



I'd post more pictures from the trip, but the only other Fiat-related stuff is of Bob's Spider (of which I'd want permission to post, before posting) and several X1/9s from Bayless.

If Steve (juvius) hadn't pointed me toward the driveshaft and rear end, just outside of Cleveland, I'd never have gone up North, which would've meant I wouldn't have had a chance to drop in on a good friend in Ann Arbor, or a very sexy redhead in Kalamazoo, so... I think it's another case of the Fiat making me do what I needed to do, but wouldn't have done otherwise.