me & mine! - 1969 Fiat 850 Spider

[5YFP262]

Hi all,

This is me with my 1969 Fiat 850 Spider. 4th owner. I purchased it from a nice Italian man who had moved to the states and decided he wanted an Italian car. I'm in California, and have randomly met another driver with the same car in blue - an excellent connection to have made.



Current heartaches:

• Cranking driver's side window down unlatches the door (fun!)
• Bad door bushings, both sides sag and can fly open if not closed correctly, frightening both drivers and passengers
• Choke might not be working (has almost no play)
• E-brake doesn't always catch; not good since I'm in a hilly city
• Rear engine cover needs some love; it has actually been en fuego - I am dreaming of a full body job to deal with it

Tiny headaches:

• 61k miles; due for oil change (ordered my o-ring today, I made my own instructions, but I'm new here so feedback is good)
• Bonnet isn't watertight, some weatherstripping missing; haven't root caused it yet
• Replace heater fan switch (switch is all corroded, can clean, but I think it needs to be replaced too - direct connection is fine)
• Replaced rear gasket on soft top; new one is so thick I cannot seat the clips with it on
• Aux Throttle pull absolutely not connected

Projects I'm interested in:

• Cleaning up/dressing up chrome
• Adding right side mirror (so many bicyclists where I live)
• Dashboard - faux wood -> real wood (does anybody have a template? Passenger side was once replaced, and is wrong size.)
• Tweak side markers to function as turn signal indicators (does this require more relays? http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech ... flash.html)
• LED indicator conversion, including headlights
• Re-cover dashboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE0dueAXSI

[Exit98]

Hi 5YFP262,

We are mostly 124 Spiders here but there are 850's around too and everyone is welcome.

I don't have many answers for what ails you. Those door problems are troubling though, you need to take care of them soon.

So welcome, and I hope you can get some good advice.

Where are you in Calif? Lots of members hear from the Golden State.

[RRoller123]

Welcome aboard! You will find plenty of knowledgeable and friendly people here.

The 850 is a really fun little car and that looks like a wonderful example you have.

Here is a link to a map of Spider owner’s locations. Many forum members have listed their locations.

https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=191825

Pete

[4uall]

Hello & welcome to the greatest place on earth

There is a link on the main page for 850 posts near the bottom http://fiatspider.com/f08/viewforum.php?f=33

Good luck with your pursuits

[5YFP262]

I'm in San Francisco. Not particularly tropical, but I'm not complaining either!

Wonderful, thank you for linking to the 850 section!

[124JOE]

nice car,you can remove the trunk lid and have it sprayed
for around $200

have you fixed your door problems?-find a repair manual
with the car off you can spray the choke with parts blaster--to free it up
and buy some rear brake pads to get the job done
also take it to a body shop to get the sagging doors fixed--and talk about having the car painted,or at least the trunk

[AndyS]

I am in the SF Bay Area too, and have worked on 850 and 600 Fiats. You can PM me if you like for contact info. There are a few rear engine Fiat nuts here

here is one I did for a guy a few years back.

[RRoller123]

Good Lord that is beautiful!