hola all from fastfilms in toronto

[fastfilms]

hola all my fellow spider enthusiasts - such a treat to share this passion with all of you! i've owned Gina (a '78 Fiat 124 Sport Spider, plated as GINA 78) for about 17 years. i bought her off my dad, who bought it for me when he heard i was thinking of buying a Harley. he thought 4 wheels would be safer then 2 (God bless him)! but my love of the FIAT brand extends quite far back, to the mid seventies, when my father actually owned and operated a FIAT/LANCIA/ALFA ROMEO dealership in sudbury, ontario. in my teens i drove and loved them all -the cute little 128's; the more sophisticated 131's; the dynamic X/19's; the sporty 124's, the classic 124 FIAT Sport Coupe being one of my all time favorites! needless to say, i was very lucky, in that i always had a well trained and super qualified FIAT mechanic at my disposal, at least while my dad was alive... he really loved tinkering and toying with Gina in his retirement, and she still bears the marks of that love and care...
For all intents and purposes, i consider Gina to be basically stock, though i have done some work to her. i redid the front end on her, put a new roof on her, got her really slick wheels and rims, upsized her radiator so she'd run cooler, changed her motor from a 1.8L to a 2L, and put electronic ignition in her last year. i wish i had some digi pics so everyone could see her. i'll take some this summer. i'm quite proud of the shape that i try to keep Gina in and the last time she was appraised for insurance purposes, they said she was worth $14,500.00! (that's canadian, ofcourse)
Gina is presently resting in a heated underground garage, safe and sound from the elements. i usually park her in october and bring her back out in may. though i will say, she doesn't see much action these days, as i now have very young children - still working on a plan to install a child car seat in the back so i can take the boy (3 yrs old) for rides... my wife and i love taking it out on drives when we have one of those few and far between date nights. and in the old days, we used to drive her up north to the cottage all the time! heck, we've even gone camping with Gina, with the cooler in the back seat! i'm sure everyone can relate to how there's nothing like flying down the open road in Gina, top down on a beautiful sunny day, with that big wooden steering wheel, like you're in an old open-cockpit airplane - only lower to the ground...
thank you all for giving me the opportunity to talk about Gina - gosh, i love her, 'cause she makes me feel young again and she's one of the last pieces of my father that i have left...
ciao for now
fastfilms

[4babycar]

Welcome and thanks for the great history of you car. We can't wait to see pictures!

[mbouse]

way cool.. a spider owner that admits to naming the car!!

welcome, waiting to see her..

[baltobernie]

Hello and welcome! Your car and mine have the same name, and lately, it seems like we've had the same weather! 12°F last night; cherry blossoms in a few weeks

One forum member posted some cute pictures last year of his kids in the back seat of his Spider. Maybe he'll give you some ideas for installation in your car.

[rlux4]

Welcome to the forum fastfilms. That's a great story, and a neat momento of your father that means so much to you. You've got our curiosity going, so be sure to get those pictures asap. You no doubt have pictures of Gina, how about scanning a couple and then they'd be digitized. Then we wouldn't have to wait so long to see her! (That's how I posted pictures of my wedding day in 1980 driving a 1979 Spider.)
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

welcome to the site, and thanks for the great story about the car and your family!

[ga.spyder]

Welcome to our happy group! My daughter christened mine ''Fiona the Fiat'' the first day I brought her home,and the name has stuck since.It is great that the car carries the memory of your father.Good luck and lets see some pics.
Craig