Hello from PNW

[wooferdog]

Greetings,

Today i'm becoming the proud owner of a basket case 1976 spider.

Will post pics asap. Will have many, many questions

Thanks,

Wooferdog

[courtenay]

Welcome, Woofer. You've come to the right spot - there's all kinds of basket cases around here. Some are Spiders.
Where in the PNW are you located? There's quite a few members in Washington and Oregon as well as a few of us north of the border.

[RRoller123]

Welcome aboard! Here is a thread on how to post pictures to the forum:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21014

[4uall]

Hello & welcome to the best place on earth

[westy64]

welcome on board.

what is PNW ?

[courtenay]

I'm assuming PNW refers to the Pacific Northwest region of North America which most would consider to cover Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

[SunnySideUp]

First -- Welcome to the forum, wolferdog!

what is PNW ?

Being an escapee from PNW (geographically speaking Northern Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia) it means "Pretty Near Washington" or "Pretty Nasty Weather" at least during the winter rainy season, or "Permanently Now Wet"

[azruss]

Egads, Sunnyside up! Another refugee from the rain forest. Me, too. (grew up in Spokane, went to Wazzu, lived in Eugene for 30 years, became a Webfoot, both literally and figuratively.)

[tartan18]

Welcome from another PNW'er. I like it when it rains. The hum of my wiper motor is very soothing

[TJW124Spider1975]

Hello

I see you are from Lakewood. I live in the Summit area near Puyallup.

Not much Fiat driving for me in the snow that fell today.

Looking forward to your pictures.

Thomas

[dmwhiteoak]

Welcome wooferdog from the great state of Texas. And Courtenay, what other basket cases might you be refering too?

[courtenay]

Me, for one, Dennis. I have a car that doesn't get driven in the rain. I live in the PNW, I've had my car for 3 years and put about 2000 kms (1300 miles ) on it. Need I say more??

[Zippy]

Welcome, I'm in Federal Way. Lots of great info here and friendly folks willing to share their knowledge. We all like pictures, so post some up when you get a chance.

Al

[wooferdog]

Well, thanks to everyone. Nice to know there's a few local spiders as well as those abroad. I've owned a '73 124 Spider as well as an Alfa GTV 2000 and a pair of Alfetta GT's

The car is in my possession and amazingly enough, after seeing it sit in an Olympia neighbor's backyard for at least three years that I know of, rust free. No rot anywhere in/out or underneath. Amazing! Just minor stuff. Even comes with an intact belly pan and a recent vinyl soft top

He knew I had been lusting after it and after finding out he needed to relocate across the country called me and offered it to me for the price of.....

Of.........wait for it........NOTHING!!!!!!!!

It's BRG and has a quarter panel ding that needs to be taken care of and a respray. No down to metal resto, because this will be a daily driver. Nothing fancy.

Interior is, in my estimation, about 90% dry but mildewy smelling. Needs work. New rubber trim and seals will be needed all around. Mechanically, it's a mess. PO took a shotgun approach and really didn't finish anything so there's a lot of work to be done there. Original CA 1800, smogged to the hilt.

My plan?

Restore the paint

Redo the interior. I like some of the stripped down minimalist interiors in the custom page here and I've gleaned some ideas from there. Radio delete, console delete and a rear seat delete.Home Depot carpet kit. Want a wood rimmed Nardi like my Alfa's had though. My one true indulgence

Abarth type bumperettes. I've found some round LED turn signals from a hot rod supply that can inset into the grille, ala Ferrari California fog lamps. I can post a link for opinions on those. I also have some polished stainless steel mesh screen from the scrap bin at work to fill all of the front end openings. I was musing at work today as to whether to orient the mesh up and down or to kick it at a 45 and have an X pattern to the weave.

Once again, opinions?

As for wheels. Currently stock steelies with original hubcaps. With the BRG, I'm tempted to paint the wheels yellow as a subtle homage to Colin Chapman. Lotus paint scheme on a Fiat?

Anyone object?

My '73 had vintage Ansen Sprint slot mags and I really do love the look of those on a Spider. Just missed some on my local C'list and wanted to cry. $400.00 for the set with lugs, center caps and good rubber. Oh well

Engine-wise

I'm looking for somebody's recipe for what I'd call a "Stage 1" upgrade. A little zippier than stock with some better mid-range than my old 1600 had, and can run on regular gas.

Any knowledge and/or insight will be much welcome.

Cheers

[Exit98]

Woofer,

Stage 1 on a 76 is easy, and this is coming from a non-mechanic.

All smog stuff must go.

4-2-1 early exhaust header and downpipe.

Bingo, you are already probably 10 hp to the better.

Next a 34ADF Weber. Bolts right on and uses the stock air cleaner if you want.

Later on you can decide on adjustable cams and stuff if that's your thing, but the these simple changes will give you lively performance for every day use.

The other big change I made was going from your 4.30 rear end to the later 3.90 rear. Not everyone here agrees with this one but for me the change was night and day. Went from 4200 rpms at 70 mph down to around 3800 and third gear around town is much more usable.