Hello--1982 0r 1983?

[Chapman]

Hello for Massachusetts. This Forum is like an encyclopedia of knowledge from its Members. I was wondering if there is anyway here that can tell the difference between of a 1982 and a 1983 Spider Turbo by looking at the exterior? I bought a new one back then but I can not remember the year and want to rebuy one 30 years later if that makes any sense.

I kept the car for a year when I bought it and that turbo really kicked along with great handling. It kept breaking down and the nearest place that could fix it was 90 miles away. It was a beautiful car and maybe now I have the time to devote to repairing it on my own.

So if anyone knows how to tell the difference between the 82 and the 83 please let me know as I only have exterior photos of it.

Thanks,

Chapman

[divace73]

I could be wrong here?? But I thought all the Legend Industries turbo models were on the fiat badged cars <=82 and not the Pininfarina's>82 onwards?? Is this correct???

[Chapman]

I could be wrong here?? But I thought all the Legend Industries turbo models were on the fiat badged cars <=82 and not the Pininfarina's>82 onwards?? Is this correct???

Hi Divace.

I bought this car from a Ford/Fiat Dealership in Boston in the winter of 1983. There was 8 of them lined up for sale and this was the last of the "Fiats". I just can not remember if it was a carryover 1982 or a 1983 model?

Parts dried up real quick as Fiat of North America filed for bankruptcy shortly after and the dealership was having trouble getting in parts. That is why I unloaded it. I was sent a class action lawsuit form in the mail but threw it out as I did not have any time for that nonsense either. So it was either an 82 or an 83?? It was not an 81. There must be a way to tell but I do not know??

[divace73]

thought that to be the case, I really don't know how you would tell without looking at the compliance plate?? I think they all pretty much looked the same??

[Chapman]

thought that to be the case, I really don't know how you would tell without looking at the compliance plate?? I think they all pretty much looked the same??

Thanks Divace.

Here is a photo if it helps. I have read that many say the Turbos were a nightmare as they all eventually cracked the manifold. I do not know if that is true? Also read they only made 700 of them? How could that be if I see so many for sale? Again any help would be appreciated.

[narfire]

82 will have the same dash style as previous years. The 83 had a different center consol.

[Chapman]

82 will have the same dash style as previous years. The 83 had a different center consol.

Hi Narfire,

Thanks --Can you remember what the difference was?

Appreciated.

[toyfiats]

Hello for Massachusetts. This Forum is like an encyclopedia of knowledge from its Members. I was wondering if there is anyway here that can tell the difference between of a 1982 and a 1983 Spider Turbo by looking at the exterior? I bought a new one back then but I can not remember the year and want to rebuy one 30 years later if that makes any sense.

I kept the car for a year when I bought it and that turbo really kicked along with great handling. It kept breaking down and the nearest place that could fix it was 90 miles away. It was a beautiful car and maybe now I have the time to devote to repairing it on my own.

So if anyone knows how to tell the difference between the 82 and the 83 please let me know as I only have exterior photos of it.

Thanks,

Chapman

If you bought a Turbo Spider and it wasn't an '81 then it was definitely an '82, not an '83. '83 model-year Spiders were badged as Pininfarinas, and had a whole host of relatively minor cosmetic changes over the '82 and earlier Spiders. Furthermore, none of the Pininfarina-badged Spiders were turbocharged, as this was an arrangement between Legend Industries and Fiat NA.

[Chapman]

Hello for Massachusetts. This Forum is like an encyclopedia of knowledge from its Members. I was wondering if there is anyway here that can tell the difference between of a 1982 and a 1983 Spider Turbo by looking at the exterior? I bought a new one back then but I can not remember the year and want to rebuy one 30 years later if that makes any sense.

I kept the car for a year when I bought it and that turbo really kicked along with great handling. It kept breaking down and the nearest place that could fix it was 90 miles away. It was a beautiful car and maybe now I have the time to devote to repairing it on my own.

So if anyone knows how to tell the difference between the 82 and the 83 please let me know as I only have exterior photos of it.

Thanks,

Chapman

If you bought a Turbo Spider and it wasn't an '81 then it was definitely an '82, not an '83. '83 model-year Spiders were badged as Pininfarinas, and had a whole host of relatively minor cosmetic changes over the '82 and earlier Spiders. Furthermore, none of the Pininfarina-badged Spiders were turbocharged, as this was an arrangement between Legend Industries and Fiat NA.

Thanks Toyfiats---and that makes sense. I still do not understand where the "only 700 were made" comes from as I see all types of years with Turbo on them? If there was only 700 made, I would think there would only be a few left but that is not the case????

[narfire]

82 dash is the same/similar as my 80


The 83 center consol runs top to bottom

[toyfiats]

Thanks Toyfiats---and that makes sense. I still do not understand where the "only 700 were made" comes from as I see all types of years with Turbo on them? If there was only 700 made, I would think there would only be a few left but that is not the case????

That is an excellent question. An R&T article from '81 mentioned that Fiat planned to sell 1000 in 1981 (no mention of beyond that), but the earliest reference I can find to "only 700 made" was Martin Buckley's 1997 book "Essential Fiat 124 Spider & Coupe" (a great book for the diehard, BTW). Perhaps Legend or Fiat NA put out a memo at one point indicating how made had been made, but I see "700" referenced nowadays almost as an article of faith, with no mention made of where the figure came from.

Original Turbo Spiders were sold at model year 1981 and 1982. While there might have been some registered as '80s, this was still during the testing period (Legend apparently spend 18 months developing it, which sounds about right since the first fuel-injected Spiders were manufactured around Sep/Oct '79 (for the '80 model year).

While there are still quite a number of Turbo-badged Spiders about, a fair number of them have been de-turboed as the long-term reliability (and subsequent parts availability) wasn't the greatest. You also need to remember that the survival rate is going to be better than your average 30 year old Ford/Chevy or even Toyota, as sports cars in general have a generally higher survival rate for a number of reasons (emotional attachments, fair weather-only drivers, etc).

I have no idea how many are still about. At one time there was a registry to try and keep track of them, but to my knowledge this never got off the ground. That said, there have been a few low-mileage (<25k) cream puffs for sale over the past 10 years or so, but truly nice ones don't come up for sale very often.

[Chapman]

82 dash is the same/similar as my 80


The 83 center consol runs top to bottom

Very Nice Looking Spider Narfire and I see the difference. Mine did not have that kind of steering wheel or shifter either so it must have been an 82. The Pups go well with the top down for sure. I have to get back in the game and make a purchase before I get too old.