New member from New Orleans

[KNOTSANE]

Hello everyone. My name is Joey and I am in New Orleans. I came across a fiat in the back yard of a customer of mine about 2 years ago. I ended up buying if from him and having it towed to my house. It has been sitting there for 2 years collecting dust. I could not start working on it because I was in the middle of rebuilding my house because of that wind and water event we had awhile back Now that all renovations are complete I can give her the much needed attention she needs. A little bit about her. 1979 Spider 2000 pininfarina
When I bought her the only work done to her was.
New convertible top
New dash
New breaks
New weber cauberator
She has no seats and very little rust. (only on the round edge of the trunk lid)
I put a new battery in her, changed the plugs and added some fresh gas. She cranked up on the third turn. Still alot of tinkering and tuning to get her to run good. Looking forward to learning about this car and I'm sure I'll have lots of questions.

[baltobernie]

Hi Joey and Welcome!

You've come to the right place to find helpful people and tips on restoring and maintaining the Fiat Spider. Not a sane one among us!

You've got an expert Fiat neighbor in New Orleans: http://www.artigue.com

[TulsaSpider]

Awesome she fired right up! Welcome and please post pics!

[mdrburchette]

Welcome Joey! This site is a great resource for getting your Fiat on the road. We look forward to sharing what we know to help a fellow Fiat enthusiast.

[ga.spyder]

Welome to the site.There is plenty of knowledgable people here ,that are happy to help.Now...how did you get away from Mardi Gras long enough to post this?
Craig

[rlux4]

Welcome aboard Joey. A 1979 was my first Spider also. Definately go to Brad Artigue's site, there is a lot of good info there on maintenance and performance tips.
By all means, post pictures of your car.
Ron

[KNOTSANE]

Welome to the site.There is plenty of knowledgable people here ,that are happy to help.Now...how did you get away from Mardi Gras long enough to post this?
Craig

I'm a New Orleans Fire Fighter and duty calls. No mardi gras day party for me this year. I'll make up for it this weekend

[kristoj]

Welome to the site.There is plenty of knowledgable people here ,that are happy to help.Now...how did you get away from Mardi Gras long enough to post this?
Craig

I'm a New Orleans Fire Fighter and duty calls. No mardi gras day party for me this year. I'll make up for it this weekend

Not even on Fat Tuesday??? That is ROUGH! Welcomee to the site

[So Cal Mark]

welcome! Lucky the Fiat wasn't flooded in your wind and rain event!

[mbouse]

welcome Joey.

No seats? must make it difficult to shift, 'eh?

[KNOTSANE]

welcome Joey.

No seats? must make it difficult to shift, 'eh?

Thanks everyone for the very warm welcome. Actually Mike I have not had her on the road yet. When I bought the car I had to have it towed back to my house where she's been sitting. I bought the car after Katrina from the West Bank of New Orleans which did not flood. As far as the seats go, I have researched some and found out that I could go with 1998 Miata or 89 -91 Honda Civic seats for a good retro fit. Even found an upholstery site for some nice leather seat covers. (not cheap, but cheaper than buying 2 entire new leather seats) In my mind, I have a game plan on what I want to accomplish without breaking the bank. (or getting divorced ) This will be a learning experience for sure. Tinkering with a cauberated engine is what I am enjoying now. Possibly rewiring is a whole different ordeal. That may take weeks to do. Every thing else from interior to paint is actually relaxing and therapeutic for me so that is what I look forward to most. I just need to get her road worthy and get the better half in for a ride and hope she jumps on the bandwagon and URGES me to get in the garage and get to work. And once again, thanks to everyone for the welcome and the help. I have already printed the wiring diagram and am now looking for a program to translate Greek to something I can understand

[mbouse]

Greek?

sounds to me like you need to look up Brad Artigue in person...
http://www.artigue.com/fiat/pubs/Wiring_1979_1980.pdf

i think Brad lives nearby your place

[CajunMike]

Welcome from another Louisiana member. Just west of Lafayette. I have a 79 also that hasnt been started in many years and am on the road to getting it running again. Good luck with yours. Ive had mine for 20+ years and really enjoyed it and hope to enjoy it again.

[tonyfromjersey]

Joey,

Getting the wife on board is a great step. It was that part of it that made it easy to get her painted (the car not the wife) and new seats and carpets. Once it started running relatively well she decided I wasn't a complete idiot. Now that spring is around the corner and the body work is almost done, I can't wait to get in and show it off. Welcome to the wonderful world of Italian motoring.

Tony

[launieg]

Welcome Joey. Getting one's other half on board is a great idea. The first day I had my ratty looking $500 spider running and licensed, I took my wife for a ride. It was a sunny and warm day. and we stopped at A&W, going through the drive-through. The girl at the take-out window was so taken by the car that she gave me a desert for free! We sat in the shade and ate our burgers before continuing on a nice oceanside drive. After that day, wifely support for the spider has never waned!

Good luck. Have fun.