On the way to a LeMons Rally in California. 76 fiat spider. With son Steven, his first rally. The fun starts Friday morning.
Fun little cars. A buddy bought one a few years ago that had a 289 and a 4 speed in it. It would spin the tires as long as you stayed in it, lol! He had fun with it until the rear end let go, then he shoved it into the bushes and went on to his next toy...
Fine Italian Automotive Technology I've got a 77 spider, DOHC engine 5speed 4 wheel disc brakes - what's not to love?
Thanks My ig username is @jforb427 if you want to follow along. Car is doing great so far. But anything can happen!
Co-worker at transmission shop I worked at in late 1980s had a Fiat X1-9 .. What a bucket of bolts that car was. ... Good Luck !
That‘s a little fun car! I had the honor to replace the floors and fix a few other rust related problems on one of my buddy‘s a few years ago . I remember it already had efi and was around 110 hp or so. I did enjoy the test drives a lot!
Is that a bowling trophy on the hood? Great fun! Don't worry about the brakes...they just slow you down.
got the brakes fixed, and yes it's a bowling trophy, my brother had it on his 58 chevy for a while. I'll see if I can remember to post the route information here when we get it in a couple hours
Wow, just stumbled across this thread. Go Jim, go son! I worked on a few different Fiats in my day. The X19 took a poorly designed FWD drive train and made it just as hard to work on in mid engine guise. They were more fun than a Fiero, though. One spyder I dealt with required a plate to spread out the clutch cable force at the firewall. It had big cracks around the bracket, leading to lack of clutch disengagement. We weren't set up to do body repairs and the customer was in a time and money crunch. I hope anyone local will offer tips and tricks to help you kick butt.
been pretty busy, on vacation! We sold the Fiat at the end of a rally to a local guy who saw it in the parking lot. It went really really cheap (which is OK because I got the car for free). Wife met us there in Santa Cruz, and after getting the 3rd place award, we all headed up to Portland to visit family, in our new modern car.
I have so many great memories of my Spider. When we were stationed in Germany, before kids, my wife and I drove all over Europe in ours. You learn to pack light! Funny, I never really felt like it needed more power, though. It was just right for all those back roads in Tuscany, up and down the Rhine and Mosel, and all thru Bavaria and Austria. Great little car!
I guess they don't have US highways over there, it would be nice to have a little more power. But you learn quickly to be patient...
The Jalopy Journal
