Another '77 Mid-Life Crisis

[Texafornian]

Hi All,

I lurked for weeks here to research my recent purchase of a gently used 77 spider. Thanks for all the wisdom you have all collected here, and thanks in advance as I touch pretty much every aspect that will need attention as I get her in working order. Here are some photos https://1drv.ms/a/s!As0M4aC9epz5n9tu6NbvDAMVuvm8FA.  She started off in Colorado and spent 33 years there; the past 7 or so have been in CA, 2 as a weekend driver, then 5 in the driveway of the PO after she failed smog. First order of business is getting her tuned and emissions-legal, then the interior is going to need some sprucing up. Wish me luck!

-Daniel

[RRoller123]

Welcome aboard! You will find plenty of knowledgeable and friendly people here. Looks like a solid start, The inevitable Rust Gremlin is not bad at all.

Post some pictures! (or assist us in finding a better host than is presently referenced in the thread below....?) They help a great deal when trying to help diagnose problems, inquiries, etc that you may have.

Here is a thread on how to post pictures directly to the forum:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic ... 13&t=32169

And here is another picture-posting thread:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic ... 12&t=23084

This short instruction covers how to resize pictures so that they don’t get cut off at the right side:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30441

And here is a link to a map of Spider owner’s locations. Many forum members have listed their locations.

https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=191825


Pete

[AriK]

Welcome! Sprucing it up is the fun part! I spent a whole deal of time sprucing it up when i first got mine. Actually, the girlfriend at the time bought the car and i did the maintenance, cleaned up the trunk and engine compartment to the point you could eat off them. (The girlfriend has now gone away and we kindly settled that the car remains with me.)
Pay attention to the interior of your battery box as the acid corrosion will eat its way through.

Also pay special attention to the ignition cable leading from the coil to the distributor cap, yours is routed way too tight. Mine has alot more loose than that and was notorious for unplugging itself during driving. The engine naturally rocks itself to knock the cable loose. This can happen at the very worst time and place and is a safety issue. I've replaced the motor mounts some time ago which has minimized this effect but recently it has been brought to my attention that this cable routing over the exhaust manifold is incorrect and correct factory routing should be around the coolant overflow bottle and along the inner fender. That will require a cable that is at approx 3ft long. This will be my objective before driving season starts and hopefully i will not risk my life on a shoulderless highway as i did the last time.

[Texafornian]

Thanks for the tips! Not sure where to start, I decided to just give it a good wash, and didn't make it past the trunk, where I encountered the battery box rot. I spent the better part of the afternoon with a bottle of baking soda solution. I'll take a look at the cabling soon...