Hello from Nova Scotia

[NSDave]

Hello to all...
My name's Dave and I just bought a Fiat. Sounds like I'm at a meeting . The 1979 Spider is my first Fiat, my wife's too. I'm sure we'll have lots of questions as we go along. The Spider was bought as a Dad and kids project, we sold our '79 VW Westy just a few months ago. We'd had the VW for 'half of forever', and done alot of travelling, but we were getting too big for it, and just not using it. Our Spider appears to have a very solid body/frame (not easy to find on the east coast of Canada), and it seems to work fairly well mechanically (5th gear is noisy though). The interior needs attention, alot of it. I'll figure out the posting pics thing, and take some photos after we get the car home.
Cheers,
Dave.

[baltobernie]

Hello Dave, and Welcome! Beautiful part of the world you're in.

Yes, you are at a meeting. Admission is the first step. "Hi, I'm Bernie, and I'm a Rustifarian."

Do you see other Spiders on the road? This forum, as well as Fiat Lancia Unlimited, has a surprising number of Canadians, considering the latitude. One good thing, you won't have to fix the lighting on your car for the time being!

Saw a rerun of Targa Newfoundland the other day on TV. That's something I'd like to try someday.

Sure, we'd like to see some pictures, but not at the expense of you getting out and enjoying your car

[Exit98]

Rustifarian, LOL.

Baltobernie, I'm with you. Every time I see the Targa Newfoundland on TV I fantisize about running it. How about you and me setting up a 124 together and taking it on.

I've read a far amount about Nova Scotia and Newfoundland over the years, but I've never had the opportunity to visit. Thant sure would be a great way to do it. It's a pretty neat part of the world.

For those of you who don't know what the Targa Newfoundland is all about you can look here: http://www.targanewfoundland.com/about/what-is-targa/

It is a highly competitive road rally on the streets and roads of Newfoundland. The locals love it and it gets great support. An excellent TV show documenting it is on TV from time to time, but generally on a pretty remote station.

Dave, tell us about driving on the roads of Nova Scotia, and get us some pictures quick.

[courtenay]

Dave - welcome to the forum from the other coast. You will find all kinds of help here as you enjoy playing with your new toy. What part of Nova Scotia are you from. We lived in Ottawa many years ago and had a great time touring the Maritimes in our motorhome. I spent 3 weeks at Dalhousie on a course and got to know the many pubs in Halifax pretty well. I think there's more pubs per capita in Halifax than any other city in Canada!

[kilrwail]

Hey Dave- Welcome to our litle group, from a fellow Canadian. I think we have so many fine examples here because we don't even consider driving them in the winter - so they last. You have great roads and great people in NS - what more could you ask? Enjoy.

[NSDave]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the warm welcomes.
Bernie, I haven't seen many other Spiders on the roads here, but I must confess that I wasn't really looking. I might have mistaken one for an LBC in the past . Won't happen again . Seriously, with a population of slighly less than 1 million and an area of about 55,000sq. kms (21,000sq. miles, Maine is over 33,000sq miles), there is a surprisingly large number of whatever you might be looking for here. Even Fiats, I think the more I get the car out around, the more I'll hear, "I know someone with..."
Doug, the roads here in N.S. would be heavenly if not for the frost heaves, pot holes and general lack of maintenance . N.S. has it all, miles of coastline, crashing surf, rolling hills, fertile valleys, lakes, rivers, waterfalls. I hope I can include the Fiat in some photos as we do some more exploring.
Bruce, thanks for the welcome from the left coast! We're currently living just north of Halifax. I spent 10 years in Ottawa as a kid/young adult. We were living not far from the intersection of Bank and Alta Vista. Fond memories of slipping over to Hull for a little under-age drinking . For those people unfamiliar with the geography/regional differences, Ottawa (Ontario) is just across a river/border from Hull (Quebec). The legal drinking age in Ontario is 19 in Quebec it's only 18...
Peter, thanks for the welcome. My brother and sister are still in the Ottawa area, we visit once in awhile. I still love Ottawa, for a 'big city' it always seemed to have a lot of parks/green space.
This is our first Fiat, and we all think it's great. My lovely wife and I managed a tour around the block today after we got the car home. She was all smiles too. I don't want to push my luck though, and spend too much more time on the road until we're properly registered and plated. The authorities allow a little lattiude with recent car purchases, but there are limits.
I'm working on the photos, I think I just opened an account at photobucket.

[rlux4]

Hi Dave, welcome to the forum.
There have been several new members lately who got their car at the urging, or with the blessing of their mate. Good on you guys. It took a lot of sweet talking to get my wife to go along with my getting a Spider back in my life.
Looking forward to the pics of your new ride.
Ron

[kilrwail]

Dave - If you're planning a trip to Ottawa this summer, maybe it would coincide with one of our Italian Car Club events. If you're interested, the schedule will be available here http://icco.forzavx.com/. I lived near Kilborn and Alta Vista for 11 years beginning in 1989 - small world.

[NSDave]

Hi Ron, my 'SO' has been very supportive this time 'round. I think she's hoping for lots of Dad/kids bonding time. I certainly plan to have them both involved, they're great kids, even if they are teenagers .
Peter, small world indeed. I was not far away (from '76 to '88 anyway), just behind the Public Library on Alta Vista (at Heron). Thanks for the link to The ICCO. I'll check it if we are making plans to come along.
Cheers,
Dave.

[NSDave]

trying to figure out pic posting...
new addition to the family..

still dirty..

a little worn...weak seats...

Cheers,
Dave.

[2ndwind]

That car is lookin' good. Cheers to another spider on the road.

BTW Back in the 80s, I took a leisurely trip through NS and loved it. Halifax is just beautiful in June, anyway.