Dammit, Jim! (Long Fiat post ahead...)

"DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully" (danceswithrotors) 02/23/2014 at 22:49 • Filed to: Fiat Spider

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So, Fiat update... The infernal Italian has given me one hell of a time, this weekend... It started when the rear calipers did not want to come apart for the rebuild they desperately needed. I ended up getting one rebuilt, the other slapped back on the car, brakes bled, handbrake cables ziptied to the chassis and called it a day. Then, I ordered new ones from RockAuto.

So, I go and drive it, to make sure it still stops (which it does, better than before.), and drove to see a lovely female friend of mine. Now, I know my car has to be Italian, because why else would the shift lever come off in my hand, three blocks from her house? So, I drove the car to her place in 3rd gear, parked in front and ended up spending a lovely night with a very lovely lady.

Morning comes, throw the car back together enough to go see a friend who does weird and unusual stuff, and we discover that, in traditional Classic Fiat tradition, a previous owner had tried to secure the shift lever with the wrong size nut and rounded off the head. Anyway, got that fixed, with some thread locker and the proper nut, called it a day.

On the positive front: The weather was beautiful, so the top has been down since Friday. The car hasn't missed a beat (other than the shifter) in ~350 miles of driving this weekend, plus the 400 last weekend, AND driving it to work all week. Also, she's running on clean 15w40 Delo 400 now, and the only leak now is a minor coolant leak from around the thermostat tee, so I've got to slap a new thermostat and gasket on it.

Next two weekends: Brake calipers, differential fluid and transmission fluid, one week from Saturday. Timing belt/water pump/thermostat, two weeks from Saturday. That'll give me 4 weeks before "Fiats on the Dragon" to work out any remaining mechanical bugs.

SR20 - on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Jeff-God-of-Biscuits > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully 02/23/2014 at 22:53

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I remember that road... I used to run the trace on my VFR when I was stationed at Ft Campbell. Good times. As to the shift lever coming off, maybe it was just trying to give you an excuse to spend the night, in true Italian fashion?

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > Jeff-God-of-Biscuits 02/23/2014 at 22:59

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That's what I'm leaning toward, because it didn't act up a single time, between when I left her place, and I got it to the most Oppo of my friends, so we could get it apart and mended.

evil2win > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully 02/23/2014 at 23:27

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what year is your Fiat? If I had to guess I'd say 81 or 82? I had an 82 that was my DD for over 5 years. I sold it year or so ago when I found a 73. Living in California there are advantages to owning a pre-smog car. The last thing I did for this car is find a refurbish a Pininfarina hardtop.

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > evil2win 02/24/2014 at 00:18

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81. I'm digging your Spider, too.

It's not my DD, but that's because I have a 2013 Mazda3 for that. However... If anything happens to the Mazda, I'm replacing it with another Spider, or maybe an X1/9. Old Fiats are addictive.

evil2win > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully 02/24/2014 at 01:29

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If you already have a spider you like, I'd recommend an X1/9. I had one for a few years. Mine was beat. I was an 82 my son bought for $500 and gave to me. I drove it for about 2 years, and on a mountain road it was loads of fun. I remember entering turns thinking that I was way too fast, yet the X1/9 would pull through the turn in a nice neutral drift. One day I chased an RX8 on really twisty back road. Every time the road straightened out the Mazda would drop me but as soon as we hit the tight sections I'd reel him right back in again. After one repair I took it out for a test drive and ended up 100 mile up highway 1 I was having so much fun. My only advice would be, buy the cleanest one you can find, and keep up on maintenance and you'll have plenty of fun.