Newby owner

[Surf65]

Hello Esteemed Members,

Just pulled trigger and purchased a yellow 82' Spider. I was hoping to find a light blue or silver blue but oh well. Garage kept and apparently no rust from the pics I saw in typical trouble areas. Car apparently does not drop out of gear but won't know for sure until I get it on road. Can't tell you how helpful the site has already been with regard to looking and searching for things that come up on these cars, so thank you. I also found this buyers guide link helpful: http://www.mirafiori.com/faq/content/buyspid.html.
After reading, I was a little worried that a toggle switch was at some point added for when temp exceeds 190c but searched threads and found that perhaps this was not that uncommon. (I hope) Will take delivery on Monday and have my mechanic run through it. If there are any other helpful things to initially have looked at would appreciate the help.

Regards,

Matt S.
Montclair, NJ

[4uall]

Hello & welcome to the greatest place on earth

[spidernut]

Welcome! The toggle switch is common because the fan switches at the bottom of the radiator are prone to failure. They're often wired in parallel so you can run the fan if the switch fails to turn on the fan automatically. If the electronic fan switch on the radiator is bypassed completely, I'd recommend rewiring it.

Here are some common things to check if you haven't already
- Check for cracks in the top door mount on the driver's side. This is a common stress point that will need to be welded
- Check for cracks in the cross member and frame around the cross member mounts - again, common problems
- Have it inspected for rusted shock towers and replace as necessary
- Have your front suspension (mainly the A arm bushings and ball joints) inspected for wear and damage
- Clean the sockets and bulbs on the taillights - they corrode and will run intermittently if not cleaned
- Check all ground connections
- Replace fuel filter
- Have the injectors professionally cleaned and inspected and replace the small hoses to the injectors (prone to leak)
- Check the flex disk (guibo) on the driveshaft. If it hasn't been replaced recently, replace it.
- Check the brake lines for cracks and damage (common on old cars)

[joelittel]

Flush your cooling system right away, not just a drain and refill but rather an actual flush/cleaning. You may be shocked to see the swampy goo that comes out.

Get Brad Artigue's tuneup document. Even if you are going to have a mechanic do all your work the info in Brads doc is helpful for the owner to know and understand.

[Surf65]

Thanks Gents. Very helpful indeed.

[RRoller123]

Welcome aboard! You will find plenty of knowledgeable and friendly people here.

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

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21014

And here is another picture-posting thread:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/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/f08/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

Once Again, Welcome!

Pete