I got to tell ya,,this is just great reading about

GOPAPA · Post by **GOPAPA** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:02 pm

all the different things going on with all of you and your fiats .. And Pictures ,,whow ! I cannot believe I never thought of purchasing one of these fun little toys . Anyway ,, what I was wondering is ,,,Are these wheels on my 82 stock ?

And I discovered something that I didnt catch when I bought it ,,is that the rear rubber ends on the bumper are rusted so bad that the metal can no longer hold the rubber end onto the bumper much longer.

I have paper work that proves the car came from North Carolina and was there most of it's life and found it funny that all the undercarriage is in great shape and no rust found anywhere else. any one know if they use salt on their highways in the winter time in North Carolina ?
Got me puzzled ,, papa

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v322/ ... FTSIDE.jpg

rlux4 · Post by **rlux4** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 10:15 pm

Yes they are a stock wheel. They're called 'Turbo' wheels, and a lot of '82 had them. Mine does also. Here's a funny thing, check your spare, if it's stock, it's a 13". But the diameter is very close to the same, so that appears to be what came on them as a spare.
My car is a California car with no rust anywhere except on the bottom of the lower tube of the bumpers. It was pointed out to me that it's very common for people not to dry it off there, so the water is there until it evaporates. Enough time over the years to cause rust. Makes sense to me.
Ron

ga.spyder · Post by **ga.spyder** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:12 pm

Welcome to the 82 owners club!(rlux ,pres.) I also have a 82 that spent its entire life in Winston-Salem area.Not a spot of rust anywhere on it.Here in N.E. Georgia they use a gravel/salt mix that looks pretty much like the same stuff they use in the Smokeys area of N.C. That is a odd spot for rust.What part of N.C. are you located?
good luch ,Craig

GOPAPA · Post by **GOPAPA** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:19 pm

rlux4 wrote:Yes they are a stock wheel. They're called 'Turbo' wheels, and a lot of '82 had them. Mine does also. Here's a funny thing, check your spare, if it's stock, it's a 13". But the diameter is very close to the same, so that appears to be what came on them as a spare.
My car is a California car with no rust anywhere except on the bottom of the lower tube of the bumpers. It was pointed out to me that it's very common for people not to dry it off there, so the water is there until it evaporates. Enough time over the years to cause rust. Makes sense to me.
Ron

Yes , my spare is a 13" and I read that you could get either size 13" or 14 " .. My speedometer and Tach are both reading higher than what they should and I thought it may be the wheel size change but it can't be as in my case if they went from 13" to 14" then the speedometer would read slower, so I have to figure that one out some how as I read about 8 miles faster than what I am really doing . I am wondering if some one did a bunch of refurbashing on my car and the bumper was left as is .. I do have some $2800 repairs but not to specific to what .. Papa

GOPAPA · Post by **GOPAPA** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:31 pm

ga.spyder wrote:Welcome to the 82 owners club!(rlux ,pres.) I also have a 82 that spent its entire life in Winston-Salem area.Not a spot of rust anywhere on it.Here in N.E. Georgia they use a gravel/salt mix that looks pretty much like the same stuff they use in the Smokeys area of N.C. That is a odd spot for rust.What part of N.C. are you located?
good luch ,Craig

Thx ! My 82 was in North Carolina all it's life until 1997 and then the owner moved to the Washington border up next to Canada, and then it wound up In Washugal Washington where I went and bought it. Washugal is across the Columbia River from Portland Oregon some 50 miles from where I live .

I bet you are right about the salt as where my rubbers on the rear bumper is rusted is right where the tires could of spun the water mixed with salt onto them constantly . The bottom of the car is coated with a tar like substance that must of protected it from the salt and what ever.. thanks for the info that I didnt know about salt on highways ..papa

ga.spyder · Post by **ga.spyder** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:41 pm

Wow ..you live in extreme Northwest North Carolina!! I guess I should read a little closer!Mine has that same undercoating ,I think its stock.I have had to touch up some areas that were peeling.They are fun cars and you will have a blast with it.
Craig

GOPAPA · Post by **GOPAPA** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 12:17 am

ga.spyder wrote:Wow ..you live in extreme Northwest North Carolina!! I guess I should read a little closer!Mine has that same undercoating ,I think its stock.I have had to touch up some areas that were peeling.They are fun cars and you will have a blast with it.
Craig

No No ,,I live in the northwest United States close to Portland Oregon and also close to Mt. St Helens In Washington State.

We get rust here from the Pacific Ocean and I bought the car thinking it spent most of it's life with out a rust problem but maybe I was wrong about that ,,but ,,it isnt at all rusty that I can find except for them rubber ends on the rear bumper..
Now another thing that could of happened is that that is not a original bumper and it is from this area as a used one and that would answer about how it rusted out .. just a guess .. goodnight it's after 9:oo p.m. here and time for bed ,,,,,,, papa

mdrburchette · Post by **mdrburchette** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:23 am

Nice looking car! I would check the size of the tire for your speedo descrepency. The smaller diameter the tire is the higher the speedo will read.
NC does use salt, especially in the mountains. Here in the Piedmont, if there's a 20% chance of snow, they'll spray the roads and everyone runs to the grocery store for bread and milk, ready to hunker down.

GOPAPA · Post by **GOPAPA** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 12:54 pm

mdrburchette wrote:Nice looking car! I would check the size of the tire for your speedo descrepency. The smaller diameter the tire is the higher the speedo will read.
NC does use salt, especially in the mountains. Here in the Piedmont, if there's a 20% chance of snow, they'll spray the roads and everyone runs to the grocery store for bread and milk, ready to hunker down.

You know ,,I made a mistake in looking at the repair shops address for my car and where it was most of it's life and it was South Carolina (not North Carolina )and on the Ocean where there are is salt water .. A place called Hilton Head Island ..

As for the tires ,,they are 14" and stock so whats happening with my speedo is not the size of the tires ,,will find out what it is tho.. thx for " the Nice looking car " that you said ,,have you got one for me to look at ? papa

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 1:04 pm

hey! congrats on getting the avatar posted! Nice matching flowers in the foreground too, very artistic

kristoj · Post by **kristoj** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 2:03 pm

Hilton Head Island is definitely surrounded by salt water. Like half of the rest of the State of Ohio, I take my family there for vacation every summer. You know, I have noticed that the rubber sections on my rear bumpers are rusted out inside as well -- but the fronts are fine. My car has never been driven in the winter, so it wouldn't be from road salt. Must be a water collection point as was suggested. You can still source new ones, but they are around a hundred bucks a piece.

mdrburchette · Post by **mdrburchette** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 4:49 pm

Hilton Head is a nice place to visit but the salty air could cause problems with our Fiats! It's amazing how far some of these cars end up going in their lifetime. Mine was originally a CA car with CA emissions (don't know what the difference was in 72) and it's been happily living in North Carolina since 74.
Here's a link to pics of my cars: http://gallery.italiancarclub.com/124og/SPIDER-LADY-72/

GOPAPA · Post by **GOPAPA** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:09 pm

So Cal Mark wrote:hey! congrats on getting the avatar posted! Nice matching flowers in the foreground too, very artistic

Not bad for Senior citizen Huh ? thanks again ,,I',m having a ball with this sharing of fiat pictures and talk about them. papa

GOPAPA · Post by **GOPAPA** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:13 pm

kristoj wrote:Hilton Head Island is definitely surrounded by salt water. Like half of the rest of the State of Ohio, I take my family there for vacation every summer. You know, I have noticed that the rubber sections on my rear bumpers are rusted out inside as well -- but the fronts are fine. My car has never been driven in the winter, so it wouldn't be from road salt. Must be a water collection point as was suggested. You can still source new ones, but they are around a hundred bucks a piece.

I think we are on to something about a water colection spot as none of the rest of my car shows rust at all. The first owner must of only driven the car in good weather with no salt water in the air .. Quite something that you vist the place where My fiat was born. LOL I am going to look for a doner car with good bumper ends or buy new ones but the searching for used good ones is more fun so I will go that route first.. papa

GOPAPA · Post by **GOPAPA** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:22 pm

mdrburchette wrote:Hilton Head is a nice place to visit but the salty air could cause problems with our Fiats! It's amazing how far some of these cars end up going in their lifetime. Mine was originally a CA car with CA emissions (don't know what the difference was in 72) and it's been happily living in North Carolina since 74.
Here's a link to pics of my cars: http://gallery.italiancarclub.com/124og/SPIDER-LADY-72/

Whow ! Great cars and I like the split rear bumper on your 72 , I wonder ?? could I put a 72 rear bumper on my 82? I believe I like it better.. Heres a question for you as my son has a 74 and his front bumper is so helpless that if you stood on it ,,it would bend to the ground.. Is there a support missing or a shcok absorber or are they just that way?

I live just north of California and really like the cars from there as they are mostly rust free ,,but the motors are full of smog stuff and take away lots of horse power and clog up the engines in them old ones .. I took the stuff off my 71 Chevy and it runs great ..
Sure like your set up to show your pictures and that 58 is a keeper for sure .. thx papa

I got to tell ya,,this is just great reading about

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