South Pacific spider restomod begins

[Kiwispider]

Kia Ora from New Zealand, home of the Lord of the Rings movies, Lorde, and the world champion All Blacks (it's rugby).

Here at the bottom of the world we are blessed with many things, but an abundance of Fiat Spiders is not one of them - one enthusiast thinks there might be 30 in the country. Prior to buying mine, I'd only seen one in the flesh, and it was parked!

So if you want a Spider in NZ, you can either wait and hope one turns up on TradeMe (NZ eBay) which happens maybe twice a year, or you can import one yourself. Which is what I was looking at doing until...

Spider for sale.... sweet!
1979.... Go on....
54000 miles.... I'm listening....
Red interior.... meh!
Automatic.... Oh dear!
Just 20 minutes from here....oooh!
California car, rust free.... Hell yeah!

Called the PO at 5:30, owned it by 7:00.

The car was imported over two years ago, but had never been "vinned" for NZ. Anything with rust just gets the book thrown at it, and if this forum has taught me anything (talkin' 'bout you, Drummond, and others) it's that I don't have anywhere near big enough cajones to take on major rust repair.

The compliance process has taken aaaaages - but has confirmed there is no structural rust. The underbody rust proofing was still largely intact, and where it could be peeled off revealed original paint in almost mint condition.

One part of the chassis frame had taken a knock, probably from running over something hard (do they have armadillo's in California?) so have to take the dent out and remove surface rust. Had the the whole underbody media blasted and epoxied and cavity waxed.

Sway bar bushes needed to be replaced, thought it was a good idea to get the compliance mechanic to do it while the car was there, now have to replace a snapped stud! But he has lent me his dealer license plate to drive around with, so saved a fortune on towing.

Ironically, once it is road legal, I'll be taking it off the road! Restomod plans include 5 speed gearbox, euro springs or similar, bumperless, 32/36 carb, headers/exhaust (no cat required), maybe cams and pistons, 15" rims, full bodywork, swap out red interior.....

Thanks to all the posters on this forum who have shared their wisdom and shown me how great spiders can be. Reading these posts is like reading a great book - even before I got my car I was staying up way too late to see how everyone's stories end. The kicker is, they never do!

[RRoller123]

Welcome aboard! Lots of friendly and helpful folks here! My B.I.L. lives on Guam and has visited NZ a few times and loves it, what a beautiful country! You've got me thinking to ask him if he ever sees any Spiders on Guam? I am always surprised by the fact that there are any out that way at all!

Pete

[spider82]

Hi Trevor Been kicking myself for not making the effort to take a look at this car myself (Im sure the car you have bought was listed on trademe around Xmas time and is white??)
My own car was taken of the road more than 8 years ago because of slipping clutch and when I proceeded to take the tranny out couldn't help myself and totally stripped the car of all parts, I was stupid enough to let the rego lapse.
Am starting to work on the car all be it but very slowly.
Well good luck with the car

[Kiwispider]

Thanks for the welcome Pete. In some ways NZ is like a Spider - small, gorgeous to look at, and occasionally shakes violently and bits fall off.

Spider82 - you're right, that is the car. Almost missed it being on holiday. Generous to call it white, I believe the correct term is patina'd.

[RRoller123]

Beautiful country! NZ is the only place I am aware of where you can both swim and ski year round within 100 miles of each other. We came somewhat close to emigrating there back in the 70's.

[Mick124]

Welcome aboard Trevor.

Look forward to seeing photos and the progress.

Plenty of spiders and advice here in Oz.

[DRUMMOND]

Welcome Trevor (You May regret it, but you will enjoy it)

Lets clear some things up first!

the world champion All Blacks (it's rugby). You guys just got lucky! won't happen again!

All kidding aside Post some pics of your spider

[Kiwispider]

Thanks Drummond. We actually got lucky 3 times, twice in a row, only country to do that. But hey, I don't really care about rugby all that much, prefer the beautiful game except we are a bit rubbish at it!

Looked at posting a 'before' photo of my car, seems there is a bit of debate lately about the best photo sharing site to use. Will look further into it tonight.

Your diary of your restoration is outstanding, BTW. Inspirational and intimidating!

[MrToon]

I used Imgur. Easy and free, you can edit the lay-out of the album and order your pics. It also gives a link to bbcode, so sharing them here is easy. Looking forward to your pictures!

[Kiwispider]

Finally got a photo to post, seems the photo hosting site is less important than the device you use to post with. No success with either Photobucket, Imgur or Google photos using my tablet, both Photobucket and Google photos worked with my laptop (didn't try Imgur). Technology schmechnology!



Sorry about the photo quality, reducing the size to 640 x 480 made it pixelate a bit.

EDIT: Dammit!! Photo doesn't show on my tablet, just get the broken link icon.

[DRUMMOND]

Hi Trevor

I posted the driveshaft measurements on my post. Just in case you missed it.

[Kiwispider]

Front Brakes

As much as I want my Spider to go, I also want it to stop. The brakes seemed to work OK, but being a 37 year old car with an unknown maintenance history, I thought a brake check wouldn't hurt.

Pulled the calipers apart, replaced hoses and seals, new rotors and pads, polished everything up.

[Kiwispider]

Rear Brakes

Now I'm no mechanic but I'm pretty sure brake calipers are not meant to be full of sand.



Instead of attempting to refurbish, I just got complete new calipers. Replaced rear compensator and the master cylinder as well. The whole brake system has now been checked and upgraded - feel much more confident on the road now but still can't get the handbrake to lock the rear wheels. I understand the handbrake is a bit of a weak point in Spiders?

[DRUMMOND]

Hi kiwispider

Welcome back to the resto!
I just read this line!
(One part of the chassis frame had taken a knock, probably from running over something hard (do they have armadillo's in California?)

Armadillos = Texas. California = Pedestrians

I have not managed to get the handbrake to work very well either. Looking into a electronic handbrake using the back brake lines.

[Kiwispider]

New Tyres -safety first!

Driving at highway speeds on skinny old tyres was making me nervous, so new 15" rims from Allisons, and 205/55 tyres was next on the list. The new tyres are about 20mm larger diameter (3.4% increase in circumference) than the old ones. I have read on the forum that this can affect the accuracy of the speedo, but given how much my needle wavers around, it's impossible to tell!

Also difficult to notice a speed per RPM increase, although the math says there is one, but the big improvement is in ride quality and the feeling of being safer.

Proportionally I think the rims fill the wheel arch better, and will be better still with lower springs.