What Are Differences Between 66-85 1/2 Spiders

[GOPAPA]

I for one do not know enough of the answers and to get the best answers is from this forum .. What I have in mind ,,is to get all the answers I can from you all and then Copy & Paste them into one big list and save them in print ..And if any of you would like them ,,then here you go ,,all in one place to copy for your own..
Yes, there are books and writings to get much of what I am asking ,,but it's the little things that a lot of you know that is not in print ..
Take for example if I were to go look at a Spider for sale and didnt know the year ,,but wanted to know the year ,,then look at the list that all of you shared with your knowledge and there you have it.. Not all cars have registration papers or titles and some could of been titled wrong .. Or at a distance ,, for example ,the hood ect ect..what years ?

I just might of broken a record this very year with the biggest Grin I have ever had when a person walked up to me as I parked by the sidewalk at the beach ,,and ask me what year it was and what year the FI came out.. I was so happy I knew ,,the wife said you sure know things about these Cars ,,I just nodded and kept on smiling .. but what if they ask a question I dont know? No grin ! no wife saying that I know much,, LOL Thats a good enought reason isn't it !

List them all ,,simplest things to never put in print things ..along with the years,, like the jack placement differences to the door handle ect ect ..
Thats it , my request for this month... LD here from Oregon thx for reading

[manoa matt]

Goopa,

Most of the changes were running changes, meaning some left over parts from the previous year spilled over into the next. Some parts even came out early. Also considering the nature of the cars and their owners, many have non original or interchanged parts, engines, heads and hoods.

The IAP cataloge has a pretty good evolution of the fiat 68-85 on page 41. Now if you realy want to get technical I can provide you with some carts that list the model engine and vin numbers for various years and head and engine casting numbers.

Think of the look on your wifes face when you read a guys vin number and tell him what his head and engine casting numbers should be.

[pope]

I think the only difference was the horn button!?!

[mdrburchette]

I'm afraid I only know the early models but here are some of my observations:
1971 1608 engine
Has engine compartment lights
seatbelt light in dash is an orange round light
One of two years for the wrap around taillamps

1972 1608 engine
engine compartment lights eliminated
seatbelt light in dash is a rectangle light
most have wrap around taillamps but some came with the shorter ones.
Only year there were little metal triangles on the dash at the defrosters saying "defrost".

[mbouse]

i don't recall a 1966 Fiat Spider... the earliest was a '68, correct?

[pope]

66 was the intro in Paris show, there was actually a few 67's though. 68 was the first US models

[So Cal Mark]

9 1/2 years

[pope]

Ha Ha! you mean 19 1/2 years

[rlux4]

That was a good one Mark!
If I want to keep up with you, I better go out to the shop and sharpen my wit.
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

hey, what's 10 yrs, give or take! I suppose I should have used a calculator

[spiderrey]

66-67 had a totally different center console with different heating controls.
68 had 1438 and some came with a 4 speed, these engines had the dizzy in the block.. also 68 was the last year for the torque tube rear end with a factory rear sway bar. 68 still carried smaller tail lights with a reverse light under the bumper. the grill was a 7 or 8 bar set up that ran till 69. extremely hard to find, and good looking. the car also had round side markers like the euro cars. the gauges had chrome rings around them from the factory, along with chrome trim on the seat hinges and adjusters.
69 first year for the normal drive shaft. first year with no rear drive shaft. last year for small tail lights, last year for chrome trim in the interior on the seats and dash. last year for the bar grill and round side markers.
70 the only year for the two lenses per corner markers. first year for honey comb grill. first year for larger taillights with reverse lights incorperated into one unit. i think all 70,s came with 5 speeds. no chrome in the interior. and i must say, one beautiful looking car. i think the spider peaked in the 70 model.
71 first year for the sweet 1608. normal 1 lens marker lights, and hard to find tail light, the tail lights carried over into 72. 71 spider was my very first car in high school, back in 78. 71 was also the first year the car came with 2 resonators before the muffler.
72 tail lights changed mid year back to 70 version and carried over to 78. 72 was also the last year for the sweet 1608.
73 ,who cares its all downhill from here. first and only year for 1592, i dont understand why they even bothered with this motor. 73 was the last year for the flat hood and sweet looking bumpers, in cali anyway.
74 brought you the 1800 with the best carby offered by the factory. a one year only deal. cali and mryland got megapiece bumpers, while the rest of the country got the sweet bumpers for the last year. also the car got little bumps on the hood, it was becoming a woman.
75, first year for the offroad bumpers and a smog pump. UGH. 76-77-and 78 had very minor trim changes like the warning lights on the center dash etc. nothing really. i think the grill changed in 75 to the really small cross bars.
79 the spider 2000, first year for the pull out door handles. odd shaped tail lights. and a spoiler on the nose. these cars came with a crossmember that raised the motor a bit for clearance reasons. ca smog cars were dogs. and the hood blossomed to a full fledged woman. automatic cars also became available, sounds lame i know. but i actually owened one and liked it. some 78,s came with some 79 parts.
80 brought us fuel injection and gave the poor 2 liter a little kick.
81 was a carry over. but 81 brought a limited run of anniversary cars.
82 brought us a limited run of legend turbo cars,between this and 85.5, i didnt really care , so i have no info.
85.5 brought us rack and pinion steering, bigger brakes and a differnt dash and center console

[SpiderHead]

74 brought you the 1800 with the beast best carby offered by the factory. a one year only deal. cali and mryland got megapiece bumpers, while the rest of the country got the sweet bumpers for the last year. also the car got little bumps on the hood, it was becoming a woman. i think 74 was also the first year for the second grill opening below the bumper.

The second grill opening must have come later, my '74 deosn't have it.

-Ryan

[spiderrey]

um, i thought it came before 79, but i guess im wrong on that one. as i mentioned, im an early car guy. i should pay a little more attention to the later ones.

[mdrburchette]

Good write up Rey. The 73 was the first year for the small bump hood though. I also remember 69 was the first year for headrests.

[So Cal Mark]

my 76 has the lower grille opening and I believe 75s do also
rack and pinion steering was a mid 84 change