New Gal added to the family

[Schnauzer]

We added a 76 Spider to the family last night. Found it as a fluke. 48,000 miles. Repaint. Ugly. One very small crease rear left lower fender just in front of where bumper wraps around. Energy absorber on left side rear bumper collapsed a little. No leaks. Original owner bought this car new and drove it while going to college. Pretty much just parked after that. Top is toast but new one in a box included. Steel wheels but new tires. No mods to wiring. Dealer installed accessory roll bar. Couple of cracks to dash. Has cloth interior. Intact but ugly. PO had to have pinion replaced a few years back. The official "Fiat Mechanic" here locally told her this was a Europian version. Anybody ever heard of this? Very dirty from sitting. Not greasy or oily just dirt. Runs pretty well for not being started in two years. Clock face is typically frosted. Has the original owner's tool kit in the trunk. Oil pressure gauge registers but very low and inconsistent. Opened filler cap on cam cover while running and it is pumping about 500 gal a minute. Must be sender not pickup. (I hope) Motor sounds tight, trans shifts good and is quiet. Pinion was result of running dry. Paint is dark maroon. Oxidized and ugly.

Would really like to hear about this "Europian Version" stuff.

Thanks,

Jim

[mbouse]

sounds like the deal of the century for you. when do we get to see pictures?

change that oil and filter pronto. betcha get a much better reading on the gauge.. then if not, suspect the sender unit. a clogged pickup will definitely restrict oil flow.

Italy is in europe... cheeze, that guy was trying to pull something over on someone.... the chances of an ide-ho Fiat being a direct import, during the time when nearly every Spider was manufactured for export to USA... not very likely. what markings do you see that would indicate this 1800 any different from any other USA '76 ??

does it have mph speedo? does it have tube bumpers? those are clear signals it was built for export to USA.

cloth interior sounds like a restoration job.

[sptcoupe]

My first dual carb'd car was a 1972 spider I bought new in Spain. My friend bought a US version spider to ship home at the same time, and these are the differences we noted, best I can recall.

Black cloth interior, including the sun visors, vs his vinyl; black (plastic) top, noticeably cheaper material than his top: gauges were metric, his were US; tires were 165/13/80s on steel wheels, his were 175/13/70s. It was a 1608, with no canister or any other smog or pollution devices at all, his had the charcoal canister; no side view mirror(s) at all on mine, while his had a driver's side mirror. Mine had a single points dizzy, his had the dual points. Mine sat lower than his, and it had white parking light lenses, not amber, and the euro style side marker lights (round, versus his rectangular), and mine had no back up light. Mine also had the vinyl covered gauge cluster face (like the B coupes), instead of the wood he had. Same with the center counsul top as well. His carpeting was throughout the cabin, mine was only in the floor well areas, and had rubber matting under the seats (mostly out of sight). I have some photos somewhere, but I really enjoyed that absolutely trouble free car as my daily driver/weekend trip car for the year or so before my son was born and I had to trade it on a coupe for the back seat. I was told that very few were sold in Europe, and I remember that it was always a big surprise when I would see another one.

[Schnauzer]

Mike: I thought that sounded a little hokey too. Perhaps she misinterpreted what he said. Could be he was referring to a non cat vs califrigginphornica version. The speedo and other gauges are all SAE. Cloth does look original with piping that matches the door panels. I see nothing to indicate that it was a "Europian" version. I emphasized in my post that this is an ugly example. Don't know if my ego will allow me to post pictures until I have a "before/after" set. It will be delivered by trailer tonight. Will do timing belt, oil & filter, plugs, and some cleaning this weekend. Should know better what I am up against by Monday. I will post an update then. Had it not been for the low mileage and zero rust or body damage I would not have bought this gal. They wasted ugly here Dude. I do think that with cleaning, some nicer wheels, new top, and a paint job she will be ready for the prom.

She does have the rectangular markers and US tubular bumpers. This whole "Europian Version" thing must have been a reference to a non catalytic or non California emissions version. Certainly in 76 the two versions would have been common.

[mbouse]

that would make more sense. and, whatever... let's go with that cuz it sounds better.

don't forget the guibo, at least inspect it even if you aren't changing it right away.

[mdrburchette]

Good grief, man! We're all adults here. Post the ugly car pics, please. It'll bring back memories when I brought my ugly, dirty maroon Spider home. I was so proud of it!

[Schnauzer]

"Isabella" was delivered last night by trailer. She drove off the rig and into her stall under her own power. Gave me a chance to inspect a little closer. Turns out that the cloth interior revealed by pulling back the fuzzy faux sheep skin seat covers were also seat covers. Very nicely made with piping and all. Very professional. Removing those revealed the original vinyl seats. Toast.

What carb should be on this car? Some things I didn't expect. Throttle control, factory electric fuel pump mounted in the "boot" next to the fuel tank. Oil pressure idiot light and pressure gauge each with their own sender, two position air cleaner lid for warm and cold climates. A clunk in the drive line when releasing clutch in reverse. No fluid in the rear brake reservoir. Lots of corrosion under and around the battery. Very dried out cracked hoses et al. A mystery spring and piece of flopping linkage at the front inside corner of the carb.

Will start on oil, filter, timing belt, carb removal and cleaning, drive line inspection, baking soda treatment and clean up of battery and boot, and cooling system flush, spark plug replacement, and a ton of cleaning this weekend.

Some one scanned a 1976 Owners Manual and posted it to the web. In it the carb is spec'd as a 32 ADFA. That cannot be correct is it?

[mbouse]

my records say a 32 ADFA should be in a '76.

if i might, please start with the safety items once you know the engine runs. Brakes, guibo, timing belt. if it don't stop, who cares if it goes? empty reservoir is a clear indication of an issue.

then, jump in feet first on everything else. plan on all rubber parts, starting with fuel, then cooling hoses.

we dunn call them 'boots' we call them trunks. only LBC's callem boots.

sounds like you have a good example of a basically stock '76... congratulations.