Risking humiliation by learning to post pics:

[thechadzone]

I've been meaning to actually sign up for a Flickr-type of account for a long time, as it would allow me to post pics of my cars here, and on other sites, but I've never gotten around to it. Rey's post has inspired me.

The '69 AS Spider is shabby, but very fun, and it runs strong most of the time. Ya'll are welcome to make fun of my IDF linkage if you want, but what is pictured seemed easier than getting the IDF-70 carbs to link in the middle on a Waffle manifold. It works very well for raw materials from Home Depot & the local fastener supply store. Hiam joints are cool...

The BMW Alloys were free for the taking, and came with nice 60 series tires. I had the hub spaces for the front wheels machined out to fit over the hubs up front. Each wheel is spaced out 1/2" and I've been pretty happy with them. I've pasted Abarth Scorpion hub centers directly over the BMW logos on the wheel centers in a successful attempt at piracy. I've been asked a few different times about the "Abarth wheels" on my car.

It breaths through a Monza exhaust with nothing between it and the manifold (but tubing), and it sounds kick-ass. Just short of too loud for my taste.

The 850 Spider is a work in progress, and is way freakin' cool...

Theres a few more pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/thechadzone/[url][url][/url][/url]

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[So Cal Mark]

here is a link to a tutorial about picture posting that will help you post the pics directly rather than linking them.
We may kid you abit about questions, but it's better to ask how than to avoid it altogether.

[manoa matt]

Anybody that can come up with their own design for linking dual carbs should not worry about being humiliated by others, they should worry about being humiliated by you.

I love the clean and simple lines of the early cars without all the Federally mandated lights and bumpers, car looks great. Do you still have the 850 coupe? That car is awesome! One advantage to the Pacific North West, cars don't rust as bad.

You should consider getting some filters on those carbs, velocity stacks will add a few HP that the air cleaners take away. If you take the tops of the carbs and switch them, you can have one fuel line with a "T" fitting in the middle that feeds both carbs. It looks like you are feeding the front carb off the return line.

Don't worry about the pictures in the post, I still haven't figured it out either, tried a few times, and frankly don't care anymore.

[pooldoctorstl]

Glad you finally got the round tuit. I get those sometimes, too. The cars look great.

[thechadzone]

Thanks to each of you for the feedback. I can't believe how long it took me to figure that out. I use my laptop daily as a university student, and my work PC daily as a federal intern, but I'll be damned if it didn't take a couple hours to figure it out. For all the time it took me to post pics, I might as well have tried to use my iPhone to do it...

Matt, you are so right about switching the tops of the carbs to get the better fuel delivery. I can't believe I never thought of that . I guess I just used the first solution that I thought of. That suggestion makes the time spent learning how to post pics worthwhile. I don't have the '69 850 Coupe anymore. It was too far gone to bring back to life in the downtown public parking garage that was its home. Still, I really pushed the limits of what you should do to your car in such a place with my (then) three cars (I now have four between the three Spiders and the Civic EX).

[mdrburchette]

Nice cars you have there. I'm a big fan of the early model cars myself. Your linkage is a bit unusual, but if they open the carbs up like they should, I guess there's no harm in it. I hear if you use the original pedal it poses a challenge, but my husband Ron came up with a nice solution. You're welcome to check it out here:
http://gallery.italiancarclub.com/124og/SPIDER-LADY-72

Many of us have broken the mold while working on our cars. Mine has sparked plenty of controversy, but hey, how will there be any improvements if new things aren't tried, right?

[spiderrey]

You know, you 124 spider looks good, personaly, I think the early cars look much better with bumpers. I was trying to figure out those wheels till you explained them in your post. To bad the 850 didnt work out. My son has one the same color, needs work but the body and paint are fine.

As far as linkage, I had mine self destruct on a run once just as I went to pass everyone. I pieced it together with someodds and ends that were in my tool bag. It worked so well i never changed it and it never broke again, it just wasnt purty.

[kmead]

Nice all around. Are you mounting the 100mm rims with wobble bolts?

Shame about the Coupe, there few nicer cars than those. I love mine. I would love to have an 850 Spider though I must admit, not to replace but more of a Yes, and sort of thing. 850s are really under appreciated.

[thechadzone]

Right after I got the '69 124 Spider home, I deleted its bumpers, sun visors, head rests for its seats, and its ugly steering wheel cover. It came with a mixed set of American Racing Libre wheels, and factory Roosevelt wheels. I knew they were cool, and correct for this year of car, but I just didn't like them on the Spider. They went with my 69 850 Sport Coupe when I sold it last year. That's it in its downtown parking garage home, and that's its original 903cc motor all tidied up and on display in my living room on the 3rd floor of the apartments above the garage. I just bought the 903cc '68 850 Spider a couple months ago. It doesn't have quite the cool factor that the Coupe had, but its in better shape. I find it strange that the 850s can go 'round corners considerably faster than my 124 Spider!











My brother has enough "sweat equity" in the 850 Spider that were calling it "The Brother's Fiat". That's him in the pic. Looks like hes gonna crawl in there! Since I had to move back downtown a couple weeks ago, hes been kind enough to offer up his garage as its temporary home as we tackle a new clutch assembly for it over Spring Break. Other than the clutch & throw-out bearing, it runs like a champ, and I've had it somewhere just short of 90 MPH on level ground without feeling like I was gonna die! I hope y'all don't mind my encouraging more 850 exposure around here...

Right now I'm waiting for a new cap & rotor for the 124 Spider. They should arrive just as I finish my last final for Winter term. I think its carbs are pretty well tuned, but its ignition and timing need some work. I'm planing some radical shifts in style for the ol' 124 this season, and my new ability to share my progress with the global Fiat community will motivate me all the more...

[spiderrey]

More 850 exposure would make my son happy, as he is just getting started on his.