850 spiders

[skumandeth]

My dad just picked up 2 850 spiders, one is your usual spider sport convertible, the othe is an 850 racer, anyone know anything about the Racers, I had read an article once that said they were pretty darn rare. Unfortunatly, the car is rusted pretty bad but, all the parts that make it a racer look to be in good shape, (emblems, top, doorpanels) also would the racer top go on a conv?

[swede]

Some 850 Sport document can be found at this adress
http://www.detach.se/fiat/fiat.htm
Make sure to have a good connection before downloading since it migth take some time.

[thechadzone]

Yes, it can be done. I've done some not so scientific looking into doing just that, but I missed my chance at buying a Racer in similar shape for the conversion. One of the indications for me was the knock-out in the rear firewall for the gas filler. The gas filler would need to be located there rather than rear center for the Racer top to fit on. You'll see the knock out provision when you look under the the rear deck lid. At least there's one on my '68... That's the only thing that I could see, but others may know more. I've got the Snugtop hardtop for mine, and it's the next best thing for practicality, but it doesn't look as cool as the Racer, which is indeed rare as hell.

I'm kind of jealous of such a project, as I've wanted a Racer for years. If your dad looses interest let me know, as I'm in your neighboring state of Oregon.

[kmead]

Yes you can put the Racer top onto a Spider. The rear deck will go and you will need to use the Racer engine lid and hinges as I recall. The interior trim parts and the gas fill are among the major differences between the two cars.

Since I like coupes better than convertibles, I would love to own one.