New member + need a photo or two ....

[So Cal Mark]

Ron is near Los Angeles

[rlux4]

I regularly watch Ebay for Spider things. I had planned on keeping an eye out for a rear seat out this way. Stay tuned.

[FinnSpider]

You might wonder why I'm so desperate that I try to get it from the other side of the world, but you see, there are less than 20 Spiders in whole Finland and most of them are not running. Which means I have no chance getting it from here. Closest place is Germany, but the best source by quantity seems to be USA.

[adrians]

FinnSpider,

What part of Finland are you in ...

I've spent time in Tampere at the Kalmar plant ( where they build heavy machines/equipment - Forklifts and Straddle Carriers ) - done the whole sanua and diving in the snow/lake thing !
I've even played golf at Nokia at 10:00pm at night !

The nightlife is good in the Summer months

Regards

[FinnSpider]

Hi Adrian,
Happy to hear you've been here. I live about 130 miles north-east from Tampere, very small village close to Kuopio.

Here's a couple of very nice photos from Finland if you like, maybe they bring some memories ....
http://www.maion.com/photography/finland/

And here you can see the weather/road camera about 10 miles from me. Not exactly a "Spider weather". But a whole lot closer to the springtime than some weeks ago!
http://alk.tiehallinto.fi/alk/kelikamer ... 50901.html

Matti

[adrians]

Matti,

Re: your back seat requirements.

I believe Matthews Parts has second-hand back seats in Stock, I've brought parts from him in the past 3 weeks, shipping cost were ok all the way here to Australia !

http://stores.ebay.com/MATTHEWSPARTS

Here's the top half !

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FIAT-124 ... QQtcZphoto

Emails to Tim

Regards

[FinnSpider]

I asked them some time ago when I bought a heater core & steering wheel, but I can ask again.

[adrians]

Matti,

Top half of a back seat on Ebay now, the matching bottom is also there !

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Fiat-124 ... enameZWDVW

Item number: 120238192128

Regards

Adrian

[FinnSpider]

Thank you, Adrian, this could be it!

Another question, again I hope someone can put a photo here. How is the spare tire supposed to stay in place? In my car the trunk floor is plain flat and the spare tire is sailing free left and right. Should there be a bolt rising from the bottom or maybe some straps to secure the tire?

[mdrburchette]

The spare tire should fit in the well in the trunk, then there are boards that cover it and a rubber mat that covers the boards. On my 72, there is a rod and wingnut that keeps the tire secure.

[Gunsmith]

What is all that white stuff around everyones houses? Are there a lot of fires near you guys making all that ash? We get some when they burn the sugar cane fields around here but it is never that thick! All kidding aside you guys should fly down here and take mine for a ride with out the snow. Maybe we could start the Fiat exchange program so Fiat owners could travel around the world and drive a fiat somewhere different than their own backyard.

[FinnSpider]

Hi Gunsmith !

I'm not sure if you are serious with your offer, but I would be happy to welcome a fellow Spider driver to visit Finland and stay at my place. If anyone is interested, just let me know. Please notice, that we have dogs and a horse, so I'm afraid this is not the best place to stay for an allergic.
For entertainment, we can offer THIS in the beginning of August: http://www.kuvia.1g.fi/kuvat/Tapahtumat ... NSLIDESHOW

And in return, I would be happy to come anywhere for a visit. I would jump for joy if someone would be so kind to invite me (or us= me and my girlfriend) for a long weekend or so, show us a bit around and maybe join us to visit some car meetings.

P.S. If you are a real gunsmith, we both hunt with my girlfriend, so I'm sure we would have alot to talk about.

[ventura ace]

Here is an old picture of the empty spare tire well in a '76 spider, below the trunk floor boards:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v26/v ... G_2291.jpg

And with a spare tire in place (holding bolt is not shown):
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v26/v ... G_2294.jpg

Alvon

[FinnSpider]

I still don't have the back seat, so I made my first attempt to install the wind deflector.
Here is a couple of pics:

http://kuvablogi.com/nayta/prev/img1025598.jpg
http://kuvablogi.com/nayta/prev/img1025597.jpg

It might be a little bit too high, but it's hard to say without driving the car. I have absolutely no idea how the turbulence acts, so this can be called version 0.1
Anyway, I wanted to install the deflector so, that it fits under the roof, and for that it is perfect fit. Surprisingly rigid and actually not so bad looking. I might keep it even if I get the original seat some day.

I hope to get the car outside in a few weeks and test it. Unfortunately they promised more snow on friday ...

[adrians]

Matti,

Check the Opel ( Astra ) Convertible ( The GM car built in Belgium, styled by Bertone ), the folddown wind deflector should be ideal.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Artic ... leID=10413


I'm trying to steal the one from my wife's car, and work out how to fit it into the Spider.

I would interested to see photos of how you fitted your deflector.

Adrian