SoFlaFiat

My goal is to try to get the job as good as I possible can myself. Spending time in the garage is my way of relaxing from everyday life.

I started welding in the side markers and the holes for the mirror. I used some welding supports.

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m499/eagle59/1982%20Fiat%20Spider%20restauration%20project/IMG_1159.jpg~original[/img][/img]

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My old faithful Esab Miggy let me down. I could probably have it repaired, i will look into it later on.

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m499/eagle59/1982%20Fiat%20Spider%20restauration%20project/IMG_1189.jpg~original[/img]][/img]

I looked around for a new welder and ended up buying a good used on, its a Kempi welder. It sat me back quite a while trying to find one, but I am happy i did.

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m499/eagle59/1982%20Fiat%20Spider%20restauration%20project/IMG_1190%202.jpg~original[/img][/img]

I have finished the details on the front inner fender and supports and I am now in the process of fitting the fender. This is quite a challenge to me, but I am trying my best.

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Really nice work!!

Thanks for your nice comments RRoller123 !

I am still not finished welding. Sometimes its good to leave the garage and yesterday was a long drive back to the upholstery shop. I was very excited to see the final results. I have only seen the color i picked in a small color chart.

I must say i am very happy with the result. This upholstery guy have done an excellent job !! It gives me great motivation to speed up the rest of the work

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m499/eagle59/1982%20Fiat%20Spider%20restauration%20project/IMG_1203%202.jpg~original[/img][/img][/img]

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http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m499/eagle59/1982%20Fiat%20Spider%20restauration%20project/IMG_1206%202.jpg~original[/img][/img]

Stunning!

Great color

Very inspiring, I like your euro side-marker conversion, it really does change the attitude of the front end.

Thanks guys for your nice comments !

Finally the front end coming together. Due to previous damage, the hood has been shaved a little to make it fit. I try to weld in some spots to adjust for it. There are a lot of pieces that needs to be welded and adjusted. Very time consuming for an amateur afraid not doing it right.

This is how its looks so far.

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http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m499/eagle59/1982%20Fiat%20Spider%20restauration%20project/IMG_1214%202.jpg~original[/img][/img]

Wow!!
Body work coming along beautifully and the interior bits look amazing!!
Well done!!

Hello Spider friends,

Just wanted to say hello again, I am still alive It`s been way..... to long since I had the time and opportunity to work on my Spider !!

I also see that a lot of pictures on the forum are gone (photobucket ). I have uploaded some old pictures to Imgur and I post as a memory. Hopefully I can come up with a lot of new pictures as work move forwards !

You are doing a fantastic job! Fender replacement looks well executed. Your interior work is gorgeous too. I assume you used a vinly interior paint to paint the dash and similar trim. I am restoring my 77 in a similar fashion, with respect to the turn signal delete and tan interior. What final color are you thinking on painting it?

Thanks for your comments. All the interior work is done by a professional upholstery shop and its very nice ! Everything is covered
in leather.
Next I will start to make some brackets for the euro bumpers and weld in the holes. I have not figured out what kind of turn signal to use in the front.
Final color is going to be red, I think !

I finally finished making the brackets to fit Harrington front bumper. My goal was to be able to see the grill and the stainless steel frame, when bumper mounted. I had to cut some metal, to be able to make the bumper fit.



I made the brackets from some solid steel, with holes big enough to make final adjustments.











Ups ! forgot to take picture with the bumper mounted. Coming next time.

Primed and ready for some paint.





I finally decided to go for acrylic paint and the color is Rosso Corsa !



I painted the engine bay and luggage compartment in my garage.

I have the gearbox ready and next step is to reinstall engine and gearbox. I just wonder if its smart to do this by rising the car and install
the engine/gearbox and crossmenber in one operation and drop the car down ?




This winter we have more snow than I can remember and shuffling snow has stolen a lot of my time

Really nice work! When does that snow usually melt away? Here in New England, our car season starts around mid-April.