Hy everone,
i am from germany and actually rebuilding my Spider.
I had a Spider 15 Jears ago but this Spider was a lousy bit of metal and ended in a very sad spider story (it was given back to the seller). Two years ago i bought my second, the actual Spider.

It happend that my second rideout ended in wrecking at the top of a bridge (the lagest Bridge in Hamburg).
First time in my life i have to wait at the beginning of an traffic jam...

Later i was trying to find the reason for the boiling water i noticed that my fan was not connected.
While searching for other errors the list of non-working-things got longer and longer.

After two pages of mistakes one thing was clear: If i ever would like to have an Spider i can relay on ( a joke he must be completely overhault, and the story began.

Id like to share my ongoing process of the complete restauration and: train my english...

basso

My aim is to renew everything wich cant be rebuild and amazing, but nearly everything can be overhault.

I started with the ignition coil. there are a few types used, mine is a Bosch Coil and this was the beginning point:


After testing the Coil i started to "sandblast" everything carefully ( i use copper slag (dont know if this is the correct word ))
repaint everything and printed the original Sticker ( i am a graphic designer).

and here ist the result:


in my opinion it looks like fabric new...

Basso

a very difficult thing to do is to build up a new Cable harnes for the whole Spider.
I decideed to use different plugs than the old: AMP SUPER SEAL. They are waterproof and a bit smaller than the old.

I started with the smaler pieces, but take a look at the pictures.
If You ever like to build Your own cable harnes be sure to use the correct plan (most contain a few errors) and use the original cable colors (otherwise You will mix up wires wich will lead You to blowing fuses) .

Here is the brand new cable harnes fpr the instruments:


Every harnes is labeled: the used wire thickness,the wire type (FLRy) etc. and every plug got a label where to fit.
this is necessary because the AMP seals cant be coded.

nice work!

Hallo Freund! I'm following your wiring restomods with interest. If you get stumped or if you need to confirm your wiring diagrams do a google search on " Brad Artigue wiring". It is all documented on a year to year basis for the Fiat Spider.
Please proceed to share your progress with us.
Ari

AriK wrote:Hallo Freund! I'm following your wiring restomods with interest. If you get stumped or if you need to confirm your wiring diagrams do a google search on " Brad Artigue wiring". It is all documented on a year to year basis for the Fiat Spider.
Please proceed to share your progress with us.
Ari

This exactly my source. It is the best wiring diagram, but there are two connctor marks lost (in my pdf).
I improved the Wiring diagram using all the hacks that i could find (brown wire etc.).
i also added window opener modules, seat heating ( it is cold in germany) another improvement can be seen in my next post - the fuses!

That is beautiful. Wish we lived closer

the fusebox.
Id like to add a few more fuses for seatheating, windowmodules etc. and was in need to have more fuses in the box ( i dont like to add them on the relayboard). So i decide to switch all the fuses to be small modern fuses.

There are sets of minifuse mountings (correct word?) wich can be sticked together. This is what i did.

i mounted the fuseblock in to the old fusebox - it works great.

And here is a photo of the main cable harness beeing build.


Basso

I wish my brain worked like that. Do I dare say that wiring is beautiful

the photos are shot a few weeks ago. Testing is nearly finished – everythings works exept the hazard switch.
I have read that the hazardswitch relay needs "full" power to work - is that correct?

Are You interessted in my clock overhaul? There is no need to buy a special glass....

My glass is out of an spot (halogen). i simply drilled a whole by using a diamant dremel the dimension is the same!!!
these glass halogen-spot-covers can be bought separate.



The alloy ring is back and airbrushed in semigloss black

Innovative. And typical German discipline i mean that as a compliment, dont take that remark any other way. It helps us understand why these cars in that market retail for 1.5 times more than in Canada ( or 2 times more than in the states).
P.S. I got my glass off a portable air compressor. My compressor now has no more visor but at least have a beautiful clock facade

I like the fuse box idea. What did you use for the mini-fuse mounting and where did you get them? Do the connections come out the back like the current box?

a bit more electrical stuff - the power windowmotors.
When i first try to open the Windows it feels like beeing in a slomo-movie – 2 Minutes and the window stopped a few centimeters before end.

i checked the motors an they where in a really bad condition.
Here is the rusty piece in parts:


The motor can be opened by carefully defolding the little flaps on the back.

i usally scetch all parts while removing...


The rest is cleaning de-rusting and painting everything and after all is done the overhault motor
runs faster (and stronger) than ever

aj81spider wrote:I like the fuse box idea. What did you use for the mini-fuse mounting and where did you get them? Do the connections come out the back like the current box?

I ordered the mini fuse holder at a technical suppliers store in hamburg. For this update You need to remove all the old holders and their fittings. inside of the fusebox everything was sanded to fit ( depending on the shape of the fuseholders)
the fuseholders can bee snapped to one big block. this block was glued into the box – thats it.

Very nice work...as for your power windows check your cable rollers. Several of mine were severely worn and were dragging the motor down.