New Member - South Carolina

[HottubTom]

Hi there, just wanted to introduce myself and car to the forum, 1979 Spider 2000.

I just purchased it from a great previous owner in NYC, who had spent a lot of time and effort in making it a great car.

I believe it originally came from California, moved to NY, and is now in South Carolina.

I'm very interested in upgrading the carb, exhaust, air intake, etc... any updates and service that help keep this car running great and running even better!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/N5opfUBdjsRRR5Nh6

Cheers!

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Awesome! And yes, if this was a '79 California spider, it suffered from one of the lamest intake manifolds and smog stuff of virtually all the model years, but the upgrades are easy enough. So, you can only make it better!

Now, I'll let you get back to your Hot Tub.

-Bryan

[HottubTom]

Terrific, thanks Bryan, looking forward to it!

I was hoping the upgrades aren't too difficult. I've been reading and watching videos and I swear it seems like half the components under the hood are for smog/emissions control! Any recommendations on what to tackle first? Carb (I have the 28/32)? Air intake? Exhaust?

Thanks again and kind regards, -Tom

[Anbele]

Great looking car! I recommend you visit “Eldest Builds” on YouTube. He did a ‘79 restoration couple of years ago and have over 150 videos of it. It was instrumental when I did my ‘79.
And yes, carb and intake manifold must go. When you’re doing this, you’ll see that most of the smog stuff will become pointless to have, so away they’ll go. If they’re in pretty good shape, you may want to offer them here to our CA brethren. Good luck!

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Any recommendations on what to tackle first? Carb (I have the 28/32)? Air intake? Exhaust?

Tom, the 2 Liter block and the head in the '79 models are generally OK, and the simplest upgrade is an intake manifold from an 1800 model year (referred to as a "single plane manifold"), a 32DFEV carburetor, and a set of exhaust headers. These are all bolt-on parts that don't require any significant modifications. There are other possibilities for carbs, so ask if you come across something. For example, a 34DMS or a 32 or 34ADF or ADFA. Some knowledge of how to select the jets is necessary for the best performance.

You can find the manifold and carbs either for sale on this forum, or on Ebay or the like, or from one of the usual vendors (AutoRicambi, Midwest-Bayless, and Vick Auto, the sponsor of this forum). The vendors usually have access to better shipping rates than individual sellers, for bulky items like exhaust systems. AutoRicambi might even still have free shipping for orders over $99 (they often do).

You can also go all out and get high compression pistons, performance cams, larger valves, etc., but this requires removing the engine. And many more $$$.

-Bryan

[HottubTom]

I've been watching Eldest's videos for the past week or so and they've been helpful in gaining knowledge and confidence, too.

Bolt-on parts and additions are great as I'm not looking to get deep into the engine (ie. high compression pistons, cams, etc...), rather just getting the smog stuff out.

Thanks again to both of you for your input!