Thanks all
Jug you are right - at least on most counts
- it's a '76-'78 1800 rather than Spider 2000 - the original handbook says so. There are various lights on the dash that no longer serve any purpose, such as 'Replace Catalyst', 'Fasten Seat Belts', and 'EGR'. A fascinatingly-ambitious feature - variable-speed for the wipers as well as intermittent and continuous. Also, an "ideogram illumination rheostat" in addition to the "instrument panel illumination intensity potentiometer" - I kid you not, two separate controls and two separate terms in the handbook - neither control works, of course.
Opening the bonnet produced a pleasant surprise - the 2L engine has twin Dellortos
They really make the character of the car. There's nothing like tickling the engine into life, spitting and coughing, then settling into a throaty roar - talk about throttle response. I'm going to make an airbox to enclose the foam air filters, as it's just a bit TOO loud at present - a huge amount of macho roar just to get up to 30mph...
I've just been too busy driving (done hundreds of miles) to get back to this thread yet - and I haven't even taken any photos!
Camera battery flat, etc. Excuses excuses...
The weather has been kind - hasn't rained for a week - sooner or later we won't be allowed to use lawn sprinklers (suits me, I killed off the lawn with weedkiller, that dealt with the rubbish grass and weeds).
I go everywhere in the Spider at the moment, even a two-hour trip to the North Shore - and I turned down the offer to stay the night just so I could blast along the empty Auckland motorway, top down, 2AM. Bliss.
Of course I discovered that the panel lights are all out, the wipers often don't work (but haven't been needed), the radio is best forgotten about (it seems to warm up after ten minutes and becomes audible when stationary), and the brakes pull to the right (plus, the rear brakes seem to be doing all the work - lots of brake dust on the rear wheels and scraping sounds).
The gearbox is also amazingly noisy in any gear other than 4th, but according to the specialist it's been that way since 1990. This is actually a high-mileage car; it's done 157,000 miles. The synchros are still good and the clutch has been replaced. Having the gearlever so close to the gearbox and not connected by a series of bendy rods and worn balljoints is a new experience for me.
The steering is sublime and the ride is surprisingly soft and comfortable, yet well-damped. The driving position is great. For example, the large thin steering wheel lets me see all the instruments, my legs are stretched out, my back is cradled nicely (I don't exactly have back problems but I'm often not comfortable in 70's FIATs such as my 128 Coupe I used to have), generally the cabin seems to have been designed with Americans in mind, as even with the soft-top up, there's enough headroom. The only slight snag is a lack of clutch-foot space due to the transmission being there. The window winder flicks forward out of the way so that my right knee rests on the door trim.
This is all quite different to the 2000-model Alfa Romeo Spider I drove last week, where the seats were not supportive, the steering wheel was either uncomfortably high or too low to see the instruments through, and with the soft-top up, my head bumped the side rail (I'm not extra-tall, only 183cm.) Also the steering was typical heavy (assisted, but 'dead') FWD, ride was quite firm, and the structure wobbled like a jellyfish even on a relatively smooth road!
Fuel consumption in my FIAT Spider is a horrifying 20mpg on long trips, which surprised me given the light-load 'spitting' from the carbs, which I thought meant it was runniing lean. Maybe the jetting needs experimentation. I'll check the ignition timing and cam timing first. It idles beautifully at under 1000RPM. At 60mph it's pulling 4000RPM in fifth, which makes me wonder if the back axle is right (it's been replaced). Pulls like a train in second (hardly need first gear) so might be worth a higher diff ratio (well, lower numerical ratio - you know what I mean if you've read this far
)
The tradeoff for the soft ride is that there's really not a lot of grip available! It doesn't take much to chirp the tyres at the front or the back. Nicely balanced, but shows what we take for granted in the newer cars. Of course, I don't need much grip, the way I drive it, and the ancient tyres (ten years old, I think) are probably the culprit. They're high-profile too, which is probably why there's no road noise to speak of. All the noise is wind noise, induction roar, gearbox noise... and don't forget the whiff of hot engine oil such as you get in an MG...
My plan is to fix everything that needs fixing - the brakes (starting with a new master cylinder), the electrics, the gearbox bearings (which apparently can't be bought any more), and stop the engine oil leaks (the top of the engine is dry, so it's probably the sump or rear main seal). Plus the tinkering to carbs and diff ratio I mentioned above.
Then, once it's running nicely, I shall take it all apart and restore the bodywork, a process which may take some time. At this point I'll choose a colour other than Honda City lemon yellow - either original 208 Positano Yellow (as my 128 Coupe was), or another shade of orange or red. This will hopefully start in our winter (a few months' time).
I promise to get back here with some photos soon
~Alex
