67 Fiat Dino Spider restoration

Today’s what’s in the box from DinoPoint question Getting to the end of the line.



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These two lights go inside the doors and light up when the doors open.

there’s a new inside door handle to replace the one that stripped. Seems to be a common problem. This one is reinforced.

4 new Fiat spinner wheel caps. I prefer to use these if we put the car on display.
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We made a lot of progress in the last few days!!!!

The steering wheel is now fitted correctly and the steering box feels fine. No noise or hang ups.
The headlights work! We replaced the bulbs from Autozone and did a little wiring. But the headlights, tail lights, brake lights and turn indicator lights work. Probably the first time in 40 years
The clutch pedal seems to work (to be sure we need to test drive). But it appears to return correctly. Apparently I got a defective slave cylinder.
Most of the center console is working AND the chrome gauges replacing the cheapo black ones. The volt gauge works. The amp gauge was never wired up.
We have POWER to the radio. But the radio doesn't work (no surprise) and we removed the speakers a while back.
The windshield wipers work BUT it still blows a fuse at high speed. Not sure why. Kinda driving us nuts.
The new sunvisors are in.
The new heater valve is installed but we don't know if the heater core works. The valve as completely corroded inside and frozen shut. But the core might be OK or might leak.
We found on Monday that the stop lights don't match. So I ordered a new set and put them in. I had to replace all four.

Right now we are trying to get the fuel sender to work. We have to do some jerry rigging. I think I have an early fuel tank and the baffles get in the way. There is only one type of sender.

Some things I'm going to leave alone right now and fix some stuff at the interior and body shop first (like fitting the tonneau cover)

The blower motor does not work. But it appears to be X 1/9. We need to remove it to look at it. Not sure why its not working. Could just be old, could be electrical
I'm going to ask the body shop to install the badges. I'll do that last.
The seat belts (which arrived not installed) seem to not be correct. Hard to tell. I need more research. Might see if the interior shop can figure it out.
The cables that open and close the fresh air are frozen solid. So no fresh air right now. I'm going to see if I can locate new ones
Put in a new retro style radio
Install the door lights (we need more wiring to be done first).
Wire the amp gauge.
The light for the rear license plate has missing components inside. But I've found one online before. Its a standard Fiat of the era.

The plan is I'll pick up the car mid next week and take it home or to the interior shop. Either way I should be able to drive it next week in actual running condition for an extended period of time. Good news is Vegas weather is quite mild now.




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My old one was completely rusted out. I'm pretty sure we can get this new one working. Its not a signal problem. its that the float and pick up are in a different direction. It fits, but the float won't move because its jammed by the internal baffles.

 

Yes we are tweaking the new gas level sending unit. A bit of trial and error. But I think it will work eventually.

New X1/9 blower motor is like 50 bucks! So cheap. But I want to run current directly to it first.

My car came without a wiper motor and a rusty / corroded mechanical system and the wrong wipers. I sourced everything and a new relay. Why it blows a fuse at high speed is beyond me. Could be the motor is drawing too much current. Maybe its the switch. Actually I'm glad to hear others have similar problems. At low speed it works super. It doesn't rain much in Vegas.

Looking at the air flaps, they appear to be free. But the cables are frozen solid.

My plan is to eventually replace the tires at the end. The current aftermarket tires are brand new. I want to see how it runs first. But I heard the Michelins made it drive better too. The spare is Michelin but has a slow leak.

I'm pretty sure I can drive it a bit this week and get a better feel. My early test when the carbs were not set up and the distributor running off crappy points was that it had a bit more torque than what I believed. The motor is running 100 times better now so it will be interesting. For sure it reacts better now to throttle blipping. I don't know what causes it but the Dino motor has a very unique sound. Kind of like a high pitched whine.

I am so glad we finally got the clutch to work and all the lights. Too many mechanics 30 years ago screwed around with the wiring not knowing what they were doing. Before I replaced the column switch it had so many jump wires it was impossible to know what was what.

Its interesting about these cars. Some people that have walked into the shop are very curious. Others could care less. When I discuss it with my Italian co-workers in Florence they go crazy.

 

Plates were easy. 1967 has no emissions test. All they did is check the VIN (which has 7 digits most of which are zero). I had O'gara do the Vin check because they are a car dealer, went to the DMV office with the form, and paid like $150 for the year as classic vehicle. Not many Dino's in Nevada so getting 67 Dino was easy. More difficult in CA.

It hadn't been registered in over 30 years. Obviously, I changed the title to NV and to my name. Aside from getting an appointment at the DMV, it was pretty hassle free.

Once I registered the car I called Hagerty. No issues at all. I married it with my 328 Gts policy so it was pretty painless. Its not that expensive. I set the value at $120K and they agreed.