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.

 

Bought a RetroSound Europa radio with Bluetooth today. Should be installed next week. Looks a lot like the original Becker Europa.

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Getting close to picking it up now O’Gara McLaren doing a wheel alignment.

should get it Thursday or Friday. Radio going in next Tuesday

Weather in Vegas beautiful!


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I ordered a RetroSound radio and it showed up at my house 24 hours later.


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Tomorrow
Tomorrow
Tomorrow...!

What a journey.

 

Home. I’ll write about the drinking experience later this evening. It’s pretty darn good and very “Sixties”. Needs Sinatra.

 

Today I drove it about 20-30 minutes in stop and go traffic from the shop to my home. The last time I drove it was about 9 months ago to the body shop. Not a pleasant experience. The carbs were out of tune, It wouldn't idle warm without dying, the steering made a grinding noise, the clutch pedal would return slowly, it was running on crappy mechanical points and an old cap, we didn't know it at the time but the front suspension wasn't completely tight, the alignment was completely wrong, and almost nothing of the electrical and lighting system worked. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect today. What I found was the complete opposite. A significant difference.

Some things really surprised me. The car has much better pick up than I imagined. Even at 2000 RPM in 1st it has enough torque to get it moving swiftly off the line. Now, its no modern car but it will keep up very easily with traffic. For a car from 1967, it must have been considered pretty fast at the time.

The clutch is surprisingly light with great feel. The steering is really light but not floaty. There's just a little dead feel on center but again, for an old steering system its very good. I've driven much worse cars from the 60's. There's no play in the steering wheel.

The car did not run hot. It got to a hair over 100 and then dropped a little. And it was mid 90's today. The mechanic drove it when it was over a 100 and said it didn't overheat.

The brakes are good but the travel a little long. They do not pull or make noises though. I haven't slammed on them but they don't pull left or right. All the gauges work as does the speedo and odometer mileage goes up. The pedal box is small and its easy to hit the gas when stepping on the brake. Takes some training.

So what surprised me the most? Aside from having more torque than I thought, it was 2 things. 1) how comfortable this car is to drive and 2) the crazy mechanical noise that comes from the engine.

I expected a much more harsh bumpy ride but its really very smooth. I guess the balloon tires and the light weight help. The aluminum engine is lighter than the 2.4L cast iron. Also the seats are extremely comfortable and wider than a lot of modern cars. The seats go back so far my feet barely hit the pedals.

The mechanical noise from the engine is almost violent. There's all kinds of sounds mixed together and not much exhaust noise. I think because the engine is in front and a lot of noise comes through the transmission it magnifies the sound. Its not unpleasant but just more wild than I thought.

What concerns me? I'm not crazy about the noise that appears to be from the input shaft or input shaft bearing. We are going to keep an eye on it but clearly there's a clicking noise at idle with the clutch out. The mechanic says he thinks 1st gear is a bit noisy and the transmission pan might leak a little. Might need to remove and reseal with a new gasket.

Overall its very much a 60's Italian car. Small, fun, edgy and a bit crude in the details. Was it worth the effort? No question!

(but I think I'm not doing this again!)

We still have things to fix like the heater, the blower motor, and the vent control cables. Not sure why the turn signal lights don't work (but the turn signals do). We still have some lighting things to work out in the doors and other places. I think I'll replace the rear view mirror inside the car. But there's no rush on this. Need to get more miles under it and then figure out the next tasks.

This thread hasn't ended. Its just evolving!

I have to thank O'Gara Automotive McLaren of Las Vegas for taking on this project. Also DinoPoint Italia for their awesome interior skins, rebuilt carbs and distributor, and having some parts that no one else in the world has. Our meeting in Italy showed me the potential and problems I was still facing- It was this meeting that convinced me to send the carbs to them. One of the best decisions I made.

Also Ian's Auto Interiors of Las Vegas for spending 2 weeks for cleaning out the interior, installing the heat barrier, and installing the interior and top. The steering wheel was restored by Madera Concepts Inc, who took a split and falling apart wheel and saved it -- remarkably by saving the original wood. And I cannot forget Superperformance UK. They don't have everything but what they have was a great cost savings over other suppliers -- and give great service.

Lastly Fchat member Kenny (19633500gt) for finding the car, sending me a ton of pictures, being patient with me as I tried to figure out how to get the car done in Las Vegas, and eventually selling it to me.

Whew!

 

New Bluetooth retro radio installed. Has a USB port to plug in my phone for Waze.

also fixed the outside mirror. Bought this stick on mirror on Amazon. It’s adjustable. Now I can see behind to the left.

everything still working.
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Finally got the replacement windshield wiper washer foot pump. We think this is at least part of the problem (if not all) of the fuse blowing issue.

I have an early car and it was difficult to cross reference. It ended up being for a 66 Fiat 850. Nor cheap and very hard to find! This is NOS from Auto Ricambi.

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Yesterday I dropped it off a detail place that will do a full color correction / detail / ceramic etc. They will add the fender badges also. Its going to be gone a couple of weeks they tell me but I'll post any pictures I get. The car has seat belts now! What a PITA to get them fitted.

Tonnaeu cover fitted and last chrome details added. We made the truck floor strap that holds it open when you take out the spare wheel. Still need to find a rear plate light. Either super expensive or on back order. Also need to figure out the lights in the doors. Seems like the wiring is missing entirely.

For some reason, the idle RPM's have gone up to close to 2 grand. Not sure why.

So we are getting closer to the end.