Twelve years ago we moved from a Boston suburb to the glories of The Monadnocks region of New Hampshire, attracted equally by the area's great roads and New Hampshire's famous "Live Free or Die" political philosophy. Here we knew of no FIAT-knowledgeable mechanic and simply hoped for the best which the car reliably gave us for seven consecutive virtually trouble free years. But then in the Spring of 2006 our baby refused to start following Winter hibernation and my "I'll get to it" promises went unfulfilled for full four years. There she sat, unattended and alone.
Until now!I won't repeat all the details from my introductory thread but this past Friday I picked her up from having a full mechanical refreshing and much of this past weekend was devoted to her. We enjoyed every minute and every mile we were in her, but she was rather different than I had remembered her. Here then, following a few pics, are some driving impressions...
First let me preface this with a relevant fact: My wife and I tend to hold on to vehicles. The average ownership length over the 40+ years of our marriage has been about 15 years. Thus until very recently we were typically somewhat behind in our experience of current automobile technology. Nor were we attracted to high tech vehicles. Thus up until the start of the Spider's four year sleep we were still driving such pieces as an old 900 series Saab and a few low-tech Suzukis. More recently though we have joined the 21st century and have become used to such things as electronic everything, sophisticated multi-valve motors with variable cam timing, and such gismos and gadgets as keyless entry and starting.
Needless to say the Spider has none of this. And as we learned upon getting into her again what was once considered pretty sophisticated engineering -- in the 1960s when out 124 Spider was designed -- now feels old, old, old. But still... wonderful.
One thing sports cars were not expected to be in the `60s and `70s was quiet. And our Spider certainly is not with her barking intake (through a Bayless Racing air filter box) and her ANSA built exhaust system. Woohoo! This we like! And so did seemingly everyone else wherever we drove her. "That cars sounds great!" being a typical comment.
The driving position is...well.. so Italian. I had forgotten this. Simians would love it. Or people with short legs and long arms. I have neither. But I did adjust and will continue to, just as I did years before.
That oh, so pretty mahogany steering wheel is THIN and HARD. Today's are fat and covered in soft leather. A big difference! My hands actually started to cramp after an hour or so of spirited back-road driving. Loosening my grip was the answer. Again, something I'll need to (and will) adjust too.
The tranny is still nice, but were the throws always so long? And the lever so high? Yes, of course they were. But I had forgotten. This car takes involvement and action. But really isn't that what one wants during a weekend for-fun drive? Especially on a good, curving, two lane road. Yes indeed!
Gotta forget those wide-soled running shoes. This car's peddles were designed for a ballerina. Or at least for someone wearing ballerina slippers. I'm a size 11.5 and tutus just aren't my style. But with boat shoes on I was fine. Gotta get me some Italian driving mocs. That's what I used to wear. Now I remember why!
One other adjustment will be needed now that the Spider is back in our lives: We'll have to strengthen our smile muscles. Right now it hurts to even think of her. Why? Because I'm once again grinning from ear to ear and my smile muscles had apparently weakened over the years without her. Gotta stop smiling so much! It hurts!!!
-don
