1969 Spider restoration

[HuntingtonSpider]

Finally getting around to posting some pics of the clean up of my 69 Spider. So far Ive put in new carpets, tires, dash cap, painted the map pockets and 1/4 panels, had the wood dash redone by a family friend, had new top put on and frame repainted, and other various parts and cleaning. I Bought this car so that I could learn a little about cars and take a stab at trying to restore an affordable classic. So far I am still terrified to tackle any problems under the hood, but I'm happy with the interior work Ive done so far.
The car drives pretty good although the second gear had a small synchro problem that grinds if not thrown into gear with the right force and rpms, and the 4th gear went out after working perfectly fine for the first few weeks ( when I try to put it into 4th the stick feels really wobbly and refuses to pop into gear at all, any ideas?). With some help I plan to rebuild the carb with a kit that I got on eBay as its seems to not be getting enough fuel to the engine ( I've noticed it runs great with the choke pulled very slightly , but otherwise it struggles to get gas and sputters out, especially in the first few minutes of driving). I've been using it as a daily driver the last 3 months, to and from work just about 12 miles there and back most days and it hasn't broken down on me yet. Here are some pics of the resto process so far.

just got the keys


interior before


cleaning it out




the girlfriend is unhappy at this point:



dash cap

after:


Painting the frame:



new top, carpet and wood:








Still tons of work to go before I'll be happy but so far I'm satisfied with the progress Ive done so far. I really don't think that you can find a cooler car that turns heads everywhere you go for less than the 5 grand Ive put into this car so far.

[Estaban]

I think you got a beautiful car there. Nice work.

[narfire]

The car looks great,really impressed, a 69 to boot. The under the hood issues really are not that difficult,that is one of the many nice things about these cars. If you have not done so,source a good manual or two and expand a bit on the rubber mallet and wd-40 and you'll have no problems..I hope. I suspect Marks shop is a bit of a distance but if you run accross any issues beyond what your comfortable with,I'm sure he can get you sorted.
Chris

[courtenay]

What source did you use to reupholster your seats? And why the seat cover on the driver's seat?

[azruss]

beautiful car. the tranny is the achilles heel of these cars. rebuilding one is a big chunk to bite off for a novice. Is it a 4 speed?

[HuntingtonSpider]

The seats are original to the car but not in super shape as you can see from the pics of it disassembled in my room, hence the sheepskin cover. The passenger seat is passable although it is splitting at the seams. I would like to have them fixed up, along with a small rip in the drivers side door, however my funds are more than a little low right now. This is what I'd call stage 1 of the restoration. The carpet was purchased from Mr. Fiat on eBay.

The car is a 5 speed, where there ever any 4 speed spiders? I've seen a few 5 cylinder and 4 speeds on craigslist before but I always assume they just mixed those two up

[thechadzone]

Very nice car! It's Euro alloys really complete it. The red carpet is very Fiat, and is interesting. My '69 is nowhere near as pretty as yours, but I took it out for a spin today and it's still running strong.

You may have already seen it but this guy's 69 Spider is damn nice, and he's a contributor to this site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLfXzikzJvs

The wheels on this car are the US 1969 model's optional "Roosevelt" wheels. Any chance you'd post some pics from under the hood?

[HuntingtonSpider]

Thanks for the kind words chad, and yes I have seen the video of Garys Fiat and I would guess that I account for about half it's views on Youtube. Basically his car is what my car aspires to be.

Here are some pics of the engine. She needs to be tidied up quite a bit but the engine runs very strong. I plan to paint the air cleaner and radiator in the future. Although I wish the car had just a little more oomph, I plan to keep it stock, even though I have been eying some of SoCal Marks performance parts online.






On a side note, anyone have an extra idle speed coil? Mine is malfunctioning and sends a tick every 10 seconds or so of extra gas into the carb. I have it unplugged at the moment but it sometimes idles a little low. any help would be appreciated.

[Exit98]

Hey Chad,

I don't know about the "Roosevelt" name but the wheels are Cromadora CD3's. I know because they were on the 72 I bought new back in the day. They came as an option for the steel wheels and caps. Mine weren't dealer installed they were on the car when it rolled off the ship including the fifth one in the trunk.

I wish I had a set of them today.

Bernie's got them on his 72 and some other posters too.

Don't know if they were offered in 69 or not or if they were fitted later to Huntington's car.

And Huntington, beautiful car. It is really coming along. Hang on to those wheels and caps, they are worth a bundle.

[majicwrench]

What a fun looking car!!

Idle speed coil, hmmm, gonna have to call it something else, that is not ringing any bells. Where is it located??

[HuntingtonSpider]

According to the Haynes manual pg 65, fig 3.10, the part I was refering to is the "Weber electro-valve, controlling fast idle vacuum". You can see the piece sticking up in the first 3 pics under the hood, right behind the air cleaner almost in the corner, the round piece sticking up.

[TulsaSpider]

Beautiful car! I drove mine as a daily driver for about a year. That can be a challenge! Sounds like you will need a tranny. maybe source a good used one? The timing belt needs to be changed to prevent catastrophic engine failure if it fails. Good luck!

[majicwrench]

The fast idle vaccum valve arrangement should not be sending " a tick of extra fuel" all it does is use vacuum to open the throttle slightly. What exactly is it doing wrong??

[HuntingtonSpider]

The vacuum is making an audible click every 20 seconds or so, which is quiet annoying as I can hear it even at full rev. At first I though it was coming from the carb, but we traced it to the vacuum coil which wasn't hard since it's pretty loud. When the click occurs the revs jump up about 1-2000 rpms.I assumed It was trying to adjust for something and sending extra fuel to compensate for something. Before my car would idle at 900 or so which I believe normal, now with the vacuum unplugged its usually down to 6-700, especially when running cold. Also, the tick does not happen when the clutch is depressed. Any ideas?

[NCArachnid]

Ah, the old malfunctioning Weber electro-valve trick. The system you are referring to is unique to early spiders and is a rudimentary emissions control, I believe. It is supposed to engage under two conditions. One, if you are in gear and push in the clutch it keeps the RPMS at 1800-2000 instead of letting them fall to idle between shifts. Two, when you push the "button" on the top of the solenoid it engages so that you can adjust the speed of the high idle. My guess would be faulty electrical connection or a failed valve. You should be able to test that theory with a volt meter. Good luck.

Great car! Love those early spiders!