Center Dash Panel and Warning lights missing?

[Cmat20]

My 1973 Spider has some hard to find interior parts which have been removed or replaced by the previous owner. The entire center dash panel has been replaced with a cheap plastic insert and a usb port, and all of the switches and warning lights have been removed. If anyone knows where I could find replacement switches and warning lights, or even just the reasoning behind why these parts might have been removed, I would hugely appreciate any information. As far as I can tell the lights missing have been completely deleted from the wiring harness, and while I don't care much about their functionality, I would like to return the interior to original spec as much as I can.


I'm hoping that I uploaded the photo properly, this is my first time posting on this forum.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Welcome! First off, finding certain interior parts can be tricky for the older cars. Second, it is not at all unusual to come across older Fiats that have all sorts of interesting "modifications".

Over the years to find trim parts, I've used a combination of Midwest-Bayless (which sells used interior parts), Ebay, the Wanted section of this forum, and just chatting with other Fiat spider owners (such as on this forum).

As for the original chromed center panel, those tend to warp and chip and crack and otherwise look terrible after several decades. As a result, many owners just tossed them and replace with something else. Sometimes that something else looks awesome and is well done, and sometimes it looks, well, terrible.

-Bryan

[Cmat20]

Thank you for the info! I will look into midwest bayless, and maybe post in the forum asking if anyone has spare interior parts. Currently I would be happy if I could source the two red warning lights, wiper speed dial, and the other dial (not sure what it does) that I've seen in photos. I've found the metal frame pieces on eBay, and I would probably be able to make the wooden insert myself, but finding the lights and switches has proven very difficult.
Another weird area of my car is that the heater has been completely deleted from the cooling system, and the inlet in the firewall has nothing attached to it. The heating system seems to be all there, but would this be a sign of a previous interior coolant leak? I will probably remove and replace the heater core and valve but it's interesting to see that the P.O. completely disconnected them.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

You got questions; we got answers!

Dash lights and controls: These aren't terribly hard to find, so posting a Wanted ad on this forum would likely get you what you need. As for those lights and controls, one light is the brake warning light (low brake fluid pressure or handbrake on), and the other is the emergency flashers light. One control (rheostat) is for the wiper speed, and the other rheostat is for the brightness of the dash lights. On some model years, there was another rheostat for the brightness level of the ideograms around the ventilation/heating controls near the handbrake. Given that the wipers are anemic to begin with, almost no one uses them in the slow position, so you could just do away with that. Also, the preferred dash light level is usually full brightness, so many people just bypass that control so the dash lights are always at full brightness. If you're seeking originality, different story of course.

Heater: Yes, the heater core (and/or its associated heater valve and pipes) in these cars almost always starts leaking over the decades, and since it is a relative pain to replace, many people just bypass it, and it looks like your PO did just that. Nothing wrong with that except you don't have a heater. New heater cores and valves are readily available, and we can walk you through the process if needed.

-Bryan

[Cmat20]

Thank you for the info! Now that I know exactly what I am looking for it will be a lot easier to find the parts I need I think.