Tom Ginefra
True Classic
That's a shocking photo!
I didn't wear the watch for at least a month afterwards. (Actually I could not wear it). I had the watch fixed and it only needed a battery. Pretty amazing.Does the watch still keep time?
Question 1: Why is it not a good idea to work on your Fiat 850 while wearing your 15 year anniversary gold watch you got from being a dedicated worker bee?
Multiple Choice Answers
Answer A: You might scratch your watch.
Answer B: You might take off your watch and then lose it.
Answer C: Gold is a very efficient conductor of electricity with a car having a high capacity, full charged, new 12 volt battery.
Correct Answer is C. (Picture is after two weeks of healing):
View attachment 24070
While making sure your rubber boot is properly installed on the Fiat 850 radiator, please remove all metal objects.
Actually there was very little pain afterwards. I was told that some burns kill the pain receptors so you don't feel much. Anyway, I didn't go to the doctor right away, but my wife force me to go since it looked so bad. I'm all healed up now and I have a lifetime supply of special silver burn ointment in case you need some.OUCH! Only other person to have had that happen was my brother about 50 years ago. Some day you will remember and laugh. My brother did about 40 years later. Wishes for low pain recovery, it had to have hurt!
While fixing up my 1971 Fiat 850, I noticed that a lot of parts are very difficult to find. For example, the plastic screen on the front bonnet of my car was really in bad shape.
This is what mine looks like. Notice the cracks and missing sections:
View attachment 24868
A possible fix would be to take two broken ones and make one, but since I do not have any parts ones, I decided to try to fix my own.
The first thing I did was to clean it and repair all the cracks using super glue. Next, I took modeling clay and make an impression of a good section.
View attachment 24869
Then I matched up the pattern of modeling clay with a broken or missing section. I used JB Weld to fill in the missing pieces, but you could use your favorite medium as well.
View attachment 24870
After drying over night, I used my miniature files to remove the excess and shape the grill properly.
View attachment 24871
This is what the repaired grill looks like.
View attachment 24872
After spraying flat black and installing, it is not perfect, but it works and looks decent.
View attachment 24873
So don't throw out any bad parts as I might be able to use them.
I hope this helps someone out there.