Carlisle
In order to get the car to the Carlisle Import show a number of things needed to happen. The car had no seats or interior installed, the rear bumper engine bay and trunk all needed to be sorted. And the car had not been driven outside of the yard. Also my tow vehicle, a low mileage 1996 Buick road master wagon needed some tlc.
The door panels were installed. The challenge here was getting all to the panel clips lined up. Unlike most Fiats where the clips are plug and play, 850 clips can swing 360 degrees about a half inch away from the mounting hole in the door card. All ten or twelve clips must be positioned before the door card can be snapped into place. I did this by making a paper template.
Next up, the carpet. This had been made up fifteen years or so before back when the seats were reupholstered. I dyno-matted the rear shelf and fire wall down to the floor in an fort to keep the heat down. Remember, the windows only go down half way!. The seats were installed.
Installed and wired the engine service light, and painted the engine lid.
The rear isn't sitting right and the rear camber is off but we are running out of time.
Almost forgot, NOS jack, and the wiper.
I was able to disassemble the Armon wiper blade and transplant the rubber from a Bosch wiper.
The trunk is sorted. As it turns out much of this will have to be redone in the future. Those heater lines need to be tucked under the hot air tube to make the spare fit but no time for that now.
The rear panel and bumper were another set of challenges. The bumper supports were bent and needed to b replaced. I sourced the metric all thread from Mcmaster carr, cut them to length and machined and threaded the mount holes.
The panel, which is fiberglass, is removable. The reverse light and plate light need to be easily detachable. I'm not sure how Lomardi did this but I sourced some Honda motorcycle connectors and got to work.
Here you can see the evidence of Lombardi's aircraft construction experience in the engine mounting panel.
Next up window felt.
This was a project all it's own. I'll spare you the details.
It came out really well.
I got these cool LED headlights from Matt at Midwest-Bayless.
I got a winch from tractor supply installed on the trailer.
I test drove the car about a 1/4 mile on a town road behind the house. and did a final check over.
The car didn't like to idle, the brakes were spongy and the steering wheel was crooked. Close enough. Trailer test ride!
The next day Dad & I are off to Carlisle.
Spoiler alert, we made it.