Rejuvenating our 1973 850 Sport Spider

[khnitz]

The time has come to start rejuvenating the 1973 Sport Spider I bought from my uncle in 2019 (original thread is here ). It has been stored for at least 40 years, and last driven on the road around 25 years ago.

My updates won't be as fast and productive as those of @Daniel Gibson , but I'll try and keep a record here of what I am accomplishing.

I was able to get the original seats out today. I found a good set of seats to use in their place over the Winter, and that will save me the trouble of having to re-stuff and re-cover the originals.

Original Seats:

Replacement Seat (1 of 2):

Under-passenger-seat connector (anyone know what this is for)?

Finally, a picture with the seats removed:

 

[kmead]

I would respectfully suggest keeping the originals, I stupidly tossed mine when I found replacement seats which I truly regret.

The camel vinyl is pretty nice with the green.

 

[khnitz]

I would respectfully suggest keeping the originals, I stupidly tossed mine when I found replacement seats which I truly regret.

The camel vinyl is pretty nice with the green.

I agree. I will be putting them in attic storage in the shop garage.

 

[Frank L. Di Gioia]

The time has come to start rejuvenating the 1973 Sport Spider I bought from my uncle in 2019 (original thread is here ). It has been stored for at least 40 years, and last driven on the road around 25 years ago.

My updates won't be as fast and productive as Daniel Gibson's were , but I'll try and keep a record here of what I am accomplishing.

I was able to get the original seats out today. I found a good set of seats to use in their place over the Winter, and that will save me the trouble of having to re-stuff and re-cover the originals.

Original Seats:
View attachment 58443

Replacement Seat (1 of 2):



View attachment 58444

Under-passenger-seat connector:
View attachment 58445
View attachment 58446
Anyone know what that is for?

Finally, a picture with the seats removed:
View attachment 58447

Daniel is certainly a hard act to follow! Looks like a pretty nice car to start with,
Good luck.

 

[Daniel Gibson]

Your car looks to be in better shape now than mine is now! It will be sweet when you are done.

 

[lezesig1]

The time has come to start rejuvenating the 1973 Sport Spider I bought from my uncle in 2019 (original thread is here ). It has been stored for at least 40 years, and last driven on the road around 25 years ago.

My updates won't be as fast and productive as those of @Daniel Gibson , but I'll try and keep a record here of what I am accomplishing.

I was able to get the original seats out today. I found a good set of seats to use in their place over the Winter, and that will save me the trouble of having to re-stuff and re-cover the originals.

Original Seats:


Replacement Seat (1 of 2):


Under-passenger-seat connector (anyone know what this is for)?



Finally, a picture with the seats removed:

Hello khnitz

The wire shown in the pic ?

On the '72 there is a seatbelt switch internal to the belt retract assembly
that connects to the connector shown in your pic. The sender 4285009, that is
part of the circuit, is located high on the transmission as shown on F5.03/5

The wire hanging ouf of the seat itself......head scratcher for me. What did the
'73 do that is not shown on any wiring diagram ????

I see that you have the original seat belt ! Treat em like gold ! They are not
to be found anywhere. There is no wire hanging out of them that could tie them
to the seatbelt warning buzzer. That is what I was originally thinking ....hmmm

I'd trace that wire and look for a pressure switch. Warning buzzer not required on
the passenger seat if it is unoccupied ????


___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Not shown is weld repairs, thread re-taps, release
button surround refinish, spring derust and refinish,
derusting and refinishing chromed hinges.

IMO- Re-upholsterers are worth every penny they might charge
for a proper seat reupholster (smile)

 

[ng_randolph]

The time has come to start rejuvenating the 1973 Sport Spider I bought from my uncle in 2019 (original thread is here ). It has been stored for at least 40 years, and last driven on the road around 25 years ago.

My updates won't be as fast and productive as those of @Daniel Gibson , but I'll try and keep a record here of what I am accomplishing.

I was able to get the original seats out today. I found a good set of seats to use in their place over the Winter, and that will save me the trouble of having to re-stuff and re-cover the originals.

Original Seats:
View attachment 58443

Replacement Seat (1 of 2):
View attachment 58444

Under-passenger-seat connector (anyone know what this is for)?
View attachment 58445
View attachment 58446

Finally, a picture with the seats removed:
View attachment 58447

There were "strip switches" in the seats to detect if the seats were occupied. My guess is that the wires you found are for these switches.

 

[khnitz]

There were "strip switches" in the seats to detect if the seats were occupied. My guess is that the wires you found are for these switches.

OK, that makes sense. The connector shown in my 4th pic was under the seat beneath the rubber floor covering mat, and that's where the seat's connector was plugged in.

The wire shown in the pic ? On the '72 there is a seatbelt switch internal to the belt retract assembly
that connects to the connector shown in your pic.

I don't have a picture of it (I'll add one later), but there are wires coming out of the seatbelt retractor on the passenger side, but I don't think they lead to that connector in the floor under the passenger seat.

What did the '73 do that is not shown on any wiring diagram ????

That's what I was wondering, too. I didn't see any mention of seat connections in the wiring diagrams I reviewed.

I see that you have the original seat belt ! Treat em like gold ! They are not
to be found anywhere. There is no wire hanging out of them that could tie them
to the seatbelt warning buzzer. That is what I was originally thinking ....hmmm

Yeah, these are the original belts I'll take good care of them. I'll post a picture of the wires at the passenger's side belt retractor a little later. Thanks for the pictures of the rework on your seats. Yeah, I'm glad I won't have to go that route, but that definitely looks like a heck of a task!

A question - I've found a couple of sources for interior carpet for the 850 Spider, but does anyone have a recommendation?

I was looking at stockinteriors and newarkauto. SI only sells the full carpet kit and it will run around $300 shipped (that's not terrible). I'm thinking to go with black nylon loop and go over the original rubber mat covering, if it works out. But, I really don't need the full carpet kit, as my bulkhead, parcel shelf and rear wheel arch coverings are still in good shape. I only need from the floor carpets from the bulkhead forward, but SI doesn't sell it that way (which makes me wonder if they really cut the kits, or if they source them). I have not heard back from Newark Auto, yet.

 

[NM850]

I’d treat the original belts like gold and put them in safe somewhere. I know an 850 is not a safe car in any sense (except it might make you a safer driver because your are very vigilant when driving an 850) In the racing world we are required to replace seat belts every 5 years, now that may be excessive for a street car but I wouldn’t want to rely on a 49 year old seat belt. I’ve replaced the seat belts in my vintage cars. Seatbelt planet does a nice job ( no affiliation) .
Full disclosure, I also drive an old truck in a very rural environment with no seat belts at all, so …to each his own

 

[lezesig1]

A question - I've found a couple of sources for interior carpet for the 850 Spider, but does anyone have a recommendation?

I was looking at stockinteriors and newarkauto. SI only sells the full carpet kit and it will run around $300 shipped (that's not terrible). I'm thinking to go with black nylon loop and go over the original rubber mat covering, if it works out. But, I really don't need the full carpet kit, as my bulkhead, parcel shelf and rear wheel arch coverings are still in good shape. I only need from the floor carpets from the bulkhead forward, but SI doesn't sell it that way (which makes me wonder if they really cut the kits, or if they source them). I have not heard back from Newark Auto, yet.

Hello khnitz,

What's your floor pans look like ?

Often when we pull the mats we find surprizes (smile).

You are correct, there are a couple of sources for matting/carpet. Chalk that......a few sources. Depends on what you want and who you might want to steer business to. We have some great vendors with stock. Some patterns fitting better than others I suppose.

On my build I chose to stay with the rubbers. Just something about the rubbers and the 850 spider.
Attached are pictures using modern textured rubber stock. Note: Tunnel cut to install stainless coolant tubes,
brake line, battery cable, and new rigging.

Enjoy your rejuvenation !

 

[khnitz]

I have a couple more pictures of the seatbelt retractors. There are wires coming out of them, but they aren't connected to anything...seems odd.

 

[lezesig1]

I have a couple more pictures of the seatbelt retractors. There are wires coming out of them, but they aren't connected to anything...seems odd.



khnitz:

Notice the red circle in the attached pic? If you look close at your panel you will find a small gap there between the panel and the padded sheet metal forward of that. The seatbelt retractor wire passes through this gap and connects to wiring below it. This can easily be found by lifting the
panel and observing the connection.

The panel in question that is typically warped because of 50 years of service life in average humidity and pressboard use. (smile)

 

[khnitz]

Sorry for the lack of updates. On a positive note, @kmead and I were able to meet for a beer a couple of weeks ago when I was on that side of MI, so we were able to chat about things Fiat

I saw a local ad for some modern Abarth wheels, and I had a thought ...I put it to a rough photoshop for opinions. They would need to be narrowed, and disregard the way-too-large calipers and rotors in the image. Fire away!

 

[kmead]

You might get away with some of the 15” modern ones but you will need some notable spacers to get them out towards the edge of the car…

 

[WOOM]

Hello khnitz,

What's your floor pans look like ?

Often when we pull the mats we find surprizes (smile).

You are correct, there are a couple of sources for matting/carpet. Chalk that......a few sources. Depends on what you want and who you might want to steer business to. We have some great vendors with stock. Some patterns fitting better than others I suppose.

On my build I chose to stay with the rubbers. Just something about the rubbers and the 850 spider.
Attached are pictures using modern textured rubber stock. Note: Tunnel cut to install stainless coolant tubes,
brake line, battery cable, and new rigging.

Enjoy your rejuvenation !

Curious where you found the rubber stock that you are using and cost estimate considering a NOS rubber set is around a grand last time I checked.

 

[Matt Zerega]

Sorry for the lack of updates. On a positive note, @kmead and I were able to meet for a beer a couple of weeks ago when I was on that side of MI, so we were able to chat about things Fiat

I saw a local ad for some modern Abarth wheels, and I had a thought ...I put it to a rough photoshop for opinions. They would need to be narrowed, and disregard the way-too-large calipers and rotors in the image. Fire away!

I had the same thought...and went ahead with the install. It's tight, but they fit. Will need to roll the front fender lips for adequate clearance. The ones I used are the 2012-19 "double spoke", dark gray versions. I'll send a photo when the motor is back in (when the car is sitting at its new ride-height).

 

[Dave Bassett]

I had the same thought...and went ahead with the install. It's tight, but they fit. Will need to roll the front fender lips for adequate clearance. The ones I used are the 2012-19 "double spoke", dark gray versions. I'll send a photo when the motor is back in (when the car is sitting at its new ride-height).

This is exciting information because it would appear to open up the possibilities for optional wheels and tires. I would love to know more about your experience mounting the wheels. Did they have tires on them? If so, what size? Were there any clearance problems with the suspension and/or brakes? Did the hubs fit? Do you think smaller 500 wheels and tires would clear the fenders? If all it would take is a fender roll, you are close! This information could also open up aftermarket possibilities.

 

[Dave Bassett]

So, I went to Tire Rack and searched Fiat 500 wheels and came up with three pages. Most were 16X7, some 17X7. Offsets were between 37 and 40 mm. Enkei makes a model called Compe that I like. It resembles Panasport or Minilite wheels.

 

[kmead]

Wheels and tires that large and heavy on an 850 will not do well. A very lightweight magnesium wheel with smaller tires will be best, a set is available on the for sale forum.

 

[khnitz]

I pulled the plugs and took a peak inside the cylinders. I do need to get a better endoscope camera for my phone, but I had this Ryobi inspection scope I could use, for now. I have no reason to believe this is not still the as-delivered state of the engine (no prior rebuild) and my 850 is showing just under 31k miles on the odometer.

Cylinder 1


Cylinder 2 (the honing crosshatch marks are still visible)


Cylinder 3


Cylinder 4


I do need to locate an air filter lid clip (if anyone has one available). Here is the picture of the clip I need:


And here is what I am missing:


I have to clean off a dried-up "RTV" type of gasket sealer that was used on the lid because that clip is missing