1974 Fiat Spider

[csi2000s]

I've owned this car since 1990. The laws in Australia at the time required it to be converted to RHD and pass an engineers inspection to make sure it complied with ADR (Australian Design Rules).

Luckily Fiat had already built in the RHD mounting holes for the steering box and idler arm from the factory. Sourcing 124 coupe RHD steering gear and fitting them was the easiest part. The major drama was cutting the holes for the brake booster and steering box shaft on the right hand side of the car. Also making up new brackets to bolt in the pedal box and making sure it was done in the right position was a hair raising experience. I've seen many poorly executed RHD conversions where the steering wheel is on an angle and very close to the door because of bad measurements.

The dash was the next hurdle. Using the original dash, I cut the bottom section from the left hand side which has the original cut out for the steering column and did the same for the right and pop rivetted and glued these sections on opposite sides to create a RHD dash. It was reskinned in original vinyl and looks like a factory item.

The next job was the seat belt system. My car came from the USA and only had lap belts. To make the car comply, the seat backs were stripped of the upholstery and the metal frames were strengthened with a new base and several extra bars to welded in to strenghten the unit. There was also a t piece made of steel bolted to the top left and right corners for the 3 point rectractable seat belts to pass through so they can go over the shoulder when sitting in the car.

Speedometer was changed to kph, all repeater lenses were changed to amber, parking lights fitted to headlights and black wiper arms ( I later changed these back to original chrome after the car was registered).

I rebuilt the 2 litre engine, gearbox, brakes etc. It also received new upholstery with a re trim in commercial vinyl which is tough and also looks like leather. The woodwork was done with proper veneer which gives it a much classier and expensive look compared to the original laminex fake wood.

It was repainted in it's original colour and 13" Cromodoras from a 125 were fitted. The car looked great! The first incarnation of the engine was basically stock with a single down draught weber and all the USA pollution gear disappeared. I could do this under the Australian Design Rules because in 1974 cars in Australia didn't yet have that sort of pollution control fitted.

After driving it for a while, I was a little disappointed. It looked so good but wasn't as quick and sure footed as I hoped. The brakes weren't up to the job and it always getting a little hot. So over the next few years it had another engine rebuild with hotter cams, hi comp pistons and a new pair of DCOE Webers, headers, Croma vented discs, 4 spot Wilwood calipers, spider Volumex brake booster and master cylinder, LSD, Twin thermo fans, Konis, lowered springs and dozens of other little upgrades.

The Cromodoras had to go when the brakes were upgraded so I opted for the Compomotive 15' ML design so the bigger discs up front would fit. The car now is so amazing to to drive. The added power is great but the biggest thing for me is the LSD which is an original 124 housing with A Ford RS2000 3.54 ratio LSD centre grafted into the unit. It just bolts in and transforms the car. Every gear becomes useful and with the torque of the 2 litre engine it pulls like a train. The upgraded braking also system allows me to drive that little bit harder and be confident that I'll stop when I needed to.

The car is almost where I want to be now. I already have the parts for the final upgrades to do on the car. Another head will be built with Abarth 130tc cams and Abarth valves along with GC spec head work, adjustable cam pulleys and a 1' timing belt. Rack and pinion steering is also ready to go, MSD 6A ignition and that's pretty much it.

I hope no one is shocked by the multi coloured steering wheel on the drivers seat! I ran the car for years with a Momo wood wheel and came across the United Colours of Benetton Personal steering wheel you see here for a bargain price. I ended up fitting it for a laugh and loved the leather grip but the colours where making me feel sick when driving. Every time I turned the wheel, I saw red, blue, yellow and green! My eyes couldn't handle it so I went for the classic Momo Prototipo which feels nice and belongs in that interior. Anyone want to buy a steering wheel that looks like gelato just drop me a line...

[4v6]

That really is a lovely car.
Nice setting for the photos too.

[csi2000s]

Thanks Tony,

It's been a labour of love all these years. All the ugrades I mentioned in the first post will be tackled and completed in the next couple of months so watch this space. There will be words and pictures showing what is going on very soon.