Reddit reviews Maintaining the Italian Roadster 2nd Edition: The 1966 - 1985 FIAT 124 Spider

You are in for a world of pain! Says the guy who owns a 79.

Do you need the car right now or do you have time to actually do while I am at it projects? If you can there should be some upgrades before you get it on the road.

There are some great guys who sell parts and run a forum. I will link to them at the bottom.

There are a couple of things that will bite you in the ass and cause major headache that are Fiat specific.

1. Grounding on this car is very important and is a cluster fuck. Everything on this car has its own ground that are connected to "stars" around the car. EVERYTHING...there is no common ground. Fan relay not working...check your ground, lights...make sure the ground didn't come off. You also have three major grounds. Engine to body, exhaust to body, and transmission to body. The last being the most important part. The static electricity will cause your clutch cable to fail if not properly grounded. I fought this problem until I found out through a Fiat site. You need to put a meter on the clutch cable and test that it is properly grounded. You should go ahead and replace the clutch cable and clutch pedal while you are at it. The cable is cheap from Autoracambi and the pedal is 79 bucks but it has a weak point where the cable hooks up to the forks.
   
   
2. Fiats have a tendency to overheat because of a design flaw. When you are draining the radiator make sure to look to see if any trash is in the coolant and look inside your radiator to see what it looks like. There is a good chance it will need to be replaced or recored. Some guys go with the aluminum one and some go with stock. I don't think you can go wrong either way. It would be a good idea to replace your thermostat, hoses, attach a "t" filler hose, and water pump. And while your at it change the timing belt. When you refill the coolant, you will have to burp it. This will make sure you don't have air in the cooling system. And while you are at it I would get a larger fan, and mounting bracket from Vic's Auto. The fan you can get from Amazon way cheaper but the bracket he makes. The original fan was small and didn't make the cut in South Louisiana.
   
   
3. Your alternator is weak. I believe it puts out 55 Amps. Autoracimbi has one that puts out 95 amps and you will be able to actually see stuff. They make a light upgrade wiring harness that is awesome also but I would try out the alternator first.
   
   That's pretty much the must do so I don't break down.
   
   Links to make your life easier.
   
   Brad Artigue is the Fiat guru. He has a book out that will make your life a lot better. Filled with tips and tricks on fixing and upgrading your car. He also runs this website were you can get tons of info from knowledgeable people, schematics, and buy parts.
   
   The link for burbing a car is for another Spider forum. They have some good guys there but some can be horses asses.
   
   Vendors:
   
   A little prickly but knows his stuff Vic's Auto
   
   Get your radiator fan mount from this guy.
   
   I buy 80% Of my stuff from them. They are awesome, knowledgeable, and two day shipping doesn't kill me. A lot of upgraded parts.
   
   Midwest Bayless is another good company for stock new and used parts.
   
   Allison Automotive has performance parts and upgrades. Never used them but he doesn't have a bad rep on the forum.
   
   Forgot to say buy a service manual. You can get a reprint form the first three or try to score an original on eBay.
   
   
   Hope all of this helps and enjoy your street legal go-cart.