The Concise
1966-78 FIAT 124 Spider, 1979-82 FIAT 2000 Spider &
1983-85 Pininfarina Spider History
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Produced almost exclusively for the North American market, though sold occasionally in various European countries (but for example never sold new in Australia or Great Britain) the Fiat 124/2000 Spider convertible is now becoming a popular choice for inexpensive, fun, wind-in-the-face top down motoring. Designed by Italian stylist and coachbuilder Pininfarina and suggestive of his Ferrari 275GTS, the Spider was a companion to the 124 Coupewhose mechanicals it shared - notably the same high-performance, four-cylinder dohc motor. The Spider outlived the Coupe and rivaled the MGB and Alfa Spider as the world's longest-running sports car. When introduced the combination of an alloy head, twin-cam, belt driven engine with four-wheel disc brakes and a top that could be raised or lowered at a stoplight with one hand was simply amazing. A pleasure to drive and capable of 100mph; the liveliest of the Spiders up to 1974 are considered by many to be better than the competing Alfas. The ultimate variant is the rare and desirable Abarth Spider, built for competition in the early to mid 1970's.
Development
Fiat Spiders can be roughly categorized into four groups, known as the AS, BS, CS and DS series. The initial production date with a subgroup (if applicable) are described below.
November, 1966, AS:
Car is introduced ahead of the Coupe as the "124 Spider" and based on
a shortened floorpan and suspension of
the 124 Sedan; shorter than the Coupe, too. Single-carburettor 1438 cc engine, 4
or 5-speed gearbox, torque tube rear suspension.
Single headlights. Radiator grille parallel slats. Badge on bonnet.Late 1968: Rear suspension revised with twin radius arms each side, torque tube driveshaft replaced by a conventional driveshaft with u-joints.
Late 1969, BS: Same as AS except for honeycomb grille with badge moved onto the grille.
July, 1970, BS1: 1608cc twin-carburettor engine (not for US) as in 125 saloon;
1438cc optional,
soon dropped. Power bulges on bonnet except for single-carburettor US model.
September, 1972, CS: 1608cc redesigned using short-stroke version of 132 saloon and now is 1592cc with single-carburettor. Performance did not match the previous 1608cc.
July, 1973, CS1: 1592cc replaced by single-carburettor 1756cc engine from 132 saloon. First US emission controls begin to appear.
1974 model year: As a "phase-in" to the coming 1975 federal regulations requiring bumpers to withstand 5 MPH impacts, the states of California and Maryland require 2.5 MPH bumpers. Cars destined for sale in these two states only are fitted with small chrome "over-riders" on the "stock" bumpers.
September, 1974: Last Fiat-badged Spider built for European sale. Sales now "officially" confined to the North American market.
September, 1974: 1975 model year Spiders now have heavy, energy-absorbing 5 MPH bumpers replacing the previous chrome bumpers. Car's height raised for US safety regulations. California versions now required to have catalytic converter. Air pumps and other emission controls are added as necessary.
Jul 1978-Oct 1979, CS2 (Spider 2000): Name "officially" changes to the "2000 Spider" with the introduction of single-carburettor, 1995cc engine with catalytic converter. 3-speed automatic transmission becomes optional. Wide oblong mesh grille; badge on bonnet; larger power bulges.
May 1979-Jul 1982, CSO (Spider 2000): Fuel-injection phased in for 1980 model year, but during 1980 model year a mix of both carburetted and fuel-injected cars are made depending upon the state the car is destined to be sold in. For 1981 model year Fiat USA, Inc. makes "Turbo" Spiders available with conversion done by Legend Industries. Torque, if not acceleration, improved.
Mar 1982: Pininfarina themselves, who had always assembled the Spider's bodies since production began in 1966, takeover sole responsibility from Fiat for the entire assembly, distribution and marketing of the car. For the 1983 model year the "Fiat" name and badging are dropped, it is now called the "Pininfarina Spider Azzura". European sales resumed as the "Spider Europa" without catalytic converter. The "faux" rear seat the car always had is now replaced by a luggage shelf.
1983:
The dashboard and center consoles are redesigned for the 1983 model year
along with other minor changes in badging, mirrors and trim. In Europe a Volumex (supercharged) version of Spider Europa
is introduced.
1985: Rack and
pinion steering and larger disc brakes are introduced late in 1985 model year
production. The last Spider Europa is made as Pininfarina needs assembly line
space to produce the forthcoming 1987 Cadillac Allante in conjunction with General
Motors.
|
Spider Beginning Chassis Number for Model Year |
||
| 1967: 0000? | 1973: 63,308 (1592 engine) | 1980: 157,654 |
| 1968: 5619 | 1974: 71,650 | 1981: 171,001 |
| 1969: 10,554 | 1975: 88,792 | 1982: 193,850 |
| 1970: 21,861 | 1976: 99,909 | 1983: 196,789 |
| 1971: 33,950 | 1977: 113,343 | 1984: 550366 |
| 1972: 47,032 | 1978: 126,001 | 1985: 5506060 |
| 1973: 59,592 (1608 engine) | 1979: 142,514 |
Specifications
Exhaust system: Single outlet; 1608cc engine utilizes three resonators; all other engines use two. Catalytic converter fitted where necessary.
Transmission: 5-speed manual, all synchro (very early cars are 4-speeds) with floor shift. CS2: optional 3-speed automatic; final drive AS: 4.1:1; BS1/CS1: 4.3:1; Spider 2000: 3.9:1.
Steering: Worm and roller; turning circle 10.4m.; 1985 1/2 Pininfarina rack and pinion.
Suspension: Front: independent, coils, wishbones, anti-roll bar. Rear: rigid rear axle, coil springs, anti-roll bar; torque tube, Panhard rod; 1968-on: upper & lower radius arms, Panhard rod.
Brakes: 266mm discs front and rear, servo-assisted. AS: single-circuit hydraulic. BS/CS/DS: Dual circuit.; 1985 1/2 Pininfarina 275mm discs front
Wheels/tyres: 5 1/2 x 13in; 185/70. Spider 2000: 5 1/2 x 14in;185/60.
Wheelbase: 7.48 feet
Length: AS/BS: 13.02 ft.; CS/DS: 13.58 ft.
Width: 5.29 ft.
Height: 49.2 inches
Weight: AS/BS: 2086 lbs.; CS: 2185 lbs.; CS1: 2350 lbs.; Spider 2000: 2363
Fuel tank: 13.5 gallons
Performance
1608 cc: 104bhp @ 6000rpm, 0-60mph 12.2s, max 112mph, 23mpg
1592 cc: ??bhp @ ?000rpm, 0-60mph ?s, max ?mph, 23mpg
1756 cc: 86bhp @ 5800rpm, 0-60mph 14.8s, max 95mph, 23mpg
1995 cc with carb: 80bhp @ 5100rpm, 0-60mph 10.6s, max 102mph, 22mpg
1995 cc with fuel injection: 101bhp @ 5100rpm, 0-60mph 10.3s, max 102mph, 24mpg
1995 cc fuel injection turbo: 120bhp @ 6000rpm, 0-60mph 10.1s, max 106mph, 22mpg
Engine: If properly
maintained, trouble-free and almost
indestructible, 100,000 miles is
no problem. Prone to oil leaks from gaskets and joints. Distributors
can wear internally. Dirty water in radiator means possibly corroded
water galleries in aluminum head, which can corrode with age and
potential overheating and
head gasket failure. Head gaskets are easily replaced (relatively
speaking) and
the weekend mechanic can usually handle this job. Top end tends to
noisiness with age, requiring resetting valve/tappet clearances.
Re-shimming and re-setting is
relatively easy procedure except for math involved in selecting shim
sizes. Hardening of valve seals and guide wear produces puffs of
exhaust smoke when accelerating/decelerating. Cam belt should be
replaced at least every
30,000 miles or if damaged or oil-contaminated. If doubtful when last
replaced do so immediately - a belt breakage could destroy the engine.
Low-slung oil pan,
especially on the 2000 Spider, and the oil pump pick-up inside it, are
vulnerable to damage.
Transmission: Weak point. If mileage high, synchromesh, bearings and bushes may be worn. So many transmissions have had the wrong lubricant installed leading to syncho difficulties/problems. Bellhousings, gears and shafts are unique to Spider and Coupe. Gearboxes expensive to repair correctly. If clutch is heavy, clutch cable lubricant may have leaked or dried up. Clutch pedals prone to possible bending and breaking.
Suspension: If car has been driven hard, there may be stress cracks in the front crossmember and a-arms; these parts can be removed and replaced. An impact may have bent front chassis members and pushed suspension towers inwards. These towers can also rust out. Bolts in lower front a-arms attaching them to the crossmember can undo or fail. If the car's direction is unstable under acceleration or braking the bushings in the rear arms could be worn. If car twitches and clunks in reverse, check mounting points of rear suspension trailing arms.
Steering: Steering box tends to loose lubricant; bearings may seize. Idler damper unit will be very stiff if it has lost oil.
Electrics: Electric fuel pump of CS model can be unreliable when old; replaceable by earlier mechanical unit. The Coupe and Spider windshield motors are not interchangeable. In general, corrosion can cause poor grounds along with corrosion on fuse ends in fusebox.
Body: Somewhat rust-prone, especially inside the front fenders (later models had plastic
inner fender liners which can be fitted to earlier cars), bottom of front
fenders and especially the folded-over edge of rear wheel well arches which have inner and outer skins - a
rust trap in itself. If windshield or top or windows have leaked, the floorpan could be
rusted. Rocker panels are bolted on and cover the sills, which could be rusted underneath.
Door hinges may have cracked. If soft top has been raised/lowered single-handedly by driver - and
it can be done - or if the driver was umm... a bit overweight, the driver's seat frame may have
broken, especially in 1979 model cars.
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