1979 FIAT 2000 Spider

Beautiful little car! I bought it only two years ago, and then gutted the old red interior, which was aged and tatty.

The previous owner did a wonderful job with the exterior paint, the engine, exhaust and suspension. (Exhaust is all stainless steel). But the interior was tired.

I've always loved these cars, but the dash design left a lot to be desired. Simply was not refined enough for my tastes.

I carved a new dashboard out of solid African mahogany planks. (I'm a very good craftsman with wood - but not so great as a mechanic).

The new dash is so much sleeker now. (The old dash was stock, had that cheap/ugly plastic center bezel and a fogged clock, which I fixed). New retro gear shift knob.

I also ditched the eyesore of an ashtray. (I include a picture of the old red interior so you can compare). The red center console was recovered in black leather, then got the diamond stitch treatment. I also added cup holders down by the map pockets, far lower right and left. It's probably the only example on the planet with cup holders!

The door cards I swapped out for black, also the back seat (which is a tiny one)! I bought a new retro style wood steering wheel, but came to prefer the original. But you can have it.

I installed new racing seats with the Ferrari-tan color I so love. It's just a gorgeous interior now - was a lot of work and engineering to get it all installed.

I still have the old seats and door cards and such, and the old dash parts I can throw in if you want.

This is a very fine car, a beautiful example, but it is not perfect. Let me fill you in on those:

This car is the Euro version, so the speedometer is in KM/HR and the odometer is in KM. You see it shows that it has turned over - it reads now 115,452, which equates to 71,754 miles.

But there's an itty bitty problem there - when I installed my new, hand carved beautiful dash pieces, the speedo cable broke. I guess it was about due anyway? That was back in the spring when I finished the refurb on the interior. I have only driven it in fine weather, and then only rarely, so I would guess I've added maybe 200 miles this summer, tooling around the country roads around my house.

Another small problem is that the wipers are now always on for some unknown reason. I never drive it in the rain so I just removed the fuse.

I guess when I installed the new custom dash I must've pinched a wire or something back there? It's a tight space. Anyway both issues I think can be solved fairly easily by a mechanic or enthusiast. Dash is only held in by 4 thumb screws and the 3 controls at center.

What else? The retro chrome bumpers are so much prettier than the ugly black rubber ones, but they're not exactly robust. One of the tabs for the front bumper (installed by former owner) mount broke off so I had it rewelded (much stronger than original weld) - but that put a bluish blemish in the chrome, picture is attached.

Also the bumper isn't exactly a perfect fit - and the ends vibrate a little when driving so on the driver's side there's a small abrasion in the paint. I grinded down the bumper ends a bit when it was off and the new welds were done, so that's no longer a problem.

The former owner supplied me with the two new rear chrome bumperettes but installing those would be another engineering conundrum, I never got around to it. Most people restomodding these just leave them off and fill the old holes.

Just a little TLC and this car will be near perfect. It drives very well!

I'm selling because my career has been almost totally destroyed since the Covid mess. I was hoping that it would come back around, but it just hasn't. So I'm kinda forced now to sell the car and my home. My loss is your gain, I have about 20 grand invested so far.