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10/2007: Jigsaw Puzzle
Now I have to reinstall the new parts and make a car out of this pile of parts. Now the fun begins. After they took the windshield tape out, we began cleaning the car. I was able to put some of the easy parts in the shop before taking the car home.
With more natural light, the red is showing better. The metal flakes are now reflecting and the clear is doing its thing.
Lots of long days ahead working on this lifesized jigsaw puzzle.
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6/2008: Version 2.0
Welcome back, old friend. Velozi is back from the grave. After a long innactive period looking for the right person to fix the wheel hubs, the "rojo magico" was towed to a Fiat specialist to work on it. The wheels are back on and secured with new and longer bolts, a new carburetor will be installed and the battery charging light will be fixed.
I am excited about the car again and after I took off the cover I noticed why I like this car so much.
Looks awesome.
Here you see the red magic machine chillin with some of his Spider buds at the shop.
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9/2008: Daily Driver
So all the big stuff is now done. The car is now a daily driver from/to work. My job is only a mile away but it keeps the car in shape. A daily driver has less problems than a stored classic.
Drive it around all the time with no issues at all. The only problem is all the dry gas stations. When I get to one is a long a$$ line. If we were all conserving and driving old Fiats, there would be gas for all at a cheap price. Hope we all learn from this and save our limited resources.
A bad cell phone photo of the car at my job's parking deck. Check out the T-bar front bumpers.
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9/2008: T-bone Steaks
Now that the bumpers are on, I feel safe and secured behind the wheel of this fast Italian masterpiece. They will not stop a thing, or protect me, but they look cool as hell.
To keep them secured and nice, I found a 2" black rubber pipe boot at the Home Depot for a couple of dollars. Fits perfect in the bumper holders. A small slice in front of them and sweet results.
I also bought a Dremel rotary tool that is quite addictive. I found stuff to grind, cut and polish all over the house.
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9/2008: I see you back there!
Looking for stuff for an old car that doesn't make it look tacky is not easy. At the same time, I decide what looks tacky and what is cool.
The original mirrors look nice but too thin and flimsy for my taste. The Abarth ones look great but the price is not for me. So my creative and budget-minded self went to a local PepBoys and found some replacement mirrors that look sporty and fit the overall look of the car.
Old Miata sun visor plastic holders are perfect to hold a mirror for the Fiat. Fit nice and blend with the look.
Now I can look at my mirror and see a Thriump, Miata, Sunbeam, and Alfa left in the dust.
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9/2008: ...With no particular place to go...
Riding along in my automobile in a perfect day for a topless. 70 degrees in Atlanta with some clouds, dark shades, a cool drink and a full tank of gas.
You can see the new dash I crafted. I took the old ugly thing and I ordered some samples from WilsonArt.com Laminate. They offer a nice Crowne Burl wood grain that looks great. If you order with different names and addresses, you can get enough samples for free to complete the dash. You can see an insert in the photo. Did I mention my love for the Dremmel tool?!? It was great for the dash project.
Enjoy driving!
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2/2009: Tunes on top of tunes
There is nothing that compares to the sound of an Italian machine with ANSA dual pipes. Every once in a while I drive by my neighbor's car and the alarm goes off. Makes me smile when that happens.
Now there is a competitor to the sound coming out of Velozi; a nice CD radio! So this weekend is about 70 degrees, so it iw time to take care of my electric wiring. Took out the cigarrette lighter and connected the radio. The plan is to pass power to the back seat in order to power an amp and a big sub. Need to build a wood bax to put back there. Will try to do it this weekend but maybe Valentine's Day will get in the way.
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2/2009: Shine on you crazy diamond
Finally I had some time off to coat all the wood pices with a high gloss liquid plastic. I have used this stuff before and it really adds shine and protection to wood and other pieces. The brand name is EnviroTex Lite Pour-on High Gloss Finish. Got it at Michael's for $10 the large size. Good for all wood pieces in the entire car if you give it a thin coating. I ended up using 2 kits.
Let it dry for a day or so and then take out my trusted Dremel tool and sand the outside/inside edges so the dials fit.
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2/2009: Neighbor's Hell
On a cold day with nothing to do, I went to Home Depot and got a 2'x4' 3/4" MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard), 3M Spray 77 Adhesive, and trunk carpet from Pep Boys to make a speaker box for the back seat. After some quick outline of the back seat area, I get to work on cutting the board and placing the holes for the speakers and sub.
Tomorrow I will connect the whole system and give it a test.
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9/2009: The man with the golden light
I finally got to finishing the front yellow lights. I took them out of the bumper and had no idea what to do with them. Went to a Pull-A-Part to look for parts for my sister's car and found some side lights from a Mazda 626. If you turn around one of the holding brackets, they fit perfect into the top grill.
The only problem is that the Fiat lights have three wires (yellow, blue & black) and the new ones only need two. Tape out the blue one and you are good to go.
Note: Crappy phone camera makes the car look pink or magenta but it is RED!
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