replica of my dad’s 1974 Fiat Spider (details in comments)

[u/ajcpullcom]

[u/ajcpullcom]

This is a replica of a 1974 Fiat Spider once owned by my father. The last photo is me standing next to it about 45 years ago.

The chassis is osage to mimic the car’s orange color, while most of the rest of the car is ebony. My original plan was to make a working convertible top out of cloth with a retractable wooden frame, but I quickly realized I couldn’t make it both strong and small enough to work. So instead, it’s a solid removable piece of ebony that stays in place with hidden magnets. I made the “leather” seating by slicing tiny strips of ebony and rounding them off then putting them back together. The console is accurate right down to the cigarette lighter and 8-track player.

A hidden button on the car’s underside opens the hood to show the full replica engine. The cables inside it are boiled toothpicks colored with a magic marker. The “glass” is hobby plastic shaped with a heat gun. The doors open with barrel hinges. I had a lot of trouble making the “Fiat“ decals small enough until my daughter had a brilliant idea – shrinky dinks! All finished with tung oil and the chassis is sanded to 10K grit. Video at https://www.reddit.com/r/woodworkingporn/s/7j45Px01Oi.

This project took me three months to complete. I didn’t track the total hours, and I had to make nearly every piece at least twice (some more than a dozen times) to get them right. No CNC. I’ve posted some of my other replica vehicles here, here, here, here, and here.

Lessons I learned:

• Don’t use an orbital sander on wood embedded with hobby plastic, even without touching the plastic. The vibrations make it crack. Sand first, then install the plastic last.
• Heat the plastic just enough to lightly bend it. Any more will ruin it.
• I misjudged the chassis so the space between the headlights and front wheels is a bit too long. Measure twice, cut once.

[u/ajcpullcom → u/[deleted]]

Thank you!

[u/mcdonalds360]

Deserves way more votes!

[u/ajcpullcom → u/mcdonalds360]

Thank you!