124 Spider - Hardtop sorted, nearly...

Progress -
So, I knew I was missing something wrt the latches and how they attach to the roof.
The holes I had in the roof were close to 10mm but the bolts were only 5mm with nothing to screw into.
So after a bit of fiddling and investigation I discovered a plate that had dropped behind and sure enough, 2 threaded holes - same on both sides.
Next was the rather tricky part getting them back into position behind the larger holes.

Anyway 10 minutes and lots of swearing later, with the help of bits of string, wire and cable ties, they were in and I could attach the latches.
The original roof liner was missing the foam backing (well in fact it crumbled and disintegrated as I touched it) and was also a bit too stained to reuse directly.
I decided to colour change the liner from cream to a more practical black using vinyl spraypaint and glued it to some self adhesive foam sheet which I'd already applied to the roof.

I also cleaned and filled the area around the latches - I'll probably paint it properly later.

Now what to do with the side catches.
I tried the turnbuckle approach, both with and without the original thumb levers but just couldn't get them to attach to anything securely.
Looking at what was there originally (the one on the right :-)) I bought a couple of J-bolts (M6x60mm), attached them to the original fittings and they worked a treat :-)

As you can see from the pic, there's an angled rod end (reverse thread), threaded joiner and the J-bolt.
They're hooked onto 2 bolt heads tucked away inside and are secured fairly tightly by the original thumb levers.
So, now it's attached and looking great (as viewed from through the rear window).

I do however have a problem...I can't open or close the doors with the windows closed :-)
Maybe just a bit of fine tuning but I fear I may still need to remove the soft top, either completely or at least detach the rear of it to make this work.

124 Spider - Jeremy Clarkson, I fear the worst

Looks like the next series of Top Gear will feature Jeremy driving a Fiat Spider.
I hope he's kind.
Back in 1995 along along with a m8 we drove my own Spider down through France to the Monaco F1GP.
On the way back we stopped off for fuel and Jeremy pulled up at the pump next to us to fill up his TVR.
He was as loud as ever, calling across the forecourt to various film crew colleagues etc.
The spider was brilliant on that trip and we managed to get in a lap of the circuit before we left for home :-)
Anyway, here's the link -
http://www.topgearbox.com/2014/news/top-gear-series-22-sightings-spoilers/

124 Spider - Markku Alén

Spotted a post over at OTD pointing to an Italian watch forum.
Turns out that 70's Finnish rally driver Markku Alén not only raced 124's but he was also an Heuer Monaco fan :-)
Here he is getting airbourne in Nigeria in 1974 and also a shot wearing the Monaco (73633).

124 Spider - Hardtop

Arrived today and looks great.
A few minor jobs to do to get it up to scratch but I'm really pleased so far :-)