What to do first!

[Glyn]

Yes! It’s an eight track. How lucky can a Spider owner be? Brought back memories of plowing fields in our first tractor with A/C and it had an eight track. Had a little Kenny Roger, Jonny Cash, and Hank Williams Jr. to choose from. Nothing like jumping tracks to new songs.
I’m going to down grade and get a new radio so if anybody wants an eight track welcome to it, never tested it to see if it worked. Also don’t own an eight track to test with.

[Glyn]

Have some catching up to do. The picture below will answer what I have been working on this past week. I wish I could tell you how many hours I spent reconditioning brakes but I can’t count that high. Easier to use days. Vandor made a comment when I first joined saying “You will invent new curse words when trying to reassemble the rear calipers”. Well Vandor I have my new list. After spending hours trying to reassembling rear caliper, I got on the forum and looked around until I saw a post where someone made a part to help reassemble. I don’t know how someone could reassemble without that part. You can see the part I made in picture, pipe with a cutout. Also had trouble getting the pistons to move smoothly until I saw a post with someone using brake grease, what a difference it made. Tomorrow I should be able to bleed brakes and test them out.


OK, every do something stupid and it work out for the good. Embarrassed to admit what I did. On putting the brakes back on the car I went to turn the wheel to make it easier to assemble and steering lock up. Just a few minutes before I hit the steering ball joint to break it loose and so I thought I broke something in the steering box. So I took off the entire steering box from car and turned it by hand and it worked. Walked over to car and wheel still lock, that’s impossible I thought with nothing connected. Yes, there was no key in car and so steering locked and felt very stupid removing steering box from car due to no key. Here is where I was lucky; when I took apart the steering box I found it bone dry. Put a little MMO to clean and free thing up and saw some leaking out the bottom. I saw on a post where someone used grease because of small leak and I thought it sounded like a good ideal and did the same. So a stupid mistake turned out to be a blessing in disguise.


My wife has been helping with clean everything up. Who would have thought so many parts to a bumper. She has been reading on the internet on how to clean chrome. Amazing the difference the bumper looks.

Next will be getting motor and transmission ready for reassembling.

Still no takes on the eight track player!

[dmwhiteoak]

Glad to hear your still making progress. The wife and I are on a FLU drive in the Texas Hill country this weekend. Get yours together and join us next year. It has been great. Headed back home tomorrow.

[Glyn]

Update on car progress. Just finish carb rebuild, amazing how much old varnish and frozen everything was. The butterflies would not even turn. I also found a solution for missing pin and clip on carb. It is a little redneckish but seems to be working; it has to be better than nothing as the previous owner had. It’s a stainless steel wire twisted around, thought about at getting small bolt and nut but not much room on backside for nut .

Just for fun I pushed on pin on AC and it still had pressure, I was shock after sitting for 20 years it still had pressure. May have a small chance it will work. Not sure I can afford the freon 12, will need to change over to 134 if it works.


My floor now matches everyone else’s on the forum, Par 15 paint.


Carb with redneck connector.


The engine is almost ready to place in car.

[Glyn]

Finally feels like I’m making progress. For last two months disassembling and fixing things and now putting things back together. Dropped engine in today. Using what I had on hand I mounted a block and tackle from a previous sail boat to hoist motor. I think I failed to mention the best money I spent on car and that was 4 small moving dollies from Harbor Freight. I place one under each wheel and was able to move car around shop. Very handy moving the car out of the way when not working on it. With this said it will make since on how I put the engine in with the block and tackle. The engine just went up and down and the car moved to get in place.

NEED HELP! How can a person find out what year an engine is? I bought a used motor out of a 78 fiat but looking at it I noticed is being a 78 ½. It had different mirrors and door handles than my 78. I ordered the little 90 degree elbow for crank breather for 78 and did not fit the engine I have. I look online at the 79 and it looked correct, and will be here Tuesday to test. I replaced the timing belt and then realized it might be the wrong belt. I ordered the 78 and not sure if I needed the 79. I looked at the block and found these numbers 4314159 and below that was 132AB1. There is some small difference I noticed between the two engines. I had a screw in extended dip stick on 78 and a short in block dip stick on 78 ½, the top screw where the A/C bracket bolts on is a little smaller on 78 ½, and head on passenger side has an indented mold where something might would mounted on the 78 ½. I just want to have the correct timing belt on engine and just not sure what engine I have. I hope someone can help me!

[dmwhiteoak]

Glyn, I believe all 1800 timing belts are the same. I have never heard of more than 1 type other than one that was wider and I don't think that was OEM. Of course I'v only been fooling with these for a couple of years. I do know a 2L takes a longer belt .

[Glyn]

End of last week I did a little test driving. Started making circles in back yard then ventured out to loop around sister’s house next door and finally worked up to neighborhood. Did not have a lot of confidence in the mechanic, me.



Striped her down and had enough confidence to drive it about 10 miles across town to friends place to have it painted. His worker said it looked like a rolling jalapeno.



Dennis, you will have to share your knowledge on installing a new top.

[BEEK]

Just for fun I pushed on pin on AC and it still had pressure, I was shock after sitting for 20 years it still had pressure. May have a small chance it will work. Not sure I can afford the freon 12, will need to change over to 134 if it works.

you can use "freeze 12" its 501b, but sold and marketed for automotive use and is a great replacement for r12, you cannot mix them but vacuum the system and install it

[Glyn]

Thanks for the info on the A/C. Planed to vacuum and replace with 134a. Can't get or afford or get 12.

Has anyone tried to repair seat frame? Having trouble finding them for a 78 Spider, lots for 79 and newer.

[BEEK]

to retrofit the system to handle 134a is too much money, you can just flush and change oil and freon and expect it to work but not properly. 134a requires a 30% larger evaporator to help its efficiency. the freeze 12 is the same price as 134a and doesnt require a complete redesign of the system. it is the best alternative imho, for a r12 system. and besides it works real well, just charge 10% less than r12 and go

[Glyn]

Beek, All I can find is "Johnsen's Freeze 12" at $30 a can on ebay. Really don't know what to do with the A/C now.

[Glyn]

She should be ready to pick up tomorrow from being painted. My friend has an auto body shop and is painting the car for me. I went with him to paint supplier to try and get the Fiat 312 green. They no longer have any mixing codes to match the original paint. They took the metal plate where windshield wipers attach and buffed it up and used a matching machine to find color. The closet match was the 98 or 99 Mazda Miata. I will find out how it looks tomorrow.

Waiting for paint I got in a new center console from Allison’s Automotive. I was amazed how much it looked like the original especially being made of fiberglass. However I’m still trying to get the ash trays and wood looking plate with shift boot to fit properly. I’m really struggling with wood plate fitting, not sure how I’m going to get it to fit. I returned the radio box, made of plastic and needs sided to be screwed on. Also there was no way to get chrome/silver plate to fit in the bottom area. They said the current radio boxes were from an outside source and they or currently working on making an all in one fiberglass replacement. I’m waiting to order the new radio box.

My wife has become an expert cleaner on the Fiat. Her trick is “Totally Allsome” cleaner from the dollar store and super fine steel wool. It cleans without scratching.

Does anybody know if a 79 seat frame will fit on a 78? I’m having trouble finding or fixing frames. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.








She can't change a timing belt but she can clean. My wife has been a big help on project.

[fiat218]

Send her over
Good cleaning on my cars would be great

[vandor]

78 and 79 seat frames are not interchangeable.

[Glyn]

Here she is with a fresh coat of paint. The color seems to be a very close match when you compare it to original paint inside door frame. Will be time to put car back in work shop and start the reassembling.