New Member from Alaska

[TerryWhit]

Hi All: My name is Terry Whitledge and I live in Fairbanks. I just found the website a couple days ago so this is my first time on the forum. I have a 1974 Spider 1800 that I purchased new but put into storage about 10 years ago. I have several other cars but my 124 Spider has always been my baby. I am getting it back on the road so I am having issues with tuning the idle on the DMSA carb. Does anyone have instructions about the proper steps in tuning? It is a bit of a mystery to me since it has two idle adjustments. Cheers

[narfire]

Well hello.
Funny you should post, I thought I saw another post saying they did not believe there was a member from Alaska.
I was looking for Fiats a couple of years ago when on a Van to Alaska cruise but no luck.
I guess top down season is over now eh...
Regarding the carb...don't know if this will help.
http://www.artigue.com/fiatcontent/carbs/34_DMS.pdf
Chris

[steve8462]

my brother lived in nak nak, Alaska a few years back. near King Salmon. he bought a 1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500 while up there and shipped it to Georgia when he moved down here. (the winters were driving him nuts!)

I couldn't believe he actually found a rust free car in Alaska! let alone one smaller than most snow banks up there!

[TerryWhit]

Chris - Thanks for the website but I already visited that website. Unfortunately, it shows a complete breakdown and explains how all the parts work but it doesn't really explain the step wise procedure to make the adjustments i.e. which idle adjustment do you start with or do you simply do you alternate between the two adjustments until you reach the best settings. In my case my adjustments of the two settings does not bring me to a satisfactory end point.

[steve8462]

i had the same problem trying to figure out how to set the choke on my webber.

[aj81spider]

Download the engine maintenance manual from that site. It has a section on setting up carbs correctly.

[tartan18]

Here is what I found helpful to dial in my Weber Carb.

http://www.redlineweber.com/html/Tech/c ... _best_.htm

[RRoller123]

Welcome aboard! You will find plenty of knowledgeable and friendly people here.

Here is a thread on how to post pictures directly to the forum:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21014

And here is another picture-posting thread:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... 12&t=23084


Pete

[Exit98]

Terry

From one amateur to another. Here is Brad’s carburetor guide which is on our NJFIATS.org web site:

http://www.njfiats.org/joomla/images/st ... 124_MM.pdf

Go to page 35 for detailed instructions on dialing in your carb.

Basically there are two adjusting screws. One is the idle speed adjustor. Assuming you motor starts and runs set this so the engine runs at around 800 to 1000 rpm. Then go to the mixture screw and slowly adjust it in or out. If the engine slows down or stalls move it in the opposite direction. The engine should smooth out and rpms should increase. Find the optimum setting. Then just go back to the idle speed screw and set the idle back to around 800 rpm.

The point to understand is that the idle speed adjustment is just setting the idle speed mechanically regardless of how poorly the mixture is set. The true adjustment is the mixture screw. This sets the air/fuel mix optimally. Ideally you’d have a digital tach in sight as you set the mixture but in reality you can do it by ear.

If you have a vacuum leak anywhere then you’ll never get the adjustment right. If you suspect a leak spray brake cleaner around the carb body. If there’s a vacuum leak you’ll hear the rpms go up. Then you’ll have to find the source of the leak before you can properly adjust the carb.

Good luck, report back.