An Oregon Project

[My4thFiat]

We acquired our 1978 Spider in order to make it a great daily driver. It appears to be almost rust free AND has a very rare quality - a documented service history for it's 36 year life. So before I get into specific aspects of the car in weeks to come - I want to acknowledge someone that I have never met - the original owner; LUCIEN KLEIN. You have to wonder about someone who would keep an originally purchased car for 18 years. The obvious comes to mind - that he must have really loved the Fiat; since putting the top down would be infrequent in the Tualitan part of the Willamette Valley just south of Portland where it rains an average of 48inches per year. What other type of person would keep a car so long AND bring the auto in for service 215 times in 18 years - an AVERAGE OF EVERY 54 DAYS. The service and maintenance records indicate that whenever he perceived something was not right with the car - he took it in for a look. Most people would get rid of a car if it needed some much maintenance; but he babied the vehicle for the 18 years that he owned it.

The second 18 year period shows receipts and records of 5 other owners prior to us getting the car. The Spider has suffered some incredible mechanical deterioration; fortunately not including rust. I look forward to working on the Fiat.

thankyou much Lucien for your car.

[fredguaz]

Welcome aboard, Ron!
You will find equally pathological Fiat nuts on this board. Enjoy the process.

[vandor]

Neat story! Welcome to the group!

[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

And here is a link to a map of Spider owner’s locations. Many forum members have listed their locations.

https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=191825

Pete

[My4thFiat]

Fred and Csaba thanks for the thoughts - - but what did I find in this project after I brought it home?

Actually, the drive home (1 hour) was kind of interesting - I had to do my braking with the emergency brake since the pedal nearly went to the floor and barely slowed the Fiat (more about this later). Also amongst the car's communication to me were some metalic rattling and wind noise - - all the while I'm remembering to myself that THIS IS a rehab project; and as long as it is rust free, runs, and has a good history - then all will be ok.

1st Rattle - The alternator was being held in place by the large and long alternator bolt - but without a nut on the end; and the bolt had slipped 50% out, but was stopped by other engine compartment brackets. I dipped into my large wooden box of inherited nuts and bolts and found what I needed to fix the problem.

2nd Rattle - The 3 muffler non-catalyst exhaust system was secure at the engine and at the tailpipe end; but not attached at the 2 points inbetween. After rummaging again throught my misc. nut & bolt box all is now well. The condition of the exhaust system parts are excellent, with an Ansa at the back.

3rd Rattle - The engine air cleaner nuts and the studs into the carburator were not tight. This is due to using wrong nuts and unfortunately 3 of the studs into the carb are stripped. My nut & bolt box again served me well - but since I have intended to get a rebuilt carb I'm not to worried about the way things look at the moment.

I am rattle free - more later.

[vandor]

Make sure those air cleaner bolts/nuts are tight, as they are prone to vibrating off and falling into the carb!
I usually use a long bolt, and put a nut on it at the bottom where it comes out of the carb top.

[DanD]

Make sure those air cleaner bolts/nuts are tight, as they are prone to vibrating off and falling into the carb!
I usually use a long bolt, and put a nut on it at the bottom where it comes out of the carb top.

This ^^^ I don't know how many studs I have pulled out of the air cleaner with my fingers, but it is a lot over the years. I lost a good engine once, driving a 124 home that I had just purchased. The car ate the stud 1/4 mile from my house. It had been the best part of the car...

[My4thFiat]

With most old autos that are bought for the rehab experience - there will be some things that just don't work. My Fiat was no exception. During my initial "walk around/eval" of the car I discovered that the windshield wipers did not work. The comment from the seller - "I think it's just a fuse!". Well I looked at the fuses (I mean they are in plain site) - and all were in working order. So I looked past the issue and still decided to buy the Spider. Since this was going to be a "tear down" and put back together project I knew it would be all ok eventually - - and guess what - the wipers found life after I installed a new wiper motor (plus I got to check out all the connections and examine the wiring).

Bonus: I found a very rusted needle nose pliers under the covering panel of the windshield wiper motor - they now work great also.

[vandor]

FWIW - just because a fuse looks good does not mean that it's making good connection with the holders - it can corrode so much that no current will pass, even tho the fuse looks good. It's a good idea to replace all fuses every couple of years.

[My4thFiat]

FUEL PUMP (S) ? : When I first went to take a look at my Fiat. I of course took it for a test drive. At the turn of the key I heard an electric fuel pump start ticking away - and made a comment, "....oh, Fiat went to an electric...." - assuming (without correction from the seller) that it was a stock feature. It was a hard start (though cold) - and it ran a little rough at low idle.

Well guess what (you already know) - I found a mechanical fuel pump bolted to the driver's side of the motor during my "rattle search". Since the mechanical pump was still on the engine with a fuel line to the carb - I figured that someone in the past simply didn't want to spend the bucks in labor - and instead just attached an inline electric pump just in front of the driver's side rear wheel. (It could also have been something a bit more serious - so I crossed my fingers.)

Now - one $35 rebuilt mechanical pump later (less the disconnected and removed electric pump) , and that sweet twin cam starts easy and runs smooth.

[My4thFiat]

Sway Bars: The car handled very nimbly when I pressed it in some quick turns during the drive home. There was however a small knock of a sound occasionally during the cornering. An underneath check shows that the Fiat has two sway bars: 1. the front is a 25 mm factory piece; and 2. the rear appears to be an aftermarket 5/8ths diam. The installation was very secure, but was not adjusted correctly. The center of the crossbow that has a downward center curve in order to go around the bottom of the differential housing was rubbing tight up against the the housing. My readjustment of the holding spacers have created a half inch clearance of the differential and now works well.

[vandor]

The factory swaybar is 20mm. If yours is 25mm then it is aftermarket.

[My4thFiat]

Thanks Csaba for the info - I'm starting to wonder if one of the more recent owners may have started to set the auto up as a slalom/autocross machine. It also sports a set of lower profile - slightly wider than stock - tires. And since the clearance between the tires and wheel-wells does not seem excessive; it might sit a little lower as well. It does handle. thanks again.