So happy to find this forum. Looking to restore (over time) my Fiat...
1971 Fiat 124 Spider (acquired in 1973)
A little less than 83,000 miles
1.6L engine
Off-Body restore to original color in 1994 (obvious it was from Hawaii and needed bodywork)
Garage stored in Iowa (cold) until 2015, then relocated to Texas (heat)
I need some engine work done and will replace the convertible top as well (cannot see through rear window)
Texas heat has caused some splitting of leather, which will be repaired.
Looking forward to insights on repairs/restoration as I get into the projects....
HI from Austin TX USA
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rwmdean
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:30 pm
- Your car is a: 1971 Fiat 124 Spider
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18Fiatsandcounting
- Posts: 3799
- Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:23 pm
- Your car is a: 1969 and 1971 124 spiders
- Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Re: HI from Austin TX USA
Welcome, and we'd be happy to offer help and suggestions as you work through the process. I tend to gravitate towards the early spiders myself, and my two current ones are a '69 and a '71.
-Bryan
-Bryan
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rwmdean
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:30 pm
- Your car is a: 1971 Fiat 124 Spider
Re: HI from Austin TX USA
Love to learn about rebuilt carbs. I cannot find one that fits my 1.6L that has a manual choke... All seem to have auto chokes.18Fiatsandcounting wrote:Welcome, and we'd be happy to offer help and suggestions as you work through the process. I tend to gravitate towards the early spiders myself, and my two current ones are a '69 and a '71.
-Bryan
AutoRicambi is my go-to source, but... Any suggestions on sources you trust?
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scrapironchef
- Posts: 155
- Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:06 pm
- Your car is a: 79 Spider
- Location: Richmond, CA
Re: HI from Austin TX USA
If the top is in otherwise good shape you can take it off and have a new window stitched in.
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18Fiatsandcounting
- Posts: 3799
- Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:23 pm
- Your car is a: 1969 and 1971 124 spiders
- Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Re: HI from Austin TX USA
If you prefer to keep the manual choke, then I think your best bet is one of the Weber DMS series carbs, like a 34DMS or 34DMSA. I believe there is also a 32DMS(A). Quite popular, easy to find parts for, and a fairly common retrofit to the earlier spiders. However, because of their popularity, they aren't especially cheap.rwmdean wrote:Love to learn about rebuilt carbs. I cannot find one that fits my 1.6L that has a manual choke... All seem to have auto chokes.
AutoRicambi is my go-to source, but... Any suggestions on sources you trust?
As for vendors, AutoRicambi is very good. I have also used Vick's and Midwest-Bayless, and all three seem dedicated to helping you get your car working right and helping to work through odd issues. I know people often knock on Ebay, but I have been fairly successful in finding used but rare parts that way, although I would not use them for new parts especially something critical like engine bearings or transmission/differential/brake parts. Part pedigree is the issue: You might be getting good quality, or you might be getting some cheap knock-off that could cause problems.
-Bryan