The little red Fiat.

[So Cal Mark]

it was a good choice!

[SLOSpider]

Here I thought that I had you convinced on Red...

[CShroom]

Slo, that is one sharp engine bay. I know Tersta was debating it, but she finally decided on the black.

Yesterday I went off to go hang out with some friends, and while I was out she got started on stripping the engine bay.

So pretty much everything is out for a scrub and spraybomb. But after it was pulled apart, this was found...





The firewall is torn where the clutch cable comes through...

Anyone seen this before? The best I can guess is that the clutch arm or something froze and someone stood on the clutch pedal and it did this. But does this actually happen? I would figure to put that kind of pressure on it, the cable should have snapped first.

It means I get to go buy some more welding equipment. At first I was thinking a new torch, but the more I looked at where I would have to wel I think I will go on the prowl for either a Mini MIG or Fluxcore welder. I think a torch would be too hard to control in such tight and flammable quarters.

Any thoughts on this mess?

[So Cal Mark]

oh yes, we've seen that before! Just welding isn't strong enough, you need to make a plate and put it over the top of that area

[CShroom]

Thanks for the heads up Mark. I had figured that some extra reinforcement was going to be needed. How thick and how large of an area needs to be plated?

I had actually figured on more of an "H" shape around the opening for the clutch with the cable in the "-" part of it.

Was the suspicion that something was bound up and caused this, or is it from some other sort of stress completely?

[narfire]

Thanks for the pics and heads up. While the engine is out, I think a little preventitive work will be done.

[Kingme2]

Very sharp!!!

[SLOSpider]

I know how you felt when you first saw that! Crap! I have had the hole around the clutch cable go but nothing to your extent. But at least you got the engine out to fix , just be careful of all the wiring and insulation behind there when welding.

[CShroom]

I know how you felt when you first saw that! Crap! I have had the hole around the clutch cable go but nothing to your extent. But at least you got the engine out to fix , just be careful of all the wiring and insulation behind there when welding.

Definitely will. That's the main reason I will go with using a MIG on this one. I really would like to pick up a torch set up for other metal working things I do, but a MIG is pretty handy also.

I saw that you are a fan of Mazda rotaries. When I was growing up, we have an RX-3 wagon. I feel sad that we let it go just a little bit before my 16th. Especially now that I know what it was.

[So Cal Mark]

last year we had one broken that badly, we made the largest plate possible to spread the load using the crossbrace as a support for the steel plate. Several issues could end with that result; binding cable, bent pedal, defective pressure plate

[SLOSpider]

Sounds like it would be nice to have a hydraulic updated unit to replace these cables!

I do like the Rotaries when I could get used ones for $250.00 all day long. Now that they want $1800.00 to rebuild one Im going for a 5.0l out of a 93 Cobra....I can rebuild those in my sleep for less than half the cost of the rotary

[zzeeksfiat78]

great save! mine was abandoned outdoors in orange county for two years + gramps had passed and greatgrandpa also.
the grand kids took turns putting top up and down for extended periods the sun, rain took its toll. i saw it on a bike ride early one morning and decided to leave a card... a couple of weeks later the daughter called mom had gone into a rest home and they wanted the car gone we met a week later and i bought it for $350 and was told it ran but hadnt for two years. A enginer neighbor helped the old man keep it running back in the day.
I am hooked and now undergoing a full restoration. after restoring a datsun roadster 2000 in my earlier years i always wanted another small convert like a TR6 or Austin Healy yeh right $$$$$$. Been fun searching for parts even found a couple in junk yards.
dont give up hope it will work!
good luck
zeek
zeekscad@gmail.com

[CShroom]

Hey all!

It's been a while since the last update. We have had to slow down, but work has continued to progress.

We got a new plate welded in for the firewall. I seriously over-engineered it, but Let's hope that it will hold up. It's either that or it will fail spectacularly.

We did find some more rust that was originally hidden from us. Tersta was scraping the floors and found some wonderfully thin spots that with a light poke turned into holes. However we were able to get some sheetmetal to patch that up also.

I still need to get my flux setup changed over to gas, but the little MIG works. Not bad for a Harbor Freight special. The way I have ti figured, that if we can make it through the Fiat rebuild, it will pay for itself. And all else will be profit.

I will try and grab some pics of the sections we had to cut out and replace soon.

[So Cal Mark]

glad to hear you're still making progress

[manoa matt]

I'd strongly suggest throwing away the spool of flux wire that came with the welder. Go to H. Depot or Lowes and buy a spool of Lincoln flux core wire of the same diameter. The welds will me much cleaner, less splatter, and better penetration. And its less than $10.