Parts Cross-Reference Matrix?

[Fiatmonkey]

Geeeez guys, cut this guy some slack! He's new to Fiat's and wanted to see if the listed already exsisted. Is that so bad that he asked one of the largest Fiat forums in North America. Should he have gone to another more friendly, and less "eat your own children forum." Let him off the hook! He was just looking to see if it was there, and maybe he will make that list himself. When he's done each and every one you people hounding him will beg to see it. If I were he and I was so slammed as to be told maybe I should get Miata.... well I don't think I'd share my list.

Point is people calm down cut each other some slack and for Monkey's sake stop trying to kill each other. There are few enough Fiats now that we don't need another person to put it away or throw it away because the people that make up the "core" of the hobby are A-holes.

This Monkey is no cannibal!

[Danno]

Yeah, I think we all need to play nicer. He'd like a parts matrix, we pretty much all agree it would be nice, so why the hating. Let's just leave it at that. Now, let's get someone focused on making this thing happen. I don't have part numbers, but I know that there is some interchangeability with the late model tag lights and ferrarissss That has to be useful to know, right!?!?

[jimmycakes401]

I'm new here too. And the title of this thread got me super excited. I happen to be a comic geek/computer geek and can only imagine that there is some computer programmer on here that could help someone set something up for the love of the hobby. And that's what forums like this are for. Getting people together with a common bond and making it awesome.

I will now let my pop culture geek speak, by telling you what I tell my four kids. Live by Bill and Ted's words:
"Be excellent to eachother."

So, who's a programmer. Let's get this sucker started.

[Fiatmonkey]

OK we've got 3 non-cannibal! Finally some Fiat love.

Monkey can see the light, can you?

[maytag]

OK we've got 3 non-cannibal! Finally some Fiat love.

Monkey can see the light, can you?

Monkey, dood... yer calling some of us haters 'cuz we're defending against an outright attack on the vendors.... but you seem very intent on having the last word about it.
I'd suggest that when you tell us to stop, you should too. Because every-time you make yet another passive-aggressive comment like the one above, about how some of us must be cannibals because we dislike the attitude displayed by Opus, it pushes the same buttons all over again.
None of us LIKE to shut-up when we think we are right... but some of us CAN.

Which type are you?

[opus10583]

It's been a challenge for me to find the double height nuts, they are usually brass, which is an advantage for use on the exhaust. The steel ones get affected by the exhaust heat and tend to rust, making them hard to remove over time. Brass doesn't have this drawback. The brass ones are double height because brass has less tensile strength than steel, and more thread engagement is needed for torquing up to spec without risk of stripping the threads. If you ever run accross a double height brass fastener for the exhaust, hang onto it -- it's a good find!

I've read here that the studs are too short to double-nut to reseat the upper studs with the manifold in place, so I doubt double height nuts are of any use there.

I also would question the use of mixed torque applications across a cast iron flange.

[opus10583]

OK we've got 3 non-cannibal! Finally some Fiat love.

Monkey can see the light, can you?

Monkey, dood... yer calling some of us haters 'cuz we're defending against an outright attack on the vendors

None of us LIKE to shut-up when we think we are right... but some of us CAN.

Which type are you?

I have nothing but good things to say about most of the vendors I've dealt with, and this thread was never intended by me to spur anything other than a shared resource for hard to find or superior replacement parts.

That it was hijacked and contorted to others' own ends indicates "a type" as well.

[pastaroni34]

I have quite a bit of parts information. Building proper electronic catalog has been on my list for ages.

The main problem as I see it is getting the brand/manufacturer of the parts. It doesn't matter what price or part# it is if the part is crap. I already have programs/scrapers gathering data daily and dumping it to a database. Cleaning up and managing that data is another problem though.

I envision a site like http://www.realoem.com - this site has used the electronic parts catalog (ETK) from BMW, and lists the suggested price along with part numbers etc.. I could pull Fiat part numbers and drawings off microfiche but I'd rather go a step further as I don't need Fiat's drawings, I have my own. I want to pipe my models into something like Cortona3d's RapidCatalog: http://www.cortona3d.com/cortona3d/medi ... /index.htm Problem with that though is it is only IE based.

Anyway.. cool stuff.

...Back I go to my gigantic project list..

[jimmycakes401]

Sounds cool. If you built it into a site you could create a review system to get users to let other users what parts are garbage or quality. But I suppose that would open up another set of headaches monitoring that activity.

[opus10583]

I'm new here and don't yet have my car. But as someone who's worked on his own cars since he was sixteen, it would indeed be awesome to have a parts cross reference when you're in a bind. If knew you could grab a part at NAPA that would work fine while you're waiting for your dream part, it'd be worth it.

Yes, rather than who's brother-in-law is best, it might instead be useful to share whatever knowledge any of us can gain about the common source of 99% of the parts of these cars which were built over three decades might be.

...Or bend over, pay the gougers, and smile.

OK, I don't know about the cross reference thing but regarding the offending oil pressure regulator, I gave up trying to get them to work relibably a long time ago. The story goes that the diaphrams inside them were weak, causing them to give faulty low oil pressure readings. It was said that Fiat got tired of complaints from customers about it to the point that they removed the oil gauge and replaced it with an idiot light and filled the hole in the dash with a clock!I've been running a Stewart Warner mechanical gauge in my spider for years. Looks close to factory. If you have to have electric, try Speed hut. I have a complete set of their gauges in my Scorpion, complete with GPS speedometer and I love 'em!

Your post speaks in part to my original intent: They made millions of these engines over four decades, competitors worldwide made millions of engines with similar oil pressure characteristics, how is it possible there is no equivalent part from another manufacturer or replacement part manufacturer that will do the job, and perhaps even better?

[opus10583]

I hate to say it, but if you think parts are outrageous for these cars and don't like ordering them, maybe you've purchased the wrong vehicle. All but the most basic of parts will need to be ordered and I've found many parts from the local parts stores to be of poor quailty. I've found parts for these cars reasonable and for the most part have had very good service from the vendors at what I feel is a fair price. I actually feel quite lucky that they are in business carrying parts for cars that (until now), haven't been sold here in 30 years!

The parts are not particularly outrageous but who here can afford to waste money?

And, as unintentionally illustrated here, cost is merely one component of value.