Trying to ressurect a 79 spider

[spiderrey]

This car has been off the road for 13 years. Im going to try and get it back on the road for my nephew. His father bought it at a storage auction for 400 bucks. Only time will tell if its money wasted. Its gonna need another drivers seats as this one is twisted up. So far Ive pulled the plugs and poured a little atf into the cylinders. Plugs dont look like they have been in there very long though. Engine turned over easily with a breaker bar once I removed the radiator. Bought an accelerator pump for the carby from Allison, this one has to be gone. Also tryed about 30 ignition keys but none fit the switch on the car. Im gonna have to remove the switch and get a key made. In the mean time Ill just wire in one of my extra ignition switches,

[2ndwind]

Looks like a decent example to attempt to make roadworthy. What's the story with the early model in the garage?

You don't have to pull the ignition switch if you are willing to find a reputable locksmith who can come out to your house and make one. I was quoted $75 for that service by a local guy.

[spiderrey]

The early one behind it is mine. Bought it from the original owener quite a while ago. I sold the rear end out from under it and havent gotten around to putting the other one in yet. Herea a pic of that one.

[courtenay]

$400 is a pretty good buy under most circumstances. Would be tough to figure it would be a waste of money. Nice save!

[spiderrey]

Been working out of town. Back now and finally got a chance to get back to this car. The wiring to the ignition switch was fried. The p o rewired it in a way that made no sense to me. I rewired it back to original and hooked up a spare ignition switch to it. Cranks fight over, but without plugs right now. Pulled a set up bosch platinums out of the head, they have seen better days. I have a few boxes of ngk bp7es,s. Will these ngk,s work in this 79 spider.

[spiderrey]

Well I installed the ngk,s. It cranks but I dont think its getting any spark.

[124JOE]

R U getting power to the coil?

[spiderrey]

The coil wasnt getting any power. I jumpered the coil from the back of the alternator and poured a little fuel down the carby. It fired right up. It stunk and put out lots of smoke from the exhaust pipe. Thats from sitting those 13 years. I poured more fresh fuel down the carby because it would fire without it. It fired right up and ran for about 20 seconds. It ran real smooth and quit then died. Now I need to replace the fuel lines and check the fuel pump. Dont recall if the 79 had an elect pump or not. Ill loook at it tommrow After I power wash the engine. And tommrow Ill take the steeering column to a locksmith to get a key made so I can reinstall it.

[spidernut]

The 79 had a mechanical fuel pump. They are very inexpensive to replace. Check out http://www.autoricambi.us

If you get her running, you might want to consider converting to a low pressure electric fuel pump. There's nothing inherently wrong with the mechanical pumps, but for some reason the fuel pressure won't stay up and it'll need to crank for 15-30 seconds if it sits more than a day or two. An electronic pump will fix the problem quickly.

Looks like a smokin' deal for $400! For a little motivation, here's what it might look like when completed. This is my 79 with tan interior:

[spiderrey]

Thats a nice 79. I had a 79 about 10 years ago. It cost 400 too. It was light blue with a beige interior, and an automatic. It was scrapped when the oil pickup broke . But that engine lives on in my 70. Ill look into an electric pump today and try to get to replacing the old fuel lines.

[spiderrey]

Well, I installed an electric fuel pump. It wouldnt pump any fuel though, and yes it was at the tank. I removed the pickup from the tank. The pickup was clogged with 13 years of gas varnish. I loosened it up with a wire and blew it open with my compressor. The ball of varnish shot out the other end like a bullet. It still wouldnt pump fuel. Then I realized that I was trying to pump fuel through the mecanical pump. I figured if I started the car it should start to pump because the old pump would at least be atempting to work. Until now I was trying to run the pump with the engine off. It worked. I barely turn the key an the engine runs, I dont give it any pedal. It just starts right up and idles. I put the radiator back in and let it run till it reaches operating temperature. The exhaust smokes badly. The engine smokes alot as it burns off years of grime. Eventually all the smoking stops and the car is still ideling smoothly. Tommrow Ill run power for the fuel pump off the fuse box like I did on my 70. Then Ill mount some wheels on the car that will hold air and maybe run it around the block.

[124JOE]

test the brakes before you go and bypass the mecanical pump

[spiderrey]

My brother in law just called me and said he might just scrap the car due to the tags back fees.

[124JOE]

well scrap it my way

go talk to a guy at a used car lot about the tag fees
mabey theres a trick he has to help

[So Cal Mark]

no tricks around back fees in Calif anymore, the state needs the money. Unless you have a relative that works at DMV