rear axle question...

[1976fiatspider]

I hear of folks talking about having 4wheel disk brakes on their 124's... and all the shop manuals say the same thing.... but on my 1976 fiat spider I have what appears to be aluminium drum brakes?? was this ever an option or did the manufacturer run out of axles and did a substitute?

thanks

[mdrburchette]

Sounds like someone did a rearend swap on your car. Even the '68 models came with 4 wheel disc brakes.

[1976fiatspider]

sigh...figures... well, it does work and the car tracks well down the road... only problem is a "weird" noise that comes from the rear brakes... one more thing to look at in the spring...

any sugestions on alternate rear ends?? Miata / IRS ala abarth??

also... would be interested in pictures of a 124 body restoration....

cheers

[So Cal Mark]

not many cars used aluminum drums. One popular swap was a Toyota truck rear axle. I've thought a Miata IRS would be a nice swap, but it will take some fabrication to install one. They're plentiful, so a used one should be cheap

[1976fiatspider]

wow... toy truck axle... never heard that one.... I like the thought of mazda irs though... would love to hear from anyone who has tackled a rear axle (or front suspension) swap on their spider. (or any other major repair)

cheers!!

[1976fiatspider]

hey all...

sorry I cant post a picture but I did discover that the rear axle on my car has a removable differential... (I know that they are all "removable" but this one comes apart a la ford's 9" rear end)
This seems to be the style of the early cars (according to some parts catalogues that I have)... my trouble with the brakes is that one wheel cylinder is leaking and has saturated the brake shoes to the point that they are very!! soft... and this is causing one rear wheel to drag or vibrate violently!....

any help would be appreciated!!!
(will try to post a picture of the axle)

[So Cal Mark]

you could have a 131 rear axle, they had drum brakes

[perthling]

Replacing the original 124 diff with a 131 diff was/is a relatively common modification for 124 coupes due to the perceived greater strength of the 131 rear end. I had a 124 coupe (CC) with a 131 rear end, but it ran discs all round. I'm sure there are plenty of 124 axles around still (there certainly are where I am!) so why not reinstall the original type diff?

[Mark_vaughn]

Anyone know of a limited slip conversion for the original dif?

[So Cal Mark]

some years ago there was discussion of a lsd unit for the Fiat. I'm sure it's archived somewhere, not even sure which forum it was on. You might try sending a private message to e prod racer, I believe he's got one in his SCCA racer

[E Prod Racer]

Mark and ALL,
The racer has a welded diff, and will stay that way. I tried an LSD "insert" device about 6 or 7 seasons ago, but it upset the handling vs the welded diff, and lost effectiveness about 1/2 way through the only race I tried to use the device. All in all a scary race experience. I went back to the welded diff the next race.

Don't use a welded diff for the street. It is very hard on the axle bearings, and limits close quarter maneuvering - you'll hate it. I still have ONE of these insert units, that I might use (test) on the Stradale replica.

Outside of Collotti (read, expensive), there is no easy LSD solution for the Spider. I read somewhere that there was an LSD offered for the LADA at one time, and it would fit. Any Canadians, or FIATistis from other than the NA market know anything about this?

[So Cal Mark]

good info Bill, I do recall it was a Lada unit that was discussed

[btexpress]

Who ever had the car before probably tried to bleed the rear brakes which perceptated the changing of the rear axle !

[lanciahf]

LOL

Who ever had the car before probably tried to bleed the rear brakes which perceptated the changing of the rear axle !