Can we talk 124 Coupe?

[RoyBatty]

I was lucky enough to get a running 124 coupe from Mark Allison and have a few questions.
Is the alternator supposed to be on the left side of this 1600 ? as compared to my1800 in the spider which has the alternator low on the right side.
Also there's a pushbutton to the left of the steering wheel in the cluster with the key warning lamp. What does this switch do?

[BEEK]

its all bad, you need to send me that coupe immediately....

[Zippy]

No, no, send it to me. Sorry I can't help. The alternator on my 78 1800 is on the left.

[Curly]

All Aussie coupes - AC, BC and CC have the alternators on the left. What model coupe are we talking here?

[spiderrey]

72

[RoyBatty]

Nope it's a 71 BC Coupe.
Also there looks to be an air conditioning system installed up under the passenger side dash.
I noticed the factory heater core is disconnected and that there are two metal pipes sticking out of the firewall just to the right and below the factory heater core pipes.
By the way, this engine is running fantastic for a car that was parked as long as it was.
I had to free up the manual choke and hand throttle cables to be able to setup a cold running warmup throttle setting. I will soon be replacing all the rubber on the engine as well as the water pump and thermostat.
Need to go thru the brake system and inspect the suspension. But I have carefully driven around the neighborhood and the engine/transmission/rear axle all seem to be nice and quiet!

[mscafide]

Aftermarket air was installed on many cars and I remember a kit with brackets that moved things around and that is probably the case here.

[vandor]

The alternator used to be on the right side, they might have moved it because of an AC installation.

The button may be for the rear defroster, if it has one.

[Exit98]

Roy,

I'm guessing its the Dorothy Clendenin coupe.

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... ilit=Coupe

There weren't many women auto journalists back then. She was a delight and wrote about her coupe often. Road & Track was the sports car bible in those days. The class of the field. Long before the internet and Formula 1 on TV that's where we got our fix for European cars and racing.

Be sure to get copies of her articles. It will be fun to have.

Good luck with it.

[sptcoupe]

Funny - I tried to buy that coupe from Dorothy right after it appeared in the article in R&T where they used it as an example of what to do to keep an older car on the road - paint, etc. This was the day way before internet, so we had a years-long dialog with letters and phone calls. Around 1984 we were living in SoCal (San Diego) and I went up to see the coupe. They couldn't get it running for me to drive it, but I was ready to buy it anyway. I actually drove our coupe on that day, and Dorothy took it out for a spin. Bad tactic - after she drove ours for a bit she remembered just how great these cars are and politely declined my offer! I gave up on it a few years later as I was stationed overseas a lot over the next ten years or so.

My plan was to restore it to dead stock specs, as my coupes have all had highly modified engines/suspensions, etc, and I wanted one that was just the way the first coupe we ever owned (in 1972) was when it came off the factory floor. And that car - then - was absolutely the way it came off the show room.

Keep us posted on your progress!

[So Cal Mark]

that was Dorothys' car and it did have ac on it. She told me the ac compressor had fallen off from vibration and the dealer removed the system

[RoyBatty]

Well that leaves me with another decision to make.
Do I restore the AC to operation with a condensor and compressor? Or do I remove the system that is under the dash and try to locate the stock interior pieces for the center instrument panel and where I think a glove box might have been?
This little 1600 starts like it was brand new and seems to be tight and runs clean. I was able to buy thru ebay another vent window for the drivers door.
It's a pity, the individual that Mark sold the car to before me, stripped parts off the car that seem to have disappeared.
Why in HELL would ANYONE remove the hood prop rod assembly???!!?
I am not complaining about Mark at all, he was kind enough to let me acquire this coupe for a very fair deal and even met us on a Saturday at his shop. Thanks again Mark!
I have found a repair panel for the rust damage on the right rear behind the tire and all the other corrosion damage I can fix with formed flat pieces of steel and the requisite body work.
I too plan to put this coupe back on the road in almost stock form. I think the sound of twin IDF's under the hood would be a plus.
Does anyone have an owners manual or good pics of what I should be looking for to restore the factory parts to the dash and panel should I remove the A/C ?
Thanks, and I will keep you all posted.
P.S.
Hey Mark, did you ever get copies of the articles from Road and Track?
If so, may I bother you for copies?

[vandor]

RE: A/C Do you AC in the car or not? That should guide the decision IMO.

[Redline]

Why in HELL would ANYONE remove the hood prop rod assembly???!!?

For that at least it's pretty easy to remedy. I bent my own up out of stainless-steel rod and it looks great. I gave it a slight twist so the spring rate is perfect. I'm all thumbs but it worked out well. If you like, I probably have the sheet with all the dimensions and angles.

[RoyBatty]

Hi red,
Pictures and diameter of the stock you used would suffice.
I'm a bit of a fabricator where needed and can work from the image you posted plus others I have seen of the stock install.
Thanks!