October 2012 I bought a '79 Spider 2000, cream colored, automatic. It had known issues, and I knew it would have unknown issues (it IS a Fiat), but the price was right and I got to pay it out over a few months. I have a daughter who never learned to shift but loves the cars, so the idea was to get this and fix it up for her.
Fast forward 1-1/2 years (unbelievable). So far the only issues that have been addressed were a completely shot steering gear box (replaced with used '82 unit last September) and two tires that were showing through to the cords (replace August last year). I did mount it on jackstands and power wash everything I could reach last year so things are a bit cleaner, especially when I have to crawl under it.
The biggest issue, after the 5 inches of play in the steering wheel, is that the car runs poorly. Previous owner, a mechanic no less, said they had rebuilt the carb but could never get a balance between idling well and running smoothly. Long story short, I am going to replace the original ADHA carb and dual plane intake manifold with a set-up from a '78. My understanding, from both Brad's excellent documentation on carbs and chatting with the fellows on Mirafiori, is that this will give me a bit of boost in horsepower, eliminate almost all emissions control crap, and make my life simpler.
Here is the setup as bought:
So, my whole point to all that is that I intend to document this adventure (first time to do anything this complicated for me) and help others avoid all the mistakes I am sure to make. And in the beginning, just to ask questions about things I don't know about. I know I could research and find my own answers, but you guys are so knowledgeable and helpful and I know that the few seconds it will take for you to enlighten me will save me hours of searching for answers. Forums ROCK!
First, I want to learn a couple of things:
1. At the front of the carb is this big actuator. Under it is a hose that runs to a little device on the sidewall. There is what appears to be a vacuum connection going nowhere. I suspect this may have been to the charcoal cannister, which is long since gone. If so, then my question becomes whether I can use this with the '78 intake/carb setup and use an old cannister (I have parts cars)?
And then there was this funky little manifold thingy at the back of the intake manifold:
At first I thought it was a vacuum distribution method, but I'm pretty sure there are water lines running to it. Someone want to enlighten me? Just curious, because it is now in the floor and won't be needed with the '78 setup as I understand things at this point.
Several connections on the carb weren't connected to anything. When I pulled the carb today I was surprised to see this:
It appears the previous owner deliberately took the middle out of the gasket. I could go ask him, but I'm not sure I want to know his version of why? Any theories?
Well, thanks in advance. Hopefully this will go better than trying to get my '69 to run again after 15 years idle.
