75 Restoration

[NDTrav]

Where to begin?!

I bought the 1975 Fiat 124 Spider 1800 from a guy on more-or-less a whim in August of 2014. After finding the car and doing a bit of research I found the spider even more desirable. When I went to look at it, it seemed that the PO rattle canned the body, certainly rattled the engine without masking anything off, leading to over spray on just about everything. There was oil leaking badly from the head. The carpet was torn an not secured anywhere. There were wires hanging down everywhere, rust in wheel wells, firing on 3 cylinders, it was in rough condition.

I talked him down a bit on the $(still more then I should had paid), bought it, bought new plugs and wires, and took off down the road. I got it to my folks' house so the old man and my ma could take a spin, they are great people who have never had much for luxuries. That was fun for us!

The main goal of this car is to fix it up and have it be a daily driver in the summers but also to be able to drive off with my soon to be wife from our wedding that is coming up in two months. This gave me the winter to get the car in good order.

I realized quickly that I had more work to do then I first thought. So I stepped up the pace a bit.

I patched up the floors and kick panel. Fab'd new D&P seat mounts
Took 3 layers of different paint and primer off and primed, painted, and cleared
Replaced old heat and sound resin with new
mostly all new rubber seals and gaskets for the whole vehicle
Rebuilt the motor ( had Hedahls in Aberdeen S.D do it, running out of time!!)
- Cleaned, inspected, bored, and used an Engine rebuild kit from Vic's
I have replaced the wiring with a painless performance kit.. most of the components still need to be connected
I have to connect the new clutch and trans then instal.
I have a new alt, starter, coil, wires, plugs, cam pulleys, belts, brake lines, radiator, hoses,

I am having some difficulty with putting the pulleys back on. The crank is not seating all the way because of the aux pulley. I have not yet figured it out but once I do I'll be able to get the engine timed(hopefully, certainly with help from FS!) and then installed.

I'lll post pics Soon with the various stages of progression
ANY ADVICE IS SO DEARLY WELCOMED

[azruss]

Wow, you've done a ton already. I do not understand the crank/aux shaft pulley thing. There is no interference between the two. The crank pulley is half the size of the aux pulley. The aux pulley and cam pulley are the same size. Do not get the 2 cam pulleys mixed up. The timing index marks are different on each.

[NDTrav]

First, I should specify that I am EXTREMELY new to restoration of vehicles. So I know that what I have done is not worthy of comparison to what I've seen on this forum. It's humbling to see all of the great work being done and to get some in-sight from all of the knowledgeable people here!! Seriously great stuff.

Second, thank you for the reply. The timing belt fits fine with all pulleys on. But there is the pulley on the end on the crank shaft, sitting in front of the crank timing belt gear that I believe ( I don't have my books with me ) goes to the water pump and alternator. That pulley that sits on the end of the crank doesn't seat all the way because it hits the Aux pulley.

When the motor came back they didn't time the valves, gap the tappets, or put on the pulleys.. I'm wondering if they didn't do something else or if I'm doing something wrong here.

Forgive any incorrect terminology : )

[NDTrav]

postscript -The cam pulleys are labeled and installed correctly. Thanks again

[seabeelt]

Do a search on how to post pictures, helps the rest of us visualize your issues. Sounds like a great project

Also sounds like the crank pully is not all the way on, or you are trying to install the fan pully backward. Pully, if I remember correctly should cup outward with retaining nut in the cup.

[NDTrav]

[img][IMG]http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q680/travisaamodt/Mobile%20Uploads/824a0c4d-6fcc-4d96-8134-ad3ada5ed637_zpshrpeippd.jpg[/img][/img]

[NDTrav]

[NDTrav]

This is driver side looking onto the Aux pulley. You can see that the water pump pulley barely clears

[NDTrav]

This angle is to highlight how close the crank shaft pulley is to the Aux shaft. I haven't quite figured out why yet, but I haven't gotten my nose too dirty with it. That's my task for tonight after work.

Here are a few others to get an idea of where the FIAT is at.



Notice the hole?! A good section of that firewall was cancerous. It was filled with silicone caulk and styrofoam from a cooler.

[Kevin1]

Could the aux shaft pulley shown installed be the wrong pulley? The only ones I have seen with two rows of teeth were for the exhaust cam gear with an emission control air pump on the car.

[aj81spider]

I think Kevin might be on to something. Here's a picture of mine. Hope it helps.

[DieselSpider]

Before you go too far I would revisit the Styrofoam repair to the firewall and have sheet metal welded there while its all open and exposed. To me that is a semi structural area there supporting the foot well and potentially the tie in to the sill box frames so you would want that taken proper care of.

[NDTrav]

You folks rock! After a 15hour work day it is hard to get motivated for the garage, but with your information I headed there right away. Kevin you were right. I tried a different pulley and it works well. That double must be the exhaust cam pulley. Next time I'm labeling everything! A lot of good lessons learned.. the hard way. AJ81spider, thank you for the posting a picture. It really helps! DieselSpider, that you for the information and advice. I have done most of the metal work. There are two areas that will be addressed. Those are, one wheel well has a rust hole through it the size of a quarter and under the license plate there is some surface rust that I didn't pay as much attention to as I should had. I would really like to get this car up and running. After some time I'll tear it down again and get it close to perfect. I like the practice!

Here is the intake pulley that I am not using


Here is the auxiliary pulley that I used


Here is the complete set up


So, since I'm putting the cams back on, it took three attempts to line everything up, still not perfect so I'm going back tonight. The shop is 30miles from where I live. But I have the pullet on, I figured out the tensioner, I can fit the belt, but its just off a bit. I'll get it lined up correctly and then check the shims.

One concern, the belt slips. Does a guy have to turn the engine by the crank? I am going to try that tonight, I didn't have a large enough socket, it was at home. If one doesn't, then I'm guessing I need a new tensioner. It sounds like the bearing is rough anyways. Again THANK YOU EVERYONE, I hope these posts aren't getting too long