1978 Fiat 124 spider axle shaft replacement

[ZacktheCanuck]

Hey Im new to the forum but I was hoping I might be able to find a little help here. Im 19 and have been restoring a 1978 124 for the last few years. It was for sale In my area (ottawa) by a guy who had no intrust In a classic, he just wanted a simple cruiser and this car need a decent amount of work so after listing the car for a while he was close to giving up trying to sell it and was getting ready to scrap it. I didn't have the heart to let it get crushed so I took on the project and low and behold a few years later ( and most of my pay cheques) the cars almost done. All thats left was to get it safetied and during the inspection my mechanic found that most of the thread on two of the holes on the flange of the drivers side axle shaft for the wheel are mostly stripped. So there was enough thread to hold on the wheel but not to torque the bolts. So long story short I'm in very desperate need of a rear axle shaft for a '78 with the 132 A1 040 engine code. Any and all help and advise would be more than welcome.

[RRoller123]

Welcome aboard! You will find plenty of knowledgeable and friendly people here. Try posting in the "Parts Wanted" section. Member "Spiderparts" here on the forum may be able to help.

Post some pictures! They help a great deal when trying to help diagnose problems, inquiries, etc that you may have.

Here is a thread on how to post pictures directly to the forum:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic ... 13&t=32169

And here is another picture-posting thread:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic ... 12&t=23084

This short instruction covers how to resize pictures so that they don’t get cut off at the right side:

http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30441

[Note: In the past few months, there have been numerous complaints regarding the performance of Photobucket.]

And here is a link to a map of Spider owner’s locations. Many forum members have listed their locations.

https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=191825


Pete

[ZacktheCanuck]

thanks so much! Still figuring out the forum,I really appreciate the advise

[DRUMMOND]

Have you talked to a machine shop to see if they could weld and re tap the flange?

[ZacktheCanuck]

Yea I called a few shops in the area and theres no stud thats bigger but not too big. The next step would be a truck stud. So
I guess the moral of the story is make sure no one messes with your axle. But ill see if its possible to weld the hole to add metal to tap. thanks for the advise.

[aj81spider]

There are a couple of axles on ebay. You could also check with Matthews (lots of used Fiat parts) and Fun Imported in Connecticut.

[kilrwail]

I suggest you phone Dan at Anything Fiat in Carlsbad Springs - 613-822-6207. He might have something.

[ZacktheCanuck]

thanks for the lead! I called Dan but the number was inactive

[spiderdan]

Hi Zack
Call "Canadan" at 613-852-3344. He's still in Carlsbad Springs.
Suggest you call him tomorrow morning.
Good luck and if you get a chance join our club (it's free)

ICCO Pub Nite
July 4. 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Come One, Come All. Let's make Pub Nights happen again! Bring your Italian wheels to Pub Italia at 434 Preston Street for a get together with old and new friends.
http://www.italiancarclubottawa.ca/ICCOindex.shtml

[spiderdan]

Well Zack got to met Canadan today.
Phaetn, 4uall and I joined in to eat a few sausages have a few pints and pops (no Zack is too young)
And Mrs Canadan even supplied desert.
The pics said it all....until photobucket got greedy!

[AriK]

Hey Zack, well you got yourself into the right connections to solve any problem you run into. Nice car you got there, you rescued another one from the crusher. Go figure, what bad judgement folks have when it comes to scrapping cars. Hope to see it one day when you cross my path;-)

[phaetn]

Awesome to see it happen.

Zack got the advice he needed with parts galore, plus learned how to do a bunch of stuff on his own. (He has a lot of know how already!) Biggest issues were addressing a seized LR caliper, bleeding brakes (master cylinder was full of air after sitting for so many years), lubing sliders, new points on the distributor and adjusting timing, messing with the carb and -- of course -- tapping the wheel bolt receiving threads so no new axle shaft was required. Oh yeah, and a quick fix to ground the side marker lights that also was also hanging up the safety certification.

So it went from when I showed up as a "needs a trailer Spider" that was running really rough to what now seems like a solid runner. I expect to see it on the road with plates in a day or two.

Welcome to the addiction, Zack!! Now you'll have sleepless nights thinking about the next thing to tinker on in the car. Next up: fan relay/temp switch. I'm glad you saved this car from the wrecker because it's a keeper.

Canadadan - you are one super good egg to help him out!

4uall, your expertise in fuel related matters (i.e. this car needs some) was priceless! It's amazing how much better Spiders run when they're not fuel-starved. Spiderdan, thanks for the great food and laughs! BTW, I think my nose was already broken before you slid me into the dash under braking on the fuel run.

Cheers,
phaetn

[spiderdan]

BTW, I think my nose was already broken before you slid me into the dash

I guess going from a 4 point harness to a simple lap belt is a difficult transition...
Lucky the airbags didn't go off!
Didn't you say you wanted to visit Bangladash?

Glad we could help Zack.
Kudos for keeping another Spider alive and out of the scrap yard.
But remember Zack, your new addiction including your new (addict) friends...
it's all phaetns' fault!

[spider2081]

great looking car. Enjoy and drive it all you can.

[kilrwail]

Glad to hear that worked out so well! Congratulations and welcome!