78 with 79 engine. Cant close hood

[pantera928]

I have a 1978 spider with a 1979 engine. The car also has a hood from a 1982 spider. I have installed the crossmember to lower the engine as the 2.0 is taller than the 1.8 but I still cannot close the hood without interference with the throttle linkage and the distributor cap.
If I turn the distributor 180 degrees so the wires come out of the bottom of the cap, there is not interference but that still does not solve the problem with the throttle linkage.
Was there a different mounting bracket for the linkage?
Is there a lower distributor than the one on my 79 engine?
Is the hood insulation maybe the problem with a hood from a 1982 injected car?

Any and all ideas for a solution are appreciated.

[Yadkin]

I'm not sure about the throttle linkage but you could always upgrade to a distributorless ignition and gain a lot of clearance that way.

https://allisonsautomotive.com/products ... 24_and_131

[grrrdot]

Did you use 1800 engine mounts? ( the metal part that bolts to the block ) Not sure if its your issue but I've experienced that the Fiat motor mounts are different across the different engines. They can move the engine fwd back and up / down.

Alternately, if you only need a little room I *think* the Volvo mounts that fit are slightly shorter. Or you can just drill new holes in your existing mount to move the engine down. Need to watch the pan to cross member clearance and if your alternator is on the passenger side that it does not foul the lower radiator hose when doing this.

-G

[pantera928]

Not sure which engine mounts I used. Guess I can check.
The electronic ignition option look very nice but the price is $575. Wow!

Thanks for the responses so far.

[piperstan10]

Distributor can be mounted to run from auxiliary shaft to left of the mechanical fuel pump - should see a circular cap held in place with a fork clamp. The auxiliary shaft has a spiral gear that matches distributor gear which was used on the 124 sedan I think.

If you have a 1979 carburetor engine, redline Webber has alternative linkages and cables. Otherwise you might visit a Harley motorcycle garage they often do linkages.

Stan

[pantera928]

Ladies and Gents
I appreciate the feedback but I keep thinking that there has to be something missing here.
A swap of a 2000cc engine into a 1800cc car is not something new. Other than the different cross member and the humpier hood(both od which I have installed), there has to be something else that is causing this issue.
Have any of you done this swap?
My motor mounts are 50mm thick and I have seen a sight that advertises 47mm mounts but do not think that will be enough to solve this issue.
These are basically the same cars just with 2 different engines.
I swapped the engine and tranny as one unit with all of the peripherals. In my mind this should be a non event.

Thanks and forgive the rant. This is just getting aggravating.

[Ragno124]

Fiat issued a Technical Service Bulletin in 1979 regarding the orientation of the distributor causing interference with the hood. Review this and see if this may be your problem.

https://i.imgur.com/yC51zJo.png

[zachmac]

I have a 78 with a 79 2 liter in it sitting in the garage. Hood closes fine.

[pantera928]

Zachmac
Did you install that engine?
Can I take a look at it? I get your way a lot with my work.

[pantera928]

Ragno124
Thanks for that bulletin. I was thinking about doing that. I had the distributor set up with the wires coming out of the bottom but never liked it that way. Facing forward looks better if it clears the hood.

[zachmac]

Zachmac
Did you install that engine?
Can I take a look at it? I get your way a lot with my work.

Sure, just let me have some notice. Text me on my cell, (803) 624-3796. If you want pictures give me a cell to text to and I'll do it. BTW, should be a few engine bay pics in my old posts. Here is a post with engine bay pics.http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic ... 10&t=36168

[herman]

I have a 74 drop in a 2 liter fuel injection at the time I couldn't understand why I had a problem closing the hood ,drove car for two years didn't have a performance problem until one day it came to a sudden stop .Tow it home and couldn't believe my eyes the distributor came loose the pins inside the cap there bent the router hardy had a tip at the end to make contact It began to puzzled me why the distributor came loose not been able to see the engine when I close the hood I place my cell phone on video used a trouble light position it beside the distributor close the hood.The hood push down on the distributor about a inch to a inch and a half I kept moving the phone to see different views, and every time there was movement with the distributor. I place a piece of foam and close the hood and noticed the imprint of the distributor I ended up carefully cutting a section out of inside of the hood there its doubled up now the distributor fit perfect and no more movement HAPPY CRUISING

[DustyDave]

To zachmac,
I have a ‘78 spider in process of restoration, not yet running. It has a 1.8l engine. I have an opportunity to buy a 2.0l engine from an ‘82 cheap. You mention above that you have done this swap before... I would like to know based on your experience what the complications are... sounds like distributor height, need for 2.0l engine cradle and hood with engine. Are there others? Trying to decide how feasible and complicated to do this swap for more power? I would prefer to keep it carbureted and just swap the block with 1.8l head and top end. Thoughts? P.S. I’m in Greenville, not too far from Aiken

[scrapironchef]

Is there a spacer under the carb?

[chrisg]

Unless I've missed something, I didn't see what sort of carburetor linkage you have? I've put 2L engines in earlier cars w/o any special motor mounts & using the earlier type crossmember. The spacing for #4 spark plug is annoying close to the firewall & in general you have to be mindful of how you orient the distributor, but otherwise I did not have clearance issues. The throttle linkage has a million alternatives to give you clearance if that's an issue. The carb itself and/or air cleaner is so simple to figure out it's not worth talking about. The distributor takes some careful observation & trail error, but it's not bad either (and a 123 distributor which is shorter, a block mounted distributor of all sorts of varieties, or a DIY setup triggered by whatever are also options).

2L in an earlier car is a pretty common thing. It used to be that there were simply more 2Ls laying around, many with a body rusting away from a perfectly good drivetrain. So, the common thought was to re-do the 1.8 head & use it with a 2L block to get a slight CR increase & not be in the market to purchase pistons, etc. etc. I guess. Things are different these days in terms of prices/cars available/products, so I'm not sure I wouldn't just opt to build a nice higher CR 1608 or 1756 vs the 2L, but I have some spare 2Ls hanging around for the same purpose, because I guess I'm sentimental.