Marelli S144C Distributor in High Compression 1608

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Good on you, Geo! Many years ago, I tried to extract maximum performance out of my spider, but not having much money, I had to settle for relatively simple stuff like different carbs and jetting (which did help). Nowadays, I'm just happy my 51 and 49 year old cars are still on the road, and I think the styling of the spiders is just as attractive nowadays as it was when they were introduced.

-Bryan

[ScoopMan]

Appreciate the responses guys. This has been a long, stop and start project that I want to bring to running fruition as the weather gets nice around here in CT. I finally finished welding in my new frame rail this past fall after acquiring her about 4 years ago, and I BADLY want to get this old girl back on the road and singing to me sweetly in Italian. I bought my other Spider, a beat up '79 about 10 years ago, as the woman I was courting liked old roadsters, and the Fiats were the coolest and cheapest I could find. That was an adventure, and one night about an hour from home with a failing alternator, I got on my knee in the middle of the road and proposed. As her answer was 'yes', it goes without saying that Spider was a special car, even if it was a beater. The '79 gave me the bug, after which I learned more about these cars, and decided I wanted an earlier version with the skinny bumpers and the smooth hood. So I found the 71 I am now working on.

I was not originally planning on a full rebuild, just was going to have the head reworked and put on a bigger carb with the flat plane manifold. After I got her home, THEN I found the evil rust. So I yanked the engine out and removed the front suspension about 3 years ago. Then I figured, might as well go all in and rebuild the engine. I never liked how the 1995 in my '79 ran out of breath at 6k, so I decided to address that shortcoming in my 1608 with Euro pistons. I still have a long way to go, but trying to anticipate issues down the road, so to speak.

I like analog machinery. We have a 1963 Volvo PV544 that we blast around in, all 90 hp in its twin SU carb B18 glory, and boy that is fun, especially with a stiff sway bar and decent tires. I just have had enough project lag with my Spider, and badly want to hear what she has to say when she is finally awoken from her long slumber. Just want to make sure she lasts!

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Scoop, I'll be interested to hear your progress, and we're all cheering for you! My '69 Fiat has lived about 90% as long as I have (it was my dad's originally), and there are many stories of girlfriends, snowstorms, minor crashes, and now my wife (not all of these stories are related). It has as many stories to tell as I do. Maybe more....

-Bryan

[ScoopMan]

I will be sure to do so Bryan, thanks for the moral support! Just waiting for a warm enough weekend here to go out to the unheated garage and complete my engine disassembly. Couldn't get the pistons out last time I tried a few years ago, so see if I can figure out how to use a ridge reamer, courtesy of the Zone.
I may continue obsessing over distributors as well. Somebody stop me!

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Just waiting for a warm enough weekend here to go out to the unheated garage and complete my engine disassembly.

You have my sympathy. The first engine rebuild on my '69 spider was done in an open carport in January in Virginia, and my biggest challenge was trying to put the head back on while brushing out the accumulating swirling snow in the block. And of course, I'll never forget dropping a transmission in a 124 sport coupe in a farmer's field with snakes slithering around. One even slithered out of a frame rail as I was finishing. Simple garter snakes, thank goodness...

Many more stories just like this, and so you can understand my attachment to my cars.

-Bryan

[ScoopMan]

the questions about how fast they go indicate the inquirer does not understand what makes these cars wonderful.

Don't judge me, man.

[ScoopMan]

Just waiting for a warm enough weekend here to go out to the unheated garage and complete my engine disassembly.

You have my sympathy. The first engine rebuild on my '69 spider was done in an open carport in January in Virginia, and my biggest challenge was trying to put the head back on while brushing out the accumulating swirling snow in the block. And of course, I'll never forget dropping a transmission in a 124 sport coupe in a farmer's field with snakes slithering around. One even slithered out of a frame rail as I was finishing. Simple garter snakes, thank goodness...

Many more stories just like this, and so you can understand my attachment to my cars.

-Bryan

No snakes with me, but lots of mice. Jumping out of the glovebox, crapping and peeing massively in places inaccessible by humans. Those little voids in the trunk that are 95% closed off by stiffeners are just too inviting for our little rodent friends. Never could make that smell go away completely, even with multiple open boxes of baking soda left in there for months.
My worst non-planned Spider repair event was the collapse of my front suspension in my mother's driveway. One of the lower control arms tore itself in two because of a frozen ball joint. Just thankful it did not happen at 75 mph on I-95. That is when the mice moved in. When the weather got nice again I replaced both LCA's and upper ball joints and it was right as rain. Very thankful it was a roadster, as open air motoring was pretty much all I could stand after evicting those critters!

[18Fiatsandcounting]

You likely know this, but one source of bad smells are those sound-deadening/thermal pads under the carpets. After decades, they get nasty. Nasty with a capital "N". So, if you haven't already, I would tear out all that stuff from the interior, clean the exposed seat pans and footwells, and replace those sound/thermal pads. Toss in a new carpet set while you're at it.

-Bryan
PS: Bummer about the front suspension...

[ScoopMan]

You are right Bryan, when I had to weld near the firewall I pulled the rug back and found that old padding, pretty much rotten. Yanked that junk out. Maybe put Dynamat down or something similar. When I get to it...

Yes, that was a drag about my front suspension, but sure happy it gave way where it did, at low speed. I was one pothole away from a possible meeting with Ken Miles.

[tima01864]

This thread seems to be the place to ask How do you set Mechanical Advance at 3000rpm's to 36 degrees?

[18Fiatsandcounting]

This thread seems to be the place to ask How do you set Mechanical Advance at 3000rpm's to 36 degrees?

I have one of those ignition timing lights that you can "retard" the flash with a knob on the back. So, I set the knob to 36, rev the engine to 3000 or so, turn the distributor until the flashes are at 0 degrees, and I'm done. One big caveat: I have no idea how accurate this knob on the back of my timing light is...

Another way is to just estimate from the engine timing marks. You would time the engine at the 10 degree mark plus a little over 2.5 times the distance from the 0 to the 10 degree mark. Not super accurate, but I've never felt timing needs to be that spot-on, unless you have a high performance engine or race the car or the like. Besides, most of the time I set the timing to where the engine seems to perform best at 3000 rpm without pinging, and I don't pay a lot of attention to where that places the timing at idle.

-Bryan

[tima01864]

I should start a new thread. Bt that is how I am thiinking. Utilize the timing marks, 0-10 with a compass mark the crank wheel 3.5 times and mark it. I would then need a hand held tachometer.
I have a 2L recently built unbroken in high performance engine, Hi Compression pistons, Ported head large valves professionally built,
It performs, I am happy with it. But I cant push it past 4500rpm maybe I havent tried enough? So I asked the builder,He asked 1. Are the timing marks aligned? Yes I have adjustable cams and believe I payed attention to that. 2. Are you at 10 degrees at idle and 36 degrees mechanical advance? This I need to check. I may put the original distributor back in since i replaced it a few years ago with an off the shelf from a vendor.
Or everything is just fine, leave it