FIAT Resurrection in Arkansas

[HappyHog]

Hello everyone! About 2 yrs ago I took possession of THE car I had in high school in the 1980's. It is a 1974 Fiat Spider. The car has been in my mom and dad's garage since the mid 90's and has not ran at all for over 20 years.

I finally went and got it out of mom's way when dad passed away about 2 years ago and have been doing a little work to it since then. I have it running - but not good. I have to thank you all, as I have learned a lot on this forum as a guest over the last 2 years (much of it re-learned from when I was in high school), and have finally gotten around to register as a member. Hoping to get it running good enough to take for some top-down cruises this spring/summer.

Looking forward to participating in the FIAT talk!

HappyHog

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Welcome, HappyHog! First things, if you haven't done them already: drain the fuel in the tank and put in new gas, change the timing belt, change the oil and filter. I'd replace the tires even if they still have tread.

-Bryan

[HappyHog]

Thanks 18!
Here' a list of what I have done so far (took me 2 years with my schedule, budget, and slow wrench turning)

Replaced battery and starter
Engine checks - compression, valve clearance, change oil, timing, etc
Remove/clean fuel tank and lines. New filter, new elect fuel pump, rebuilt carb (I will be posting in tech section about this)
Rebuilt dash face (old lamented wood was disentegrating and dash was warped)
Rebuilt brakes - all new new rubber lines, new calipers (pistons were all pitted), new m/c, new roters/pads)
Replaced points distributer with electronic ign distributer/control module, new coil, plugs, wires
New timing belt and accessory belt
New pinion and axle seals in rear end
...and other odds and ins

After all this, I have it running - rich enough to make your eyes water and blacken plugs at idle - very unhappy at higher RPMs (more on this in upcoming tech post)

I will get around to tires when I get it running better and get it ready for longer trips at highway speeds. For now, I am using old tires to do my test runs around the neighborhood. They actually don't look bad for 30yr old tires - no significant cracks and tread is good - but will be replacing them before getting it too far away from the house or spirited driving.

Happy

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Sounds good, H-Hog. Sounds also like it's running rich, so when you say "rebuilt carburetor" what did that involve? 1974 was the first year of the 1.8L engine, and I believe it was the only year with the 34DMSA carb, which is a pretty good one. Is that what you have?

Is the fuel pump pressure too high and overriding the float valve? Those needle valves like to see a pump pressure of 3 or 4 psi, maybe 5, but not much more than that.

-Bryan

[rdv]

Hi HappyHog,
first of all welcome! It's always interesting to get some pics of new members cars. So it would be great if you show us your car with this interesting family history.

Can we get the VIN of your car for the worldwide Spider Register? Arkansas actually counts 50 cars including 2 other 74 Spider, see here:
https://www.fiatspider.de/register?Fahr ... e=Arkansas

Good luck with your project!

Cheers Ralf

[HappyHog]

18 - Yes it is the 34 DMSA - I disassembled it, cleaned it of 20-plus year old fuel and varnish best I could, and put back together with a rebuild kit (gaskets, needle/seat, accelerator diaphram, etc.) before I tried to start it for the first time. I don't think its a fuel pressure issue. Did it before I replaced the fuel pump - the electric fuel pump that was still on it was loud, but worked. It now sports a new round facet pump - purchased from reputable FIAT supplier and was rated for carbed models. Wasn't much quieter, but that's one less thing I have to be concerned with.

I took the carb off again this weekend. I did find that I had the primary and secondary idle jets swapped. Should be 50/60 and evidently I had them swapped at 60/50. Would this be enough to make it run happy but rich at idle/low rpm and then very unhappy - bucking and snorting flame through carb when revved like it's lean or something?

I will post more about my issues eventually in the engine section after I finish going through the carb again and re-check for vaccuum leaks.

Ralf - I will post a few pics when I get around to it.

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

[TX82FIAT]

I'm not an expert with carbs. But, I would think the idle adjustment to get the car to run on the secondary rather than the primary would dump fuel into the carb. I think that might be the issue assuming vacuum lines are installed correct. Thanks, Ray

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I did find that I had the primary and secondary idle jets swapped. Should be 50/60 and evidently I had them swapped at 60/50. Would this be enough to make it run happy but rich at idle/low rpm and then very unhappy - bucking and snorting flame through carb when revved like it's lean or something?

Yes, generally the primary idle jet is smaller than the secondary one. The primary idle jet is for idling, while the secondary "idle" jet isn't really for idle but rather to smooth the transition when the secondary barrel opens. The sudden inrush of air when the secondary starts to open can cause a stumble, and the secondary idle jet smooths out that transition.

Backfiring (of sorts) through the carb can also be an ignition timing issue, so I'd check the ignition timing. Should be 5 to 10 degrees Before Top Dead Center (BTDC) at idle, increasing to a maximum of around 35 degrees BTDC somewhere around 3500 rpm. There are no timing marks for 35 BTDC so you either have to visually estimate it as best you can or use one of those "dial back" timing lights.

Incorrect cam timing can also cause backfiring through the carb, but unless you have played around with the timing belt, this is unlikely to be the issue.

A vacuum leak can also cause issues, although this doesn't usually cause the engine to run rich at idle.

-Bryan

[HappyHog]

Thanks all for your replies....please head over to engine and tuning section to help in my quest to get this pretty old thing on the road this summer!

I will post a link to pictures when I get some help with that.

Happy

[rdv]

I will post a link to pictures when I get some help with that.

Hi again,
this if from the FAQ section:

Can I post images?
Yes, images can be shown in your posts. If the administrator has allowed attachments, you may be able to upload the image to the board. Otherwise, you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.example.com/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor images stored behind authentication mechanisms, e.g. hotmail or yahoo mailboxes, password protected sites, etc. To display the image use the BBCode [img] tag.

Cheers

[SpiderGuy]

follow this thread "how to post pictures" click on the link below

http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic ... 12&t=40524

[HappyHog]

Thanks to spiderguy - I did indeed get it posted. Like most things in life, she looks a little better in pics than in person, but not bad for what it is.

https://imgur.com/a/hSzRjSd

Happy

[HappyHog]

Note - the paint was laid down in 1986ish by a friend of my dad, I think he did it for a case of beer - after I spent my junior year of HS doing body work. It looked like a Calico cat back then running around town with 4 colors of primer! Ahh, the memories!

I have test driven it enough now to know I need new tires - it rides like I have worn out buckshot mudders on it!

Tires and resolving the carb issue (or whatever I have going on to result in not-so-smooth running), and some wiring clean-up and I think I am ready for cruising now that I am street legal with my official antique tag issued from the Natural State of Arkansas!

Happy

[fastfiat1981]

Hey Happy-

Fellow Arkansas guy here. There are a couple of us in the state and we try to make a go of it as a group.

Where are you located?

Tony

[HappyHog]

Hello Tony (Tony...how appropriate )

Sorry it took me so long to see this. I don't have as much time to get on here as I would like.

I live in Pope County near Russellville, but I work in Conway. Since I got the thing running I have actually driven it to work once....but now the old 50-yr old radiator has sprung a leak, so it is in the garage for a while until I can get around to ordering a new one.

PM me. I'd love to see your 81' sometime! Who knows, maybe I can get my 74' healthy enough again this summer to give the 100 mile round trip to work another try!

Happy