1974 Spider Loses Power When I give it gas

[kirkpatrick29]

I'm new to Fiats and bought a 1974 a few weeks ago. It drove fine until last night. I had trouble starting it (it was a low battery). I gave it several pumps of the throttle knob and it started. It drove fine for about 15-20 minutes and then started to bog down and backfire. It wouldn't go over 20 MPH and would bog out around 3K-3,500 RPMs. Maybe I fouled the plugs trying to start it and giving it throttle. I haven't pulled them yet.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

You have a manual choke, yes? Did you push the choke knob all the way back in as the engine warmed up?

-Bryan

[kirkpatrick29]

I do have a manual choke, and I did push it back in all the way. I'm going to bring it to the mechanic. It's new to me and it should probably get a professional once-over anyways. But I was hoping to enjoy it a bit more before I had such engine trouble.

[kirkpatrick29]

The issue seemed to resolve itself. I pulled the battery, charged it, at which point I didn't drive the car for a couple days. Just took it for a nice little ride, maybe 5 miles or so over 20-30 minutes. I live in Washington, DC, so it can be slow going. No issues.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Fiats don't like to piddle around at slow speeds. Sometimes the engines work better after a longer drive at higher rpms. Blows out the dust, so to speak. The concept of the Italian tuneup is real.

-Bryan