My Second Fiat - The Runner

[wachuko]

Getting the engine stand and engine hoist ready for tomorrow...





Done!



I only have a few hours in the morning since we have dinner plans with the family... let's see how much I can get done. I hope those exhaust bolts don't give me any trouble....

[Snoopy]

Hard work...
Its there some rust on the floorpans ?
The engine running before in this condition ? Whats broken ?

[wachuko]

Hard work...
Its there some rust on the floorpans ?
The engine running before in this condition ? Whats broken ?

Engine, after I installed the airflow meter, was running fine. I found out about this because I wanted to remove the oil pan to take out a dent in it. When I removed the oil pan I saw the metal piece you see in the photo, the end part of the auxiliary shaft. Who ever did the last timing belt change forgot to read the memo...

As to rust, I went over (I mean, under) with a scraper and a pin punch. There are two spots with rust in the floor pan. I was thinking of doing one of two things. Either drill a large hole and use one of the rubber grommets so it would look like another factory hole, or, cut a small metal patch and glue it with epoxy (the strong automotive epoxy used for door skins) and coat it with POR15.

I also plan on removing the carpet to scrape the floor and coat it with POR15 before I install a new carpet. During that process I will check from the inside any rusted areas.

Danke schön!

[pooldoctorstl]

Jaime, You need to start a business called " How To Work On Your Car in Designer Cloths and Never Get Dirty" You could do seminars around the country. Kudos to you, man. I don't know how you do it. Maybe your secret is that you have a full time staff that works on the car and you just stand in for pictures, that would explain how you get so much accomplished on the car in so little time.

On the serious side: Was the broken aux shaft making any noise or indication there was a problem? I know you drove and ran it but that is scary that you could run it like that without it causing more problems.

Jeff

[wachuko]

Jaime, You need to start a business called " How To Work On Your Car in Designer Cloths and Never Get Dirty" You could do seminars around the country. Kudos to you, man. I don't know how you do it. Maybe your secret is that you have a full time staff that works on the car and you just stand in for pictures, that would explain how you get so much accomplished on the car in so little time.

On the serious side: Was the broken aux shaft making any noise or indication there was a problem? I know you drove and ran it but that is scary that you could run it like that without it causing more problems.

Jeff

My only staff is my father in law that prevents me from taking the most difficult path every time...

Jeff, no weird sounds, no leaks, no damage to the crank shaft... seriously, only reason I found out was because I removed the oil pan and saw the chunk of metal.

[wachuko]

I know I should be working on getting the engine out... but I got a little bit sidetracked...

Had to do it after seeing Bob's (kuhndg here in the forum) car (Spring fever...pictures). Love the beautiful lines of this car without that huge bumper.





Now, back to working the engine...

[stefhahn]

Jaime,
sorry for no comments for quite some time but I've been out to Switzerland skiing... just returned and saw that you found you runner - congrats!
Re: not getting dirty in designer cloths I strongly recommend you create a Webinar series as this is a global problem. E.g. myself just speaking the magical word "garage" or "engine" in that special tone find unremovable black oil on my fingers and related traces on my clothes....

Re the aux shaft:
if the engine of the runner is running okish and there is no oil leaking out of that crack, why don't you just change the aux shaft from one engine to the other while getting the new timing belt? Actually this aux shaft has no real meaning in the FI cars anyway.
Re rusty holes in the floor - in FL it might be a solution but withh our rainy weather here I'd go for the round-hole-plus-paint-plus-rubber-solution as it will enable you to check and fix it right if necessary whenever you want.

Ah and yes, whenever you (or somebody else round here) comes to Stuttgart again please give a shout beforehand - I can organize very special guided tours through both the new Porsche and Mercedes museums as my wife has excellent contacts to both of the interior architects i.e. exhibition designers - and I am excellent in organizing a couple of beers and a good BBQ

ciao,
Stefan

[Snoopy]

The distance from Kaltental to Stuttgart is very short. Im interested

The problem with the clothes and the oil on the garagefloor and driveway drives my mother (when i own my first (old) cars) crazy...

I wonder that the engine runs fine. But when it works why not using ?

[ga.spyder]

Jaime,I gotta agree.If it was running and not leaking,why bother looking for another block? In my earlier years ,I patched a cracked block way worse than that with JB Weld.Never leaked a drop in 3 years!
I have coveralls and a apron in the garage,but I get impatient and dont put them on.Almost every Polo shirt I own has a oil spot somewhere! Good luck !
Craig

[wachuko]

OK guys. I will search tomorrow for an auxiliary shaft to change the broken unit. Get a new timing belt and patch that crack with some JB weld.

[wachuko]

Front spoiler came in...



Got it from Matthews Parts.

[wachuko]

Since the parts car needs to go back up in the lift I took the time to snap a few more photos. Rear bumper removed and one of the rear shocks. I need to remove the tank to get the other bumper shock out...









Now that the seats in the parts car are also out I will transfer all the hardware to these:

[ga.spyder]

Looking good,Jaime!It always amazes me what a little time and TLC will do to transform a car.That dark blue color really looks nice on a Spider.Good luck,
Craig

[wachuko]

Looking good,Jaime!It always amazes me what a little time and TLC will do to transform a car.That dark blue color really looks nice on a Spider.Good luck,
Craig

Craig, thank you. It looks great in the photos. I will take some photos of the bad stuff today. I need to check with a body shop to see how much they can fix without having to do a complete re-spray.

Then there is the nice surprise we found in the engine bay. The aux shaft arrived this week so, as suggested by others from this forum, I will go in and inspect to make sure it is OK to drop in the used shaft. Replace all front seals, install new timing belt and bearing, patch the crack in that block and cross my fingers that everything works. If not, I will work in the interior until that is complete and then work cleaning up the spare engine to drop it in.

[red107]

wow she cleaned up so nice!!!! looking good!!!!