Plug these ports?

[o0sara0o]

1979 roaring to life after at least a decade. Much to do yet, but here's the question of the day. I've pulled this photo out of the archives, where the advice wasn't quite clear enough. Here we see these two canister/valve things on top of the head, pointing straight up. A) are these both for air injection into the exhaust side, and if so, since my air pump is long gone, should they both be removed and the holes in the head plugged with steel plugs? (Anyone know the thread size?)



B) Both end up, via rubber hose connectors, in a little compartment bolted to the side of the air filter housing, which itself does not seem to have any ports or sensors of any kind. What is this for? Am I looking at a partial or modified remnant of the emission control system?

(One reason I ask is that the aluminum finned thing on the forward port, the part that actually screws into the head, was broken off at the threads.)

Oh, and I'm in a non-inspection state. O-HI-O!

Thanks for any info.

[So Cal Mark]

those are both check valves for the air injection system, as was the box on the side of the air cleaner. Remove the check valves and plug the holes. Don't try to cap the check valves with rubber caps. The exhaust will eventually melt them

[o0sara0o]

Thanks, Mark.

Hey, I have plenty of pretty basic questions like this, and the shop manual by Clarke (Fiat 124 Coupe / Spider & 2000 Spider: 1971-1984) just doesn't have a lot of substance. What's a better manual for my 1979? The Haynes only seems to go through 1978. There are various downloadable manuals online, but no previews to see if they're any good...

[Samy]

After installing an 1800 single plane intake manifold, I plugged both of my ports. Go to ACE hardware and get two 18mm oil pan plugs. They screw right in!! I would also recommend removing the line that goes from your head to your exhaust manifold. Samy

[kmead]

What's a better manual for my 1979? The Haynes only seems to go through 1978. There are various downloadable manuals online, but no previews to see if they're any good...

Keep in mind no manual will have information about removing standard equipment, they are about maintaining it.

The Fiat Factory manuals are the best for your car, but they can be a bit difficult for some to follow as they assume you are a "real" mechanic. The Brooklands manual is very good. I also have the old Clymer manual which is another good reference. The Haynes manual is generally a very good manual for any Spider, it won't have all the information, particularly around electrical, trim and emissions equipment, but the mechanical systems on all 124s are basically the same (except the 1984 with rack and pinion and ventilated front disc brakes) so it is very applicable

I like having several manuals as there are often clues in one or another that help in understanding how to get it apart or properly adjusted. None of them are every complete answers in my mind thus why I keep a variety.

I would download the factory one which is identifiable by a simple blue cover with a white Fiat logo script. There are different qualities of the scans of these manuals so you may have to download a few different ones.