You could also find a parts car Ryan.

ya... I don't have space for one, I live in an apartment. It could be nice, but I don't think I'd need one right now. There's stuff that I would like to get from a parts car, but I don't want to do a paint respray really... Not til the whole car is 'done'(as far as major rebuild stuff is concerned since classics always need more). Although... starting to wish I had a car with more of these essential but expensive fixes already finished...

Where are you located and what year is your car? There are a few Pull-a part yards springing up that may be worth a look.

it's a 79 and I'm in San Antonio TX

from the pics of engine, brakes and gearbox:

don't buy new brake discs, ones you have are just fine.
you need all 5 new brake hoses. same as on any 124, 125, 131, 132, argenta
if you can unscrew air bleeding screws on the calipers without breaking them, than you don't need new calipers.
rebuilding kits you found seem to be the ones you need.
buy soft compound graphite brake pads. lucas makes excellent ones.
new exaust is available from imasaaf at very resonable price.
handbrake cable is the same as for 124 special, spider, sport, 125 and 132 1800
engine and gearbox need to come out and all oil and cooling system seals need to be replaced. water pump and thermostat too. you're looking at around 200e in parts for this. full engine gaskets set + gearbox gaskets set.
giunto needs to be replaced. fits from lada, any 124, 125, 131, 132 etc

giuliot60 wrote:Sorry, you're right Ryan. I was working off of memory when I was pricing stuff out for a project car I was thinking of buying. Here is what Csaba sent me: "Here's the cost brakedown: Master Cylinder $34.40, Front Calipers $68.90 each, plus $25 refundable core charge, Rear calipers $96.90 each, plus $40 refundable core charge, Replace rotors if they are worn - they usually are, $16.20 each". I think I may have been subtracting the core charge. The cost is still reasonable. Who knows, you may not even need to replace them, maybe just a rebuild. I've heard of some guys just soaking the calipers in Marvel's Mystery Oil and getting them to work.

Ricardo, if you can't find a good parts place in Italy it may be better to order from the US and have it shipped at the lowest rate possible. Csaba (AutoRicambi) is Hungarian (I believe) and used to live in Italy and may have some ideas about getting parts. I'm pretty sure they get parts from there. It doesn't hurt to ask.

And BTW, I'm an art director/graphic designer as well, and also teaching college level design. I worked in the music industry for 18 years, even got 4 Grammy nominations for best packaging. Check out my website: http://www.giulioturturro.com

The mini must be cool. Nice taste in cars!

I already know that from the US, shipping+taxes are crazy money, but if I'll have some problems I will try to send an email at AutoRicambi. Unfortunately with the economy going mad here in Italy there's no way not to pay the 25% of taxes for the international shipping.
I checked your website, congrats for everything and I especially like your ads, those are really cool! Of course you're on another level compared to me (I have just a 5 year experience), but we also work in 2 different side of the graphic design. I used to make graphic works for magazines and advertising companies, then I started to take more seriously my passion for photography and cars and since last year I use to be a motorsport photographer with a friend of mine and we make also photoshootings for car dealers and private car enthusiasts. Now as graphic designer I'm more involved with web design and advertising, but I came back to be a freelance again to go on more seriously my photography job. This is our website, and if you look a bit through it you can see that there's a lot of automotive goodness around here in Italy: http://hirundophotography.com/
I'll upload a photo of the Mini, so you'll see how cool it is!

djape1977 wrote:from the pics of engine, brakes and gearbox:

don't buy new brake discs, ones you have are just fine.
you need all 5 new brake hoses. same as on any 124, 125, 131, 132, argenta
if you can unscrew air bleeding screws on the calipers without breaking them, than you don't need new calipers.
rebuilding kits you found seem to be the ones you need.
buy soft compound graphite brake pads. lucas makes excellent ones.
new exaust is available from imasaaf at very resonable price.
handbrake cable is the same as for 124 special, spider, sport, 125 and 132 1800
engine and gearbox need to come out and all oil and cooling system seals need to be replaced. water pump and thermostat too. you're looking at around 200e in parts for this. full engine gaskets set + gearbox gaskets set.
giunto needs to be replaced. fits from lada, any 124, 125, 131, 132 etc

Hello there and thanks for your deep review.
Brake discs aren't fine unfortunately, the front ones are 8mm thick and two discs have a deep scratch in the top part near the end of the brake pads. Maybe I'll try to grind them and we'll see what happen.
Compatibility is not an issue, parts have almost the same price for all the cars and there isn't really a "less rare" model. I know that some of the parts are the same on some models, but they're always not so easy to be found (brand new of course).
As for the bleeding screws, why would you say that if I can unscrew them I don't have to change the calipers?
Exhaust why do you think that I need a new one? the one I have now is pretty new, it has been changed in the 90s. I think that if I make pass the handbrake cable on the top and not under the exhaust everything sould be fine.
Engine and gearbox... well... as I've already said, I can't take out the engine and tranny by myself. I don't have the tools and I don't have the knowledge to do it. Manual or not, I can't really do it. If this will be the case I have to leave the restoration to a mechanic and spend a good 3k Euro (that of course I don't have now) to put the car back on the road.
So yeah, not so happy about all this crap...

Riccardo

RCSquadraCorse wrote:

giuliot60 wrote:Sorry, you're right Ryan. I was working off of memory when I was pricing stuff out for a project car I was thinking of buying. Here is what Csaba sent me: "Here's the cost brakedown: Master Cylinder $34.40, Front Calipers $68.90 each, plus $25 refundable core charge, Rear calipers $96.90 each, plus $40 refundable core charge, Replace rotors if they are worn - they usually are, $16.20 each". I think I may have been subtracting the core charge. The cost is still reasonable. Who knows, you may not even need to replace them, maybe just a rebuild. I've heard of some guys just soaking the calipers in Marvel's Mystery Oil and getting them to work.

Ricardo, if you can't find a good parts place in Italy it may be better to order from the US and have it shipped at the lowest rate possible. Csaba (AutoRicambi) is Hungarian (I believe) and used to live in Italy and may have some ideas about getting parts. I'm pretty sure they get parts from there. It doesn't hurt to ask.

And BTW, I'm an art director/graphic designer as well, and also teaching college level design. I worked in the music industry for 18 years, even got 4 Grammy nominations for best packaging. Check out my website: http://www.giulioturturro.com

The mini must be cool. Nice taste in cars!

I already know that from the US, shipping+taxes are crazy money, but if I'll have some problems I will try to send an email at AutoRicambi. Unfortunately with the economy going mad here in Italy there's no way not to pay the 25% of taxes for the international shipping.
I checked your website, congrats for everything and I especially like your ads, those are really cool! Of course you're on another level compared to me (I have just a 5 year experience), but we also work in 2 different side of the graphic design. I used to make graphic works for magazines and advertising companies, then I started to take more seriously my passion for photography and cars and since last year I use to be a motorsport photographer with a friend of mine and we make also photoshootings for car dealers and private car enthusiasts. Now as graphic designer I'm more involved with web design and advertising, but I came back to be a freelance again to go on more seriously my photography job. This is our website, and if you look a bit through it you can see that there's a lot of automotive goodness around here in Italy: http://hirundophotography.com/
I'll upload a photo of the Mini, so you'll see how cool it is!

djape1977 wrote:from the pics of engine, brakes and gearbox:

don't buy new brake discs, ones you have are just fine.
you need all 5 new brake hoses. same as on any 124, 125, 131, 132, argenta
if you can unscrew air bleeding screws on the calipers without breaking them, than you don't need new calipers.
rebuilding kits you found seem to be the ones you need.
buy soft compound graphite brake pads. lucas makes excellent ones.
new exaust is available from imasaaf at very resonable price.
handbrake cable is the same as for 124 special, spider, sport, 125 and 132 1800
engine and gearbox need to come out and all oil and cooling system seals need to be replaced. water pump and thermostat too. you're looking at around 200e in parts for this. full engine gaskets set + gearbox gaskets set.
giunto needs to be replaced. fits from lada, any 124, 125, 131, 132 etc

Hello there and thanks for your deep review.
Brake discs aren't fine unfortunately, the front ones are 8mm thick and two discs have a deep scratch in the top part near the end of the brake pads. Maybe I'll try to grind them and we'll see what happen.
Compatibility is not an issue, parts have almost the same price for all the cars and there isn't really a "less rare" model. I know that some of the parts are the same on some models, but they're always not so easy to be found (brand new of course).
As for the bleeding screws, why would you say that if I can unscrew them I don't have to change the calipers?
Exhaust why do you think that I need a new one? the one I have now is pretty new, it has been changed in the 90s. I think that if I make pass the handbrake cable on the top and not under the exhaust everything sould be fine.
Engine and gearbox... well... as I've already said, I can't take out the engine and tranny by myself. I don't have the tools and I don't have the knowledge to do it. Manual or not, I can't really do it. If this will be the case I have to leave the restoration to a mechanic and spend a good 3k Euro (that of course I don't have now) to put the car back on the road.
So yeah, not so happy about all this crap...

Riccardo

SEND THAT CAR TO ME

hello i read you post so far
yes you need a dust pan for the flywheel
and the shields for the brakes should be straight,just bend them on the car
go around the calipers with a small stainless steel brush,do the brackets also
then remove and bag the disk then spray the calipers with a clear coat,because there aluminum
and paint the bracket any color.it makes it easier to clean later

get ready to get dirty
buy a tub of hand wash cream and start rubbing the e bay down to the under side
if you have any old socks this is where the come in HANDY

you shoud get new brake hoses and shoes theres a fith one from the body to the rear axle
also a new giblio its on the drive shaft"rubber with six bolts in it"

pull up your carpet and clean and inspect"for rust"
then cover with a sound deadener and re open your drain holes when done
i have a cover for a 1592 block if thats what you have
BTW a 1608 had the best feel "pep" because the 80mm stroke and 80mm boar it was well balanced

best of luck to ya
joe

fiat218 wrote: SEND THAT CAR TO ME

You wanna fix it for me?

124JOE wrote:hello i read you post so far
yes you need a dust pan for the flywheel
and the shields for the brakes should be straight,just bend them on the car
go around the calipers with a small stainless steel brush,do the brackets also
then remove and bag the disk then spray the calipers with a clear coat,because there aluminum
and paint the bracket any color.it makes it easier to clean later

get ready to get dirty
buy a tub of hand wash cream and start rubbing the e bay down to the under side
if you have any old socks this is where the come in HANDY

you shoud get new brake hoses and shoes theres a fith one from the body to the rear axle
also a new giblio its on the drive shaft"rubber with six bolts in it"

pull up your carpet and clean and inspect"for rust"
then cover with a sound deadener and re open your drain holes when done
i have a cover for a 1592 block if thats what you have
BTW a 1608 had the best feel "pep" because the 80mm stroke and 80mm boar it was well balanced

best of luck to ya
joe

Hi Joe!
Getting dirty is not an issue at all for me, but do it for nothing is not smart. If I have to remove the engine and the transmission to fix the car I have to let a mechanic do it for me. As i said before, it's way too much complicated for me and moreover i don't even have the tools (starting from the engine lifter) to remove them from the car.
Under the carpets there's no rust, it's the first thing I've checked. The engine is just good for what it is, a 1.6 won't be my second option, a 1.8 would be the best replacement if I should change the engine.
Thanks for the good luck, I need it!

Riccardo

Hi Riccardo

That looks like a great project to have and from the pics it appears in good condition, just needs a bit of elbow grease and love, take your time lable all the bits you take off and give them a good clean.

The brakes are fairly easy to do yourself, if you can get the piston out, clean them up nice put a kit through them and they should be sweet, as mentioned change all the old rubber bits and make sure drain holes are clear.

Wish mine was in that condition when I got it and just needed a bit of an overhaul...

sooner or later youll want it to look good
i have had mine for 19 yrs
and it took a whille for it to get where it is now

i didnt want to get rid of the air filter
but when i got a 32/36 carb it came with a newer filter,its alot lighter

Beautiful spider Riccardo (my brothers name is Ricardo)

So you guys are saying pads rotors and calipers are impossible to come by for less than 200 hmm....my spider came with 4 rotors and 4 calipers, and the whole thing cost me 200...

Im afraid

Actually though, mine are advance auto units...about 35/corner for calipers, are those crap or something ?
It also came with slotted/dimpled rotors

nothing wrng with cheap brake calipers. originally they were cheap enough to begin with, it's just a matter of how many hands they change untill they reach you. in my neck of the woods front ones are 25$ each and rear ones around 50$ each.

and ricardo, if it's easyer to find parts for 1969 fiat in serbia than in italy, i'll eat my shorts! snoop around, there's plenty of NOS parts in warehouses sitting under piles of parts for newer models...

discs looked fine on the pics, but if they're under 9mm, change them. re-grind is a waste of money.

that engine will start spewing oil everywhere after couple thousands kms if you don't replace all oil seals and valve guide seals.
also, from the ammount of corrosion on the water pump, i'm afraid that someone used cheap coolant and 10 years in storage didn't do it any good either. water pump is most likely fecked, as well as thermostat.

if you need to pay 3k euro for mechanic to get that car running, send it to me. i'll fix everything at 1/2 that cost and consider myself lucky

divace73 wrote:Hi Riccardo

That looks like a great project to have and from the pics it appears in good condition, just needs a bit of elbow grease and love, take your time lable all the bits you take off and give them a good clean.

The brakes are fairly easy to do yourself, if you can get the piston out, clean them up nice put a kit through them and they should be sweet, as mentioned change all the old rubber bits and make sure drain holes are clear.

Wish mine was in that condition when I got it and just needed a bit of an overhaul...

Thanks for the tips mate! Brakes aren't an issue, I already changed an entire brake line on other cars, but never worked with something in a so bad shape! Ahah!
What is leaving me confused is if I'll have to take out engine and tranny or not... I don't have an engine lifter, so, you know...

124JOE wrote:sooner or later youll want it to look good
i have had mine for 19 yrs
and it took a whille for it to get where it is now

i didnt want to get rid of the air filter
but when i got a 32/36 carb it came with a newer filter,its alot lighter

Dang, that's a really nice carb+filter setup! I don't have too much time to work on the car, in less than a month I'll be back in Milan and I'll start to work again, so if I'll be lucky I'll have just a couple of days each month to come here and do something.

OffThaHorse wrote:Beautiful spider Riccardo (my brothers name is Ricardo)

So you guys are saying pads rotors and calipers are impossible to come by for less than 200 hmm....my spider came with 4 rotors and 4 calipers, and the whole thing cost me 200...

Im afraid

Thanks man, glad you like it!

djape1977 wrote:nothing wrng with cheap brake calipers. originally they were cheap enough to begin with, it's just a matter of how many hands they change untill they reach you. in my neck of the woods front ones are 25$ each and rear ones around 50$ each.

and ricardo, if it's easyer to find parts for 1969 fiat in serbia than in italy, i'll eat my shorts! snoop around, there's plenty of NOS parts in warehouses sitting under piles of parts for newer models...

discs looked fine on the pics, but if they're under 9mm, change them. re-grind is a waste of money.

that engine will start spewing oil everywhere after couple thousands kms if you don't replace all oil seals and valve guide seals.
also, from the ammount of corrosion on the water pump, i'm afraid that someone used cheap coolant and 10 years in storage didn't do it any good either. water pump is most likely fecked, as well as thermostat.

if you need to pay 3k euro for mechanic to get that car running, send it to me. i'll fix everything at 1/2 that cost and consider myself lucky

I don't think that in order to change all the oil seals I have to take out engine and transmission, isn't it? Just remove the head, exhaust & air headers, oil sump and tranny cover, this should be enough as far as I know and all these things are possible to be removed with the engine sitting in the engine bay.
Of course water pump, thermostat and alternator will be replaced, I guess someone used cheap coolant and a lot of water...
In Italy on classic cars mechanics use to ask for about half the price of the value of the car to restore them. The only 2 good mechanics I know (and that make me good prices) are in Milan and the car is 270kms away!

Well, for now I'll go on with the brake system, then I'll start to care about the rest.
Back again under the car!
Cheers guys,

Riccardo