77 Fiat 124 Restoration Project

[mfusaro]

Hello everyone. Just recently purchased a 77 Fiat 124. It's in fair condition. The top is in great shape but the body does have some rust. It has rust in the rocker panels, a few rust spots here and there but overall it's solid. It seems to run good but could use a tune up. I haven't been able to drive it since I haven't got any plates for it yet.

When I did take it out for a test drive, I noticed a distinct whine in the transmission. It seem to shift fine. I wasn't sure if that's normal for these vehicles or if it's something that needs attention right away. I did check the transmission fluid. It has fluid in it but I don't know what type of fluid. I understand these cars take GL-1 so I bought a gallon of it at NAPA. Didn't use it because the transmission was full. Checked the rear diff and it did servicing. Hope it's not damaged.

I'll be driving it real soon so I'm sure I'll find other things. My priority right now is to find out what's going on with the transmission. After that, I can focus on doing a tune up.

What I liked to do is find some kind of repair manual, a real shop manual that the dealers used. I found a few PDF versions online but I like to find something printed. Anyone know where you can order one?

[FiatBen]

Welcome to the forum. These cars are so much fun!
I bought one of every aftermarket manual figuring between all of them I'd get enough information to get the job done. Then I watched for the genuine one on Ebay and similar sources.
A tune up on a '77 should be pretty straight forward since it's carbed (and not that darn FI).
I'd be tempted to drain and refill the tranny since you've already bought the GL-1.
Another thing a lot of guys will recommend is to replace the timing belt unless you know when it was last replaced. At the same time you do this is a good time to address any other long-term maintenance items/problems such as front seal, water pump, etc. if needed.
Post pics, we love pics, we live for pics!!

[mfusaro]

I took the car out for a test drive today. It ran pretty good considering that it was probably sitting for awhile. The idle is a little erratic. Sometimes it won't remain running and it will die at a stop light. Other times it's running at 2,000 rpms. I topped off the tank and put some fuel system cleaner. I have no idea how old the gas is. I bought this at an impound lot so the seller had no idea of it's history.

The gearbox definately makes noise and sounds something like an old bus. It whines in 1st, 2nd, 3rd but not in 4th. Everything shifts fine and it doesn't make any grinding noise. I don't think it's bad enough to have to fix it immedately. I will flush out the old oil sometime in the next couple of weeks.

One thing I did notice was that one of fuses keeps blowing on me. It's the last one on the right at it supplies power to the tach and some of the other gauges. It also supplies power to the turn signals so when it blows I can't use my turn signals. I went to Auto Zone and bought some 25A fuses thinking it would solve the problem but it seems to blow then just as easily as the other ones. It doesn't blow right away and only seems to do it when I'm driving the car.

Timing belts are always a big question mark with most cars. I have no idea when it was changed out so I'm going to assume it's due for one. At least this one looks easier to do than the typical front wheel drive car. I ordered a shop manual "Fiat 124 Sport" by Drake publishers through Amazon. It was used for only $4.

I will post some pictures soon. One thing it really needs is a paint job. It's a faded lemon yellow color and to make matters worse, someone sprayed brown primer on all the rust spots. It also has the ugly luggage rack still attached.

[124JOE]

your lucky the 25 amp didnt fry the wires
"dont do that again"
find the short. it is grounding out on something.

i would drop the steering colum and pull the dash,then look for the one wire thats not in the right place.
it may be pinched between some thing and the bar the colum is bolted to
or near the radio

all wires should be losse enuff to wiggle or pull

my horn wire was pinched and had neg at the wheel but from the relay it went out pos
so i found quickly.i cut the old wire and ran a new one,that solved my problem i had ten years ago

[FiatBen]

Since 4th gear is basically a direct drive, it is typically the one that will NOT make any noise. Some noise, to me, is just normal in the others, but my car is pretty worn out.
Changing the timing belt is not a big deal. You might consider renewing the tensioner bearing while you're in there. Some guys recommend replacing the front seal at the same time just to save having to go back in later, especially if the car has been sitting for awhile.
Meanwhile, post pics of it as is. We love the "before" stuff so we can really appreciate the after shots.

[124JOE]

the top shaft berring is a good place to start

i had a cracked case,and mine whined pretty bad

[mfusaro]

I managed to find the cause of the the blown fuses. Doing some internet searches, I found some wiring diagrams for the 77. Fuse A which was the one that was popping turned out to have a zillon circuits attached to it. The turn signal lights, backup lights, and gauges were just a few things that it powers. I first cleaned all the turn signal and backup light sockets and grounds but that wasn't it. Then I focused on the gauges. I disconnected them one at a time but it turned out none of them were the cause.

So after looking at the obvious stuff I started looking a little harder at the wiring diagram. I noticed that the fuses don't blow until I'm actually driving it. I figured it it was engine related so I looked at the circuits for them. One thing that really stood out was the "fast idle" circuit. It had a sensor mounted on the trans. I read some more the fast idle circuit and the sensor on the trans only closes when it's shifted into third, forth and fifth gear. Now everything started to become clear to me. As soon as I shifted it into third the fuse would pop. So, I disconnected the wire going to the sensor and wouldn't you know it, the fuses stopped popping. I don't know how important this sensor is but the idle is all screwed up on this car so it can't make much of a difference at this point.

Just when I solved one problem I find another one. I started having difficulties starting the car so I looked the fuel system. The fuel filter looked like it been there for 20 years, so I changed it out. Got it running again but when I was checking for leaks I noticed a small leak coming from the carburetor. I snugged up some of the screws but it still leaks a little. I don't want to keep driving it until I fix the leak. So I'm thinking about rebuilding the carb or finding a rebuild. Fortunately, I think I know someone who is willing to part out a 78 fiat 124. I can try rebuilding that one.

I looked at the timing belt. Looks easy enough to change without tearing the whole car apart. I assume the radiator needs to come out to get to it. I seen a few timing belt/idler kits on ebay for reasonable prices. I don't want to start pouring money into this car right away. I just want to get it running right then slowly replace things one at a time.

I would send some pictures but it looks like I have to upload them to photobucket or somewhere on the internet first.

[mfusaro]

the top shaft berring is a good place to start

i had a cracked case,and mine whined pretty bad

Do you know how difficult it is to replace this bearing? I think I might know where to get another gearbox but it's out of a nonrunning car and I have no way of knowing of it's condition.

[RRoller123]

I can say regarding the timing belt change that absolutely it is a lot easier with the radiator out, and it is pretty simple to remove the radiator!

[mfusaro]

I just got my Fiat shop manual today. I looked over the timing belt section. The book mentions some special tools like a sprocket alignment tool and a tool that measures the tension on the belt. I'm not too worried about the alignment tool, I've used zip ties in the past. I'm not sure how important the tension measuring tool is - there's even a hand written note in there saying that it's not necessary because Fiat went to a spring tensioner. This book is really old - goes back to 71. I'm not sure what changes were made by 77. I also noticed that in the timing belt diagram there wasn't a alignment mark for the crank or the oil pump. I'm assuming there are alignment marks on both. Just like to know what I'm getting into before I start on this - which will probably be months from now.

Something else came up - the guy that was going to part out his Fiat told me that he found a buyer that's willing to give him $400 ($50 more than his asking price on craigslist). I'm not sure if this is his way of squeezing more money out of me. I told him I wasn't interested in buying the entire car and the parts that I was going to pull off of it I was only going to give him $200. Still, I really need a carburetor so if I don't buy it off of him I'm left with finding something on eBay or some other online source. Does anyone know where to find a rebuilt Weber 32ADFA? I think I would rather get a rebuilt one if the price isn't sky high.

[124JOE]

i have a 32adfa for sale "i bought a 32/36dfev for $200"

hope this helps

[RRoller123]

The spring tensioner takes care of tensioning.

[BEEK]

just remember the tensioner is a one time thing, it is not an active system, you set the belt tension then tighten down the tensioner in place

[RRoller123]

I am not sure on the older engines, so I am only refering to the FI 2000, where the tension is set by the tensioner bearing and spring assy by itself. Is there a different system on the earlier non-FI engines?

[Redline]

My 1,2,3,5 are noisy and my 4th gear is silent. I replaced the oil and it didn't change. It shifts precisely, never pops out of gear, and has not changed in the last 10'000km. I simply figure TADTS* and will not touch it until something drastic happens.

*They All Do That, Sir