Garion's 78 restomod, Marietta

[garion]

Hi all. I'm creating this thread mostly as a record of my adventures with my 1978 Fiat... I plan on posting here all the various things that I do to it.. Bigger items, I'll post separate threads, but link them here.. Smaller stuff will be posted here..

I'm not a fast worker like some, and I expect this to take several years to get it to where I want... I'll start with the mechanical, to the interior, then finally the exterior...

If you've been following along my other posts, I've changed the timing belt, which lead me also to change the head gasket, which lead me to having the head rebuilt.. Then I had to adjust the throttle linkage, because I only was getting 3/4 throttle, and the secondary wasn't even opening. Now thats all fixed, and she runs great (once warmed up anyways).

Since then, I've gotten a new set of Falken 185/60r13's put on, since I had no idea how old the tires were, and between the cracked sidewalls and the 165r13 size (when was the last time goodyear made those?), i figured they needed replacing..

So where am I today, what's next, etc..

Well, the car runs! Thats the first step.. I do have a cold start issue, where it won't run without me feathering the gas. But after she's warmed up, she's fine. So a little carb adjustment is needed... SHe also drives, though the shock towers are slightly iffy (not as bad as some on here), but my bushings are all shot.. So she tends to wander a bit on the road.. I dont intend her for any daily driving, so thats ok, just some light open road stuff for now..

My next step is the shock towers and front suspension... I don't have any welding experience, so I'm going to try and find a friend to help out.. Plus I need to source the replacement shock towers.. I figure I'll be waiting a few months to save the dough up to be able to do the towers and the front suspension at the same time, since I have to remove the front suspension to do the towers anyways...

Then it'll be on to the rebuilding the brakes and driveshaft, maybe rear suspension (though it looks fine to me..)..

What is my end goal? Well. After thinking about it for a few months, I've decided that I do some mods, but restore most.. I plan on painting her a medium-dark grey with metal flake.. Some where between Audi's silver and Dolphin Grey (only cause I've had both, thats my frame of reference).. Then on the hood bumps, the front will start with a dark burnt red, and fade to Ferrari/fireengine red.. Interior, will be black.. I plan on removing the center console, relocating the heating controls somehow, maybe with a small upper console.. This will give me a 'retro 50's/60's ish sports car' feel that i'm looking for.. I'll also remove the back seat, and build storage..Bumpers I haven't decided, but I like the look of the smaller, early bumpers, so I may shoot for that.. I'd also love a set of wire wheels eventually..

Of course, this is all subject to change as time goes on.. Between work, money, life in general, it'll take several years, but hey, its a hobby and keeps me outta the pool halls.

[ga.spyder]

Go for it ,John.Its always nice to have a plan,and yours is logical.We have often times advised people to do the mechanicals first,and keep it a driving project.It is easy to get a car torn completely down and then get discouraged or sidetracked.As long as you can drive it,you are reminded of why the heck you were doing all this work!! Good luck,and we will be following.
Craig
ps..I think most of our vendors sell shock tower replacements

[garion]

Today I decided to tune my carb. I had been having cold start problems, but I figured I would just start from scratch.

So the first thing I did was warm up the car. I let the fan cycle a few times, then I set about tuning.. The first thing I did was set the timing to 0 TDC (normal on the 78)... Then I tuned the mixture screw... My idle speed was pretty high, around 1200 rpm, so I adjusted to about 700-800 or so.. THen I rechecked the timing, and it had moved! Since I wanted to use 10 TDC (no smog checks), I went ahead and put it there.. My idle then went way up!... Pull out the idle speed screw some more, back to 800 or so.. Tuned the mixture screw again, since I'm leaning the mixture by reducing the idle speed..

Wash, rinse, repeat, until I have my 10 TDC, and my idle at 800 or so, and the 'best sounding' setting on the mixture screw..

WHat a difference.. Apparently, I'd been running really rich.. Then I let the engine cool for a few hours, and started to adjust the fast idle screw.. I have it set around 1100 or so... I'll have wait till tomorrow to see if it all works.. But it definitely started MUCH better than it had been... Driving around makes a difference too.. Helps to have the carb tuned right...

I'm also now wondering about my spring advance (not vacuum)... It doesn't seem smooth after I let off the gas after revving it up.. Seems to get 'stuck' at a certain point of advance...I cleaned it out when i had everything apart (was pretty clean, just sprayed with carb cleaner to rinse it out..).. Springs seemed to work fine when apart anyways.. But I can't spin it fast enough by hand to know if its really working

[BEEK]

you can manually advance the distributor and see if it is working, then make sure it returns. apply a little grease at the pivot points and the contact points of the weights.

i recommend trying the timing at 34 deg total advance, if you have an adjustable timing light. then see where it returns to at idle.

[garion]

Took apart myt dizzy to look at the advance, and well.. Interesting.. Notice the spring on the right:



That might be why I'm not returning back to the static advance.. Not to mention, they are mismatched.. Anyone have an extra set of springs?

[BEEK]

those springs are correct

[garion]

Really?? I guess that it would advance quicker at the low end, until they moved enough to hit the second spring? If thats the case, I'll clean and lube and see what happens..

[vandor]

> it would advance quicker at the low end, until they moved enough to hit the second spring?

Exactly - if you look at the factory advance curve graph, that is what it does.

[azruss]

if you look at the plate below, you can see wearing where the advanced weights slide. these grooves can provide pinch points the restrict return movement of the weights.

[124JOE]

hello ive had my spyder for 18 yrs
so i did my mods awhile ago
as for the suspention bushings i bought some delrin bushings from vicks auto sports
i have a 32/32 adfa on the shelf and a 32/36 dfev carb on it
as for the springs i was told to get a chevy curve kit and use the small set of springs only
a fireball crain cam ignition
headder from iap stock exhaust
fresh paint in 2000
grey leather seats and carpet

as for the next few yrs im pulling things off to clean and paint like the gas tank and door sills

[garion]

Hey all.. After taking a break for a bit for holidays, being sick, and some other side projects, I took apart my drivers side door for a couple small projects.

1. The 'spring' thats in where the door mounts seems to be off.. Is the best way to get it back on to take the whole door off?

The bushing the spring rides on *is* there. Just somehow came off, or not installed correctly.

2. Door alignment.. I seem to have sagging doors, as the door doesn't seem to close easily, unless I lift up on it. In an effort to see if I had the dreaded cracked top hinge, I took off the door panel, and peaked inside.. I can't see the area around the main 2, but there's no rust in the area:


And the inner bolt, looks good to me, basically no rust.


3. My 'door open button' feels like its 'locked' all the time, but it still opens to the door, but with minimal pressing. I don;t think I have the proper key for it, because I can't lock it, I can always open the door. Just about any key I use turns the lock. Not all that concerned about locking, but I would like the 'proper' feel of the button opening the door. How easy is it to remove the door handle so i can take a look at the mechanism?

4. The area where the 'door alignment triangle thingy' mounts to is completely hosed (no pics tonight), as the spot where the bolts go is free floating, and I don't seem to be able to get my hand on it in the door.. Thoughts?

The rest of the door look pretty rust free, with just a touch of surface rust on the window regulator rails. The base of the door looks fine, though the yellow primer/paint is peeling

The rest of the door looks fine.. I have some surface rust on the the rails of the window regulator, but thats about it.. The door seems to be in surprisingly good shape.

[azruss]

to check for damage, watch the hinge when you lift the door and see where the play is coming from. it could be a worn hinge pin. if the flex is between the door and the hinge then you have a cracked hinge plate issue. this can be seen by viewing through the hole the hinge goes through. the triangle rubber thingy screws in to a floating plate that is loosely trapped in a box. there is space in the box so it is possible the plate slipped out and is laying the bottom of the door. You may just need to readjust the door.

[garion]

Quickie update:

I got my drivers door adjusted. Loosened the 6 bolts, with a floorjack and a piece of wood to keep it from falling.. Once loosened, raise the jack slightly, tightened, check fit, repeat until happy! Next weekend will be the passenger door.

I'm also having cold start issues.. I need to gather some more info before I can post something though.. I don't think its the accel pump, since I do get gas squirting into the barrel, even after sitting a week. I need to double check, but I don't think my choke is closing when pump the gas before starting.. I can engage the choke by pulling back on the fast idle lever.. (as I said, I need to double check this, I was fiddling with things)... Once started, I think I'm in a lean condition, when I step on the gas, I get some backfiring.. I may just get a rebuild kit and do it..

Once warm, everything seem ok...

[124JOE]

i also have a 78 and for normal starting i jump in"when cold"and push the gas pedal two times then turn the key

after storage i gas it up and turn it over while flutering the pedal untill she starts

[124JOE]

as for this spring remove the two bolts "but catch the lower nut"it needs to go back in the spring
crimp the nut back in and put it back on the car
try to not let the door swing open too fast