77' 124 Restoration

[California77]

Hey Guys,

Spent many hours reading thru these forms, great information! Thanks a lot guys! Now I'm starting my resto!

Grew up driving around in a 79' spider with my pops. Was total'd years ago. Loved that car and always wanted another one! Now that I'm older, Pops and I bought a fixer upper and are diving in!

Found this Gem. Starts up, but needs a lot of work. Very minimal rust. BTW the PO was a big Chivas Soccer fan, hence the paint job. I removed all of the giant stickers prior to the pictures! How about those hubcaps?? and installed non-stock brake lights?!? I think I'll keep them....NOT

Plan of attack in order: (let me know if I should readjust my thinking)

1. Fixing any glaring mechanical issues, get the car running relatively smoothly.
2. Gutting interior to assess floor pan rust.
3. POR'ing entire floor, installing EZ Cool (as many users have suggested here)
4. Replacing fuel lines while i'm here (bending them should be fun, also, do I need the bubble flare at the ends?)
5. Replacing Front Suspension (tie-rods, bushings, ball joints, wheel bearings etc.) Should I go with new tires/wheels here? I'm wanting to replace the OE wheels with 15".
6. I'm thinking paint exterior at this point? Install new top first?
7. New interior
8. Continue to tinker with crap here and there (Brakes, Tranny, rear suspension, etc.)

hopefully these pictures work!

[AndyVAS]

Interesting project. Your plan of attack sounds about right.

#4 - A slight bubble flare on the ends helps but so does double clamps.

#5 - Definitely go with a set of 15" wheels and tires. The tire selection is so much better as is the quality.

#6 - Do the paint before the top. Don't want to get anything on the new top.

[California77]

UPDATE,

Did all the maintenance type stuff this weekend in regards to the engine. Spark plugs/wires/Air filter/Oil filter/Flushed radiator/Distributor Cap/new points/Adjusted timing,idle/Condensors/Fuel Filter/Rotor.

Since I'm in California, I have to resolve smog issues. there was no Air/Smog pump (someone removed it). I installed a new pump & belt and also had to replace my Air Injection rail (It was clogged solid).

Car sounds great! So far I'm very pleased and happy about the engine. Minus one issue regarding fuel delivery...If I let the car sit for more than a day, I have to prime the carb to get the engine to turn over. Once its on, it will be fine for the rest of the day starting. I'll have to dig into that. I've read tons of articles regarding fuel delivery on this website so I have a lot to go off of, thanks!

[California77]

UPDATE,

Later this weekend I also stripped the carpet and black tar type stuff! (Boy that was a bear!) Used a flat head as a chisel and a mallet. Came up easy but was a lot of work! Floor plans look good! Not terrible, a couple small holes (less than a diameter of a dime) that I covered with fiber glass. See pictures below, before, then preped with POR metal prep, then finished with POR-15.

FUEL DELIVERY ISSUE RESOLVED! Whilst tearing out the carpet, I noticed the metal fuel lines were rusted pretty heavily at the bend from the floor board to the fire wall. Also the carpet/insulation at that area was a bit wet from seeping fuel. With 1 slight pull on the fuel line, they snapped at that spot!

Time to replace the fuel lines. Planning on dropping the fuel tank, refurbishing it and rebuilding the carb at the same time. It'll be nice knowing that from gas tank to carb will all be new/rebuilt! I won't have to worry about fuel issues for a while.

Where should I get a new mechanical fuel pump?

Before:


After POR-15 Metal Prep (works great!):


POR-15:

[riverdadd]

i think the 77 had an electric pump mounted next to fuel tank by spare tire.

[DRUMMOND]

Hi California77

Good luck with your resto. Sheesh that is some color combo?

Here is some info on fuel lines for your possible setup Auto Ricambi has fuel pumps

[California77]

Thanks DRUMMOND.

I'll try AR for the fuel pump. It is a Mechanical Fuel pump for sure. Prior to taking out the fuel lines, I replaced the old fuel pump with a new one. Car didn't want to start.....put the old one back on and it fired right up! Maybe I got a bad pump? I'll try AR, wondering if anyone else has had that issue.

[RRoller123]

I accidentally wired mine backwards, it is easier to do than it appears, since the HOT is green, not ground.

[California77]

@RRoller123

Its a Mechanical Fuel pump...i was thinking maybe the spoon dealio wasnt catching. I installed the pump, took it off and reinstalled it 3 times! Still didn't work! Perhaps just a bad Fuel Pump.

[RRoller123]

DOH! Mechanical not Electrical.

[wubie317]

@RRoller123

Its a Mechanical Fuel pump...i was thinking maybe the spoon dealio wasnt catching. I installed the pump, took it off and reinstalled it 3 times! Still didn't work! Perhaps just a bad Fuel Pump.

It can be a tough job to get the spoon in the right place. Took me 5 tries. The trick for me was to hook up the fuel hoses before installing so I could see the fuel bubble into the filter (a cheapo transparent one) when I got it right. Start by inserting at an upward angle, then use some force to push it down to line up the bolts and holes. Not easy getting your hands in the right place to get a bolt started!

[California77]

UPDATE

Alright everybody - Got the front end done. Only thing left to do is the sway bar bushings...Do these get pressed on? How do I get the metal piece around the bushings? Since I'm only about an hour from Alison Auto, I'm thinking about having them do it. They quoted me $200. Perhaps I can take the sway bar to a machine shop and have them put the bushing and metal housings in place, then I'll bolt it on? Sounds simple enough, but is it?

[Odoyle]

Just recently did this job on my 77. I removed all the bushings (still in the bracket) from the sway bar first (grease the whole thing). Then I drilled out the holes to separate the bracket enclosing the center bushings. Cleaned up sway bar and painted it, slid on center bushings (more grease) then clamped the upper and lower brackets together (with bushing on sway bar) and welded a couple of tacks to keep everything together. You may be able to get away with not having to weld depending on the manufacture of the bushings. Mine were from an Italian manufacturer, and still seemed large. I would be amazed if you (or anyone!) could press out the old bushing and successfully install a new one. Also bought some metal bushing sleeves from hardware store (3/8 in.) which I'm going to cut and press into the the holes I drilled removing bracket to replicate what was there before.

[California77]

@Odoyle

Awesome! Thanks!

Seems easy enough, minus the welding part...I'll have to go to a shop for that.