Hi All, Still hard at work on my '81. The PO let the car sit, relatively protected, for six years, w/o starting. Have been thinking about possible rubber components that will have just dried out or rotted; Parts I never considered until now are the valve seals. (I should add that I just recently finished up the timing belt and the engine turns, by hand, smoothly.) Anyone have experience with valve seals drying out from sitting? Not sure since they are (sort of) internal components. And if you have suggestions about other parts of the car that may have deteriorated from sitting, happy to hear those.

Six years while protected isn't too bad, so here is a rough list of how I would view the priorities (1 being the most urgent):

1. Rubber fuel hose, both in the engine compartment and near the gas tank.
2. Spark plug wires.
3. Brake fluid lines from the brake fluid reservoir to the master cylinder.
4. Vacuum hoses for emission control systems and fuel systems (carb or fuel injection).
5. Radiator and other coolant hoses.
6. Brake fluid lines to the front calipers and the one from the metal rear brake line to the rear axle T-connection.
7. Engine, transmission, and rear axle/differential oil seals, including the valve stem seals.
8. Weatherstripping such as door/hood/trunk seals, exterior lighting seals, convertible top, etc.

I would place the timing belt as #1, but since you already did that, I didn't list it. Of course, if there is an obvious problem or visual damage, especially with brake system components, that item would move up in priority.

-Bryan

Thanks, 18Spiders. (Really, eighteen? Wow.)

rodo wrote:Thanks, 18Spiders. (Really, eighteen? Wow.)

Yep, 18 of them, although not all were spiders. Twelve 124 spiders, two 131 sedans, and four 124 sport coupes. In all fairness, many were parts cars. I guess you could also count two 124 spiders that I inherited from my brother when he passed away, but as they were located all the way across the country, they mostly got scrapped although I recall that Midwest-Bayless came by with a trailer and took some of the parts as a donation. Details are fuzzy. So, 18 or 20 depending on how you count it, and what's one or two Fiats amongst friends?

-Bryan