My Spider adventure so far.

[garion]

Hi all.. I introduced myself in the intro area, but I figured I would post here with my Spider adventure so far.

Last weekend, I bought a 78 Fiat Spider in running condition. Its starts, runs, drives, lights work, etc.. But for it to be a decent reliable vehicle, I've started going through 'fixing' things... My goal is a 'fun' car, maybe some slight restoration, but mostly just for cruising, weekend fun. (I live in Phoenix, AZ, and the weather is just now turning nice for top down/no AC weather.)

FOr starters: The car is somewhat modded. No emissions (no air pump, no cat). Electronic ignition (crane fireball xr700).

Here's what I've done so far:

- CHanged the tranny fluid. Stuff that came out was dark, and thinner than the GL1 I poured in.
- front pads and rotors.. Didn't do the back, cause they didn't have enough rotors in stock. Next weekend.
- Fixed the drivers side door, it would only catch partway. The door would close, but it wouldnt be fully closed.
- Tuned the carb some. It was running really rough at idle. I followed the 'basic tune' instructions on here with success. The PO had the idle turned down to 'no idle', and to get the car to run, they made the mixture extremely rich (1/2 turn from the bottom). Resetting it back to what the docs said made it idle much better.

Current issues:
- Overheating. I suspect that it needs bleeding.. I'll attempt that in the coming week, or next weekend.
- TRanny still seems noisy to me. Maybe its the nature of the beast? I wouldn't look forward to pulling the transmission.

Planned (in the near term):
- Rear pads and rotors
- Change diff fluid.
- Fix pass door, doesn't open from the inside.
- I really need to fix the seatbelts. The current ones are made for someone who's only 3 inches thick (the lap belt is too short, and well, I'm a bit thick). These seem like they are custom belts, so full replace may be necessary.

Longer term:
- The bushings all look like they need replacing. I want to enjoy the car for a few weeks before I attempt those. There's a lot that need replacing.
- FInd and fix the various oil leaks. Doesnt seem to leak much, still would like to seal it up though.

Here's a couple pics.. One is of the bushings that I believe need replacing.. The other is the shock tower which has some rust.. Let me know your opinions please!

[RRoller123]

Good idea to change the timing belt and tensioner bearing and while in there you can change the front oil seals and maybe the water pump and be done with it in one fell swoop. If you pull the radiator (but you don't have to) it is a lot easier, and you can flush out the cooling system and bleed it and a LOT of your needs will be done! There are bunch of various posts on the forum here about the timing belt change. It isn't too hard, but pay attention to getting the crank pulley off to change the bottom seal, that one is a pita. Retorque to 180 +/- ft.-lbs. Good luck and welcome!

[burlybryan]

I agree with Roller - timing belt, seals and water pump are reasonably easy and should all be done in one sitting. Pulling the rad is easy and provides the opportunity to replace hoses. When installing a new upper heater hose (or using the existing) you can install a simple coolant fill "T" which is very useful for filling and bleeding.

Diff oil is easy to do, so go for it next time the rear is jacked. I always put all fluid changes at the top of the list of new cars.

Your control arm bushings are shot, but plan this repair along with tie rod ends. Get new control arms with ball joints and bushings pre-installed. A better value and saves tons of time.

Need to get inside of the shock tower to check condition of the actual mount.

[dom]

The shock tower has serious rust. Take care of it when you do the control arms. Whether or not it needs replacing is to be determined but either way much welding will be needed

[beater]

Until you get poking around at those shock towers it's hard to say how bad they are but the key is to get to them early before something rusts out bad enough to shift! I had mine welded and the guy did an incredible job. He cut patterns out of light cardboard and then cut metal with a plasma cutter and welded in place with a mig. Came out really nice. When he was done after several hours he asked if I though 150 was fair. I gave him 200 and still feel I got off very lucky.

[vespistiSF]

Fun project but those shock towers look SCARY! Is it missing a bunch of metal in the first pic?

[garion]

I've gone and pulled the trigger on the parts for timing belt, coolant system (hoses, water pump, fan sensor, tstat, etc), and oil seals... I figure if I take my time, I should have it done in a weekend or two.. It may go quicker if my impact wrench is up to snuff to take the crank bolt off...

Next month (Nov), I'll take a closer look at those shock towers... It doesn't look like the rust goes completely through, don't look bad to me.. I'm hoping there isn't much damage, and I might try to patch them myself... I've always wanted to learn welding...

[garion]

While waiting on my parts for the timing belt adventure, I decided to do the rear brakes (already had the parts)..

*sigh*. Broke a bleeder value... So... Looks like I'll be getting reman'ed calipers... Yeah, I could rebuild these, but might as well replace at this point...

So I switched over to looking at my engine somewhat... I decided to check the gap on my plugs.. Good thing I did, cause 1 & 2 where at 0.045, and the back ones were at 0.040... So I regapped to 0.030 (which is at least closer to the spec of 0.027 I found, but dont have a feeler gauge for..)... And while I was there, I noticed a missing bolt/plug on my valve covers... It looks like it opened the valve area to the elements, but I'm not sure.. I plugged it with a screw that I had that threaded in easily.. Can somone take a look and tell me what that hole is for? Does it matter if I seal it or not?

[baltobernie]

Can someone take a look and tell me what that hole is for?

When your car left the factory, there was a stud in that hole. The original air filter assembly was attached there. So yes, you can simply screw in the correct thread bolt in that hole. On my car, that hole is not thru the entire cover, but YMMV.

I agree with other posters that the dominant issue here is shock tower rust. Stop buying parts until you've completely addressed structural rust here, and possibly elsewhere. There are dozens of threads on this subject. Here's one with some shock tower photos: http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... 5&p=116040

[garion]

I plan on getting under the car again in a few days, and I'll take some more pictures..

The car was here in the southwest for the most part (bought in southern Utah, now in Phoenix, AZ (AKA land of no rust)), out of of winter land. The rust that I have found is all surface rust, other than other bubbles visible on the towers, and I don't see any holes in either tower. (though clearing the rust thats there may tell more.).. I've been over the back end of the car, and it seems solid, little no to no rust at all.. Looking at the floorpan from underneath shows no holes there.. It also looks like it was painted at some point in time, maybe some type of undercoating?

Are there specific angles/areas I should look at? I feel the need to enable you guys in your Spider Porn addiction.

[garion]

I've posted pics of the shock towers over in the suspension area for those interested.

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... 14&t=20628