Can we talk 124 Coupe?

[RoyBatty]

hi djape,
yup, but this is a. helluva way to find that out.
must be all the clean California living.

[RoyBatty]

More progress,
I'm almost back to smiling again. Truth be told, this is satisfying work.

[azruss]

amazing recovery so far. Still lots to do. Are you going to buy a case of bondo.

[RoyBatty]

Hi azruss,
I am working to move the metal to avoid having a ton of filler in the repair. Fun stuff to learn. Got it repaired well enough to start driving it again to finish the road checks.

I've put a about 200 miles on it in and out of Sacramento and had her up to 85 mph.
I'm going to install the new guibo I got from AR today.
The 1600 runs fantastic, but has nowhere near the output of the 1800 on dual IDF's in my Spider. Looks like I'll be installing the Spiders old single plane and Empi sooner than I expected.
One thing I'm impressed with, my mileage check showed 26 mpg over a 120 mile check. Is that about right? I'm not going easy on this engine, shifting at no lower than 4500 RPM and 70MPH comes in at 4000 RPM.
Oh and since the battery hold down did not come with the car, I fabricated one out of 1/8" angle mild steel.

[georgeramos]

Are you gonna use the wire wheel hub caps on there?

[RoyBatty]

Hi George,
I picked up those wheels and covers from another Spider owner/friend as a labor trade for helping him with his ' 75.
The tires only had about 100 miles on them as he had recently switched over to some of those nice larger wheels sold by Allisons.

I plan to change them out to some sort of alloy wheel in the future as I continue to work on the coupe.

[So Cal Mark]

I'm happy to see the progress. I knew that motor was pretty good

[RoyBatty]

Hi Mark,
You nailed it, this 1600 runs like a fine watch.
More progress. I have undertaken the process of corrosion removal around the rear window.
Remember folks, I don't do this for a living and I am learning as I go.

[spiderrey]

Nicely done.

[vandor]

Did you Photoshop that?
Just kidding, nice work!

[georgeramos]

Dang Roy. Well done. I cant wait to see the car done. Im sure you feel the same!

[RoyBatty]

Thanks again guys......Csaba, we will be talking.
Here is the worst damage in the rear window frame.

[Exit98]

I plan to change them out to some sort of alloy wheel in the future as I continue to work on the coupe.

That particular coupe started out with CD3's.

[RoyBatty]

Thanks Exit 98,
Not sure those are what I'd want to put on this coupe but I will look into that at a later date.

Since I'd finished the rust removal around the rear window frame, I decided to attack something in the engine bay. The power output from this 1600 was nowhere near what I get from the 1800 in my spider with the twin IDF40's. So I pulled the stock dual plane/vacuum secondary carb assy as a single unit and installed the single plane and 32/36 EMPI that had been sitting in the garage since I'd removed them from the spider.
What a difference! The little 1600 started right up and only required a small idle mixture tweak.
The power difference is notable in that there is more of it and the delivery is more linear. I almost feel like the coupe might give my spider a run for its money in the acceleration department.
Thanks for the heads up on this Csaba.
My only question is, did they fire the guy that decided to install that dual plane and vacuum secondary carb combo?
What a usless lump of metal that seems to be.

[Redline]

Buy that other guy's nice Maserati Biturbo wheels (14"). I think they look great on a Coupe (understated) and put you in a decent sweet spot for tires (not too big to ruin the feel, not too small to limit choice).