fiat spider

I think that, for the first time since the start of this project, I have made the next milestone when I said I would. I rebuilt the carb. Heh.

Saturday I went up to Karl's house for "Carbfest 2003". We both had carbs to rebuild and getting together to do car stuff is always fun. Plus having a nice, large garage to work in is heavenly. He had purchased a pair of 40 DCOE's for his 72 BMW 2002 a while back and I needed to rebuild my 32 ADF. We set out to do it about 11am and completed around 5pm or so with more than a few little teeny o-rings left over for each of us. It was a learning experience...I never knew how complicated a Weber really was. And you'll use a LOT of carb cleaner too. That stuff will get you high if you're not in an outdoors type environment. I wouldn't recommend you do it indoors. We were in a double garage with the doors open. I still got a headache. Also, it's easier if you put down something to soak it up while you work. We used cardboard with paper towels on top. Finished up in time to eat some home-made burritos, courtesy of Karl and his wife, Marie-Pierre, and watch the sun set while contemplating telescope accessories.

So, that's done. Yay.

Today (Sunday) I decided it was time to figure out why I have no fuel. So I went out and disconnected the gas tank. The carb was off so it was already disconnected. I blew on the hose. Clogged. Disconnected the filter. Ditto. Disconnected the pump. Aha! So, I set about installing the electric pump. I started running some heavy-duty copper wire from the trunk to the front. Had to remove the seats and tear out some of the rear so I could get to the unobstructed side where the wires go. They go from the trunk, over the wheel well and right into the body next to the rear seats. No biggie. I ran the wire up to the front. Disconnected the battery and unscrewed the fuse box. Turns out, the reason I could never figure out what was up with my electrical system is because my stinkin' fuse box was put on upside down. I can see where the wires were twisted wrong for 30 years. Jeez. Even the lettering (A-J) is on the top where no one could see it. I have to admit, it fit on better upside down...probably why it ended up like that. Jeez.

So I used the voltmeter to find a fuse that had 12v when the ignition was on. Don't want that pump running except when the ignition is on and the car is running. The "i" fuse was good. So I set about trying to mate up this solid copper wire with the little female prong connector. After about 2 hours of frustrating work, I realized it was impossible, pulled the copper wire and ran copper strand from the back. 20 minutes later I had power in the back, tested and everything. Lesson learned. I saw that it would be a lot easier with the other wire at the very start...but tried anyway. Don't do that shit N8. Heh. But I stopped there. My SO and I needed to get some dinner and it was a good place to stop. I will continue soon with the install and hopefully get fuel moving again.


I also ordered a pair of wheels off of e-bay. They're *brand new* vintage BWA 13x5.5. They were original Fiat equipment from the 70's. Apparently a guy ordered a few sets of them and had them shipped TWA air-freight from France. Then he closed his Fiat dealership before they were sold and they have been in a box for 30 years. Somebody found them and put them up on ebay! I made some photoshop examples for the wheels to see if I'd like em. I do. They'll be here this week, I'm excited!