fiat spider

Tonight, I managed to pull off a few more things and figure out a few good things. I pulled off the water pump, it needs replacing. One of the bolts (4 total) has been broken off inside the block. Not sure how I'm gonna get it out. Drill maybe?? It was held on by just the three fine I suppose. When it came off, it leaked a LOT of coolant from the block. Glad I have that tub below the car. I removed the rest of the cooling lines that ran up to the carb (auto water choke). Pulled off the belt tensioner bearing, that thing was totally shot. As soon as I started messing with it, all the bearings fell out all over the place. Sheesh. Pulled off the old manifold and set it aside, lost a bit more coolant in the process.

Now for the fun stuff. The engine is filthy, so I busted out my little steamer I picked up at Home Depot and went to work. Pretty rad results I must say. Especially compared with before. It wasn't totally touchless, I had to use the little copper scrubber brush attachment that came with it, but it worked really well. You can finally see the make and model of the engine on the side. It says "FIAT 125A".

I also test fit the carbs. They look hot. And they just barely clear the hood when it's closed. I hope that when they're fully mounted up that it won't be any taller. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to set up a throttle linkage. I am thinking that breaking off the levers inside the engine bay and installing a cable that runs from the pedal is gonna be my best bet. I'll see what advice other people out there have or what they have done.

Tomorrow (hopefully) I order a bunch of parts. Something like this:

1. Tensioner bearing
2. New belts (aux + timing)
3. Thermostat
4. Radiator temp sender
5. Assorted radiator hoses
6. Assorted Gaskets
7. Something fun, maybe a t-shirt that says WEBER or FIAT.

Anyhow, I am really trying to get this thing on the road by the 24th of Sept. If I can't make that, I must make it to the Speed Festival in October.

Today I managed to pull the radiator and most of the rest of the cooling equipment. I need to get the heater stuff done, but I'll attack that tomorrow. I also pulled off the belt sheild and removed the belts. They're old and cracked and need replacing. Of course, I moved one of the gears so I'll have to set everything back to TDC before I stick it on. That probably needs to be done anyhow.

I also bought this steamer thing from Home Depot today. I had heard that the pro's all use steam to clean engine bays. But I guess they must use super high power ones because the one I have doesn't seem to break stuff up the way I expected. Or maybe 30 yrs of grime is just tough stuff to clean.

Found out today that you can also dump coolant and oil at Miramar Landfill for free. That's good to know since I was wondering how to dispose of coolant.

I realized today that I have about $500 worth of parts I need to buy. And if I'm gonna do the breaks I might as well do the suspension as well. But I'll do that after I get the engine and drivetrain working well.

So, I'm all moved in. The car has a new home. I haven't had a lot of time to work on her since I have so much house stuff to do, but tonight I made some progress.

Last time I wrote, I was waiting on bolts to arrive and about to move. Well, I test-fit the bolts last night with the new wheels. They fit. Yessssss! And they look cool too! I still lust after the Panasports and wonder if these were the right choice, but these are a heck of a lot rarer...and a heck of a lot cheaper!

I also made a huge mess trying to drain the coolant in preperation for installing the new radiator this weekend. I even bought one of those flat tubs. It contianed most of the mess, but coolant still drained all down the sides and out to the edges of the car. Karl's method of just throwing down a ton of newspaper sounds like it might be the way to go. At least you'd have an easier way to dispose of it all. Maybe. Tracy took a funny shot of me triumphantly holding the overflow tank.

I missed the Monterey goal this year due to the move. Kind of a big bummer, I really wish I could have taken it up this year. But, now I have a new goal. There is a work event where you bring in your hobbies to show off...I'm gonna see if I can get it together in time for this...it's Sept 24th. We'll see. I have a lot to do, but it might be possible.

So Monterey came and went and I didn't get to take my car yet again. Even if I could have somehow installed the new carbs, wheels and brakes in 2 weeks, I wouldn't have felt safe in a non-sorted out car. Well, now I can take my time and try to get it done in the *proper* fashion....that is, when the house doesn't take priority.