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General Murphio's Meanderings

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General Murphio's Meanderings

Murf has has new hat now and it wasn't so tricky to fit as I imagined.
PT1_0388 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
The fabric is cut and stitched just about as perfectly as it could be and the result is a neatly fitting and taut sunroof even if the pattern is a bit hit and miss. :)
PT1_0385 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
PT1_0374 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
Even the colour underneath is a perfect match for the greyish paint finish of the metalwork. The ends of these were very damp and rusty so that was one patina that had to go. I just treated the bad bits and zinc primed. The bits that show can be touched in when I get a little can of matched paint;I found a perfect BS. colour on my chart.
The only hitch is with the rivets at which secure the middle stretcher bar. I bought new and have used them before when refitting the original roof. They seem to be meant to"catch", but I couldn't get them tight enough; so they pinged out when the roof was stretched. The rubbers on the ends whih are supposed to protect the paintwork were more rotten than ithought so I will order new and new rivets and try again.
 
Today we drove the 50 miles to a little, old fishing village called Sandend. It was a beautiful day so to cool the tyres we tackled a ford. The surface in the river bed is very rough with big stone blocks and huge gaps; so foot down and full speed ahead.
 

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Could be a new thread "Classic Fiat 500 through ford"

There is one near me, will wait for water level to drop before photo, did it years ago in a Hillman Imp :)

H-A
 
I sorted the centre roof-bar rivets today, which was easy once I had put on the brand new end rubbers; It all sits nicely now.
Murf is suffering from a wet bottom at the moment....not from the river crossing the other day, but engine and gear oil leaks which are becoming a bit more acute.
The gearbox is easily dealt with. One of the engine leaks was through the top of the previously repaired oil filler cap. The riveted centre pillar works loose and I had to replace it. Annoyingly, the new one is really too tight, doesn't have "FIAT" embossed on it although I understand why not and has some non-standard "pips" on it.
PT1_1384 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
The other leak, which emerged a while ago, is now appearing to be the crankshaft end seal. I've bought one of the more expensive replacements labelled as a silicone seal.
PT1_1381 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
Whenever I order things I think ahead or laterally and bulk up the parcel with items not yet needed. So that included a spare fuel pump and air filter etc. I thought I had ordered stainless steel replacement headlamp surrounds (still wrapped in blue film), but I had mistakenly bought a pair of stainless steel "eyebrows". I won't be using them but if anyone wants them to include delivery for £10 (bargain) :) , just pm,. me please.
PT1_1374 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
 
I thought you would have liked those on Murphio with all the modding you have now embarked on. They would go well with your sunroof. Cough, Cough!!!!

TBH I have owned my 500 it must be 20 years or more now and the driveshafts have always seeped a bit, yours do look a little worse than averaged. I have never know it not to have little drips round the sump, the crankshaft seal is what my 650 lump suffered from and is best caught early otherwise it sprays oil everywhere off the flywheel!

I think it is virtually impossible to get an oil tight 500 all cars of that era came with a free drip tray!
 
Peter,

Do I remember correctly that you used JB Weld to repair the oil filler cap? I had replaced mine with a new one which looks just like yours. I should have just stayed with the old one since the new one is of lower quality and it leaked measurably due to a poor fit between the shaft and the cap. But, following your (or another poster's) lead, I used JB Weld and so far, so good.

I had my engine apart last October and put in those new silicon seals on the crankshaft. After a few hundred miles, the one on the timing chain end seals like a charm. But, I've burned up the one on the fly wheel end. I had oiled the shaft during the rebuild but evidently, it wasn't enough. This time around, based on input from the local engine reconditioner, I'll use lube assembly on the wear surface.
 
Bob, both you and Tony are worrying me about the flywheel end, I hadn't considered that.
The pulley end is where I'm heading first.
The shaft of the filler cap on mine eventually broke away from the adhesive. I won't be throwing it away though. I am going to look at it carefully and there might be a MIG welding solution...I am good at that.
I am about a fifth of the way towards what, in my experience, seems to have been the normal sort of mileage originally achieved by 500s before they were sold as scrap or just went into their first hibernation. At that stage, the engines and gearboxes of all the cars I have ever been involved with were perfectly preserved externally in a layer of oily grime. As Tony observed..maybe that's just the way is it is (as the song goes).
 
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