I have until 31 December 2009 to get the Fiat running if I'm going to keep my promise to my wife of getting her Spider running for her 50th birthday which has already been graced to calender end.
Orange 1974 124 with 74k miles ran great when parked in a bad garage in 1992. I bent a huge Craftsman 1 1/2" offset boxed end wrench with a torch for the crank and have been trying to get it free with that. Wouldn't budge so I pulled the head and beat on it with an oak drift. It had been soaking in Kroil for a few months. It's now free. Pistons are all around mid stroke so I think I can hone the rust spots pretty easily. I plan to clean it up and put it back together

Questions:
Can I eliminate the air tubes and pump going in the top of the head?
What do I need to know about that distributor with the two sets of points? I never really had to work on it. This car always ran perfectly.

Any other suggestions? This is a fairly rusty car that we don't really want to restore as much as we want to get it running again.

Thanks all and I hope to report back with progress, C.

Suggestion

I would suggest getting the manual for her spider, I got mine through Amazon.com it will help you wipe her car into running shape quickly. The manual is not super technical and has lots of pictures. If it weren't for my manual my '79 spider would still be on blocks.

Suggestion

I would suggest getting the manual for her spider, I got mine through Amazon.com it will help you wipe her car into running shape quickly. The manual is not super technical and has lots of pictures. If it weren't for my manual my '79 spider would still be on blocks.

I've always had a Clymer manual for the car. I've also always been on the International Auto Parts email list. Where do you all shop for parts like gaskets? C.

you beat the head with an oak drift? har har..

the emission equipment can all be discarded... depending on your local laws, or testing, may not make it legal.. i'd suggest plugging the resulting holes in the head with the proper size metric fittings.

dual points are a common item for consideration of modification. there are one set of points for idling and another for running. converting to one set of points or to electronic ignition is a common task for some of us. telling you what you need to know would depend on what you already know or don't. what would you like to know?

i hope before you attempt to torch off that ignition that you take the time to completely drain and flush the fuel delivery system. i've seen more than one system get fouled up this year because of haste or ignorance.

gaskets can be obtained from the source you specified. also look at these locations:
www.midwest-bayless.com
www.vickauto.com
www.fiatparts.com
www.midwest124.com
www.autoricambi.us

if you do getter running, i hope you take the time to learn to stop before you pedal down the road. brakes will be shot, and so will the guibo and the timing belt. i'd rather read that you gave up because of finances than to read your obituary.

Thanks for the info mbouse.. This isn't the first time I've used the oak drift. I should've mentioned that it's important to hollow the center so your blows bear on the perimeter of the pistons and not the center.
My driveway is straight down with a hairpin in the middle so brakes will be high on the priority list.... after it's running!!
I saw a post last night about converting to one set of points. I will probably do that... or maybe not, it did run great when I shut it off 15 years ago.
Depending on how this goes, we may restore this car. My wife loves it, we've had two and they're great cars.
Thanks again for the info, C.

Just bead honed the cylinders...

I moved 2 cylinders just below where they've been frozen. Put a little grease around the piston gap and ran the bead hone with solvent on it. Did all 4 and they look pretty good. One has a "patch" of pitting that's not great but not too bad either. Who wants to venture how much is too much? I could run a better hone in there.. Keep in mind the goal is to get it running so as to tiptoe into how bad the rest of the car is. I really don't want to take the engine apart right now. At least if it's running, I can move it around. Thanks again in advance, I appreciate the help, C.

I've heard of two methods of freeing up seized engines,
One is to pour cola into the bores and leave overnight (not sure if it's Pepsi or Coke ) the other is to pour hot oil into the bores (I believe this is used by aviation specialists when working on rare or fragile engines ?)

Re: Just bead honed the cylinders...

Crispin said:

Who wants to venture how much is too much?

Click to expand...

not possible for us to do. i have seen guys pour thousands into a restore, just to find out that the floor pans were toast beyond consideration. in fact, this weekend i am giving a shell to a guy who nearly went this far with his restore. He'll be swapping parts from one shell to the other just to avoid the inevitible.

but i will offer that there are project cars available rolling on their own steam for under a grand, if you are lucky enough, or patient enough to watch for them.

entire replacement motors are a good thing to watch for in parts cars. frequently these cars are sidelined permenantly due to cancer, not the mechanicals. this might be a good thought for you.

I was asking more about the patch of pitting on the cylinder(s). I'm ok with the car. These cylinders are pretty good but you can feel the corrosion here and there. I'm just not sure about spending the time and $ on putting the head back on and continuing with fuel flush and blah blah blah.
My other "oak drift" job was a '52 Case tractor and I left a little corrosion in those bores but I took the pistons out and gave it new rings. I don't want to go that deep with this project right now.
What's the worst that can happen? A little smoke but maybe a runner... C.
ps I went to school at Tri-State in Angola, IN... I think that's your neighborhood

yeah, Angola is just down the road about 20 minutes. if you like a little winter, this is a great place to live.

and, if you are o.k. with some smoke, gofer it. a replacement long block is not that far away from you should you decide to change your mind. cost is minimal as well. look me up if you cannot locate one on your own.

by the way, in case you are interested.. i have an electronic ignition from a parts car 1980 Spider.
distributor, coil, heat sink mounting bracket and control module.

you need a cap, rotor and magnetic pickup.

common cure for the dual points is to eliminate them all together. this setup will accomplish that goal.

$25 plus shipping anywhere USA. Pay Pal payment readily accepted.

sorry, sold the unit... however, this is still a common cure for the dual points system... and worth the installation effort.