Again I would recommend Por15 once you have welded, and patched as a final top coat ....every coat adds strength, and 2 or 3 thick coats will surprise you.
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Technical 1978 124 Project
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Technical 1978 124 Project
As long as things dont look unsafe, totally broken or rusted over a runner driver will help you make a better job list. Surface rust on brake discs not a problem but deep corosion is a non starter
There is always a bit of discovery even when you think you have done anything and test drives done with caution.
Assess each system srparately and thrn stop and make notes
You can do this without all the trim in and small holes in the floor!
Steering is just to check the stg box & linkage is smooth, notch free, no clunks to the end of travel with the load from the car on it. Until the geometry is set and tyres etc sorted there is no point assessing steering feel
Brakes make sure all corners function, you can lock the rear wheels with thr park brake, the rear brake bias is functional etc. Until the car is on brake rollers you cant see the individal effectiveness of each corner
As you reassemble the car you will see lots of opportunities for improving! There is a lot of fitting and adjusting rather than assembly (like a modern car designed to be easy to assemble/disassemble
A good example would be the interior door handle/arm rest held on by self tapping sheet metal screws. I would replace these with M5 or M6 rivnuts (or US equiv) much more solid and the armrest is likely to stay attatched!
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smahaley
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Many thanks for these pointers!
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smahaley
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Machino bambino elevato extremo.
Elevato extremo for sure! I'm betting you can sit up and have a sip off your beer under there! I might be tempted to place a jack under the front crossmember, and rear end for added safety if your really wrenching on something...are you getting ready for metal replacement? Looks like a pleasant place to work!
Maybe a couple of vertical 4x2’s to stop the car rolling off the stands? They do move a bit on the suspension when you start wrestling underneath
Whats the plan with the bidywork?
Original or delete the chrome sidetrim and Fed spec side repeaters front & rear? Fiat 500 (old one) front indicators are about £12 on ebay and look way better. I bonded some blanking plates on with magic metal (to avoid welding distirtion) then filled and sanded flush
Original or delete the chrome sidetrim and Fed spec side repeaters front & rear? Fiat 500 (old one) front indicators are about £12 on ebay and look way better. I bonded some blanking plates on with magic metal (to avoid welding distirtion) then filled and sanded flush
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smahaley
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Aye - it is *very* nice as I am 6’3” and the interior (engine bay and floorboards etc) is now *so* much easier to reach.
New question, oh sage ones:
I finally have a valve adjustment tool and have checked clearances twice - noting that I installed new valves. I get clearances that are all “loose” by .001 - .004 inches, with one exhaust valve that is “tight” by .005. There is one intake valve that is loose by a full hundredth (.010).
The manual suggests .017 for intake and .019 for exhaust.
How close do I need to get? Would .002 difference be detrimental?
Thanks in advance!
New question, oh sage ones:
I finally have a valve adjustment tool and have checked clearances twice - noting that I installed new valves. I get clearances that are all “loose” by .001 - .004 inches, with one exhaust valve that is “tight” by .005. There is one intake valve that is loose by a full hundredth (.010).
The manual suggests .017 for intake and .019 for exhaust.
How close do I need to get? Would .002 difference be detrimental?
Thanks in advance!
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smahaley
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Oooh I want to know more about this: I’m not wild about the trim bits and have been thinking about smoothing things out and maybe NOT putting the bumpers back in which case I would need new indicator solution….
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Fiat 126 front indcators are also a good size but a bit more work to integrate
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Spiders look soo much better with the front bumper gone...I took so much liking to the images twink80 posted of the fiat 500, 600 front turn signal lenses that I bought an ebay set yesterday, here's what my low budget front-end make over looks like, I'm going to mount the front signals in the bumper shock locations, and add perforated metal on the back side of the original turn signal locations...just another idea for you and the progress you are making is great!
P.S. front chin spoilers add a lot of eyeball !
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Sounds like a good plan
For another idea you could fit brake ducts to the outer rectangular holes and make the apertures functional. Ebay stock kits (black plastic mouldings) which you can bond in with silicon and not damage the paintwork.
There are generic kits avail not too expensive. If you buy race car version price is x5 or x10!!
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Thanks for the tip! I will look in to that! I own a fast and furious 4, real stunt car, and now that I think about it, universal studios used what looks like the shiny clothes dryer flexible hose on it, to do the same thing...will check ebay!
If you are doing a load of welding its well worth sorting out the patchwork behind the front grilles.
Externally the cars look great but behind the skin the airflow coming on to the car is badly controlled. My car 1980 had open passageways fron the upper grille to the wheelarches behind the headlights. Since air will take the easiest path its not going through the radiator!
The lower aperture is nearly as bad and I plated over mine to go from the grille to front of the rad
There is also room to improve the sealing at the top of the radiator near the crossmember
I drove the car yesterday 23C cross country and city traffic, the temp held stable below 90 (87C stat fitted)
By contrast a friend has an aftermarket aluminium rad fitted, there are massive airgaps all around the perimeter so very inefficient cooling
You also have to consider air leaving the back of the radiator, mostly past the engine down the transmission tunnel. I have seen bonnets jacked open by 1 inch but I chose to fit vents/louvres to the bonnet and painted them the same colour as the bonnet to blend in.
Just a few more ideas to add to yoyr job list!
Externally the cars look great but behind the skin the airflow coming on to the car is badly controlled. My car 1980 had open passageways fron the upper grille to the wheelarches behind the headlights. Since air will take the easiest path its not going through the radiator!
The lower aperture is nearly as bad and I plated over mine to go from the grille to front of the rad
There is also room to improve the sealing at the top of the radiator near the crossmember
I drove the car yesterday 23C cross country and city traffic, the temp held stable below 90 (87C stat fitted)
By contrast a friend has an aftermarket aluminium rad fitted, there are massive airgaps all around the perimeter so very inefficient cooling
You also have to consider air leaving the back of the radiator, mostly past the engine down the transmission tunnel. I have seen bonnets jacked open by 1 inch but I chose to fit vents/louvres to the bonnet and painted them the same colour as the bonnet to blend in.
Just a few more ideas to add to yoyr job list!