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General Murphio's Meanderings

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General Murphio's Meanderings

I had the engine cutting out after speed humps which confused me then discovered that there was some sediment in the tank that was getting agitated and clogging the filter in the tank.
 
Toshi 975 said:
I had the engine cutting out after speed humps which confused me then discovered that there was some sediment in the tank that was getting agitated and clogging the filter in the tank.
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You might be onto something there. Although I know the idle jet isn't in the game once you're up to top rpm., I do wonder if there was a tiny fleck in the jet. I'll re-check it all this morning.
 
I just had a quick scout around the car and noticed the choke cable was loose; probably unrelated to the issue, but something might have been jiggling about. I think I will try it with a different fuel pump and see how we go....that's an easy fix and I have one in front of me just now.
 
As a follow-up to the fueling problem. I had noticed the car stuttered at high speed on undulating roads and after a short time on tickover when setting off again. Although I had already decided there was plenty of fuel being pumped, further thought made me wonder if the supply was just adequate, So at high engine speeds there would be sufficient fuel to keep things going, but jolts to the carb would disturb the fuel level and starve the engine? On idling, although less fuel is needed, barely sufficient might be supplied, as the pump would be activated less; I hadn't been hearing much fuel returning to the tank via the bypass.

The pump-rod was set correctly as regards the pump-spacer, and the pump was a known good one which I had used before. But I have refitted the pump which originally belonged with this engine. You can see that the construction is different. Measured against a straight edge, the operating lever of the pump on the left, which I have been using, is further inboard from the mounting flange. I assume this means that it would have a smaller operating movement than its replacement.

It was all of ten minutes' work to swap them over and initial road testing gave positive results...we'll soon know for certain. :D
 

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Murf's started the new year on the front foot, with us using him for doing those few things that increasingly strict regulations allow us to do. The "lockdowns" really cut back our mileage this year, but with a few late flourishes we managed to cover about 3,500.

He's been running really well and we've shaken off the reliability issues which centred on fuel supply. But today he gave a shudder and went down to one cylinder..as is well known, a disaster when you only have two.:D We just happened to be passing our local Halfords, so that seemed a sensible car park to have a look at things. It was No.2 cylinder playing up. Changing the plug made no difference; neither did changing round the plug-leads; still No. 2 out of action. I checked the tappet clearances because they were the last known thing I had messed with; I slackened each one off a touch...no joy.:bang: So it had to be inside the distributor cap. I have a 123 fitted and this is supplied, from new, with what appear to be a top quality cap and rotor-arm. But mine has now covered in excess of 30,000 miles on three different engines and has had zero maintenance. The electrodes were very grey, with a layer of oxidation. So to get us going, it was the classic combination of some coarse sandpaper and scratching with a fine screwdriver. In the photo, taken when I got home, I assume the grit and dust is from the abrasion. I've made a better job of it, with fine paper, and completely degreased the items using panel-wipe and the airline. As a precaution I will be buying new ones when I'm sure of the quality. I also had to get back to the tappets and reset them all properly again:bang:

It shows that you can't completely eliminate potential problems, even when you use a very expensive and precise electronic component. having said that, it was the basic, mechanical technology which let me down. :)

https://youtu.be/E0X-6LhyTSQ
 

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Murf's been laid up for most of the last month. The threats presented by salt to his underpinnings and Covid to my own have combined with nasty, cold weather to keep us in the garage. That's not to say the garage is much better against the weather; in order to properly see what I'm doing I need to door open and Murf's blue nose outside for much of the time.

I've torn into some rust that has reformed around the inside of the roof gutters. It's been thoroughly "burned" off with acid and waiting for warmer weather so that I can repaint it.

Replacing the electronic distributor with the conventional one with points has stopped an annoying knock and not affected the running in any negative way. I took the opportunity to fit a brand new, Marelli rotor-arm and cap. In fact, without needing any adjustment, whith the static timing set at 10 degrees BTDC the maximum advance is spot-on at 28 degrees...so I'm happy and Murf sounds the same.

The alternator hadn't been kicking out more than about 13.1 volts and was letting out a bit too much AC voltage. The bearings were rattling and the shaft had some backwards and forwards movement. Since I've replaced it we're hitting the heady heights of more than 14 volts, which is reassuring. Whilst I was down there, I fitted a brand new impeller I had bought ages ago (cheap). I didn't need any spacers behind the fan and it is well clear of the cowling.

I may write about the ignition switch on a new thread, as this has needed to be stripped down and rebuilt, but suffice it to say, the ignition light, which had been being a bit awkward, is now fully sorted. :)

Me and Murf are now eager to get out there, with the only current, background concern being a bit too much of a leak from the gearbox. A Fiat 500 restoration is never finished.:bang:

I'm wondering what other people have been doing with their Fiats?
 
Murph always gets a lot of love and attention from Peter. Like yours, my little 500 has been locked up for winter and awaiting any opportunity to get out and about. I was hoping for some good snow down this neck of the woods for the photos of madam in a winter wonderland. but we have not had much to warrant this. I've started her a few times to get up to temps and keep ticking over.


At the moment, I'm having some bits done to her. New gearbox linkages as the others were shot. New brake master cyclinder as leaking and no brakes / fluid in the system (ekkk!!) New wiper spindles going in as one is pretty much no grip (push on) and the wiper does not touch the glass, I did laugh when caught out in rain . . Not. And the windscreen is coming out for some bonding to make it waterproof.


Just a few little jobs to get her ready for the new driving season!

Cheers
Rob
 
When you fit a new screen rubber, may I suggest that you get the type that has a 'spreader' insert---I am convinced that the extra pressure that puts on the rubber enhances its sealing qualities. Both my screens have screen rubbers 'with inserts' and so far (touch wood!) I have never suffered a screen leak problem.
 
the hobbler said:
When you fit a new screen rubber, may I suggest that you get the type that has a 'spreader' insert---I am convinced that the extra pressure that puts on the rubber enhances its sealing qualities. Both my screens have screen rubbers 'with inserts' and so far (touch wood!) I have never suffered a screen leak problem.
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Thanks for the advice Tom! (y)

R
 
well I'm getting Barry ready for his big South Island of NZ trip which is coming up fast. He's booked in to have some small areas of rust seen to. A small area around the windscreen and a couple of spots in lower panel sections.
He'll be getting an oil change (engine and gearbox) and his out-sized spotlights will get wired up. On this, will the generator be able to cope with these (only occasional use) or would getting the supply directly from the battery be better? Again, I can only imagine they will be used for very short periods, if at all tbh.
Next week my very capable mechanic (Tony, fittingly) is going to go over everything I've done and check what I haven't done as well. His auto sparky is going to check the charging system is up to scratch and also fit some sort of anti-theft kill switch.

I'm really pleased with the way he's running. Hopefully overconfidence won't kick in:eek:
 
Fayray said:
He'll be getting an oil change (engine and gearbox) and his out-sized spotlights will get wired up. On this, will the generator be able to cope with these (only occasional use) or would getting the supply directly from the battery be better?
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You would definitely be well advised to fit relays and take the spotlights direct from the battery. I've even adapted the headlights the same way. It avoids putting a lot of electricity through multiple connections and those inside the ignition switch. Having seen today, what a basic setup of contacts is inside there, I'm reassured that fitting relays was the right thing to do.

https://www.fiatforum.com/500-classic/447544-spotty-fiat-500-a-2.html?p=4245839

You will struggle if you plan to drive long hours at night with a dynamo. I'm not sure if the occasional use is well within the capacity of the dynamo. Longer term, if you don't have an alternator, I think it's worth considering.
 
fiat500 said:
You would definitely be well advised to fit relays and take the spotlights direct from the battery. I've even adapted the headlights the same way. It avoids putting a lot of electricity through multiple connections and those inside the ignition switch. Having seen today, what a basic setup of contacts is inside there, I'm reassured that fitting relays was the right thing to do.
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Yep the ignition switch is as you say the weak point. I can’t remember where I saw it but it is common for them to start smoking when people haven’t fitted relays but have installed higher wattage halogen bulbs.

The supply, the big red wire is not fused and comes direct from the VR, light blue back to the coil, so very little current through that but the two black wires are supplying all the lights. To be fair now that you unveiled the internals of the ignition switch it actually does quite a good job considering how basic it is inside.
 
Fayray said:
well I'm getting Barry ready for his big South Island of NZ trip which is coming up fast. He's booked in to have some small areas of rust seen to. A small area around the windscreen and a couple of spots in lower panel sections.
He'll be getting an oil change (engine and gearbox) and his out-sized spotlights will get wired up. On this, will the generator be able to cope with these (only occasional use) or would getting the supply directly from the battery be better? Again, I can only imagine they will be used for very short periods, if at all tbh.
Next week my very capable mechanic (Tony, fittingly) is going to go over everything I've done and check what I haven't done as well. His auto sparky is going to check the charging system is up to scratch and also fit some sort of anti-theft kill switch.

I'm really pleased with the way he's running. Hopefully overconfidence won't kick in:eek:
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Not sure what the rules are with regards to LED bulbs in NZ but I've fitted and these are much brighter and the current draw is significantly less.


https://www.fiatforum.com/500-classic/474525-enlightning.html

R
 
It's continued to be relatively quiet on the Murf front, but I note that we've still done 3,000 miles since this time last year. Today the odometer rolled on to 70,000 miles; that's almost 38,000 since he was back on the road all those years ago.

With his 594 engine he's honestly never run better and is still a pleasure to drive. Here we are photographed on a job related run, with a diversion to collect hen food, just to show he still earns his keep and then a later visit to a wildflower field, where he's supporting my latest obsession of beekeeping.

https://youtu.be/kA46Rjp8v88
 

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fiat500 said:
Today I posted this image on Facebook with the caption, "How to fit the exhaust from a 2015 Fiat 500 into a 1969 Fiat 500."

Some one asked me how I connected it to the engine...it sounded like a serious question.:D
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Is this an Extinction Rebellion type protest to coincide with COP26 showing a spiritual connection to illustrate exhaust gases being directed into the atmosphere ? :)
 
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