Back on the Road

General chat about the car goes in here.
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DUCeditor
Posts: 490
Joined: Sun May 23, 2010 7:36 am
Your car is a: 1977 FIAT 124 Sport Spider
Location: Monadnock Area, New Hampshire USA
Contact:

Back on the Road

Postby DUCeditor » Sat Jul 29, 2017 7:03 am

We're back!

Yes, I've been rather quiet for a time. Health reasons. Niggling issues with the Spider. Both, now, largely improved.

The health stuff I'll skip apart from saying that I'm now 70. Just too boring.

The Spider issues, too, have been age related. She's now 40. (How do Spider years compare to dog years?) Lighting issues. Fix, patch, fail. Fix, patch fail.

Took the car into AVA Restoration where the ever helpful (and knowledgeable) first "A" (Alex) got things resolved by dismantling the rear right light unit and sand-blasting off the corrosion, then reassembling the unit and putting it back on the car. Perfecto!

Now that he "knows how" he says we can easily and quickly fix the left side if it, too, starts to act up.

Yippee!

Problem two was restarting the car when the engine was hot and she'd sat for a bit -- long enough to have an ice cream for instance. The jury is still out that this fix is complete -- its been mighty cool here in S.W. New Hampshire -- but so far so good.

Here the issue was the idle solenoid. If I understood Alex correctly there is an idle mixture that is supposed to feed the engine under certain circumstances. Simply put it wasn't working at all. Cold the engine used the "choke" (fuel enrichment circuit), but warm it was fuel starved. Replacing the solenoid and (likely) adjusting those settings means the hot engine should no longer be fuel starved.

Anyway, so far so good as I said. Beyond that "we'll see."

Had the water pump replaced too. Its bearing was completely shot. (Amazing that she wasn't leaking coolant.) Alex flushed out the radiator before replacing the coolant.

Replaced the fluid in the transmission. It was low, but fresh seems to improve the feel significantly.

That and a complete "tune up" -- points, plugs, settings, etc. -- and she's running like a charm. Indeed better than in years.

So, two 'oldsters' back on the road. And I'm lovin' it.

-don

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Italian motorcycles. An Italian car. An Italian wife. What more could a man desire?

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johndemar
Posts: 716
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:12 am
Your car is a: 1976 Fiat 124 Spider
Location: Phoenix

Re: Back on the Road

Postby johndemar » Sat Jul 29, 2017 8:28 am

Glad you're both doing better. I think many of us here can relate to both issues.
Nice picture of the car, those wheel look good on it.
76 Fiat 124 Spider
One owner since July 20, 1976
Amadio Motor, Jeannette, PA

baltobernie
Patron 2020
Patron 2020
Posts: 3466
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2007 6:00 pm
Your car is a: 1973 Spider [sold]
Location: Baltimore, MD

Re: Back on the Road

Postby baltobernie » Sat Jul 29, 2017 10:52 am

Welcome back! Just in time for some good driving weather up there. I know it's not nearby, but friends vacation at Moosehead Lake, ME. Their photos are breathtaking.

bobplyler
Patron 2022
Patron 2022
Posts: 816
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:58 pm
Your car is a: 1979 spider 2000
Location: Charlotte, NC

Re: Back on the Road

Postby bobplyler » Sat Jul 29, 2017 12:07 pm

DUCeditor wrote:The health stuff I'll skip apart from saying that I'm now 70.

I'm 65. I've found I'm getting taller. Must be. Every time I bend over to tie my shoes, my feet are farther away.
1979 Fiat Spider (since new)
2005 Lincoln LS (the wife's car)
2003 Chevrolet Cavalier (daily driver)
1999 Honda Shadow VLX 600
1972 Grumman Traveller 5895L (long gone).

User avatar
DUCeditor
Posts: 490
Joined: Sun May 23, 2010 7:36 am
Your car is a: 1977 FIAT 124 Sport Spider
Location: Monadnock Area, New Hampshire USA
Contact:

Re: Back on the Road

Postby DUCeditor » Sat Jul 29, 2017 2:47 pm

bobplyler wrote:
DUCeditor wrote:The health stuff I'll skip apart from saying that I'm now 70.

I'm 65. I've found I'm getting taller. Must be. Every time I bend over to tie my shoes, my feet are farther away.



:D


My dear one and I just got back from our first real back-roader of the season. Such a pleasure!

We've owned the Spider for now almost thirty years. It would be hard to find any "thing" that has given us so much pleasure. And so greatly in unexpected ways influenced our lives.

We decided some years ago to eventually retire in Southwestern New Hampshire in large part because of the roads here -- roads discovered during our 'spider drives.'. And indeed, we discovered what is now "our town" during one such back road sojourn.

For anyone unfamiliar with the back roads of New Hampshire's Monadnock area may I recommend this piece, "Autumn Song," which I actually wrote for Ducati dot com. What's true for sport motorbikes is also largely true for our beloved Spiders. The ride described there just as well describes our spider drive this morning.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050204053526fw_/http://duc.org:80/BRM_AutumnSong.htm

-Don
Italian motorcycles. An Italian car. An Italian wife. What more could a man desire?


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