DOA

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Sscottdvm
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Your car is a: Fiat 124 1971

Re: DOA

Postby Sscottdvm » Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:00 pm

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1978 Fiat Spider 124
BMW M3 2008
Subaru Forester 2008
MGB 1971,

Sscottdvm
Posts: 76
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 3:46 pm
Your car is a: Fiat 124 1971

Re: DOA

Postby Sscottdvm » Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:04 pm

Was trying to get a picture of my car in the signature. For some reason wouldn't upload. Tried the imgur. Seemed to work. For now going to give up on the timing, misfiring issue. Just drive below 70 mph and don't go above 4500 rpm and it runs fine.
1978 Fiat Spider 124
BMW M3 2008
Subaru Forester 2008
MGB 1971,

AriK
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Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider
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Re: DOA

Postby AriK » Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:23 pm

Great shade of blue!

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nelsonj
Posts: 394
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Your car is a: 1972 Spider 124

Re: DOA

Postby nelsonj » Thu Aug 31, 2017 1:03 am

The car looks very nice. It deserves to have the misfiring issue addressed.

I still vote for upgrading to electronic ignition. Example:
http://www.vickauto.com/newstore/index. ... ts_id=4597

Call and see if your coil is good enough, and you need an ignition model. The regular vendors can certainly get you set up.

Make sure the timing is correct - based on your previous post, it sounded like it was too far advanced.

Peace.
Out.
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Simi Valley, California
Spider 1800
Romans 10:9

Sscottdvm
Posts: 76
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 3:46 pm
Your car is a: Fiat 124 1971

Re: DOA

Postby Sscottdvm » Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:18 am

If I make the timing correct it barely runs. I guess the PO owner had it advanced so far so it ran best. I'll call Vicks and see if the installation is straight forward. Maybe give it a try.
1978 Fiat Spider 124
BMW M3 2008
Subaru Forester 2008
MGB 1971,

zachmac
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Your car is a: 1978 Spider [1979 2 ltr engine]
Location: Aiken, SC

Re: DOA

Postby zachmac » Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:07 pm

Sscottdvm wrote:If I make the timing correct it barely runs. I guess the PO owner had it advanced so far so it ran best. I'll call Vicks and see if the installation is straight forward. Maybe give it a try.



If you are having to advance the timing way past 10 degrees to get it to run well your cam timing may be off. Have you lined up the cams and crank pulley at TDC and checked to see if the cam wheel holes are aligned with the markers?

Also, are you sure you are timing off the 10 degree advance mark? There are three marks, TDC, 5 and 10 degrees advance on the pointer.
Jeff Klein, Aiken, SC
1980 FI Spider, Veridian with Tan (sold about a year ago), in the market for another project
1989 Spider, sold
2008 Mercedes SL65
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Sscottdvm
Posts: 76
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 3:46 pm
Your car is a: Fiat 124 1971

Re: DOA

Postby Sscottdvm » Thu Aug 31, 2017 8:06 pm

No, I can't really find the notches. I can find the timing marks and what I think is the pulley notch is way above the third mark. It's possible I'm not actually seeing the proper pulley mark. Probably before I continue to replace more things, like an electronic ignition, might be time to get it to someone that actually knows what he's doing.
1978 Fiat Spider 124
BMW M3 2008
Subaru Forester 2008
MGB 1971,

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nelsonj
Posts: 394
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2010 5:37 pm
Your car is a: 1972 Spider 124

Re: DOA

Postby nelsonj » Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:23 pm

Here's a picture of the timing belt cover with the timing marks (copy and past the link to a new tab). When the the notch/marker on the pulley is aligned with the big line, you're at 0 deg (this guy painted it red to make it easier to see). The middle line is 5 deg, and the top line is 10 deg. You need to use a timing lite synced to cylinder #1. If you are well above 10 deg something is off. This is really easy to check with a timing light.

https://goo.gl/images/68nu2G


Concerning cam timing, it's sort of hard to check this, and this is a much less common issue than ignition timing per above. You have to crank the engine and see if the cams line up perfectly at some point in the engine rotation. The link below shows what I mean by "perfectly". It's possible to do this by putting the car in gear and pushing it - but this is not all that easy. The "easiest" way is to get a socket over the main bolt on the crank (but you typically have to pull the radiator/fan out to do this - pain), pull out the spark plugs, and rotate the engine with a long wrench. Very easy to do if the radiator is out - almost impossible with it in.

Here's a link to a pic that shows properly timed cam gears. Each gear has a little "dot" and that dot needs to line up with the "arrows" when the cam is at top dead center. Note BOTH cam dots have to eventually align with the arrows at the same time (it may take several cycles before they both align) or something is off.

https://goo.gl/images/3u5uqH

I still suspect it is misfiring because something is wrong with your points and ignition timing, much more common than cam timing.

One other thought, if the spark plug wires are old, they can also cause problems (missing that might be causing the high-rev problems.)
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Simi Valley, California
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Romans 10:9

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aj81spider
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Your car is a: 1974 Fiat 124 Spider
Location: Chelmsford, MA

Re: DOA

Postby aj81spider » Fri Sep 01, 2017 9:43 am

The "easiest" way is to get a socket over the main bolt on the crank (but you typically have to pull the radiator/fan out to do this - pain), pull out the spark plugs, and rotate the engine with a long wrench. Very easy to do if the radiator is out - almost impossible with it in.


This is true for any standard socket I found. However I found a slim socket that, at least on my car, lets me get on the crank nut and rotate it without pulling the radiator.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FEGA62W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
A.J.

1974 Fiat 124 Spider
2006 Corvette
1981 Spider 2000 (sold 2013 - never should have sold that car)

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RRoller123
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Re: DOA

Postby RRoller123 » Fri Sep 01, 2017 2:40 pm

I got that slim socket too, and it will let you turn the engine with the radiator still in, but I found that, for anything but a short, occasional use, it is very difficult to avoid hitting the radiator fins and deforming them. A piece of heavy corrugated cardboard against the fins helps, but it needs to be thin, and I still ended up biffing some of the fins. :|
'80 FI Spider 2000
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Sscottdvm
Posts: 76
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 3:46 pm
Your car is a: Fiat 124 1971

Re: DOA

Postby Sscottdvm » Fri Sep 01, 2017 7:35 pm

I tried again. Today couldn't even find the notch when trying to time it. Set the dizzy back to original setting and car misfires at 3800 rpm. I think I'm just going to get the electronic ignition system. Let my mechanic install everything.
Get new plugs, leads, dist cap etc. if that doesn't fix the problem, guess carb issues are next
1978 Fiat Spider 124
BMW M3 2008
Subaru Forester 2008
MGB 1971,

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nelsonj
Posts: 394
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2010 5:37 pm
Your car is a: 1972 Spider 124

Re: DOA

Postby nelsonj » Sat Sep 02, 2017 7:10 pm

The timing mark on the crank pulley can be hard to see on any car. I have a toothbrush duct taped to a long stick. I soak the tooth brush in degrease or soapy water, run the car, and carefully clean outside of the moving pulley with it.
Once it's clean, I turn the car off, find the timing mark, and paint it with a bright color. Yellow is my favorite, but I frequently raid my wife's nail polish collection and just use the brightest color (usually red or pink) and paint with that. Or white liquid paper is a workable option.

Once its clean and the timing mark is painted, it's very easy to find the mark when timing the car.

Keep us posted.
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Simi Valley, California
Spider 1800
Romans 10:9

Sscottdvm
Posts: 76
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 3:46 pm
Your car is a: Fiat 124 1971

Re: DOA

Postby Sscottdvm » Sat Sep 02, 2017 7:47 pm

While working on the timing the clutch cable either stretched or snapped. I basically rolled back into my garage. Luckily my driveway is all downhill I'll take a look tomorrow but probably be flat bedded to my mechanic in the next week. I not a mechanic and time to let someone who hopefully knows what he's doing take over
1978 Fiat Spider 124
BMW M3 2008
Subaru Forester 2008
MGB 1971,

Sscottdvm
Posts: 76
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 3:46 pm
Your car is a: Fiat 124 1971

Re: DOA

Postby Sscottdvm » Mon Sep 18, 2017 3:46 pm

PROBLEMS TEMPORAILY SOLVED

I don't know what happened to the clutch cable. I finally brought the car to a mechanic. He said the clutch just needed adjusting. However when I got it back, the pedal had about 3" of play in it and wouldn't spring back to its normal position. So I tightened it a lot more and now it's all working again. Obviously the cable didn't just stretch 1 " all of a sudden. Most likely there's some reason ( maybe the firewall or bad pedal that caused this) just waiting for something else to fail.

The misfiring issue was addressed as well. His answer " the car is old you shouldn't go above 60 or 3000 rpms." Said the timing is correct. So, took it for a long ride and it was now misfiring at 50 and during any quick acceleration. It really seemed to be a fuel issue. I had replaced the filter when I first got the car ( it had been sitting for about a year) but decided to replace again as well as that one way valve between the filter and carb. All of a sudden I have a new car. Actually hit 80mph, no missing or spitting. Shifted at 5000 rpms and everything smooth. I guess you just have to try the simple fixes. Maybe it wasn't the filter clogging up quickly, possible that valve wasn't letting enough fuel in.
Maybe I can actually drive the car during the fall without anything else breaking down.
1978 Fiat Spider 124
BMW M3 2008
Subaru Forester 2008
MGB 1971,

narfire
Posts: 3959
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Your car is a: 1980 124 spider
Location: Naramata B.C.

Re: DOA

Postby narfire » Mon Sep 18, 2017 7:30 pm

Pop the hood and have a close look at the firewall where the clutch cable goes through. The firewall can buckle and crack at the hole and the firewall takes up the cable movement.
Old cables bung up and the cable does not move smoothly in the sheath causing the firewall to move.
If it is cracked, going to take a few hours to pull the bits in the way and spot weld the crack then I put a plate over to reinforce.
80 FI spider
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