I give up! rename: I'll never give up;)

[70spider]

Well nothing is going well. I think it is time to rethink this.
I have to date:
1. Stripped interior and rust shielded it and put in new sound deadening.
2. Rebuilt the dash wood.
3. Fixed the wipers, brake lights, turn signals, and replaced the heater valve.
4. Repaired the top frame and repainted with rustshield, put new top on.
5. Put in new gear reduction starter, radiator, carburetor, water pump, distributor, coil, plugs and wires, tried a Petronix electronic ignition but the advanced springs on the old dizzy were not the correct ones so I got a new dizzy but the Petronix didn't work on it the center shaft was considerably less in diameter (but thats another story).
6. Put in reconditioned 1800 intake manifold.
7. Had the fuel tank reconditioned, I painted it put in a new sending unit.
8. Changed the oil and tranny oil.
9. Bought a really cool FIAT key chain

After all this I can not get it started. I did everything I was supose to do I set the engine to TDC (using #4) then put the dizzy in with the rotor on the #4 contact. I set the points to 0.45mm. I shot some carb cleaner into the carb tried to start. Nothing repeated this after repositioning the dizzy a little Nothing! A few more tries and I gave up

So now I give up and take it a mechanic that will look at it.
Well I have to thank you all for being so great with all your help and incouragement. Good luck all and have a great day .

[AriK]

Not too bad for a day's work Actually, congratulations on what you have done! In life you have to appreciate what you have accomplished and not dwell on what you didn't finish. Tomorrow's a new day. Someone on here might throw a longshot and guess what you've missed . If not, let someone else have a go at it, sit back and watch. Either way, at the end of the day you will have learnt something. Cheers!
Ari

[So Cal Mark]

have you verified the cam timing and compression?

[spiderrey]

Where are you?

[aj81spider]

I'm no expert, but when you set the engine to TDC you said you used #4. You should get the crankshaft position and cam timing set using the marks on the pulleys (including crank pulley). If you set the motor to TDC using #4 you could be one revolution out on your timing (and I'm not sure what the cam alignment would be).

Apologies if you did all that - but that could be why it's not starting (being one revolution out you'll be firing on an empty cylinder, and misaligned cams will mean who knows what's going on with the valves).

I bought a cool Fiat key chain too! That's probably the most important part of a restoration.

[bradartigue]

A mechanic? Don't throw money at someone who is just going to diagnose it the same as you would. The difference is he's going to charge you $90/hr and claim a FIAT is hard to work on.

Don't give up. You likely have something simply out of time, recheck (timing to #4 TDC can put you on the wrong stroke, as noted above, time to #1 TDC and line up the crank with the pointers on the block). Then check the camshaft timing, then set the distributor.

[70spider]

Thanks for the relpies. I'll try the #1 TDC and see what happens.

[aj81spider]

I'm not sure if you have a manual or not. If not, there is a reasonably comprehensive writeup on changing the timing belt - which will give you the information on setting up the cam timing - here:

http://forum.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtop ... =9&t=13215

[TX82FIAT]

Don't give up. if you take it to a shop make sure it is a shop that has some experience with FIAT's or at least italian twin cam engines. The typical Chevy guy is going to struggle the same with a 30+ year old car that he cannot plug into a computer, replace a part and move on. The timing can take some time. some of the guys on the forum have done it in thier sleep, i still struggle with it being off just a hair.

Don't give up.

[johndemar]

+2 on a good manual! Pushing 40 years owning the car and still refer to it when doing a lot of things.
Always catch myself missing something that's in the book.

[fredguaz]

DON'T give up!
We all get frustrated working on these cars. We all scratch our head at times. Right now I am trying to figure out how to work an 18 ga sheet metal patch to follow the hump behind my pedals. I go to it, get frustrated, move on to something else, go back, give up, etc. But for me, as It probably should be for everybody on this forum, it represents a challenge which once it's resolved, is very rewarding. It's why we do what we do. Otherwise why bother? Just go buy a modern sports car like the average shmuck does.
I agree, if you take these old cars to a mechanic, chances are he will scratch his head just the same, except you are paying him to scratch his head.

[bobplyler]

I saw you aligned the distributor and set the gap. Did you check for spark?

[wetminkey]

So now I wanna know if 70spider got that engine fired up,...
Todd.

[70spider]

Well I gave it another try. I aligned the cam wheels and double checked the crank was at TDC. Put the distributor in with the rotor on #4 tried to fire it up, nothing. So, I then did the unthinkable and temporally rewired it the way the PO had it by running the a wire from the fuse box to the coil, not using the stock wireing. I tried to turn it over and I got spark, it sputtered but would not completely turn over. I stopped there because I was only holding the wire. I guess the original wire is bad, it is a bit corroded. So now what is the safest way to run a new ignition wire to the coil? Any thoughts? So I guess I'm not giving up just a bit bewildered and drain I have had the car for 5 months now and haven't been able to really enjoy it. Thanks again for all the support, this is the best forum ever

[SoFlaFiat]

Hang in there Pesto!!
You'll get it! I wish I could offer advise on wiring your coil, but I know when I'm not the right guy to talk to