Best laid plans...

[70spider]

It was an ugly week, winds blowing hard the temperature barely above freezing, but a ray of hope was on the horizon. The day began like any other here, 2 degrees fahrenheit. It warmed up slowly and the wind stayed low, finally 38 degrees was achieved. I ran out the back door with great anticipation to finally get the car running. Todays task; install the distributor and get the timing right and if luck will have drive him.
I start the dance, top dead center, back to 10 degrees before top dead center, set the distributor in, line it up with number four. Ignition nothing, a little more advance a sputter. Adjust the fuel pressure (new electric pump). More sputter, more advance, now a stumble. A little more advance, eureka it fires it dies. More fiddling with the carb a touch more advance, fire in the hole. Screeching noises, smoke from odd places, he stumbles, sputters but hangs in there. I run out and adjust the carb to try and get an idle, SUCCESS!. I adjust the dizzy smoothing out idling fine now. It is at this point I think he might blow up, the noises go away. He's alive.
I drive around and everything is going great (never say this as a Fiat owner as it is a prelude to disaster). I pull back in to the driveway and do a few more adjustments and that is when I see it like a slithering serpent laughing at me, oil running down the block. Origin of the evil? The distributor, I FORGOT THE GASKET!!!!!!!!
Best laid plans, repeat.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

You're killin' me, 70spider.... but, I'm glad you got it running. And don't worry, I once forgot to put the oil cap back on after an oil change, and only discovered the problem after about 20 miles when the oil light came on at highway speed. The entire engine bay was covered in oil...

-Bryan

[markko]

I too have done the oil cap thing. It was on my way to the mechanic who was doing the rear seal for me. What an embarrassment!