(not so) new project! barn find '72

[htchevyii]

I got the 1438 back from the engine shop and partially assembled today, If only anything else on the car looked this good!

[spiderrey]

the 1438 i built a couple years ago for my 68

[htchevyii]

Looks sweet, how do you like it? Did you do any mods?

[rlux4]

Looks like the prototypical htchevyii work Trey.(Beautiful) Is the engine shop in your little burg? And which car will you be taking to Oregon 09?
Ron

[htchevyii]

All I know is that it will be a red one. There has been talk of driving them both, but I have a lot of work ahead of me before that can happen. The idea is for this one to be the striped down racer and the '82 to be the cruiser.

[spiderrey]

htchevy, that 1438 was put together 100 percent stock. thats what my kid wanted at the time. the car was mine, but i gave it to my kid. its a cruiser.

[SpiderHead]

I hope I'm not speaking out of turn here

but... 72's are a bit rare.

Maybe 2 cruisers? and get a derelict 79 to autocross?

-Ryan

[htchevyii]

that doesn't sound like much fun . Plus I think five cars is allready pushing the limit of sanity. (That's five running and driving cars, almost).

[WarbirdAL]

Hi Trey,

On your 1438 engine, the auxillary drive shaft , my book shows a picture when you set the timing that the hole shouldbe at about 36 degrees vertical from the right. they also show a fiat tool to help set the timing. on my 1438 when I took the timing belt off the aux shaft was more at 75 degrees from the vertical to the right. Is it possible the previous owner had it timed this way? I am concerned when i am going to put the cylinder head back on that I do it right. I am wondering if i should follow the book or put it back the way it was before.

thanks

Alan

[spiderrey]

follow the book. if the aux shaft is off its mark far enough, the lobe will contact the crank and cause serious damage.

[htchevyii]

The aux pulley hole should line up with the tensioner pulley bolt that spring on it. It might not be that big of deal on the 1438, because of the shorter stroke, but I'd do it by the book.

[htchevyii]

It looks like I'm on hold until I can find the correct 1438 bellhousing. I thought I had one, but when it showed it was a 1608 one. Anybody have one that they want to sell? thanks

[htchevyii]

All right! Mark Allison had the correct bellhousing and flywheel, so I'm back in business! I would suggest if looking for parts to check first with a FIAT freak/professional like Mark before looking elsewhere. I didn't realise Mark had many used parts and ordered one from an import wrecker. They sent me the wrong part. They did take care of it, but I would have been ahead in both time and money to have just contacted Mark in the begining. http://www.fiatspiderparts.com/ Oh and if you are in need of a pretty wood dash to replace your ugly veneer contact Denise Burchette, she made me a sweet one for the '82.
I got the '82 moved to my storage garage for the winter, (put it on casters and squeezed in in between my '64 Nova and my Dad's '74 Bronco). Now as soon as I paint my garage floor, I'll get the '72 inside. First the crossmember will come out for inspection/reinforcement, then engine reinstallation and a frt suspension/brake rebuild.

[htchevyii]

It looks like you're well on your way! Did the 1438 come with a flywheel? There's somethig different between the 1438 and 1608 flywheels...bolt size maybe (can't remember) but I hope it doesn't pose a problem.

I've found alot of confusion here, but here's what I've found: the 1438 uses a different bellhousing and clutch from the rest of the t/c engines. The flywheel is smaller and lighter and you need the correct bellhousing to position the starter correctly. The crank bolt pattern is the same as the other t/c's until they changed to the larger bolts, so I could have used the 1608 flywheel & bellhousing, but had a heavier flywheel. In hindsight I may have been better off using the 1608 stuff and having Millers lighten the flywheel.

[mdrburchette]

I'm glad you on your way to getting your car rolling!