1969 124 Spider in South of France

[Fredvr]

Hi Guys,
I live in the South of France and restoring a European Spider AS 1438, I have just completed the engine rebuild, piston, rings, shells. Gearbox synchromeshes, bearings etc... Differential bearings, shaft bearings. Suspensions etc....
It runs now, a bit hot for my liking and a bit rich too.
So I'll try to find help on here and will happily share my experience.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Welcome, Fredvr. I have a '69 spider and have rebuilt virtually everything on this car in the past. It's a US model, though, which might have some differences with yours.

-Bryan

[Fredvr]

Hi Bryan,
The differences will be the bodywork and probably the carburation due to the US pollution rules in those years.
I have 2 main issues:
I think it overheats slightly, but it is the old system with the clutch able fan, which, pun intended, I'm not a fan of.
Also the oil pressure reading is low, no light though. the shells are new no knocking noise, but the needle barely goes up to 2 bars 30 Psi.
I've renewed 95% of the car. However this oil pressure bugs me.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I've renewed 95% of the car. However this oil pressure bugs me.

The oil pressure sending units are notorious for reading too low as they age. If you replace the sensor unit, you'll probably find that your oil pressure is just fine.

Yes, that electromagnetic clutch was a very poor design. Back in the 1970s, I converted my '69 spider to the electric fan. Much more reliable, and much easier on the water pump bearings (no heavy electro-clutch that caused these bearings to fail after a couple years).

-Bryan

[Fredvr]

How did you fit the new water pump and electrical fan? In the old chassis.
The front cross member has been modified to accommodate the electrical fan.
The AS model has a straight front cross member, later they pushed it forward.
I will try to change the oil pressure sender anyway, I've just bought a system to check the oil pressure with a gauge. I'll test it later in the year when I return where the car is stored (500 miles from home...)
Also I will keep the old electro magnetic fan but will fit an electrical fan on the front of the radiator to help cooling, it'll be wired via a relay to the electro fan.

[rdv]

Hi and welcome!
first of all: I own a 69 Spider too! Happily it works and runs with actual no problems!
The problem with overheating could be a common problem with the "T"-switch which should start the fan automatically at some temperature reached?! Sorry for this "non-technical" speach of a non-technician!

Have you contacts to any other AS driver in France? The worldwide Spider Register counts various 69 AS, see here:
https://www.fiatspider.de/register?Fahr ... ective=All

Is your car already listed? If not, can we get your car data? Thanks in advance.

Bye Ralf

[18Fiatsandcounting]

How did you fit the new water pump and electrical fan? In the old chassis.
The front cross member has been modified to accommodate the electrical fan.
The AS model has a straight front cross member, later they pushed it forward.

It's been a long time since I did the modification, but my recollection is this: I did find an electric fan that fit in the rear of the radiator, although space is tight between the fan and the front of the engine. But it does fit, and the 3 bolts that secure the fan to the sides of the radiator were (fortunately) in the right places.

After that, I had to use a later model water pump that had the triangle-shaped mounting flange on the end (the one with 3 screw holes), rather than just the straight shaft of the earlier water pumps with the electro-clutch. And, I had to find a new water pump pulley that had the right "depth" so that the belt would line up with the crankshaft and alternator pulleys.

To power the fan, I just used a source of +12V and the temperature switch at the bottom left of the radiator provided the ground.

Don't forget to add your spider to the world-wide spider registry as Ralf noted above. He is providing a valuable resource for all of us, and the more spiders in the registry, the more useful it is.

-Bryan

[Fredvr]

Thanks for that Bryan.
I'll go the route of fitting an spare electrical fan in front of the radiator.
When the water pump will give me trouble I go the route you took. The later pump being more reliable and a lot cheaper.
It might be a while, as I have rebuilt the waterpump, bearing and seal, and I have a spare new one.

I'll look into the registration of my Spider.

Thanks for your advices.