Dual Carbs to rebuild or not

Shane124 · Post by **Shane124** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:30 pm

I'm trying to refurbish a 1978 Fiat 124 Spider with help from my parents. I have a long way to go with the car. My dad and I are trying to decide whether or not to rebuild a set of dual carbs to put on the car. They were rebuilt 10 years or so ago and never installed. They have been sitting in a box since then. I think it would be smart to rebuild them again before installing them on the car, but there aren't really any Fiat mechanics in my area that I know of, and my Dad HATES carb. work. I have never rebuilt a carb. any ideas, suggestions?
Thanks.

racydave · Post by **racydave** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:13 pm

Shane, I try to keep people in their comfort zone, if pop hates carb work, dont make him! Has the car been runnin lately? It would help to have a place to start from, IE, a running engine first! At least you wouldnt have to be guessin what the probs all are. The shelf life of rubber items begins as soon as they are manafactured, so the carbs probably need goin thru! Maybe you should consider a known good simple carb set up first? Do you know if the carbs were in good shape when it was parked? You could do them one at a time and use one for reference. Gas goes bad, and you should have a clean tank and new fuel filter first. I would not change any settings, just gaskets and rubber items. Also expect failure from any other rubber items, esp the timing belt, and the belt bearing. I wish you much luck, hope the challenge is rewarding, and hope you put another safe Fiat on the road! Dave

Shane124 · Post by **Shane124** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 5:32 pm

i don't know if the car is runing now or not i parked it november of last year because it had been overheating alot even after we changed the thermostat, hoses, and temp sending units(whole other story). and when I went to start it a week ago the batery was dead. I will probably have to do something with atleast one carb because I don't think the carb that is on there know is all that great, for some reason when I hit the gas fast at idle and try to rev it up it starts to cut off, but if I take slowly up from idle it runs fine.

racydave · Post by **racydave** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 6:06 pm

Sounds like you have quite a project on your hands! I did my homework, and researched alot of Fiat sites, and their links. Found lots of good tech advice, and things to look for. And since I had a good other vehicle, I took my time and tried to enjoy. Make sure all the rubber vaccume hoses associated with the carb and intake manifold are in good shape, this can cause problems like you are having.

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 6:28 pm

I'd get it running, fix the overheating before fooling with changes. It sounds like your carb problem is a bad accelerator pump.
As for the overheating, you have to bleed the air from the cooling system after replacing a thermostat or the thermostat won't open

124cso · Post by **124cso** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 5:30 pm

If the carbs were rebuilt properly 10years ago and stayed in their box since, there should be no need to touch them ! Get the overheating problem fixed first. As mark says, check for air in the top of the system.

It would be worth the $40-50 to pull out the radiator and take it to a radiator shop and get them to pull off a tank and make sure the core tubes are clear. Remember. Never run these cars without a corrosion inhibiter/ antiboil mix ( containing Ethylene Glycol) in the water.