Author Topic: And So It Begins :-)  (Read 7816 times)

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Rusty's Uncle

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #15 on: July 02, 2010, 01:36:20 PM »
You were spot on there Darrell  :oops: My "silly" exhaust lasted about 3 miles before the tail pipe decided to go it's own way. Funny thing was it was the metal adjacent to my weld that failed . Not sure what grade of steel the pipe is made of but it did not weld like normal mild steel . I think I may have also aggravated the situation by sticking a four foot lever up the tail pipe and bending it to a more pleasing aspect  ::)
Anyway I carried on regardless and did a 30 mile run. The engine seemed a bit flat at low revs & more vibration on slow tick over. Felt like more power through the middle range tailing off at max. Stalled a couple of times and the hot & cold starting characteristics seem to have changed.
I had set the 123 ignition as per instructions but reset the timing with a strobe this morning. Another 30 mile run and scared myself within the first mile when I was way too fast on a corner then I realised I was driving a different animal from the day before. Lots more grunt under the right foot pretty much through the rev range and 3rd gear is quite good fun. Still some tidying to do & the exhaust to sort out but it seems that the project has worked in that I have a very standard looking 499ccs engine that packs a little more punch  [-/

Darrell

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #16 on: July 02, 2010, 01:55:45 PM »
The only way I can think of to make a tail pipe work it to weld a piece onto the elbow, take the baffle out and weld the new bit inot the exhaust eg. through the silencer, allow for bigger holes to get more through flow and keep the elbow tight so you can weld it to the silencer further toward the back (tip) of the tail pipe.

I gave-up in disgust, the metal seems to fracture always next to the weld, and bought a sport pipe off e bay.

Although the sporty pipe has never cracked, the finnish (black) is rubbish, it went white-ish and has started rusting already.

I'm saving for a CSC pipe in stainless with the elbows to bolt directly onto the head [-/

The 123 set-up I also found to be lame without the use of the strobe.


Tell me...did you set it with a timing light with the knob to set 10 degrees and then use the TDC mark or a static timing light where one would set it to flash on the 10 degree mark?
'84 aircooled 126 & 500F still in kit form
Not the only African in the village :)

Rusty's Uncle

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #17 on: July 02, 2010, 07:05:22 PM »
No knobs or frills on my trusty old strobe. Just two clips on leads & a light that flashes. Highlight TDC on the pulley with tipex then use my judgement as to the 10 degrees or 13mms before TDC  ;D
Anyway I am sure there will be more news but in the meantime I would like to thank all of you guys that gave me advice , encouragement & helped with parts  [-/
:D you can teach an old dog new tricks  :D

Allan

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #18 on: July 02, 2010, 09:28:11 PM »
Don't any of you folks own the genuine Fiat timing plate?

Allan

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #19 on: July 02, 2010, 09:48:55 PM »
Just as aside, one of the things that I have learnt to do over the years, is when the opportunity presents itself, using a dial gauge, check the timing marks line up at TDC. You would be amazed how many are a few degrees out.
Allan

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #20 on: July 06, 2010, 10:09:49 PM »
I have seen those timing plates in all the manuals for years but have never seen one for sale. Which brings me round to the fact that I think that getting the best out of my 499ccs engine is now down to fine tuning & tweeking. Lot more power but tick over is a bit "thumpy" , middle range seems pretty sweet with a much more relaxed cruising speed. It will pull to 90 kms/hr in 3rd (top speed on a standard 500L is 95 kms/hr - 59 mph) I think that I may have the timing a little advanced hence the lumpy bit then I have been looking at the tuning curves on the 123 ignition that may be more beneficial higher up the rev range. 126 carb jets are also similar to the rare 500 Sport so I think the carb is OK for a modest tune.  [-/

Rusty's Uncle

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #21 on: July 07, 2010, 03:13:58 PM »
Decided to have another go at my "silly" exhaust this morning otherwise I would have to scrap it. Took more time over the welding plus added in a brace to the tailpipe. So far so good and having a tailpipe that extends out to near the rear bumper has made the car so much quieter. Had a run around then had another go at the timing & 123 ignition. I now have a a new timing mark on the timing chain housing. Not a genuine Fiat part but a rusty 30 mms nail with a large head & about 8 mms bent to 90 degrees at the sharp end. I wanted a clearer indicator at the 10 degrees before top dead centre position. Head of nail cleaned , a bit of measuring and cleaning then the "indicator" has been super glued in place. A bit more with the strobe 7 timing then I set the 123 ignition to "4" which is described as tuning curve group 1. Only had a chance to go around the block & down the hill & back but all seemed very promising  [-/

Rusty's Uncle

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #22 on: July 08, 2010, 12:33:28 PM »
The next thread I start will proably be "And so it ended"  >:(
All was going well this morning then I got out on the dual lane road & giving it some in 3rd to try the new settings. Strange mechanical noise along with a smell of burning oil. Shifted to top gear & car drove OK. Pulled over to test all gears then pulled away OK. Then pulled in again to check in engine compartment. Engine running but small smoke cloud around top of engine. Could not see why & engine was running OK in fact tick over was much smoother. So turned for home , about 5 miles away, and all going well . Noticed power dropping with about a mile to go but fingers crossed. Unfortunately I live at the top of an extremely steep hill & it could not make it in first gear. Rolled back into a side road & the engine died. Opened up the engine lid & quite a bit of smoke. Very , very hot in fact the paint on the rocker box cover was blistering , petrol was vapourising in the filter, no oil loss in sump. Managed to get the oil filler off as it was too hot to handle. The plastic washer on the pressure relief valve is missing so it may have melted & dropped into the rockers. Waited 30 mins to see if it would start , no joy. Walked home & waited 30 mins. Went back home then returned over an hour later. The engine was still hot but touchable. Would not fire up. Now waiting for a tow up the hill so I can check it out .  :cry:
Hoping it is not too messy :oops:

Rusty's Uncle

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #23 on: July 08, 2010, 06:45:50 PM »
Done a bit of a strip down, Rocker box cover off, absolutely no sign of the washer from the bottom of the oil filler. The extreme heat had caused the raised face on the bottom of the rocker cover to "burn" through the gasket. Blackened oil on the head top above no 1 cylinder, tappets were loose, as were the rocker mounting nuts. Carb off then removed the fan top cover / air filter housing. Not a pretty sight as all I could see was mangled metal. Removed the rear lower housing and a load of bits fell on the floor. Now the first scarey bit , I counted 14 blade locations on the rim but only 7 bent & buckled blades fell out. Absolutely no sign of the others  :oops:
This fan looked fine a week ago so I might have to call in the X-files on that one. The dodgey bit is that I had no warning of this in terms of noises etc. The next question is how much damage has been done by the extreme heat due to the fan failure  ::)
Pic of DIY 7 blade fan rebuild kit posted.

GTMaster

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #24 on: July 08, 2010, 07:38:13 PM »
Seeing that all i can say is: oh c**k !  :(
Feel sorry for you.
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ChrisRLewis

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #25 on: July 08, 2010, 08:31:38 PM »
looks nasty, just hope your motor is ok.
Do you have a spare fan? I've got a spare one if you need it.

Darrell

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #26 on: July 08, 2010, 09:29:18 PM »
Bugger!

Mine overheated once very badly with power loss when the fan belt broke, unknown to me the bulb had blown for the battery light, I just didnt notice it had blown! It's now a big thing on my check-list when starting it.

Somehow it hasnt done any serious damage, I stripped it down to the pistons and put it back together, it runs fine now.

The later overheating was weird because i think it was a little harsher if that makes sense. When the loss of power comes-on with no fan one can imagine the pistons struggling to go up and down. So I checked the pistons. Turned-out I needn't have.

Later on she was overheating because of the ignition and that heated the whole engine slower, which somehow was worse which cause the rear bearing to pinch. Cross fingers it might be ok :-X
'84 aircooled 126 & 500F still in kit form
Not the only African in the village :)

1973/126

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #27 on: July 08, 2010, 10:28:51 PM »
 Not a nice site. As said, hope the engine is O.K., but the fact it wouldn`t start even after cooled down is not good.
 Maybe it would be worth investing in one of those alloy fans. I remember the 126fan guys said they only use those on they race engines, as the standard ones just brake up at such high revs.
1972 Fiat 500
1980 Fiat 126

Rusty's Uncle

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #28 on: July 09, 2010, 01:03:56 PM »
Thanks for the support guys and also to Chris , I do have three other fans. One standard, one stripped & zinc plated then powder coated then the HD plastic on steel base one that I have from the Alquati engine.  [-/

ChrisRLewis

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Re: And So It Begins :-)
« Reply #29 on: July 09, 2010, 04:10:16 PM »
Just a question on fans. I checked the two spare fans that I have and they are slightly different, the vanes on one of the fans are longer. So the question is are there different versions of fans for 126's?