modified 1971 124 Spider

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vandor
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modified 1971 124 Spider

Post by vandor »

I bought this 1971 124 Spider in 2003 after my 1970 model was totalled in an accident.
It ran, but barely, and needed every form of maintenance imaginable. It was totally stock and had a tired 1608cc Twin Cam. Since then I had slowly modified almost every major component of the car.

The exterior was repainted white and the rectangular US market sidemarker lights were deleted on the rear and substituted by round sidemarkers/turn signals on the front. I like a clean look so the luggage rack and all emblems were removed and the holes filled.
The interior received new carpet, a vinyl covered/stitched dash, Abarth steering wheel and Abarth-ish seats.

I had a "1985.5" Spider parts car, so a lot of parts got transferred to the 1971: steering rack along with the different steering column and its support to position the steering wheel at a more horizontal angle; dead pedal; short shift lever; 250mm brake discs (stock 124 is 227mm) with better calipers.

Suspension modification include 14x6" Maserati Biturbo wheels, 25mm front swaybar, 15mm Toyota Celica rear swaybar, and crossmember braces (see steering rack pic). The stock 4.3:1 rear end gears were substituted for 3.9:1 ones along with a Hungarian made LSD. I am
originally from Hungary and know people there that rally Ladas, which used the same differential as a 124, and they make their own LSD.

I removed the 2000 engine form the wrecked 1970 model and rebuilt it with 8.9:1 CR pistons and decked the block 1.25mm to get 9.8:1 CR. It has Total Seal gapless piston rings, a ported head with 43mm intake and 37.5mm exhaust valves, and 40/80 cams. Right now it breathes through a 32/36 Weber carb, but future plans include programmable FI with throttle
bodies. The exhaust was difficult, as the stock downpipe or aftermarket header does not clear the steering rack. I found a 4 into 1 Fiat 131 header that fit and cleared the 'framerail' box section by a few mm and mated it to a custom 50mm diameter system with a resonator and a universal
ANSA muffler. I tried it without the resonator, but it was too loud for daily driving.
Future plans include a custom made 4-2-1 header.

I live in Texas where it's over 35 C from June to September, so a custom made A/C system was fitted. I never liked the underdash units, so I put a HVAC box behind a 124 Coupe upper console, as that had 2 round vents. A universal Sanden AC compressor was mounted on an aluminum bracket, which workks with a universal high efficiency condenser, along with an aluminum radiator and universal fan to better deal with the heat
load from the engine. The drier is behind the right headlight, so the only thing in the engine compartment is the compressor with a hose going forward and one going to the firewall, which gives a much cleaner look than the dealer installations. This AC system took about 4 months to build, it's a lot easier to describe than to build! It added less than 20 kg to the weight of the car if one includes the weight savings from the aluminum radiator and aftermarket fan.

Right now I am building a new 124 gearbox with 5th gear from a Polski Fiat, which will give a 0.80:1 5th gear insted of the stock 0.88:1. Ih had to have a few things machined, but it's almost ready to be put back together. When the old gearbox comes out an aluminum flywheel will be installed, along with an aluminum crankpulley that has an underdrive for the alternator/waterpump, and an overdrive for the AC.

Future plans include a custom made rollbar, programmable fuel injection, and storage compartments instead of the rear seatbottom.

All the work was done by me except for machining operations.
thanks,

Csaba
Attachments
Pic of steering rack and crossmember braces.  Sorry about the drity undercarriage, but this car is a daily driver.
Pic of steering rack and crossmember braces. Sorry about the drity undercarriage, but this car is a daily driver.
rack6.18.2.JPG (108.09 KiB) Viewed 12646 times
Radiator before fan was installed.
Radiator before fan was installed.
rad09.JPG (102.1 KiB) Viewed 12648 times
The Coupe console has no interior light, so lights were installed under the dash to illuminate the footwells.  The switch on the left is for AC on/off, on the right is AC temperature.  All other heat/ventillation controls b the handbrake work as stock.
The Coupe console has no interior light, so lights were installed under the dash to illuminate the footwells. The switch on the left is for AC on/off, on the right is AC temperature. All other heat/ventillation controls b the handbrake work as stock.
CtrConsSM.JPG (97.1 KiB) Viewed 12648 times
I was amamzed how much better the car feels with supportive seats.
I was amamzed how much better the car feels with supportive seats.
seat6.JPG (101.23 KiB) Viewed 12648 times
My Spider at Fiat Freakout 2005 in Missouri, USA.
My Spider at Fiat Freakout 2005 in Missouri, USA.
ffo8a.jpg (84.27 KiB) Viewed 12648 times
per
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Post by per »

Looks great!
I like the clean style.
What about the extra (?) bars between the crossbar and the bodyfloor?
Argenta 120ie
125S
Guy Croft
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Post by Guy Croft »

Great post Csaba, thanks for writing it!

Bet the clock doesn't work though!

GC
sumplug
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Post by sumplug »

Guy Croft wrote:Great post Csaba, thanks for writing it!

Bet the clock doesn't work though!

GC
Ha Ha!! The clock on my 124 worked fine.
I think the bespoke Aircon is an excellent job. Well done Csaba.
Iam not into white cars usually, but white definitely suits the 124 Sport and Spider. My beloved 124 Sport was white!!

Andy.
vandor
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Crossmember braces

Post by vandor »

per wrote:Looks great!
I like the clean style.
What about the extra (?) bars between the crossbar and the bodyfloor?
Those are crossmember braces to reinforce the crossmember and add chassis rigidity. I copied the idea from the Volvo 240 GT.
Thank you for your nice comments.

Csaba
vandor
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Post by vandor »

Guy Croft wrote: Bet the clock doesn't work though!

GC
:-)
Unfortunately you are correct, the clock died about a year ago. I have a few others, one of these days I need to get one working.

Csaba
per
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Re: Crossmember braces

Post by per »

vandor wrote:Those are crossmember braces to reinforce the crossmember and add chassis rigidity. I copied the idea from the Volvo 240 GT.
Thank you for your nice comments.
Csaba
Yes I see, do they work as planned?
The 240 GT.. That's a quite unique model even here in Sweden! :) Not very sporty though.. :D
Argenta 120ie
125S
Guy Croft
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Post by Guy Croft »

Csaba, hi

I'd like to hear more about the radiator, origin, difference in size/cores from standard and how it behaves with the modified unit. Where does the pressure cap come from, does it run a header tank? Etc.

I wish more people would use alloy radiators, so many people expect a 20 year old standard thing to be adequate - rarely is.
And whenever I say 'get one' there is so much 'mystery' about where to get an alloy one...!!

Thanks!

GC
vandor
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Location: Texas, USA
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Re: Crossmember braces

Post by vandor »

[/quote]
Yes I see, do they work as planned? [/quote]

The car does seem stiffer than stock, but it's hard to say without measuring.
I had them on my previous Spider that was wrecked and the car folded right in front of the crossmember, so it does seem to stiffen the area behind it.

Csaba
vandor
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Post by vandor »

Guy Croft wrote:Csaba, hi

I'd like to hear more about the radiator, origin, difference in size/cores from standard and how it behaves with the modified unit. Where does the pressure cap come from, does it run a header tank? Etc.

I wish more people would use alloy radiators, so many people expect a 20 year old standard thing to be adequate - rarely is.
And whenever I say 'get one' there is so much 'mystery' about where to get an alloy one...!!

GC
It is made to order by AFCO, but there many companies here in the US that will make radiators to order. Normally cost would be $475 USD, but I got it for less as we had 3 of them made at the same time (one for a customer and one for a racecar) and got a company discount. We've also had them made for customers with 1800 and 2000 Spiders. Most of them are made to stock dimesions, but mine and the one for the racecar is wider than the standard 1600 unit for more area. It is also crossflow, versus the stock downflow, which supposedly helps. According to the manufacturer aluminum transfers heat better than copper, so an alu rad would cool better even if it was the same size. Of course it is much lighter than the stock copper radiator. The cap is standard Fiat. I choose not to run a pressurized header tank, just the stock 124 overflow, but one could do it with just an additional outlet on top of the radiator.
It works very well, the car can idle for a very long time before the fan comes on. The only problem was that they do not have bungs for the Fiat radiator temp sender, so I had to use a universal one with 3/8" pipe thread.

Csaba
TR-Spider
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Post by TR-Spider »

Hi Csaba

very nice car with interessting modifications...I am very tempted to copy your crossbrace design straight away!

A question regarding the rear sway bar, could you post a picture of the mounting, please. I also run 25mm front, 15 mm rear on my Spider, works well. I use a modified Opel Ascona B on the rear, see pic on my old rear axle.



Thomas
Attachments
rear sway bar.jpg
rear sway bar.jpg (101.27 KiB) Viewed 12276 times
vandor
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Post by vandor »

TR-Spider wrote:Hi Csaba
I am very tempted to copy your crossbrace design straight away!

A question regarding the rear sway bar, could you post a picture of the mounting, please. I also run 25mm front, 15 mm rear on my Spider, works well. I use a modified Opel Ascona B on the rear, see pic on my old rear axle.
You can make the crossbrace at home from steel tubing, it's very easy. The only problem is on 2000 models where on the passenger side the exhaust interferes with the brace. Also one needs to be sure the tierods do not foul the brace.
See the pic of the swaybar mounts. The center is similar to yours, exhaust pipe clamps and universal bushings and holders. On the outside I made simple L shaped holders that bolt to the upper trailing arm bolts.

Csaba
Attachments
sb8.JPG
sb8.JPG (67.48 KiB) Viewed 12201 times
sb7.JPG
sb7.JPG (70.96 KiB) Viewed 12198 times
sb6.JPG
sb6.JPG (104.91 KiB) Viewed 12202 times
Chris71
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Post by Chris71 »

Great looking car!

I've recently bought an old kit car using a 124 Spider drivetrain, when I saw a picture of one of these for the first time it seemed a bit of a shame to canabalise them for a flurescent yellow fibreglass lump!
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