My 131 abarth (never ending) story - 2017 season updates

[WhizzMan]

This "funny line" looks like either a javascript or a CSS problem, probably triggered by the width of the browser window. Miro, try narrowing the size of your browser to see if you can replicate the problem. If this is the case, the most easy (but nasty) resolution I know for it is to put an "invisible" image that is 1 pixel vertical and enough horizontal pixels wide in the page. That way, the browser will not try to rearrange images, but just make a scroll bar.

[miro-1980]

Guy,

I have both original CD 68 Magnesium Cromodoras and aluminum replicas made by Jonathan. The wheels I decided to use for the rally were replicas. This proved to be prudent decision.

The two sets of CD 68 originals I believe to be the only two sets in Poland , and it would be a shame to damage them ...

The replicas were made by Compomotive. Real good work !

Miro

[Guy Croft]

Be sure to tell Compomotive,

G

[miro-1980]

NEW YEAR - NEW SEASON - NEW PLANS

With the new season approaching we will soon review the technical state of the car for indi9cations of any maintenance as well as plan what upgrades are due for 2012 season.

Experience of 2011 proved:

1/ The engine to be absolutely in perfect shape.

2/ Addition of front hood rear facing vent - proved most effective to keep under the hood temperature in check

3/ Air box and cool air induction system proved effective. Still thinking about additional thermal shielding to keep it as cool as possible.

4/ Gr 4 dashboard - a great improvement to standard 131 dash.

5/ Additions of REV limiter and quick start seem to be working fine and worth the effort and money invested.

6/ New electronic speedo - most useful.

7/ New Cobra seats - outstanding ( must review that the seats mounting meet FIA requirements - same for seat belts).

8/ installation of fire system - a great safety addition

9/ Identified problem with far too long clutch pedal free play fixed temporarily and on its way to final proper fixing.

10/ Safety element added on the tunnel preventing the main shaft causing excessive damage should the donut brake off - feels good top know your feet are safe

Plans for technical improvement for 2012 include :

1/ final installation of full front Abarth suspension

2/ final resolution of brakes issue ( front 305 m disks on 2x 48 ATE calipers and final setection of rear disks and calipers, hydraulic hand brake)

3/ possibly poly carbon side and rear windows matched with side vents and gr 4 rear view side mirrors

4/ improvement of rear Bilstein shocks adjustment , possibly changes to springs ( maybe coming up with at least two sets of springs /shocks settings for track/ tarmac - and maybe gravel)

5/ working on interior : change to gr 4 side door panels , removal of side rear panels, installation of heat sealing floor panel and a foot rest for the co pilot (with foot switches for horn and lights) and an additional co-pilot flip stitch for the wipers on the dash)

6/ changing to light weight rear (boot) hood .

6/whatever other ideas come to our minds and prove reasonable, useful and inexpensive ( like a pen holders for the pilot).
( I am currently looking at a fancy system of radio based pressure control system for all tires. Tire valve caps have a pressure sensor and a radio transmitter which sends signals to a control unit you install on the front windshield ( like a GPS system ). This system tells you know each tire pressure at any given time and records changes. Could be useful to set the tire pressure which would not bee too low at the start and not too high at the end of the track. Typically there is no time to warm up the tires well enough before the stage so you start. This causes the difficulty of starting at right tire pressure but ending the race with tire pressure fat too high adversely affecting it traction and oversteer/undertsteer as the race progresses). When we do trial run we could use this to gauge the tire pressure so that it is not too low at the start and not too high at the end of a run. This always will depend on both external temperature and track characteristics. Maybe going for nitrogen gas instead of air in the tires ( it expends far less than air with increased temperature .

The 2012 upgrade program is quite limited as most of the things needed to be done are l ready done. Our intention is to do more racing then ever to ga8in the experience and improve driving skills, improving pilot/co-pilot communication, building service team ,etc. We will be very selective as to rallies - track events we take part in so that we have the best fun and take part in really well organized and interesting events. Obtaining FIA passport for the car is also something we want to obtain early in the season to qualify for historic FIA events.

Will keep progress reported here for all friends and funs to enjoy and comment.

Miro

[Guy Croft]

"Will keep progress reported here for all friends and funs to enjoy and comment"

I am sure we will all enjoy that Miro, thanks,

G

[TomLouwrier]

hi Miro,

Sounds like a plan well thought through. Wouldn't expect differently from you.
If I can be of assistance, just yell. It's such a good project.

regards
Tom

[miro-1980]

Just to keep you entertained during the off season..
Here is out winter training ...

Winter training.jpg (307.68 KiB) Viewed 12147 times

Miro

[Guy Croft]

Not exactly Michelle Mouton is it Miro?

You ain't got no M&S tyres for the 131 then?

G

[miro-1980]

Not exactly Michelle Mouton is it Miro?
G

Not quite as good looking , and bearded , too ....

You ain't got no M&S tyres for the 131 then?
G

Actually we were running on light off road tires (195x 75x 15 !!!)

But on ice we beat an Impreza WRX STI , Lancer EVO IX and Impreza GT.

There was really f... icy and the temperature was – 20 deg C:

Here is the appropriate excerpt from published official results .

Forester in Winter rally action.JPG (73.26 KiB) Viewed 12117 times

Clearly it is not only what you drive but also how you drive it...

M

[miro-1980]

Got few better shots of our "rim" driving during the last rally of 2011...

_DSC9858.jpg (249.24 KiB) Viewed 12084 times

_DSC9851.jpg (255.27 KiB) Viewed 12084 times

_DSC9852.jpg (178.92 KiB) Viewed 12084 times

I did not really know it was so extreme ..

Miro

PS : These pictures are from the first round. We have damaged it half way the first round. After the third round the tire looked much, much worse ...but still held the rim some (very small) distance - away from the road. Truly incredible that the rim is practically intact..

M

[miro-1980]

Guy ,

This time a question relating to my 124.

I need to change the head gasket in my 124 spider (US version , 1980 2.0 DOHC fuel injected). It is leaking a bit of oil from under the head and the oil drips onto the header producing a nasty smell every time I start the car. Sometimes I can also smell this oil burning on the exhaust header after extended drive (especially in hot weather). The leak is small, but needs to be fixed.

I believe what needs to be done is just replacing the head gasket. The engine was never worked despite the fact it and it has some 75 k miles on the clock. It It takes a just bit of oil but not much at all (I check oil level twice in a season).

While the head will be off I want to check the state of the valves, valve seats, springs, make necessary adjustments, but do not plan to do anything beyond what is necessary. The engine works fine and I am not ready for a major overhaul. The car is used for purely civilian cruising purposes. Once or twice a year I take it to club events where I push the car just slightly and for only brief moments. No high RPM (I try to keep it under 5 RPM at all time). The annual mileage I put on it is minimal (under 1000 km each season).

Please advise what other things it might make sense to do while the head is off.

I would like to put a GC head gasket, CG head bolts and washers.

Anything else I might need ?

Anything else you would suggest should be done while we are at it?

Please advise.

Thanks for any suggestions

Miro

[WhizzMan]

What a beast it has become. Very nice!

[Guy Croft]

The likely causes of the problems with your 124 road car are:

1. Leaking from lower cambox gaskets
2. Leaking from 2 top fixings on ex manifold (these need to be studs as the holes go right thru into the cam oil bath region)
3. Leaking head gasket.

I don't recommend any attempt at quick/in-situ fix. This is what to do:

1. Set engine at TDC cyls 1&4, mark up your distributor, camwheels and aux driveshaft.
2. Drain cooling system completely via rad tap and tap on block under ex manifold
3. Remove manifolds complete, distributor if top-mounted and cambelt cover.
4. Cut cambelt and remove belt. Now is the time to check the tensioner pulley - if it's never been replaced junk the old one.
5. Unbolt head and lift off complete. Set on blocks on the bench so you don't bend a valve.
6. Strip head down completely:
a. use an air or battery powered wrench to remove cam pulleys
b. unbolt both cam housings, remove the cam buckets with shims, take off cam end covers and remove cams, pry old seals out.
c. Using a spring compressor remove the valve springs, collets, caps and spring bases. The collets will be tight so apply some pressure to the compressor and tap the tool with a hammer to free the collets.
d. Remove the valves - keep them in order. Strip off the old stem seals & try not to fracture the guides.

The head can now be cleaned & dried off likewise the other parts.

You should inspect the valve-guide fit and if reasonable clean up the valves with an electric wire brush and the seats Scotchbrite and lap them in. The head face and manifold faces (and ports too) can be cleaned up with Scotchbrite & solvent (eg Jizer) and a fine carborundun stone or even carborundun paper (250 grade). The head face should be inspected for flatness using a feeler gauge and flat bar, you're looking for less than .003" out of true anywhere. It is not uncommon for the inlet valve seats to be so close to the alloy face that refacing is not possible without grinding the seats down and then life gets a bit more complicated.

The head - once every piece is clean, should be reassembled with:

1. New stem seals and cam seals
2. New OE valve springs
3. New cambox gaskets upper, lower and end.

The valves and seats should be oiled with engine oil and the cams with oil and moly grease, esp the front journal housing. The camboxes should be build up first and cam pulleys refitted. It will need to be reshimmed one cam at a time which should be done on the bench before fitment. You must set one cam in a position that you can turn the other when doing this or you'll bend a valve If you use my leak-free cambox gaskets they are quite a bit thicker than standard and will require a whole new shim set. Those gaskets must be left to settle overnight. The cams should be set in their TDC posn before fitting the head back on with new gasket. Frankly I would use the GC system for the head gasket which comprises:

1. Comp spec head gasket with special GC dowels
2. GC race head bolts with special washers

The block face must be cleaned and surveyed as head, make sure NO debris from cleaning goes down the 6 oil feeds because anything in there on restart will get fired straight at the cam journals and if you find your new cam seals leaking, scoring of the front housing by that debris is the certain cause.

While you are about it, you should check the front of the engine for oil leaks (eg: aux d/s seal and crank from seal) and water pump too. Much easier to do NOW if in doubt. It is not simply the mileage of the engine that dictates condition it is age too and if the parts are of 1970s origin they may well be beyond useful duty by now. Seals go hard, esp earlier materials. All mine are late generation nitrile OE spec.

The pistons should be lowered about 1cm when refitting the head. The crank front seal housing may prevent fitting of the new cambelt and the crank front pulley may need to come off. This needs a 38mm A/F socket and the best way of removing is to take the radiator out and get in there with the 'nut' gun. Use two old head bolts with heads cut off to guide the head into position once the gasket and dowels are in place.

I have marked up all the parts I can think of on the attached Feb 2012 pricelist in red/bold. I have also attached some GC 'How To' data about the key points involved in a head removal/refit op.

Hope this helps some, more info on request.

G

[miro-1980]

Dear Guy,

Most gracious of you to reply in such a comprehensive manner. I truly appreciate it.

I had a general sense we would need to subject the valve head assembly to an limited overhaul , except not being an engineer I could not possibly turn my general feelings into such a comprehensive and systematic and detailed technical program.

It is really a privilege to be a member of your elite forum.

Thank you again !

Miro

[miro-1980]

Re: 124 spider season preparation

Guy,

Followed your instructions to the letter. I picking the car from my mechanic friend on Tuesday next week.

To top the mechanical work we have have changed all oils, fluids, filters and done some minor work long overdue: added impact cut off switch for the fuel pumps, fixed few poor electrical connections, fixed slow working wipers, flushed the radiator and changed the rubber hoses, changed the fan switch to a lower temp rating one, put new, much thicker electrical cables to the radiator fan, put separate truck style fuse box for the fan circuit and a higher tared manual override fan switch, changed fuel hoses under the bonnet, readjusted clutch and corrected clutch cable mounting, changed shocks to adjustable Bilstein in the rear and adjustable Koni in the front, added 25 mm wheel spacers, replaced folded roof with a Targa - style hard top, removed rear seats and replaced them with carpeting for handy cargo space, added a safety roll-bar, changed to 4 point "street" safety belts, changed the center console to a modern remake,moved a kill switch from the boot to the center console between seats, installed a rear window defogger switch into the console, changed the stuck heater valve, installed an automatic radio antenna, replaced the dash clock with a oil pressure gauge, etc.

This all should make the car safer , more reliable and more fun to drive.

Some picture attached :